CRV's, are they that good?

I say this because if I decide to help my father purchase a vehicle I don't want to really work on it anymore. I know from personal anecdotes and experience that CRV's tend to just not have issues. This would be ideal IMO because he is closing on 67 and me 40 so wrenching is becoming a thing of the pass.
Used prices are very high.. What's your Dad driving now?
 
If you get a 2015 or 2016 with the 2.4L and CVT be sure to try out driving it in S (sport) mode. It makes the gas peddle much more responsive and the CVT constantly selects ratio so the engine revs a little more and make much more power. S mode turns that sleeper into something with truly respectable acceleration and get up and go. There is a long winding road that I have to drive up often and if there are no vehicles going up that road slowly in-front of me and no cop car behind me, I drop it into S mode even before I get on that hill and have some fun. The bends in the road limit how fast I can go because it is a high vehicle and I do not want to risk roll over. But it has a lot more get up and go then our 2001 Chevy Impala with the 3.4 and automatic trany ever had. The South hills of Pittsburgh has plenty of hills to go up and down.

Another time to use S mode is if you are going to pull out on an entrance ramp to a highway.

Normally ( in D ) the software is always selecting the CVT ratio to get the best MPGs and also the gas peddle response is programed to be lack-luster boring and not aggressive so you keep the engine RPMs low and get the best MPGs. But put it in S mode and it everything is programed to get up and go. Almost like driving a totally different drive train.
 
I say this because if I decide to help my father purchase a vehicle I don't want to really work on it anymore. I know from personal anecdotes and experience that CRV's tend to just not have issues. This would be ideal IMO because he is closing on 67 and me 40 so wrenching is becoming a thing of the pass.
Had a 13 for a short time. Had around 36000 miles on it. Good pts were mpg, comfortable and more roomy than the Ford 2013 Escape. It has a Tiny Battery that can be upgraded with a different trey. Could never get the highway vibration in the steering wheel to go away. At startup I think they rattled and needed a part replaced. And the cooling fan cycled off and on a lot. The ride was good and interior was solid. I ended up getting rid of it after warranty was up as too many things popped up on a lower mileage vehicle. This might just be my example though. Good thing is I didn’t take a bath on resale as they depreciate slowly. I too tried to avoid CVT and the 1.5
 
We have a 2015. I can see why it was the leading small suv in those years. As an appliance, it’s darn near perfect. Reliable, cheap to drive and own, peppy enough even with the CVT, sure-footed - it can handle if you feel like throwing it around, and the mpg is impressive for the size and performance. It is a remarkable appliance and highly practical. Backseat is certainly adult-friendly. Excellent dash layout and ergo. For one who is inclined, the engineers did an impressive job with the Sport mode tuning on the CVT. It truly shouldn’t be that good, but hustle it in rush hour aggressively and, sorry, please don’t revoke my man card, but they actually had some guys do an impressive job with the tuning… one can indeed hustle it in S mode - it communicates well.

detractors. Starter contacts are a known weakness in these. They are noisy on the interstate. While solid, tight, and squeak free, the interior presents miles of plastic. The eps is great around town but I still can’t make peace with it on the interstate. stereo is shamefully non-competitive in a market where most base model systems sound like something the 90s could only dream of; the CRV sounds like something the 90s would have called average. Maybe the road noise was so bad they just gave up? It’s perfectly workable for talk radio, but fans from Beyoncé and Bon Jovi to Bach and Brahms might be disappointed.

if you want practical, reliable, predictable appliance, it’s hard to beat.
 
2019 here.... a great vehicle with no issues...ingress/egress is excellent for me anyway, and all the other 60 plus'ers I see in my town. 1.5t/cvt combo is very good for what it is(honda cvt's one of the best) do I wish for a conventional tranny...sure do...but this CVT blows my wife's 2020 forester away...I am really beginning to hate Subaru for many reasons...anyway easily a 9 out of 10 for me...
 
we have a 16 CRV model, bought it as brand new; we both like the car

after 96K miles and nearly 6 years passed we changed battery once, set of tires once, both brakes back and front once, and key fob battery

the only item we replaced on it its was a gas cap once too; still original light bulbs

however it does consume some oil in between 5K OCI but it seems the rest of the industry does the same with DI engines

needless to say, it still drives smooth as very first day and id buy a new one in a heartbeat

a 2023 model is coming out soon...
 
