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Comments
"I am resubmitting this with a better subject title. We received delivery of our 2002 LX 2 weeks ago. It was the perfect car until today when it stalled while in motion. No warning! The dealer immediately blamed it on water in the gas. Not to my surprise they were wrong. After all, I drove it after getting gas last night without it dying, and it has not been below half a tank yet. The dealer has now diagnosed it as a faulty V-Tec module that was sending a false "no oil" signal to the engine.
I have torn down and rebuilt many engines, and done my own repairs on ever car I have ever owned, so off course I am inquisitive. When asking them what this sensor does, after explaining to them that low oil does not make an engine stop, rather the engine will run until it seizes, I could not get a logical answer.
Has anyone had a similar problem and/or diagnosis, or heard of this problem/diagnosis happening to someone else?"
We're looking forward to hearing a lot more from you.
tidester
Host
SUVs
Having checked out my friend's 2002 EX, I have to say it can get pretty noisy at 65mph, but is otherwise quiet.
It appears that people who own a Honda feel right at home with the new V, simply because Hondas do have a fair amount of road noise(I own a Civic). And I can see how owners of the old CR-V must think that the 2002 model is ultra quiet.
This brings me to my ONLY gripe about Hondas, as a Civic owner. Why can't they make their new vehicles as quiet as a Toyota? The CR-V is nothing more than a terrific Civic station wagon, and at 20K, Honda is not exactly giving them away. SUVs have huge profit margins, and I'm sure Honda could fix this noisy reputation if they really wanted to. But with people lining up to buy the V, I don't think they will.
I have not taken the vehicle in for its first service yet, but will definitely bring this up when I do. I have a silver EX, and overall have been very pleased with it. I took it on a business trip to Texas (from Michigan), and it was a pleasure to drive. Unfortunately, I was laid off shortly after returning from the trip to Texas so I will probably be selling the vehicle soon. Anybody interested in a '02 EX with 3000 miles for $20,250? Would rather not sell, but I have bad habits like requiring a roof over my head and eating
I would say there are two kinds of people...
1. Those like who are researching the CRV.
2. Those who are having problems with the crv to discuss the issues.
My father and I both have a '02 and we have had none of the problems stated at these forumns and I have close to 6000 miles on it now!
Hypothetically....
Lets say that out of the 13,000 new crv's sold this month in the US, 30 people have had problems. Then half of those people like the internet, voila you have these 15 people browsing the net to discuss their issues. Ths wuld appear to the forumns that there is a "serious" isssue witth the vehicle. Would this be a fair representation of how the '02 crv's reliability? I don't think so, especially when I just gave you a "hypothetical" scenerio where 1/5 of 1% are having problems.
Buy a crv, you will be very happy with it! I know I am!
In the days of yesteryear, all an owner could do when a problem surfaced was take it to their dealer or discuss it with a few in their circle of people. While the internet has grown rapidly in the past few years, you will find that these types of forums only attract a VERY VERY VERY small percentage of the population. And many many many people still just take it to the dealer. I've visited other forums discussing other issues and it is always the case - their are a few 'regulars' because that is what they are interested in and a few that pop in and out to find out something.
While your hypothetical is true as stated, it in no way represents what it really is. You, or me, have no way of knowing the amount of problems with this car or any other car. If you think about it, the rocking seat problem - this is almost cetainly a design problem - compared to the number of posts about other issues, this problem would rank high just based upon the people who use this forum. Yet, since it is a design problem, the number of cars that would have this would either be equal to the number sold or very close to it. In any case, a large number. But there is NOT a large number of posters in this forum.
Reading something into a very small sampling of data is very dangerous. One can make anything out of a few samples. You may be right, but there is no way to know. Until proven otherwise, my theory is much closer to the way it is. We do not know how many people are having problems with the new cr-v.
New CR-V buyers, after forking over a lot of money usually want to say that they are in love with their vehicles. If that was the only type of post allowed, this board would be useless. Better to be a fully informed buyer.
