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Used 2018 Honda CR-V Consumer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
454 reviews
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Pros
Cons
5 out of 5 stars

CRV Redux

Bill, 08/22/2018
updated 10/03/2018
2018 Honda CR-V EX-L 4dr SUV AWD w/Navigation (1.5L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
165 of 169 people found this review helpful

Owned a CRV way back in '99, generally liked it, but boy was it uncomfortable for the long haul. All these years later I felt I needed another SUV and I'm back in one and I chose it over many competitors both in and out of its class - nothing seemed to compare for overall comfort, fit, finish, value and just plain old attention to detail. Have owned the car since March and though it doesn't show a lot of miles on the clock we have made a trip to the Outer Banks of NC, a trip to Charleston, SC and a trip to northeast TN from our home in northern VA so you can see it's mostly highway miles. Through the mountains it gobbles up hills like they weren't there and the CVT transmission is not droney as you would think especially as compared to the Fusion hybrid I traded. I have left it in "Econ" mode for most of the time that I've had it. Only when I have loaded it up with people have I switched out of Econ, and that is just to give it a little more ummph off the line - and yes the boost in performance it is quite noticeable. It does tend to be tepid off the line when in Econ. The seats are great, front and back what else can I say. I am 5'11" and 245 with a bad back and knees and I haven't howled one time about lack of comfort when I am driving. Neither has my wife in the passenger seat and she loves the fact that the front seat backs are also heated by the seat warmers. The car is very easy to get into and out of and the doors both front and rear swing wide to accommodate entry and exit. The cargo area is cavernous and the main reason we traded cars. Came out of a Fusion hybrid and the loss of trunk space was more than we could deal with. Yes we took a hit on fuel economy, but not that much and the gain in cargo and overall cabin room is well worth the trade off in economy. The only downside if there is one is that the Infotainment system is fiddly and requires your attention a little too much for my taste. A car is transportation first and "Star Trek" second. Although voice recognition works fine you have to be on your A game to remember the commands properly and this is no different I don't care what brand you drive. As far as my ratings go I have left some areas as OK/NA because I haven't truly been able to honestly comment on it, so it may go up or down. We are preparing for a 6000 mile road trip at the end of August to tour our western states. I will be sure to update at the end of the trip to see if the honeymoon still holds up. Cheers. Update Sep 29, 2018 I promised a follow up after a long road trip we had planned in late August. Here's the nuts and bolts. 7000 miles in 23 days. We started in central Virginia, winding our way across this great nation stopping for a 3 day visit in Omaha, Neb then on to Moab, UT for a visit to Arches and Canyonlands NP. Left there for Cortez, CO and a visit to Mesa Verde NP. From there to Four Corners, then Grand Canyon and onward to Sedona, AZ. After a 3 days visit there headed to Bryce Canyon NP and on northward to Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone. Onward to Mt Rushmore and Deadwood, SD then the long trek back to Virginia. I detail all these places so you can envision the terrain we drove through and know that we drove over some serious mountain ranges requiring good acceleration and great braking as well as good road holding ability. Trust me until you have experienced the switchbacks in Canyonlands and Mesa Verde you won't know what the aforementioned attributes mean. What can I say, the CRV performed flawlessly and exceeded my every expectation. Yes I left it in ECON the whole trip and it never hiccupped once not even over Loveland Pass at over 10000 ft elevation. The only reason anything passed me was because they chose to run faster than I was willing. Would the Honda keep up at 80mph most certainly and more, but 80 is my limit on public roadways and really a bit too much for my taste. The secondary roads that we were forced to use in a lot of instances were not always in the best of shape, but the CRV has not developed one squeak or rattle, nor has the paint suffered from chips and dings - there are some killer suicidal grasshoppers out there as well as blowing dust. I said in my first review that I am 66, 5'11" and 245, bad back and knees and my wife also suffers from back problems. Not a whimper from either of us. The seats are great, period. The interior room is phenominal. We tend to brake for thrift and antique stores and there came a time that I wish the car would fill up so we could drive on! It just seemed to be growing more space! Enough said, but the fuel economy in mountainous terrain, over much secondary road, crawling through the National Parks and cruising at 80mph on the interstate through Montana and South Dakota I have an indicated average of 32.7 mpg. The car now has a tick over 10k miles and its first service under its belt. I just can't heap enough praise on this car. I think they got this one right.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
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1 out of 5 stars

GAS in Oil - WOULD NOT RECOMMEND -

Joe, 01/02/2019
updated 01/10/2022
2018 Honda CR-V EX-L 4dr SUV AWD (1.5L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
51 of 52 people found this review helpful

Update after 2 years: Dealer updated software to fix the gas in oil. I noticed gas in the oil and returned to dealer to report the condition. The dealer refused to document the condition saying this is what Honda recommends which means they don't truly have a fix. Love the vehicle but wouldn't recommend the engine. I have had 2 hondas that have lasted over 200K. The 2018 CRV is a ghost waiting to turn into a nightmare. The gas in the oil is real and regardless of Honda claiming is normal that is false. No engine can handle oil dilution without having a premature bearing surface wear problem and oil seal problems in the future. The engine life will be reduced that is a fact. No one can say by how much since the engines don't have enough mileage yet. The other downside is the oil with added gas requires the oil to be changed more frequently. I have smelled gas in the oil with 50 miles on a fresh oil change and with a little over a 1000 miles the oil level is so high it makes you want to change it. I'm afraid the earthdreams engine design will require a major redesign. Look on utube and do some searching you will find everyone is complaining. it is not an isolated event to the cold northern states. It is happening in hot Tx, Mo, Ar, Fla., Tn.... I wish I didn't buy this vehicle. Honda has no fix for the problem.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
2 out of 5 stars
Reliability
3 out of 5 stars
Value
2 out of 5 stars
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3 out of 5 stars

