Honda CR-V Shopping

[Nick1994]

We picked my grandmother up a 2011 CR-V. I'm not the biggest fan. It's ok transportation for around town and short A to B. It's got enough pep around town but on the highway? Oh my god, it can't get out of its own way. I think it's cause the 5-speed Auto, it cant get into its powerband. In the mountains it'll only do about 65-70 floored at 4,000 RPMs, it's a Honda that likes RPMs, the 5 speed auto cant get the RPMs up high enough.

It's not very comfortable for tall people either, the front seat doesn't go back very far.

But if your wife isn't super tall and doesn't care about power, it's a good durable car.

Here's a link to a review I made for it.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthr...iew#Post4322142

 

[fenixguy]

You sure it's running right? Ours has plenty of power for normal highway driving. If I floor it, it picks up speed just as well as any other 4 banger SUV would. It's not made to drag race. I'm not above average tall so I can't comment on that.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: fenixguy
You sure it's running right? Ours has plenty of power for normal highway driving. If I floor it, it picks up speed just as well as any other 4 banger SUV would. It's not made to drag race. I'm not above average tall so I can't comment on that.

Yeah, ours is fine for power too. The motor and trans seem to be working like new with almost 300k km on it as well, my only complaint is the mileage isn't that great on ours, but it has been that way since new.
We also tow a small utility trailer with it and it tows fine, but then the mileage really goes down. Lots of people do seem to get decent mileage out of this drivetrain so we just must be "lucky".

 

[krismoriah72]

The 2010 and 2011 are prone to ring degredation and fouling. Not sure if that will cause lack of power.. a 'free fix' is noted for them.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/honda-extends-accord-crv-warranty-over-fouled-piston-rings-88528.html

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: fenixguy
You sure it's running right? Ours has plenty of power for normal highway driving. If I floor it, it picks up speed just as well as any other 4 banger SUV would. It's not made to drag race. I'm not above average tall so I can't comment on that.
Maybe next time i drive it I'll take a video of some freeway acceleration and send you the link?

 

[wag123]

I purchased a new 2011 CR-V EX for my wife 7 years ago. I would have preferred a Venza or RAV4, but it is what she wanted. From a maintenance/repair standpoint, other than having to replace the [censored] motorcycle-sized battery twice already and replacing the lousy Bridgestone OEM tires that only lasted 32k miles (yes, I rotated them), the car has been flawless.
I don't like driving it AT ALL. It is rough riding and noisy (the new tires that I chose helped a tiny bit). The front seats are very hard and uncomfortable. The steering is too sensitive on-center. The transmission upshifts into top gear at a speed that is too low for the torque output of the engine and weight of the car (1500 RPMs at 35 MPH), making it very irritating to drive around town.
My wife likes it well enough but is now complaining about the seats.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Maybe next time i drive it I'll take a video of some freeway acceleration and send you the link?


Make sense to me. I wonder if it's faster than my car.

Originally Posted By: wag123
I purchased a new 2011 CR-V EX for my wife 7 years ago. I would have preferred a Venza or RAV4, but it is what she wanted. From a maintenance/repair standpoint, other than having to replace the [censored] motorcycle-sized battery twice already and replacing the lousy Bridgestone OEM tires that only lasted 32k miles (yes, I rotated them), the car has been flawless.
I don't like driving it AT ALL. It is rough riding and noisy (the new tires that I chose helped a tiny bit). The front seats are very hard and uncomfortable. The steering is too sensitive on-center. The transmission upshifts into top gear at a speed that is too low for the torque output of the engine and weight of the car (1500 RPMs at 35 MPH), making it very irritating to drive around town.
My wife likes it well enough but is now complaining about the seats.


Been a while since I drove a RAV4 but I have to think the steering would be just as bad. I've never had vehicles so touchy as to steering as my Toyota's are. I think my older Camry isn't too bad, but the two newer ones have zero on-center feel; and as a result I find them to be somewhat tiring to drive.

On my automatics I've taken to locking out upper gears when in town. Cuts down on hunting.

 

[wag123]

supton, I wasn't complaining about zero on-center feel, I was complaining about the high sensitivity. A very small steering input moves the car way too much on the road, requiring a LOT of concentration to keep it centered in the lane. This is VERY tiring on long highway trips. I recently drove both a 2013 RAV4 and a 2011 Venza, they do not exhibit this tendency and were both very easy to keep centered in the lane without concentrating on it.

 

[supton]

Interesting. I don't know if mine have sensitive steering, but they certainly have no dead spot, so they need constant tweaking to stay in lane. Weakest spot in them IMO.

