Can I recommend them for an all-weather appliance?
Typical weak points? Catastrophic failures or typical Honda longevity?
Can I recommend them for an all-weather appliance?
Typical weak points? Catastrophic failures or typical Honda longevity?
They are the easiest car to recommend to non sporting drivers. Everyone likes then and they are good in all categories. Though, they hold their value so used prices tend to be high.
Absolutely! Not exciting, but dead reliable. We've had ours for several years without trouble. Last time I checked Consumer Reports rated it the most reliable Honda vehicle. And you obviously already know about Honda reliability. (Caution - One person here is going to tell you they are junk. Don't listen to them.
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My experience is that they are the Honda of CUVs. Nothing in the category is a reliable or practical. Can't go wrong with it as an appliance.
I've heard the early first Gen ones with automatics are SLOWWWWW. I think they upped the HP before that gen ended.
I'd rock a 1st gen with a stick in a heartbeat. If you find them slow, there's plenty of ways to fix that. They're just B20 motors.
A couple years back, there was a lowered one running around here with a GSR swap and a turbo. 
My wife had a 2007 CR-V before her current 2013 model and agree with everyone else that they are rock solid reliable. They have a ton of room inside for its relatively small footprint which is nice for crowded cities. My only complaint is the numb steering and ride however, this is ideal for my wife as well as long trips.
I had a 2005 for 4 years, never one problem.
There was something with the 2nd gens A/C compressor nuking itself but other than that they are good.
had the wife's '03 since new....only problem ever was an ac compressor last year. steering rack is shared with the civic, and really it drives pretty decent. tons of cargo room, especially with the rear seats folded. i have zero bad to say, it's the best car i've ever owned for reliabilty with no plans to replace it.
and at 122k miles it's still on it's second set of tires and brakes. honda goodness at it's best....
The manual transmission cars with k series motors can be converted to a 6 speed by adding the gears, without removing the transmission. Apparently fairly cheap and not that hard.
Stuff to know:
Every couple hundred miles, you have to open a little door on the outside of the vehicle toward the rear and pour some petroleum distillate into the connected tank.
Every few thousand, you have to go to a quicklube place and pay them $30 to change the petroleum in the engine and put on a new filter.
That's about it.
dinger wrote: Stuff to know: Every couple hundred miles, you have to open a little door on the outside of the vehicle toward the rear and pour some petroleum distillate into the connected tank. Every few thousand, you have to go to a quicklube place and pay them $30 to change the petroleum in the engine and put on a new filter. That's about it.
Not true. You can do that second step yourself.
dinger wrote: Stuff to know: Every couple hundred miles, you have to open a little door on the outside of the vehicle toward the rear and pour some petroleum distillate into the connected tank. Every few thousand, you have to go to a quicklube place and pay them $30 to change the petroleum in the engine and put on a new filter. That's about it.
IF you do the second, expect to replace the now sludged engine thanks to Pennzoil. So, please don't do that. Go to a place that will either use the oil of your choice or do it yourself.
In reply to dinger:
See? I freaking KNEW it was a maintainance nightmare!
Is this something I can have done at a licensed Honda Dealer or maybe a certified mechanic?
If so I'm going to Hennessy Honda or whatever that place is I keep hearing good things about.
First gen, once every 50,000 or so, you might want to change the double-pump fluid in the diff. The drive clutches start to get a bit grabby, and it will shudder going around tight turns.
Second gen, the front crank seal leaks sometimes, but its a chain drive engine, so easy peasy.
Sometimes the brakes and tires wear out.
First Gen are timing belts? 2002 and later are chains?
Switched to chains when it went to the K-series engine. Dunno what year that was.
First gens are from the time when Honda was making really really good vehicles.
My wife's 99 EX was so reliable it was laughable. Things didn't start going wrong with it until 175k (EVAP purge system issues followed by power lock issues). Got rid of it at 214k on the original suspension and rear drums. 2 sets of front brakes and 2 sets of tires.
Change the rear diff fluid when you get it. Few people do it, but apparently, it's key to longevity.
MONSTER car in the snow on all seasons. It might cross Antarctica on winter tires.
Wiki says 2002 and newer are K Series with chains while 2001 and older were B Series with belts.
ebonyandivory wrote: Wiki says 2002 and newer are K Series with chains while 2001 and older were B Series with belts.
Sounds right to me. Whenever we do a Tbelt here, there is a bit of cursing about exactly why the ABS pump is right where you need to be working. Rav4 is worse, though.
ebonyandivory wrote: In reply to dinger: See? I freaking KNEW it was a maintainance nightmare! Is this something I can have done at a licensed Honda Dealer or maybe a certified mechanic? If so I'm going to Hennessy Honda or whatever that place is I keep hearing good things about.
If you go by that Honda place be sure to take them a bagodix. Poopshovel will thank you.
I had a used 2000 5 speed that burnt an exhaust valve @ 90K. Redid that and it ran great for 5K till my spouse totaled it. I guess the Euro owners manual for the rig had a 50K valve adjust that the US couldn't be bothered with.
Well, my Insight is supposed to get valve adjustments every 30k or something like that and it now has 347k and i dont think it's had one. Granted, it does need it at this point!
1st and 2nd gen CRVs are awesome vehicles if you value the things they do well.
Also, i dont find the 1g autos to be particularly slow unless you are offended by downshifts for some reason. They have decent mid and higher rpm power.
Vigo wrote: Well, my Insight is supposed to get valve adjustments every 30k or something like that and it now has 347k and i dont think it's had one. Granted, it does need it at this point!
I concur. My Mom has a 2004 automatic CR-V LX AWD with ~170,000 miles on it. Brakes have been done thrice (first by some dealership numbnuts and the rest by me), close to 2 years ago it needed a starter and this year it needed an alternator. Oh and the passenger rear brake caliper decided to start seizing so it needed one of those. She keeps ALL the fluids changed and the damn thing still drives like new. The interior isn't even showing any wear! It gets ~24 MPG with her suburban driving and IIRC 26 MPG on the highway(70MPH+)
TL;DR 2nd Gen CR-V is an excellent CUV. Total beast. She keeps threatening to sell it for something that gets better gas mileage and I am tempted to buy it if she does sell.
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