Looking to get a slightly used CRV to take the pressure off of my Tahoe[that I plan to keep forever].
Good, bad, or whatever you know about them would be appreciated.
Thanks

There's a 2010 2WD model sitting in front of my house right now.

I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. Too many good things about them to write about, better to pick the thing I don't like.

I don't like the fact that I can't tow 7,500lb like I can with my '06 Tundra.

29-32mpg depending on how I drive it and where. Routinely gets 29+ at 75mph.

Only issues are recall related to airbags and some consume oil faster than they should. That is also covered under warranty if mine were to start drinking oil, which it does not.

Ed

I have two, both bought used. a 2012 and a 2014. have put 30,000 on them so far. no flaws found.

Can't say enough good about them. We've owed four: 2001 [totaled at 313,000 miles], 1997 [wife's runabout], 2001 [daughter's college car], 2005 my runabout. I like the Gen I the best (but you do have to change the timing belt every 80K on the Gen I). Don't know much about the newer ones, but I have a couple friends who own
newer ones (2013, 2015)and they like them a lot.

I personally have not owned one, but my brother has owned 2; 1 used that he bought from a dealer and put 50-60 K miles on it when the dealer informed him that they would buy it back for the price he paid them because they found records indicating it had water damage from one of the Gulf Coast storms.

He took them up on their offer and bought a new one from the dealer when he brought his in ( I would take that offer from a dealer also). He put over 100K on it without issue.

He wound up getting a Suburu Forester when he moved to the NC mountains after retirement and was looking for a lower mileage vehicle. He says the Suburu has about 1 inch more ground clearance than the CRV, but he never had issues with the CRV.

I've driven 1/2 ton pickups for over 40 years, but was very impressed with both the CRV and the Suburu when I've ridden with him.

I had one in Japan and loved it.

BTW, among most Japanese cars, it has the most interior space, including legroom. Much more than the Acura, per one very large friend.

Also, the controls and storage spaces are darned well thought out.

I have a 2004 AWD version. I bought mine with 34K miles on it last year in Texas. Yes, a grandma car. Paid $8K out the door. Since I have relocated here to Michigan, I have tested it out rather well. It is great in the snow on improved roads. I dont use it as an off road vehicle but I am sure it would do worlds better than a front wheel drive car.

I bought mine to give my Dodge 1500 Hemi 4x4 Crew cab a break from daily driving.

So far, I am glad that I bought it. Zero issues. Runs awesome. I would pass on the vehicle if you dont get the AWD version.

The gas tank on mine is too small. Maybe later versions are bigger. Get one that is made in Japan. Forget the English version. Heard they have a host of issues. The only issues with the Japanese version is the air conditioning compressors have a knack for going. Mine works great.

They are noisy. But I put a brand new set of Michelin Defenders on mine after purchase, and that made a huge difference.

There are well known to go to 200K miles plus with prudent fluid changes. Again, if not the AWD version, I would skip it. If yes, they are great. Japanese versions are top quality.

Hope that helps.

RAS

Wife had one, she loved it, I hated it.
Maybe because I'm 6'-5" and weigh 260 lb's
It sucks unless you're average to small in height and weight.

I have a '13 as a daily driver. They hold their value well,so a lot of times it doesn't make sense to buy slightly used.

Zero issues with ours so far.

My good buddy has one that won't quit. But if you're 6'4" you better hope your buddy that's driving doesn't hit anything, because the first thing to go are your kneecaps.

^^^ This. Wife had a 2006, not comfortable plus unacceptably noisey on the road.
Traded for a 2009 Pilot, much better.

I had a 2009 all-wheel drive. It was a good and reliable car. Mileage was not all that great at about 25 mpg. The all-wheel drive models are know to eat tires, I think I changed my first set at 22-25 k miles.

You do hear a lot of road noise and it's a bit top heavy so you really feel side winds.

I got a 2016 Suburu Forrester and I like it better. Just as much if not more room. Seems to have a lower center of gravity. Better mileage....granted it is a newer car. Much quieter too.