 

[wag123]

I tried to talk my wife into a Venza. A 4-cyl XLE would have only cost $1k more than the CR-V EX that we bought. It is a FAR better driving, smoother riding, quieter, and more comfortable car. The front seats are supremely comfortable! It is a little larger and heavier with a larger engine than the CR-V, but the MPG is just as good. Most people don't even know about the Venza. Toyota did a very poor job promoting/advertising it. She didn't like it's "looks", she said that it looked too much like a station wagon.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: wag123
I purchased a new 2011 CR-V EX for my wife 7 years ago. I would have preferred a Venza or RAV4, but it is what she wanted. From a maintenance/repair standpoint, other than having to replace the [censored] motorcycle-sized battery twice already and replacing the lousy Bridgestone OEM tires that only lasted 32k miles (yes, I rotated them), the car has been flawless.
I don't like driving it AT ALL. It is rough riding and noisy (the new tires that I chose helped a tiny bit). The front seats are very hard and uncomfortable. The steering is too sensitive on-center. The transmission upshifts into top gear at a speed that is too low for the torque output of the engine and weight of the car (1500 RPMs at 35 MPH), making it very irritating to drive around town.
My wife likes it well enough but is now complaining about the seats.
This is exactly how I feel about it. Steering is definitely too touchy. Dealer we bought it from put a new set of tires on it, they're "Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport AS" and they are god awful, so loud! But it's a short tripper for my grandmother so it's no issue.

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Maybe next time i drive it I'll take a video of some freeway acceleration and send you the link?


Make sense to me. I wonder if it's faster than my car.

Around town and at low speeds, it's definitely faster than a 2.2L Camry.

Out on the highway and in the hills, it's pretty close! Although the 4 speed auto in the Camry lets you get the RPMs a little higher, and the 2.2L makes more power down low.

I expect a lot more, this is the Accord K24 motor, but the Accords get a 6 speed auto.

 

[krismoriah72]

I see Venzas from time to time but not often.. just did a quick peek at wiki.

US Sales
2014- 29991 Venzas sold
2014 335,019 Honda CRV sold
2014 267,698 Toyota Rav4 sold

I prefer high production number vehicles for the most part due to cheaper more available parts aftermarket.

 

[RTexasF]

Just a suggestion but if you can find a nice RAV4 V-6 from 2009-2012 it will make you want to throw rocks at the CRV.....and I'm a Honda fan. At least put it on your radar. Drive one and you'll understand.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Just a suggestion but if you can find a nice RAV4 V-6 from 2009-2012 it will make you want to throw rocks at the CRV.....and I'm a Honda fan. At least put it on your radar. Drive one and you'll understand.


+1, esp one that's FWD. Less stuff to go wrong down the road.

 

[krismoriah72]

Originally Posted By: RTexasF
Just a suggestion but if you can find a nice RAV4 V-6 from 2009-2012 it will make you want to throw rocks at the CRV.....and I'm a Honda fan. At least put it on your radar. Drive one and you'll understand.


I have been in one..they are a rocketship..

We have a Suburban Z71 in our stable that I got from a buddy of mine for a steal at $2k so its not going anywhere..its our go to powerhouse for now..

 

[gofast182]

Hard to go wrong with a CR-V. We had a '10 and it had no issues other than defective tires from the factory. Even in the years you're questioning, as long as you stay on top of the OCI, you should be golden. Get a '14 and you've got virtually nothing to worry about.

 

[krismoriah72]

Ok crazy question. My wife found a red 2014 CR-V that she really likes.. Carfax is clean with no history of damage. I cannot find this color anywhere except on this vehicle..so is something fishy? or is it possible to special order this color? I decoded the vin with no help and also looked at canadian brochures online with no mention of this color.

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/2HKRM4H7XEH650887

 

[BearZDefect]

Off Topic: Toyota Venza was interesting, but last time I was in a showroom a few years ago it was easy to see why they didn't sell: Open the rear hatch of a Venza and compare to a RAV-4. The Venza has poor space inside. The RAV-4 wins by a mile with a nice box of space. The Venza rear seat was no better than a Camry despite the Venza being larger outside. If the Venza barely offered more space than a Camry then why bother? People bought the RAV-4 and Camry instead.

 

[gofast182]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Ok crazy question. My wife found a red 2014 CR-V that she really likes.. Carfax is clean with no history of damage. I cannot find this color anywhere except on this vehicle..so is something fishy? or is it possible to special order this color? I decoded the vin with no help and also looked at canadian brochures online with no mention of this color.

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/2HKRM4H7XEH650887

Did you check Mexico? They had a similar color (not sure what it's called or if it's the same). What's interesting is the jamb stickers and jambs themselves don't appear to be repainted at least in those small photos. Carfax reports can only tell you so much. Anything that wasn't reported to insurance won't show up.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Ok crazy question. My wife found a red 2014 CR-V that she really likes.. Carfax is clean with no history of damage. I cannot find this color anywhere except on this vehicle..so is something fishy? or is it possible to special order this color? I decoded the vin with no help and also looked at canadian brochures online with no mention of this color.

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/2HKRM4H7XEH650887


Funky color. Under the hood, the tie bar and strut towers are teal, and if you look at the tailgate, it appears the flexible conduit that houses the wiring and washer hose has been painted.