2002 Honda CR-V The Trailhead Get'R'To'R

[Applejack]

I recently picked up a 2002 Honda CR-V EX 5sp man. 140k on it. All my intentions were to pick up a Subaru Forester but they are like gold in my area and I could not touch one with my $3500 budget (with less than a million miles) as I am unwilling to take out a loan. We are Toyota and Subaru loyalists but we've had stints with other brands including a 2011 Honda Element.
All I was needing was a reliable DD with AWD with ok ground clearance and 20+ city mpg. I considered another element but again they were fetching too high of prices. So naturally I considered the Elements cousin the See Are Dash Vee, and immediately found those guy on CL with this one only $500 over my intended budget. After checking it out (very clean) I decided to snatch it up.


This will likely never see anything more than dirt FS roads or maybe the occasional two track. Our 4Runner is for the more serious overlanding tasks. We already have a 2005 Forester in our fleet and it will be interesting to do some real side by side comparisons, but this I can tell you now, I do not care how much envy or wishful thinking anyone has, the AWD system that Honda uses is no match for Subaru's, and that is ok. Honda chose their system over a more aggressive one for a reason. We will be using this Honda to get to backinpacking and mountain biking trailheads, Sunday drives on backroads and it will be interesting to see how it does for these duties. At times it may be faced with dealing with more difficult terrain than we intended to encounter and I will dutifully evaluate its performance when that time comes. It will remain stock with the exception of slightly larger 205/75/15 General Grabber AT2's going on it next week. I know it could fit even larger boots on it but that would unnecessarily negate the mpg advantages that I want. Stay tuned....

 

[Dougnuts]

Looking forward to the build and more pictures.

 

[Dake21]

Should do well with your intention. There's a lot of cargo room in a CRV, thats the only pro my CRV had over my Grand Vitara.

 

[Applejack]

Task 1....fail. Sort of



Task 1 was to transport 5 riders to the trailhead. Ther problem was the CRV's rear suspension was not up to the task of carrying 4 bikes on the rear with 3 riders in the back seat. The bike rack made contact with my driveway as I tried to exit, an indicator that it would not make the last corner/climb to the trailhead parking lot. Solution? Make 2 riders drive themselves.

The second problem has me scratching my head a bit. When we were decending the steep road, I was using 1st and 2nd gear for compression braking, only it would surge and slowdown, surge and slow down, all the way down the hill. It was as if it would momentarily lose compression and then regain it. I was thinking it my be the clutch. Any ideas?

 

[Dake21]

lol reminds me of my crappy 07 CRV. My wife and I tough the cargo room was great, but the car was not designed to support a full cargo on a 1000KM trip and fuel economy was hurt. It was rocking like a boat in dirt roads and the suspension was not absorbing any of the potholes. The car would not compress at all, I shift it to 1st RPM went up, started to slow down a but and then it started to go doooooooooooooooown with no braking whatsoever. It hit 50KPH on 1st gear. Brakes are terrible, the pedal had to be floored all the way down to get any kind of engine response. It's the most overrated vehicle on the planet and I hate it.

 

[Applejack]

It funny how many people think these are tough little off roaders, and on some forums I've even read some people referring to them as jeeps. I always chuckle at that.

 

[WagoneerSX4]

They really aren't tough little vehicles. They're high roofline civics. Literally. They're built as light-duty as they possibly could be while still retaining the title of an "SUV".

Honda pretty much admitted to the fact that the early CRV's AWD was nothing short of pathetic. They say the newer systems can transfer more torque to the front, but I still don't see it. If you wanted a truck to transport 5 people and 5 bikes I would have opted to pay a bit more and look for a pilot. That is if you were dead-set on a Honda.

The surging while engine braking has to do with fuel-cut going in and out. Newer systems actually go back and forth from almost complete fuel cut to fuelling so you get that surge. I can't remember why they do this exactly. I'm going to guess it has to do with engine temps, it can't run that lean for long periods of time.

 

[Applejack]

If you wanted a truck to transport 5 people and 5 bikes I would have opted to pay a bit more and look for a pilot. That is if you were dead-set on a Honda.

