20th Jun 2006, 13:27

I have owned a 98 CRV for 4 years, and it has been a true Honda with regards to reliability. Only repairs were back ABS sensors $375.00. Fuel economy is not good compared to the Civic/Accord, and yes, it does not have enough power, but good enough for the city. I would recommend the 02 CRV with the 2.4L engine a lot more power. I am upgrading.

23rd Aug 2007, 20:07

Bought my 1997 CRV gently used (first Honda), just changed the battery out... you know the rest. Sadly, the 1&6 trick didn't work; no stickers found anywhere in or on the vehicle, ashtray, cup-holder or glove-box; neither within the paperwork. the last owner sold this vehicle to me as being reconditioning and serviced.

I'm disappointed.

Anyway, I may have to remove the dash to retrieve the serial number so that I can unlock and listen to the radio I already own. That just sick, sick, sick! Obviously, Honda is so bad at this. (they knew how to make $$$ from a Honda owner).

I'm now thinking to just go somewhere to put a new CD player in my CRV, cuz for that old stupid Honda radio can't play DVD, VCD, CDR, MP3... anyway! Honda just made me sick!!! I should just walk with my MP3 player!

6th May 2009, 13:39

To the above, in 1998 not all cars came with the ability to play those formats of CD. You should probably go get a new CD player and complain about real issues with the vehicle, or maybe to the guy you bought it from and did not take proper care for it.

4th Jan 2010, 23:38

I have owned a 1997 CR-V for the past 4 years. Problems I have experienced would be mostly front end problems. Sway bar links and bushings have been changed twice in 50,000Kms, as well as outer tie rod ends. First time around I bought the lifetime warranty after market parts (crap), second time around I spent the money on HONDA parts and no problems so far... Keep in mind that the original Honda parts lasted 10 years, and the after market parts lasted 1.5 years.

25th Dec 2010, 18:37

My CR-V has rocked. Very few repairs and extremely economical. If you want flash and style, go buy a BMW or Volvo, but the Honda I own has 150,000 on it and it just hums along every day with 0 problems. I have put the last 30,000 miles on this car, and will buy another one when I can!!

29th Jul 2011, 19:57

Own a 97 CRV for a year now. Rock solid vehicle. Solid performance!!! People who complain probably got lemons. This was the first SUV that Honda introduced, so they had to make it bullet proof :)

31st Jul 2011, 12:23

Last year my boss (who knows I'm a car enthusiast) asked me what he should trade his rattle-prone, unreliable CRV for. I said "Anything Ford makes". He bought a gorgeous fully loaded Escape and is wild about it. He says the Escape makes the tinny CRV look like a child's toy. I totally agree. Now he plans to trade his Accord for a Fusion.