We like our CR-V

Stan, 02/12/2018
updated 02/15/2019
2018 Honda CR-V LX 4dr SUV AWD (2.4L 4cyl CVT)
147 of 153 people found this review helpful

A quality vehicle. We like the steering (precise), road-ability (stable - goes were you point it and stays there), the engine (peppy and quiet), the large storage area and the "fold flat" second row. I could actually sleep in it, and I'm 5' 10". It is tight and solid, without squeaks and rattles. Nice fit and finish. Our gas mileage has been great: 25 around town and on a pokey 200 mile "break in trip" at 50 - 65 mph we actually got 34. The negatives: the front driver's seat bottom is pretty hard, and short, so the "under thigh" support is lacking, a comfort negative on a long trip. The center console is so wide it makes buckling front seat belts very tight, especially with thick winter clothing. All in all, we're quite happy with our purchase. With only 550 miles on it, the reliability remains to be seen. We also like the CVT transmission, but the reliability of the design also remains to be seen. UPDATE August, 2018: We now have 4200 miles on it. After owning it a few months we began to notice a slight, rapid vibration at 65 mph. It sort of "phased in and out" at about a 5-7 second interval. Rebalancing tires and tire rotation changed nothing. The dealership, because the vibration was so slight, pronounced it "normal" and refuses to pursue it further. My wife scarcely notices it, but it's in there and it irritates me. No factory service bulletins reflect this problem, and no similar complaints are found online. Service manager's "it's all yours attitude" has caused me to take my routine service elsewhere. UPDATE: February 2019. 6,800 miles. The 65 mile per hour vibration I mentioned seems to have mostly gone away. We continue to enjoy the wonderful "goes where you point it - hands off" stability. And it's till tight and solid, fun to drive.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

We surprised ourselves!

William Price, 02/14/2018
2018 Honda CR-V Touring 4dr SUV AWD (1.5L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
221 of 232 people found this review helpful

We have had a Subaru Outback for 20 years, and have loved it. It has been the most useful and reliable car we have ever owned (and both my wife and I are north of age 65, so we have owned a goodly number of cars). We researched a new car purchase for over a year, and pretty much assumed we would get another Subaru (most likely a Forester, for its compact size and off-road agility). We have also owned a 2000 Jeep Wrangler since it was almost new, and have done a lot of 4-wheeling. We live in the lower part of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and get a modest amount of snow along with the rain. So, we value good traction in a rural area. But, when we finally test-drove a Forester, we found the ride was a bit stiffer than we liked, the seats were too firm, and entry/exit was a little difficult for my 5'3" wife. Then, we drove the Honda CR-V. We felt it was noticeably more comfortable. Also, it has a plusher interior, and slightly larger cargo volume. We thought it was generally classier looking. (We recognized that the Forester has a half-inch more ground clearance, and possibly slightly better safety technology, notably the rear braking feature.) We really like the Honda's little engine, which has absolutely no turbo lag, and is much more responsive than the old Outback ever was. The technology is excellent, the safety features are most comforting, the Molten Lava Pearl Red paint is very good fun; Folsom Lake Honda is excellent to work with for both purchase and service. We are gratified to learn that Kelley Blue Book and Motor Trend magazine have given the CR-V "best of class" recognition. We have kept the Subaru, but we have a new love.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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4 out of 5 stars

Great car overall, except for gas in oil

Bill in Delaware, 06/12/2018
2018 Honda CR-V EX-L 4dr SUV AWD (1.5L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
212 of 224 people found this review helpful

A lot of good things to say about the 2018 CR-V. I have the EX-L model, a great set of safety features, a good amount of room, pretty good stereo. But... Infotainment center is poorly designed, Honda focused too much on getting rid of physical knobs, so nearly everything requires several clicks on the touchscreen, including controlling where you cabin air goes. REALLY? Hopefully, in the 2019, they will greatly simplify the operation, so it is less of a safety hazard operating the climate control or sound system. But the really big problem is OIL IN THE GAS. There are several symptoms that go with this: heater very slow to warm up in winter; rising engine oil levels; smell of gasoline on the dipstick, and sometimes in the passenger cabin. Honda has recalled over 100,000 CR-Vs in China for this problem, but is downplaying it in US and Canada. Getting a turbo that runs on regular fuel seemed like a real bonus. Except it doesn't run WELL on regular fuel. In fact, this may be a major contributor to fuel in the oil. I've found running premium fuel provides much better engine performance, and possibly a decrease in the oil contamination problem. If you plan to buy, REQUIRE the dealer to throw in a 100,000 mile, 8 year warranty to cover engine and electronics. Let them know you are aware of the engine problem, and if THEY have faith in the car they build, they will stand behind it with a longer warranty.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
2 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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