I don't really need it to transport that many people and bikes, I can use my 4Runner for that if need be, but I was just seeing if it could...and it could not All I really require of it is; be an economical daily driver, and it pretty much does that, get me over the mountain passes in inclement weather and be able to carry 3 or 4 people with gear to the trail head for backpacking, climbing, mtbing and so forth. Some roads to the trailheads can be really sketchy for our WRX due to ground clearance and my daughter doesn't always go with us so we can't always use her Forester. My 4Runner gets such poor gas mileage that I cringe at taking it every weekend for these trips, so we will see how this little CRV holds up, I have my fingers crossed but I have no delusions about its limitations and clearly sometimes we must pack up the 4Runner and take it.
. It will just be nice to not always have to.

 

[freshlikesushi]

yeahhh crv is a snow car. not an offroader. We have a 2014 crv and a 15 outback. I tend to leave the crv at home

 

[Applejack]

First enhancement...tires

The CRV was needing new tires. I opted to go up one size from 205/70/15 to 205/75/15 General Grabber AT2's. I've had great results with these on past Subaru's including our daughters Forester, so he should do well on the Honda as well.


The tires are 4lbs heavier than the previous ones so I do expect some mpg losses, but we will see how much. Soon my daughter and I will head out for some testing and evaluation, she in her Forester and I in the CRV. Not a head to head battle but it will be interesting to see how they compare. This weekend it's a mountain biking road trip to Bend so at least I can evaluate highway manners, traveling comfort and mpg's.

 

[BrandX]

chara likes her CRV, course she did have a civic before that. Its no offroader but will drive dirt roads fine and does well in snow/rain/ice. Just drive it around town and save the four runner for the weekends. she is start'n to get kirk! haha! miss ur face.

 

[Apdl]

Yeah lets manage our expectations a little here.

The CR-V is perfect for what it was designed for, hauling young families safely in everyday normal situations in all seasons and the occasional camping trip almost exactly what the OP is looking for.

I love my 4th gen CR-V its everything I need and nothing I don't.

Sounds like the OP got a hell of a deal, that combo in Minneapolis would be about about 7-8K.

I am not surprised about the 5 person trip as the 4th gen is rated at 850lb Payload Capacity.

I am guessing you were close to 1200lbs+ including gear.

You will enjoy this and I am sure it will accomplish all of your previously stated goals.

Looking forward to the updates!!

 

[Dake21]

They really aren't tough little vehicles. They're high roofline civics. Literally. They're built as light-duty as they possibly could be while still retaining the title of an "SUV".

Honda pretty much admitted to the fact that the early CRV's AWD was nothing short of pathetic. They say the newer systems can transfer more torque to the front, but I still don't see it. If you wanted a truck to transport 5 people and 5 bikes I would have opted to pay a bit more and look for a pilot. That is if you were dead-set on a Honda.

The surging while engine braking has to do with fuel-cut going in and out. Newer systems actually go back and forth from almost complete fuel cut to fuelling so you get that surge. I can't remember why they do this exactly. I'm going to guess it has to do with engine temps, it can't run that lean for long periods of time.

They transfer torque to the rear up to 52%. That's a 20% increase on previous model. They now use electronics to make the AWD react quicker, but it fails to engage because the computer "prevents overheating."
at 11 minute on the video you can see an exemple. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3oZSntJBOA It's still a too-late-drive.

 

[Applejack]

chara likes her CRV, course she did have a civic before that. Its no offroader but will drive dirt roads fine and does well in snow/rain/ice. Just drive it around town and save the four runner for the weekends. she is start'n to get kirk! haha! miss ur face.

Yup, that is what we'll do. The 4Runner is going into semi-retirement which will give me time to do needed maintenance myself rather than dropping it off at the shop and dropping $$$. So far it's proving to be just right for what I was after, but testing will continue and so will my reporting.

 

[Civiceg94]

With 140k most likely the rear is sagging and doesnt have fresh suspension when i had mine it worked flawless engine braking compression all was working great. But its not a hardcore offroader rock climber. No sag here and its with fresh shocks. I recommend bilstein hd if you want to switch those out