I know this will seem like whining, but shouldn't the noise dampening be done by Honda when they are built?
As far as the Dynamat installation, that depends on who you get to do it. The Dynamat is sold in preset kit sizes and rolls. I prefer just to buy it rolled. It's probably around $200.00 for enough Dynamat to do the CR-V. Any reputable stereo-shop has a hourly rate that they'll charge. I'm expecting a total cost of less than $800.00 before all is said and done.
Before it's done though, I'm ordering a complete set of interior panel clips, so the one's that are popped will be replaced with new ones on panel reinstall.
I'd love to hear a discourse on the VTEC (in fairly simple terms, I'm a scientist but not a rocket scientist), but only if this is the appropriate place. If there's another topic, let me know.
- Overall: a great value
- More horsepower than pre-2002 CR-V.
Horsepower is adequate--not great. I lived in Europe and
owned European cars for many years, so I'm biased to more
power. But then again this is a 4 cylinder that gets
great gas mileage.
- 4 cylinder is fine, unless you plan to haul/tow on a regular basis--look at Xterra,
Ford, Mazda, or Liberty if that's a concern
- Real-time 4WD does well in the northeast snow/rain, even with the
factory-equipped (poor quality) tires
- Lots of discussion at this forum:
http://forums.vmag.com/suvcrv0999/
about tires, etc. tires pulling to the
right. I have 3,000 miles on my CR-V and it
DOES NOT pull to the right.
Speaking of tires, some things that annoy me about the 2002 CR-V:
- the smaller tires, which diminish (in my opinion) the CR-V's stance as an SUV. After you
consider that 90 percent of SUV owners never take their SUV for off-roading purposes, the
tire size thing doesn't seem too bad. Still, if you park the CR-V next to a Ford
Escape or Xterra in a parking lot, the tire size difference and its effect on the vehicle's
overall look is apparent.
- the dash-mounted transmission shifter, which
I've mistakenly hit for a turn signal. The emergency brake handle location also took some
getting used to.
Compared to other SUVs/mini-SUVs:
- Yes, Honda is putting out a Honda Pilot/V-6/
3rd row seat, etc. Approx out-the-door-price
is $30,000 with all the accessories. Pilot is more in the category
of the Toyota Highlander--more power, larger, more luxurious/expensive.
CR-V price with accessories (EX version) is $22,000-23,000
even at MSRP. OK some dealers are taking advantage, so this might vary by which area of
the country you live in.
- I priced the Toyota RAV4; a RAV4 with all the bells and whistles that come with a CR-V
EX (6-disc changer, moonroof, privacy tint, etc)
would be in the $ 26-28K range.
- If you think about it, for all the changes in the 2002 CR-V,
its price is only $1,500 - 2,000 more than the 2001 (EX) model.
I owned a Honda Accord for 7 years, and took it to Germany where I lived for a while. On
the German autobahn, it didn't pass any BMWs or Mercedess, but it was no slouch. I sold
that Accord and missed it. Owning a Honda now (the CR-V I bought last Dec), I remember
the joy of owning such a reliable, well-made, and fun-to-drive car.
I'm not too mechanically-inclined, but I've changed oil/oil filter on this CR-V--very easy to
do. I'm using synthetic (oil) because I plan to keep this car for a long time.
Balance what I got versus the price I paid, and taking into consideration my needs
(99.99% city and long drives; almost never go off-road, small family), the Honda CR-V
suits me very well.
Bonyparte - If you look hard enough, you'll see that the little mark on Cindy Crawford's cheek is actually a mole. Also, one of her eyes opens wider than the other. It must be very difficult for her to live her lifestyle with such terrible deformities.
If you look hard enough, you'll find a post from the owner of a '99 CR-V owner who had her car declared a lemon. That was the same year it was ranked the most reliable SUV on the US market. Look for the number of people that have '00 models who had the PTTR issue. Then find the most reliable vehicle (in any class) for that year.
