Honda CR-V Owners Club Forums banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

2010 Honda CRV lack of Power?

16K views 21 replies 16 participants last post by  downunder47 
#1 ·
I am considering buying a 2010 Honda CRV LX 2WD. I read several reviews indicating the lack of power in passing on the highway as well climbing a hill. I would like to hear from 2010 Honda CRV owners feedback on this issue. Thank you.
 
#5 ·
Around town and slightly hilly interstate driving is fine. However I took a trip down to West Virginia and Kentucky, on I-69 and I-79, where there are some fairly steep Interstate climbs, and the speed limit is 70 mph. The 2010 CRV, for the cruise to maintain speed up the inclines, had to downshift to fourth, and then third in many occasions. Fourth is okay, the tach climbed to a little over 3000 rpm. But when down shifting to third, to maintain 70 mph, the tach climbed to about 4300 rpm. At that point, the engine noise is a bit raucous. After a few of those situations, I resorted to canceling the cruise, and just letting the car slow down to 65 or slightly below.

But, that was with the A/C on, and I was still getting 27 mpg. So, in exchange for a little lack of power, I got fairly decent gas mileage. That is the approach the CRV takes to that kind of driving, a bit of a trade off between power and gas mileage.
 
#8 ·
i think it depends what your prior experience is and your expectation. if you're used to driving a Civic, you'll think "wow, it's fast!" and if you're expecting it to move like your V8 F-150, you'll think "is this thing broken?" so really it depends on your point of view. Honda advertises it with .. what .. 160 torques or something? so you can't fault them when it seems a bit pokey :p
 
#9 ·
On a recent interstate trip through the mountains I had the same experience with the cruise set at 70. The transmission downshifts and upshifts are relatively seamless from 5th to 4th and back. I also experienced the shifts to 3rd a couple times, and at 4,000 plus rpm you are well aware of that downshift and engine noise. Overall, I do not feel that the vehicle is underpowered, and have been surprised at its responsiveness and handling in the normal daily driving. I previously had a 4 cyl 2003 Accord.
 
#10 ·
2nd test drive

Thank you for all those replied to my thread. I just took the 2010 CRV LX for a 2nd test drive today on the freeway. It has sufficient power going from a dead stop to merge in with the traffic. I wish I could test it on a hill, but the dealer said it was too far (5 miles away) and would not let me try it.
 
#11 ·
Thank you for all those replied to my thread. I just took the 2010 CRV LX for a 2nd test drive today on the freeway. It has sufficient power going from a dead stop to merge in with the traffic. I wish I could test it on a hill, but the dealer said it was too far (5 miles away) and would not let me try it.
Tell him if he wants to sell a CRV to let you test it. Try talking to a manager. I've taken many vehicles longer then 5 mile test drives. It a lot of money to put down on something so you should be abler to drive it long enough to make sure that is what you want.

For a 4 banger it does great. It even does better then some of the 6 cylinders out there. One thing to remember is that you might have to down shift to 3 rd to get to the power but it is there.


Good luck.
 
#14 ·
My opinion is the motor makes good HP when reved high, but lacks in lowend torque. For me, it was underpowered in last summers heat carrying passengers. Mine also had a severe hesitation during summer heat. See the other thread in Problems section for more info. For the average buyer the CRV is probably fine. Im not an average buyer though.
 
#17 ·
Someone mentioned the electronic throttle control that supposed to learn your input from your accelerating. Being this is my first car that has this, it did feel sluggish when new and I really didn't push it until I got about 1500 miles on it. But after that and I really think the engine responds better after about 3000 miles, it seems pretty responsive to me.
 
#18 ·
The 2.4 is a little short on torque and the HP doesn't come in until pretty high rpm. I was used to a GM 3.4 V6 minivan and the CR-V seems to be at least as quick (or is that slow ?) but it takes a very different driving style. At 5000 rpm the 3.4 was all done while the 2.4 is just getting good. ;)

The transmission seems to shift at the strangest times...
 
#20 ·
Not sure what the fix was. Didn't feel like reading through 12 pages of postings. But my guess it was just a change in throttle response or maybe shift points.

Around town the 2.4L mill is plenty fine. But out on the road warrior urban highway it lacks the power to execute clean quick passes. When you pull out to pass you have to floor the accelerator and get it to kick down two gears and then wait for the rpms to build. The CRV will take a bit of time to gather itself, so it helps to use that time to put on a good tune or make a phone call. Finally it will gather itself up and begin it's pass as the engine approaches F1 rpm territory. So if you live in a metro area you will not be able to slice and dice in rush hour traffic. Stay to the right lanes with the elderly and the scooters. I've had to adjust but I'm getting used to it. I just think about the big snow days when I'll get my revenge. Hopefully.

The problem is the lack of torque to move the weight. the turbo from the RDX would help even with a low boost. Wish it was an option.
 
#21 ·
Take the time to read the thread that Downunder47 posted above. You don't have to read 12 pages of postings just the ones for December. Find Downunder47's post showing the Honda Bulletin and go get your car updated. Henceforth you won't have your problem.
 
#22 ·
Poor accelration and shifting

Exactly.

The fix is much more than trivia!

The Bulletin description is "The PGM-FI software misinterprets sensor inputs and retards the ignition timing."

With the fix it runs like a totally different vehicle. Shift points are totally different. If you want to slice and dice in rush hour traffic it'll do it fine, and if you want to get really hairy leave the D3 button in.

And don't I wish for F1 power? 2.4 liter, V-8, 1,000 HP at 18,000 RPMs!

The Service Bulletin is in post #100 here: http://www.crvownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8708&highlight=hesitation

Hope this helps.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top