All that said, the CRV is a good car.

I have a 2002 with about 195K on it. Best rig I ever bought.

My wife drives a 2004 AWD. I would have to pry it from her cold, dead hands. As reliable as a brick. Great 4 season car. Negatives- high road noise and fragile AC compressors (ours was replaced under extended warranty/ dealer good will). We will buy another.

2004 AWD here as well, it just passed 100,000 miles. Road noise is a bit much at highway speeds, not a factor on city streets, although choice of tires does influence that. It gets its normal oil changes and service at recommended intervals and I've never had a problem with anything on mine.

I've taken road trips of 1200-1500 miles in it and it's fine for that, it is steady at 80 mph which is our freeway speed limit these days. "Enough" power for passing on mountainous two lane roads but give yourself a little extra room anyway. Would prefer something else to drive back and forth across the USA but for those shorter trips it was fine. Decent ground clearance so it will handle some pretty washed out and rutted dirt roads and light off road duty but obviously it isn't a hard core off road vehicle.

As a city runabout and daily commuter it's terrific, I couldn't ask for better. Easy to maneuver in tight parking lots, high enough to see over most cars in traffic, good visibility all around and enough room in back for most anything you'd need. I've brought home 10' 2x4's and a 12' ladder in mine sticking out the back window.

Will have to see what is available when it's time to get rid of mine, currently that looks to be sometime around 2028 or so...

I don't think you can go wrong with any Honda as a commuter.

My wife owns an '08. Road noise is an issue. Power steering pumps/racks are known to be problematic. Honda knows about the issue but has not/will not recall.

OK guys, the high road noise comments concern tire noise or driveline stuff? Tires are an easy enough fix. Driveline noise, not so much. Where do you think it's coming from.

I see Jim in ID states tires are part of the problem. Anyone else got a comment about the "road noise"?

Thinking of one of these, Toyota RAV4, or Subaru Forester for our next vehicle (for the wife and dogs).

Thanks,

Geno

Wife has an '05 that has about 115k on it. She loves it. I enjoy it but prefer bigger and quieter.
We have Michelin Defenders on it and it's noticably louder than my 4runner. I am 6'4" and wish for more room. I don't like the center console as it doesn't allow me to spread my legs/knees out far enough on the drivers side. On the passenger side, my knees are about 1.5" from the dash and seat is all the way back. Kids in car seats in the back don't have much room behind me, but that is true in most cars.
It's had regular maintenance and runs well. I was pissed when we first got it and I tried to teach her to drive in the snow and recover from a spin. Darn thing wouldn't slip or slide, regardless of how fast I was trying to go and no matter how quickly I turned the steering wheel and accelerated. Once I found the button to turn off the anti stability control or whatever they call it, it was much more fun to slide around in.
Great cars, if you're tall, I'd look at others.

Wife has an 08 4WD that we bought new. It has 120k now and has been reliable. Road noise from tires is my only major complaint. On our 4th set of tires now. Changed brake pads at 90k but they could have lasted a little longer. The legroom is a little cramped for me on long trips but I just stop a little more often. Would certainly buy another.

We had ours 2 years before we ever drove it in any snow that required more than a front wheel drive vehicle. It performs very well in ice and I have been surprised with how well it does.

From what I can tell it's all tire noise, the back cargo area isn't insulated against noise very well. When I bought mine folks on-line complained about the original equipment tires, when I bought new ones I could tell the noise was less. It's not terrible but at 65+ mph on the freeway you have to turn the radio volume up a bit to hear. Less than that it isn't an issue. Keeping the back seat up mitigates that but I usually keep mine down since I use the full cargo area most of the time.

Thanks Jim, and others,

What size tires do these CrV's use? I'm really happy with my Michelin LT2's from Costco on my Tacoma. I get decent traction on gravel/rock type roads where I hunt and not much road noise.

Are you folks using a more "aggressive" tire?

Geno

PS, I saw someone mentioned a Michelin Defender. I'm not familiar with those. Guess I'll have to look them up.

