2004 Honda CR-V EX from Mexico - Comments

29th May 2006, 21:27

"Good car, unreliable dealer"

What things have gone wrong with the car?

Leak at the ABS unit from the beginning. Took 6 trips to the dealer to acknowledge and fix.

Battery got flat once without reason.

Engine mount starting to crack at 50000 km.

Steering wheel badly worn by the sun.

Hole in the carpet where the driver's heel rests.

General comments?

First, some good things: this car feels very stable and safe to drive; especially on irregular pavement and potholes.

The cabin is probably the biggest in its class, very roomy and well organized. The boot is huge, and the folding seats are very practical.

It has been very comfortable since I've changed the tires for 215 75R15 (the original ones were hard and noisy).

For the not so good things, the interior plastics scratch easily, the carpets are badly damaged (after only two years there's already a hole where the driver's foot rests; I admit I often drive with mud on my shoes, but that's really early), the steering week plastic is burnt... The interior of this car already looks worse than that of a 15 years old one (I know, I've had three of them).

The windshield seems fragile; it's already been chipped three times by almost unnoticeable gravel...

Fuel efficiency was advertized at 8l/100 km (how dare they?) ; I get 12.7 on average (mixed city and highway driving at 80km/h), and I drive very quietly. The best I got has been 9.5 (highway with 2 persons on board at 90 km/h).

For the really bad things, I've been more than disappointed by the dealer service.

When I got the car (brand new), there was a small leak at the ABS module and the brake were spongy, probably because the same leak allowed some air to enter the ABS unit (sometimes the brakes were not even able to prevent the car from moving when I pressed the brakes and the accelerator at the same time). I took it three times to the dealer and they said nothing was wrong, since the computer said so. Finally I rear-ended someone. That was out of my own distraction; however, when I realized the other car was not moving and stepped on the brakes, almost nothing happened... After fixing all the damage (crashed bumper and radiator), it took me again three times to get the dealer to admit there was a leak and maybe they should fix it and drain the system properly. Since then, the brakes have been perfect.

Now, the car vibrates quite a bit when idling, and I've noticed quite a big crack in one of the engine mounts. Guess what? The dealer says that engine mounts are not covered by warranty! They consider it maintenance parts...


30th May 2006, 16:20

Just to correct things: after calling the customer service of Honda Mexico, they immediately agree that an engine mount is not a maintenance item, called the dealer, and they're going to replace under the warranty...


15th Jun 2006, 16:33

To further correct things... The dealer finally replaced the engine mount, but didn't put it well (they left it slightly skewed, and now it's cracking again...


4th Jul 2006, 12:17

It seems to be a common that the dealers in South America are not well prepared to repair or maintain cars.

Myself, I have had many problems with the Honda dealers in Venezuela doing service to my new Cr-V.

They seem to be only interested in getting money for a bad service, and causing other problems by doing repairs wrong.

Why they do not follow the maintenance schedule that appears in the users manual?

I always buy a new car in order to get away from the mechanics, but then I get a bad service from the dealers.


7th Aug 2006, 18:22

Maybe that's not a South American problem, just that the dealer enjoys a local monopoly (next honda dealer is 150 km away...), and no other shop sells Honda parts...

Now that the warranty is expiring (and after seeing how they worked under warranty), I'm getting worried about how much it would cost me if this thing fails (shock absorbers and brakes sound quite worn out already, at 50000 km I think it is quite soon).

That's sad, because the car is quite good, but the dealers want us to believe it is a "luxury" car, and to pay high maintenance...

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