Hey fellas,
I was wondering if it's just me, or do you also have an experience
I regret buying the wife's CR-V in my sig at 86k miles, bought it last year with 79k miles and paid $15k CAD. I've been a Honda guy and I've been driving a Honda continuously since 2004 (and since 1998 if I add family cars to the list). This is my 7th Honda/Acura product and I can easily say that by far the most disappointing one.
1) Oil consumption - yeah Hondas are known to burn oil, not for me. This is the first and only (out of 7) Honda that burns oil, not a lot but even my sportier (Civic SI - Euro spec EP3 Type-R) Civics that were revving over 8000 rpm didn't burn any oil, not even a drop. Fortunately, oil consumption has dropped quite a bit after changing the PCV, but it's still there (0.3-0.5 qt every 3k miles). I'll try different brand/type of oils to see if it changes anything.
2) Transmission issues - yes it will not leave you stranded on the side of the road, it's a Honda. I especially chose 2014 model year to avoid the CVT, but guess what? They have torque converter problems. Honda updated the software to fix the 3rd gear shuddering and Valvoline Maxlife ATF also helped hiding the problem, but the problem is mechanical and software update is just a band aid. (Note - I always change my ATF every other oil change)
3) AWD System - It is all wheel drive version, as long as front wheels have traction. If front wheels start to spin, then it becomes a front wheel drive as it can't send any usable amount of power to the rear wheels. So basically, it is a front wheel drive car that can rotate the rear wheels if needed. It would also overheat super quickly (5 minutes of deep snow driving with few wheel spins) and officially becomes a front wheel drive car by giving you CEL for AWD system.
This is not just me, there is a video about this problem. I tried it myself and the result is 100% same.
4) Overall engine performance - I am not a person that demands high power from a soccer mom SUV, as my previous daily driver was an Acura CSX with 2.0L n/a engine that pumps out 150 hp, but that car was smoother and accelerated much better than the CR-V. I know having a rear diff and AWD makes things heavier, but I am talking more about the engine character.
Honda decided to use the same (or very similar) engine from 2012+ Civic SI with the K24 engine, which engages VTEC around 5200 rpm. Our CR-V redlines around 6500 rpm, so it revs significantly less than the Civic SI (redlines at 7200 rpm) but dumb Honda engineers kept the VTEC engagement point at 5200 rpm instead of lowering it down to 4000 rpm range. As a result, you only have 1200-1300 rpm to accelerate with decent torque/power.
Due to the long gear ratios (for better MPG), every time it upshifts the rpms drop down to 4500, so you have to wait literally for more than 2-3 seconds to get back to VTEC zone (5200 rpm) to have decent amount of roll on power again. It's like an on and off switch that you have to go through every gear. Of course, you have nothing below 5000 rpm as it is designed for a sportier compact sedan that's meant to rev, but for a CR-V - it's a terrible decision.
It doesn't end there, the transmission tune makes things even worse, as it wants to upshift constantly below 50% throttle, so you constantly have to fight throttle pedal to keep the revs high enough to get going. As a result - MPG sucks. You have to be very patient to have anything over 20 MPG. My long term (since I bought it) average is around 22 MPG and I live in a suburb, so it never sees stop and go traffic. According to Honda, the average consumption is (or should be) 25 MPG.
Last but not least, the VTC cam gear noise. After driving so many other K20/K24 engine variations before the CR-V, this is the first engine that does this noise at cold startup (occasionally). I just don't understand this. K20/K24's been on the market for the last 20 years without a problem, and instead of improving things, Honda decided to go backwards and wanted to make your life more "fun" by adding more problems to the proven platform. I didn't have this problem in my EP3 Type-R, Civic SI and/or Acura CSX and they were all built several years before the CR-V.
5) Interior quality - this car was around $35.000 CAD when it was brand new, now they sell it for $45.000. I can't believe the interior quality is this bad, there is absolutely zero soft touch material anywhere in the dashboard. Thankfully, the seats are quite comfortable, and I like having a separate armrest for both driver and passenger, and that's pretty much it. You may say "it's a Honda", yes I wasn't expecting S-Class interior, but I was expecting to see better build quality and materials than my 2009 CSX or any other Hondas from 2000s.
6) Small problems - first thing came to my mind is the trunk latch gets frozen if the temperatures drop below 40 degrees (closer to 0c), I think it's an electronic actuator, but pretty annoying for a car that is meant to be simple and "reliable", don't understand why they wanted to reinvent the wheel. In Toronto, winter temps are constantly below 40f, meaning that you can't open the trunk pretty much whole winter time.
There are also good things about it, I love the practicality and overall interior space is great for this size of a car. I also like the driving position as it feels more like a truck with great visibility, I am sure it'll last long time if I do maintenance on time. That's pretty much it. My expectations weren't that high, as I mentioned I drove 2009 car and I was pretty happy with it. I was just expecting better from one of the bestselling compact SUVs of the last decade, but now I know why people say 2010-2016 is the worst era for Honda.
I am not going to sell it for now, but I am planning to do DIY valve adjustment/spark plugs (earlier than scheduled) and hope it'd perform better with those changes.
Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to share my honest experience for people who are looking to buy 2012-2014 CR-V, hope it helps.