Here's the deal... Look hard enough and you'll find all kinds of problems. People love to complain. It's a bigger national sport than baseball. But until we have data (not anecdotes), you will never know. Running around the internet trying to take a survey isn't going to do anything other than add hype to problems that may or may not exist.
To answer your question about adding sound dampening, they did. There is more in the new CR-V than the old one. However, they cannot coat the entire car with it. It's heavy and it's expensive. Quite frankly, they have more important things to correct.
You are correct. This is not rocket science. All we have to ask is one very unscientific question... Does a problem truly exist, or do we just have an unproven theory?
Have to respectfully disagree - problems exist on their own, not what someone does to research them.
"Quite frankly, they have more important things to correct"
What would these more important items be?
If I had my engine steam cleaned every morning and drove a lot during the day, my engine would have a mess of road salt deposits at the end of the day. This to me IS a problem. I really like the V and would buy it again. Yes I have the clicking noise and rocking seat but these to me are minor gripes. And I believe I can solve THIS problem by installing boots in the wheel wells. Thanks for your input.
"Running around the internet trying to take a survey isn't going to do anything other than add hype to problems that may or may not exist."
Have to respectfully disagree - problems exist on their own, not what someone does to research them.
Unless of course someone becomes overly concerned about a single instance of a reported problem, and starts posting on every message board they can find in an attempt to make it an "issue".
Varmint:
"Quite frankly, they have more important things to correct"
What would these more important items be?
Dagnabit! Now you've started bonyparte on another witch hunt!!!
Cut me some slack, it's Friday.
-juice
But there's that big hole underneath that has your suggested 50 mph wind blowing by it as it passes under the vehicle, and the fairly large one above the front bumper that forces air through the radiator and into the engine compartment. Seems to me the force of the air coming straight in through the radiator would cause engine compartment air to be forced out the holes in the fender linings.
Hmmm...I wonder if that would cause the inside of the alloy wheels to corrode faster!!!
And I live a short distance East of you, and while we haven't had nearly as much snow, they do use about the same volumes of salt. My '99 EX with no holes in the fender linings has salt residue on the underside of the engine hood. Doesn't take holes to toss moisture around. JM2C.
-juice
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/scname2002/lst?&.dir=/hitch&.src=ph&.view=t&.last=1
I don't think this is a problem, there's nothing in the back of the engine bay/ firewall that lookes moisture or rust prone. A few metal tubing and pipes look like the non-rusting kind.
The engine and underside of all vehicles are explosed to road salt. It's something you have to live with if you live in the snow belt.
JM2C
I'm willing to bet a lot of money Honda didn't put the holes in the fender linings to intentionally increase the amount of gunk that gets into the engine compartment.
Since Honda hasn't decided to officially share the reasons for the design, we can only speculate as to why the holes are there. But let's not assume that it's a design flaw because there's some extra salt buildup inside an already exposed engine compartment.
JM2C (Just My 2 Cents, FWIW)
...my '99 EX with _no_ holes in the fender linings gets salt deposits through out the engine compartment, even on the underside of the engine hood.
Better?
"...I believe I can solve THIS problem by installing boots in the wheel wells."
So you're changing the design of the wheel well linings by covering these holes you see as a problem with "boots".
You also said:
"There are sections of sheet metal in the engine area and even some pieces of sheet metal in the wells that are not undercoated. These are prime rust areas."
Do you have proof that Honda didn't add undercoating, or are you making it up to try to prove your point? Please cite references, as I would like to contact my lawyer about a possible class action lawsuit if Honda has failed to properly rust coat exposed pieces of sheet metal on it's vehicles.
Thank you.
after a service.Now I see the Honda service dept
is a lot busier. To encourage you to bring it back they make every other oil change free as long as you own it.The only gripe I have with the car is a personnel matter,It was suppose to be detailed but there was dust all over the dash
and some white overspray on the door panel and dash which I cleaned off with PK plastic cleaner.
