2002 Honda CR-V LX review from North America
"The car is good, but the design is relatively poor on the wheel well, CV boot, and Steering wheel"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The CR-V is good in relativity.
The problems with the CR-V is as the followings:
1. Front windshield got hit by a very tiny pebble and cracked. Another time with an around 1 mm pebble, and it made a hole on the windshield. The windshield is cheap. I did not have this kind of problems with any cars I had before.
2. The wheel well has a big opening. This opening made the engine very messy after running on snow road. The entire engine compartment was very messy. The fan belt covers with the salt. It sips through the electrical connectors and thus reduced the reliability of the car.
3. Air conditioning light came on once for no reason.
4. Maintenance light flickers several time at 8500 even after I reset after 7500 miles.
5. Steering wheel does not seem to have hydraulic. If you do not hold onto the steering wheel tight, the car will go left and right running over a little bump. Most of the cars will have the steering wheel spin back after turn to left of right. CR-V does not spin back well.
6. The dashboard is very "PLASTIC." The plastic clips will break if you try to take it apart. I was even very careful on taking it apart and it still breaks.
7. Wind noise on the driver side.
8. Recommended motor oil is 5W-20 and it recommends to flush the engine if used other grade. However, the dealer use 5W-30 instead. In addition, 5W-20 is too thin specially during summer time.
9. The transmission dip stick is located in a very strange and hard to get to location. I wonder I have to keep the engine running to check the transmission oil!!!
10. The brake has a very loud clunk noise when it is cold.
General comments?
1. Good gas mileage for an SUV.
2. It is cheaper than Toyota RAV4.
3. My friend's accord CV boot was replaced after 75000 miles. my other friend replace the CIVIC CV boot at 90000 miles. It is not a reliable CV boot.
4. I think Honda reliability is a hype. I will stick to Toyota.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 4 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 9/10 |
| Reliability marks | 3/10 |
| Comfort marks | 5/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 2/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 5 miles |
| Most recent distance | 20800 miles |
| Date of Entry | 10th June, 2003 |