I was wondering if it's just me, or do you also have an experience
I regret buying the wife's CR-V in my sig at 86k miles, bought it last year with 79k miles and paid $15k CAD. I've been a Honda guy and I've been driving a Honda continuously since 2004 (and since 1998 if I add family cars to the list). This is my 7th Honda/Acura product and I can easily say that by far the most disappointing one.
1) Oil consumption - yeah Hondas are known to burn oil, not for me. This is the first and only (out of 7) Honda that burns oil, not a lot but even my sportier (Civic SI - Euro spec EP3 Type-R) Civics that were revving over 8000 rpm didn't burn any oil, not even a drop. Fortunately, oil consumption has dropped quite a bit after changing the PCV, but it's still there (0.3-0.5 qt every 3k miles). I'll try different brand/type of oils to see if it changes anything.
2) Transmission issues - yes it will not leave you stranded on the side of the road, it's a Honda. I especially chose 2014 model year to avoid the CVT, but guess what? They have torque converter problems. Honda updated the software to fix the 3rd gear shuddering and Valvoline Maxlife ATF also helped hiding the problem, but the problem is mechanical and software update is just a band aid. (Note - I always change my ATF every other oil change)
3) AWD System - It is all wheel drive version, as long as front wheels have traction. If front wheels start to spin, then it becomes a front wheel drive as it can't send any usable amount of power to the rear wheels. So basically, it is a front wheel drive car that can rotate the rear wheels if needed. It would also overheat super quickly (5 minutes of deep snow driving with few wheel spins) and officially becomes a front wheel drive car by giving you CEL for AWD system.
This is not just me, there is a video about this problem. I tried it myself and the result is 100% same.
4) Overall engine performance - I am not a person that demands high power from a soccer mom SUV, as my previous daily driver was an Acura CSX with 2.0L n/a engine that pumps out 150 hp, but that car was smoother and accelerated much better than the CR-V. I know having a rear diff and AWD makes things heavier, but I am talking more about the engine character.
Honda decided to use the same (or very similar) engine from 2012+ Civic SI with the K24 engine, which engages VTEC around 5200 rpm. Our CR-V redlines around 6500 rpm, so it revs significantly less than the Civic SI (redlines at 7200 rpm) but dumb Honda engineers kept the VTEC engagement point at 5200 rpm instead of lowering it down to 4000 rpm range. As a result, you only have 1200-1300 rpm to accelerate with decent torque/power.
Due to the long gear ratios (for better MPG), every time it upshifts the rpms drop down to 4500, so you have to wait literally for more than 2-3 seconds to get back to VTEC zone (5200 rpm) to have decent amount of roll on power again. It's like an on and off switch that you have to go through every gear. Of course, you have nothing below 5000 rpm as it is designed for a sportier compact sedan that's meant to rev, but for a CR-V - it's a terrible decision.
It doesn't end there, the transmission tune makes things even worse, as it wants to upshift constantly below 50% throttle, so you constantly have to fight throttle pedal to keep the revs high enough to get going. As a result - MPG sucks. You have to be very patient to have anything over 20 MPG. My long term (since I bought it) average is around 22 MPG and I live in a suburb, so it never sees stop and go traffic. According to Honda, the average consumption is (or should be) 25 MPG.
Last but not least, the VTC cam gear noise. After driving so many other K20/K24 engine variations before the CR-V, this is the first engine that does this noise at cold startup (occasionally). I just don't understand this. K20/K24's been on the market for the last 20 years without a problem, and instead of improving things, Honda decided to go backwards and wanted to make your life more "fun" by adding more problems to the proven platform. I didn't have this problem in my EP3 Type-R, Civic SI and/or Acura CSX and they were all built several years before the CR-V.
5) Interior quality - this car was around $35.000 CAD when it was brand new, now they sell it for $45.000. I can't believe the interior quality is this bad, there is absolutely zero soft touch material anywhere in the dashboard. Thankfully, the seats are quite comfortable, and I like having a separate armrest for both driver and passenger, and that's pretty much it. You may say "it's a Honda", yes I wasn't expecting S-Class interior, but I was expecting to see better build quality and materials than my 2009 CSX or any other Hondas from 2000s.
6) Small problems - first thing came to my mind is the trunk latch gets frozen if the temperatures drop below 40 degrees (closer to 0c), I think it's an electronic actuator, but pretty annoying for a car that is meant to be simple and "reliable", don't understand why they wanted to reinvent the wheel. In Toronto, winter temps are constantly below 40f, meaning that you can't open the trunk pretty much whole winter time.
There are also good things about it, I love the practicality and overall interior space is great for this size of a car. I also like the driving position as it feels more like a truck with great visibility, I am sure it'll last long time if I do maintenance on time. That's pretty much it. My expectations weren't that high, as I mentioned I drove 2009 car and I was pretty happy with it. I was just expecting better from one of the bestselling compact SUVs of the last decade, but now I know why people say 2010-2016 is the worst era for Honda.
I am not going to sell it for now, but I am planning to do DIY valve adjustment/spark plugs (earlier than scheduled) and hope it'd perform better with those changes.
Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to share my honest experience for people who are looking to buy 2012-2014 CR-V, hope it helps.
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