I know someone who just traded in their Civic with about 250,000 miles on it for a brand new CRV Hybrid.

He really likes it. One thing that is different is that it makes some kind of noise to let people know it’s driving by. I guess it’s for safety reasons.
 
In the rust belt? Hate to say it, but good luck with that unless maybe finding a clean southern CRV.

A 2010 Hondoo in the rust belt is going to be near it's end of life.
You'd be surprised, some fair better than others. Obviously it's always something to check. Most CRV owners I've seen are those who wash and garage keep their cars specifically older folks in my area.
 
Dude, I worked on my friends 07 CX7 Turbo more in the 3 years he had it than I have my mom's 07 CRV EX-L in the 14 years she's owned it.

The third gens really do feel like little tanks.

CRVs all seem to have AC Compressor issues. I heard it wasn't until after 2015 Honda resolved the problem, but buying used means you have a good shot at finding one already fixed. They also seem to chew up tires. Ride is nice but the road noise is on the high side.

Honda paint does suck.

I would say let your dad drive a crv and rav and see which one he likes more.
 
You'd be surprised, some fair better than others. Obviously it's always something to check. Most CRV owners I've seen are those who wash and garage keep their cars specifically older folks in my area.


07 CRV here, seen plenty of salt and looks very good underneath. CRVs seem to be better protected and then all the wheel arches, dog legs, rockers are well guarded.
 
If you can find a decent 2007-2009 model, less than 150k miles, EX-L or EX Trim, one or two owner, maintenance records, that's what I'd be searching for. Nothing newer. Those years are going to be the best.


Otherwise, if you/he wants something newer, I'd go for a 2016-2020 Rav 4, most likely a V6, look for maintenance records and less than 10k mile oil changes.


Anything else, you are asking for $$$$$ service and repair bills.
 
For 2022, the Toyota Rav4 betters the CR-V in interior room, 0-60, MPG, and reliability. The CR-V is a great SUV, but the Rav4 showed better when we were researching for a 2022 mid-sized SUV. We decided on a Rav4 Hybrid AWD Limited model...0-60 in 7.1 secs, 40-60 MPG, and quiet when driven.
 
CR-V's, they also can have their share of problems. Don't get a Gen 3 from Canada or any salt state in the US, there is a recall on some of them for rusted out unibody frames and rear suspension supports that fail because of it, honda had a buy back, and would rather do that than the fix. Someone mentioned the door latches that can cause trouble.
Then there is the VTC actuator problems, that some people live with when it happens if it happens, its a cold start rattle that last a few seconds that could be confused with a timing chain rattle, that would be more of a problem of course. And like other cars with fly by wire gas pedals there have been unintended acceleration issues with them, not widely known.
 
hahahhahaha............................

Our 2017 CRV Touring has had more issues than any new car we have ever purchased. And I'm old.

Funny thing though. The engine and drivetrain are just fine. 1.5L T and CVT, seem pretty bullet proof.

LIKES: MPG for the provided power to the ground + ability to carry a good amount of stuff. Really really easy to get over 30MPG. For a fully loaded car, my perception, this is great

DISLIKES: The wiring is sheet. Paint thin. Sensors debatable. Brakes are OK once you get some non OEM parts in. Door lock actuators fail. Then random stuff comes and goes. Dealer support is laughable. You want a software upgrade? You pay. 2 weeks out of warranty? Up yers. We are waiting now for a full left lock and other wire harness, on back order, our nickle, no delivery time known yet.

Last Honda and no thanks for the fish.
Do Honda tech’s not build wiring harnesses? Replace connectors/ pins? You don’t often change a wiring harness at Audi just repair it.
 
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