It is no wonder America can't make a decent car
when people have no pride in their work.As far as
the car goes I hope it perks up after the breakin
period when I can floor it.I love the visibility
and nimbleness in suburban settings.Will take it
on a freeway jaunt this weekend and see what it is like for longer distances.The Rav 4,Santa Fe,
Escape,all felt smaller inside but the Escape did have one killer stereo.I paid $22740 and include the pro pack ($600),Those items in propack cost
about $300 if bought on internet.The closest
competition is the Santa FE LX V6 ($21500)internet price plus another $1000 for a moonroof.
So they are almost equal.
Bonyparte - Yes, Honda does have "real" problems, but we'll never get around to discussing them while you're whipping up a frenzy over solenoid clicking and a car that stalled.
FWIW, I'd recommend that you look at something in the $50K range. The kind of quality you are expecting does not exist in an entry level car.
CanadianCL - Yep. It's a mole. But if you ask anyone in the industry, they'll tell you that it gave Cindy's face character and helped launch her career. Now younger models are painting them on to look just like her. As for the eyes opening wide on one side, look in the mirror. Your's do too. Just like mine and everyone else's. But when you look for faults as hard as Bonyparte, you'll see faults and miss the rest.
TheRacoon - All this reminds me of the old days when the 1st gen CR-V was selling like hotcakes. People were buying them based on their reputation alone. We had a guy here that posted, "Don't go near the CR-V with a ten foot pole". Turns out he bought one expecting to go off-roading and was dissapointed when it couldn't handle the Jeep trails. Umm... duh!! He bought it based on the fact that everyone else seemed to like it. He didn't bother to learn about the car, he just bought one because other people liked it.
I've read about other 1st gen buyers who assumed that reliability and quality also meant refined and luxurious. What they bought was a loud little entry level SUV with durable plastics that were everything except flashy and trend-setting.
Everyone has different expectations. What gets me most is the, "I'm paying a lot of money", reasoning. Yes, a new car is not chump change. But I honestly can't remember the last time I bought perfection for less than $25K...
With regard to the manual transmission, coming from a 93 MX-6, I'm really impressed with the short tight throws on this stick - all the other cars I drove in the under 25k range couldn't come close to Honda's feel.
Living here in the Pacific NW, I don't have to worry about road salt but I will have to worry about bucketloads of rainfall - guess I have to hope that Honda engineers didn't blow it with the open wheel well design - just seems too obvious to be overlooked if it was a potential source for problems.
I also highly recommend Griffith Motors in the Dalles for anyone out here in the Northwest. Just a beautiful 90 minute drive from Portland down the Columbia Gorge. None of the dealers between Seattle and Portland would even discuss coming down below MSRP+1K (with the notable exception of St. Johns Honda at MSRP and Griffith Motors at invoice + $900). They say demand's so high, even they have jacked their price by $400 since February - I think they're pre-ordered thru early Summer. These guys were class all the way and I didn't have to even put down a deposit (they said if I backed out, they'd find a buyer within days).
I'm kind of anti-clique but this little CRV community has an appeal all its own - I hope to write and read more about people's experiences over the coming months. By the way, no seat rocking for me either. Good luck all and thanks again.
T-hip
And, btw, just because the metal is unpainted doesn't mean it's untreated. Otherwise all steel and alloy wheels would be corroding before they left the dealer lot.
the MDX which at $35000 is a bit of overkill.So far I look forward to a drive anywhere in my CRV
being very practical and more comfortable than
my old CL coupe.The only downsisde is my son said it is a girl's car and the another guy said "Is that your wifes car?".Do I have to have a lifted
gas hog rough riding beast to be a guy?I don't
think so.
For those who bought EX in NY/NJ area.
Black EX automatic for $23,800 including destination charge and following options: running boards, fog light kit, door visor, moonroof visor, front splash guards, wheel locks, all season floor mats, cigarette lighter, ashtray, cargo area cover, leather steering wheel cover.
Wait time - 4 weeks.
Is it a good deal ?
Thanks.