New Member/Potential Owner

[KCe46]

Hi everyone,

New member to the forum and possible new CR-V owner. My wife and I are expecting our first little one in the coming weeks and have decided to look into the purchase of a CR-V. Her current vehicle is an '06 Outback which we like but is surprisingly lacking on the leg room and for someone who is 6'3" we are now starting to think that this won't be quite the family car we thought it would when we bought it a couple years ago.

The top two contenders that we have come across are the Escape and CR-V. We have test driven both and were impressed with the room, features, and practicality of the CR-V. My only gripe with the car was the steering feel. To be honest the only reason the Escape is still being considered is both of our parents were long-time Ford employees and we would have the big discount. We really did not care for the mess of buttons on the Escapes instrument panel or the choppy ride it gave.

Couple things I was wondering if you all could help me out with is 1) Does anyone have a copy of the scheduled maintenance for the CR-V? I've looked for a copy of the owner's manual online and could only find copies for purchase. I would really like to see what that looks like before purchase. And 2) Do any of the veteran Honda owners have any insight on when Honda runs promotions throughout the year? I know there is a financing event right now, but anything else on the horizon?

Thank you for everyone's time and hopefully I will be a more regular member in the near future!

-Kip

[smmckay]

Kip,
Current Hondas are a bit different, in that they don't have a list of maintenance items in the owner's manual that need to be done at certain intervals. Instead, you are supposed to rely on your car's Maintenance Minder system. It will tell you when you need to change your oil, and it will also display a maintenance code when other service is due. You can look those codes up in your owner's manual to see what they mean. There are codes for things like changing the transmission fluid, coolant, rear differential fluid (if you have AWD), air filter, spark plugs, tire rotation, etc. Some of the codes also have lists of items that should be inspected at the same time any required maintenance is performed.

Hope that is helpful to you.

-Mark

[KCe46]

Thanks for the reply Mark!

I did track down a PDF for the 2012, I'm assuming is identical to the 2013 and read up on the Maintenance Minder. Seems like an interesting system.

Out of curiosity not meaning to pry, I see that you are a new member yourself. Have you recently bought a CR-V? If so, would you mind sharing some of the pros and cons that you've come across since purchase?

-Kip

[smmckay]

Kip,

I just bought a 2013 CR-V EX AWD about a week ago. I drove it straight home from the dealer and put it in the garage to keep it clean until I get a clear bra installed tomorrow, then I'll start actually using it, so at this point I don't have much feedback to offer. I've been driving a 2001 Ford Windstar that I bought new in the fall of 2000. It has about 235,000 miles on it and recently started using oil, so I decided it was time to retire it and move on. The CR-V will be quite a change from that vehicle! If you want to read about my buying experience, look at the thread asking what people paid for their 2013 CR-V.

-Mark