Geno,

I know it's not quite fair to compare my 2009 CRV to my 2016 Suburu Forrester, but I much prefer the Forrester.

Pm me if you wanna chat.

I would attribute the road noise in our 2006 to poor sound insulation. We didn't have the AWD and ran only high mileage type tires. To me it didn't seem limited to the rear, I could hear it easily from the front passenger seat coming from below.
After two 900 mile road trips I told the wife no more.

My wife has an '05 that we bought used, it now has 180K on it and she loves it as a commuter car. Me not so much as I have a Pilot and find the CRV seats to be hard and not comfortable for long drives. But hey as long as she is happy I'm fine with it. On the plus side it has always been good reliable transportation. Her sister just purchased an '012 with about 30K on it, the newer ones are pretty nice though I've not yet ridden in it.

140k on Momma's 2003 we purchased new. Starter motor, battery and clutch master/slave cylinders are the only things I've replaced besides regular maintenance and a headlight wire harness recall. As others have stated, road noise at freeway speeds is noticeable. We had it fully undercoated before we drove it off the lot. New Michelin rubber also mitigated it some. We'll likely get another down the road....

We are on our third. First was a 97 that we got rid of with 220K. No major issues. Second was an 04 with a manual transmission that we gave to our son with 200K. He used it as a smelt shack, 4 wheeler, and back and forth to school car. Ended up getting t-boned when a woman ran a red light. Car had just under 300K on it and no major issues.



My wife now has a 2010. Nice vehicle but I wonder if it is going to be as reliable as the older ones. We have had no issues at all (76K) but it seems "cheaper" to me.

The CRV is the only vehicle I know of that was marketed directly to woman....CRV EX = CERVIX

Wife has one since 2014. Bought it cause of reputation and also cargo area let me fit two dog kennels in it with our hunting gear. Been a great vehicle in the snow and on the highway.

I drive an Xterra and once it goes I am thinking about taking the CRV and getting her a new car, IF I can get over having leather seats in a hunting vehicle, and IF it can tow my 1200# boat without damaging the drivetrain or motor!

Ok
I used to be 6'4" but am down to 6'3" as I age. It's been a while since I've been in my brothers CRV so maybe I forgot the size deal. I have to do something[gonna give my wife my Mazda3 commuter and get rid of her POS Sebring] and like the thought of a little cargo space and Honda reliability. But from reading the posts I'm thinking I'm a bit tall for one. Gonna go find one on a local lot and drive tonight.

The newer ones (2015 at least) are better on the road noise.

We've had two, loved them, son now has one. We are a Honda family except for my tacoma cause honda doesn't have a pickup that isn't butt ugle.

Will be getting 2015 or 2016 CRV in the coming month for my wife.

It's tire noise. My wife's AWD Element (the thing that looks like a midget bread truck) likes rib tires. Mud and snows aren't really needed, the AWD is flat outstanding. Super reliable vehicle. Hauls dead deer home and cleans up easy.

Not so good to hit Bambi with though. I hit my one and only deer a few years back doing 40 or so and it did $6000+ worth of damage. The good part is that it snapped her neck clean and didn't ruin any meat. Not a speck.

I used it to pull a drunk woman in a Ford extended cab out of a swamp with some mule tape. Her husband refused to believe his truck got pulled out by a Honda with a piece of thread, cost him his man card when it walked the Ford out and didn't even spin the wheels on the ice.

Thanks all for the input regarding road noise, tires, insulation etc.

If we do ever look at one, I'm gonna have to take it out on the highway to listen. Some noise it one thing, but when so many notice it there must be something going on.

Geno

After all the good talk, had to take it in for an alternator. Shop manual says 2.3 hours and the reman Honda ones aren't cheap. Would have done myself, but damn, if a pro takes 2.3 hours, might take my 4-6. Paying $291 to have someone else do it right is hard on a cheap guy, but might keep the wifey happy!

The days of cheap auto repairs are gone. In general, Hondas are not real easy to work on, and the only way to do it is Hondas way. Factory manuals are a must have.