All Wheel Drive

[Drew Dowdell]

Ok, so we had the Honda CR-V in the back yard over the weekend. It was a slight upward incline, on slightly wet grass. I tried to move the car a bit further up and instead of crawling up the hill, I just spun the front tires.. the rear never engaged. I tried backing and pulling forward. I reached the same spot with the same result, forward tires spinning, no motion from the rears. Zero unusual noises.

Am I not getting something about all wheel drive? Did Honda not understand the concept? Or is it going to the dealer service department next week?

[Robert Hall]

Ok, so we had the Honda CR-V in the back yard over the weekend. It was a slight upward incline, on slightly wet grass. I tried to move the car a bit further up and instead of crawling up the hill, I just spun the front tires.. the rear never engaged. I tried backing and pulling forward. I reached the same spot with the same result, forward tires spinning, no motion from the rears. Zero unusual noises.

Am I not getting something about all wheel drive? Did Honda not understand the concept? Or is it going to the dealer service department next week?

Hmmm...is it a full time AWD? No on-off switch?

[Drew Dowdell]

no on/off switch

[William Maley]

I think it's time for a visit to the Honda Service department

[Drew Dowdell]

I stayed on the gas long enough to burn a good size hold in the lawn.

[Camino LS6]

...off to the service dept.

[Drew Dowdell]

We had the rear differential filled about 2 years ago.

[siegen]

Have you experienced the AWD before? Maybe it's an issue with the system.

[ocnblu]

I wonder if there's a warning light of some kind on the dash if there is an AWD issue, under those conditions Drew was calling for a response from the rear end, perhaps a little extra goosing would have worked? Wait a minute, that didn't sound too good. We're on a slippery slope here, so to speak.

[Drew Dowdell]

Have you experienced the AWD before? Maybe it's an issue with the system.

Not since the winter.

[regfootball]

i thought Hondas ran forever. lol

[ocnblu]

Is there a place where you can go to double check the system before making a service appointment, like a local mud bog, or a rock trail? Maybe you can have an old Crown Victoria follow you in case you get stuck somewhere.

Edited May 7, 2011 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

Well any AWD problems are going to have to wait. We're down in DC this weekend and it seems like the front left CV Joint has eaten itself during the trip AND there is another problem with the electrical system. The headlights are flickering like strobe lights, but only sometimes. The dash lights flicker simultaniously. At one point it was so bad that the dash was starting to throw error lights for the airbag, ABS, and battery. The battery is less than 8 months old. The right CV joint was replaced about 18 months ago.

[Paolino]

Well, maybe it's begging you to get something with Honda's SH-AWD

Sorry about the disco lighting in the car...

[Drew Dowdell]

The crv is paid off in 8 months, so we're planning on just keeping it for a while. Albert would get a new vehicle and I would take the crv as my work vehicle.

[Camino LS6]

Somehow I don't see you tolerating the CR-V for very long.

[Drew Dowdell]

As long as it earns its keep. We'll have whatever Albert gets as our travel vehicle.

If it gets too beat up, Ill have an excuse for something more rugged and versatile...which seats 5 and has a 6 foot or 8 foot bed.....or both.

[Camino LS6]

I hear those wheels turning now!

[regfootball]

The crv is paid off in 8 months, so we're planning on just keeping it for a while. Albert would get a new vehicle and I would take the crv as my work vehicle.

re-read the bylaws. by daily driving a CRV, you relinquish owner rights to gm fan sites....lol

[Drew Dowdell]

Technically, it's not mine. The Toronado is still my daily. The CR-V would just be for Apartment work.

[ocnblu]

Yes, I hear Tokyo apartments are tiny, a CR-V should be able to move a family of 4 in one trip.

[Drew Dowdell]

I know I like to bash the CR-V and most of you will agree with me on it. But in it's defense, it's a useful little CUV with a ton of space when the seats are down. We've stuffed it to the roof with tools and supplies. About the only thing I can't haul with it is 4x8 sheets of stuff. I can put 8 foot or 10 foot 2x4s in the car with the front passenger seat down and the rear glass lifted. Add a small utility trailer (I already have the tow hitch installed) and the utility the CR-V offers at little to no cost to me will be hard to beat.

It will be the reliability that eventually does it in. We keep having some basic reliability issues that shouldn't be happening on an 81k mile vehicle.

[Drew Dowdell]

Honda Reliability What?

The A/C went out on the trip back from DC last night.

[Drew Dowdell]

apparently the A/C issue is a $2500 fix that is frequent occurrence for Honda's of all models from this year. Getting it fixed at reduced cost requires fighting with Honda Motor America and citing a class action lawsuit.

[siegen]

All cars have their problems. How old is the CR-V? Has it been treated roughly? First owner? You could probably fix the A/C yourself for a couple hundred bucks. Honda engines are usually easy to work on, though not sure on the K-series (or B-series, if it's an older one). I've had the displeasure of having to do basic maintenance on a Ford and a Chrysler 4-cylinder before. It's like no thought went into those designs at all. But they're older gens, maybe the new ones are better.

I wish my car had a Honda drivetrain. But then I wish my car was a '12 SH-AWD TL 6MT.

[ocnblu]

Yes of course... all cars have their problems. You just have to ask yourself if your car's problems warrant your loyalty... do you still love your car when it doesn't always love you back?

[Camino LS6]

Is someone playing Taps?

[Drew Dowdell]

All cars have their problems. How old is the CR-V? Has it been treated roughly? First owner? You could probably fix the A/C yourself for a couple hundred bucks. Honda engines are usually easy to work on, though not sure on the K-series (or B-series, if it's an older one). I've had the displeasure of having to do basic maintenance on a Ford and a Chrysler 4-cylinder before. It's like no thought went into those designs at all. But they're older gens, maybe the new ones are better.

I wish my car had a Honda drivetrain. But then I wish my car was a '12 SH-AWD TL 6MT.

These all happened in the course of 2 weeks. Left CV joint, headlight/dashboard flicker, A/C dead, AWD malfunction(?)

Power steering hoses blew back in the winter.

It typically gets less than 150 miles a week, mostly just commuting 7 miles each way through suburbia.

He's not rough on it. He bought it new. It has 82,295 miles as of today.

Honda released a service bulletin that specifically says if the A/C compressor goes, you have to replace the rest of the system as well since it is impossible to do a flush.

Is someone playing Taps?

The name "Equinox" has already passed his lips with no prompting from me. We'd probably fix all the low hanging fruit except for the A/C and hang onto it as long as we can till it's at least paid off.

[ocnblu]

I think it's that way with most every vehicle. Metal bits from the compressor failure go out through the lines and contaminate every part of the system.

[Camino LS6]

$2,500 is mighty steep for an AC fix.