General Questions.

[Grafarian]

Hi everyone first ever Honda product in the family, I have a 2012 CRV LX AWD Taffeta White, brought in Mid August @ Majestic Honda W. Warwick for $23,250 with no extra options or accessories. This is to replace my 1989 Corolla with 110,500 miles with severe rust holes. I brought the car off my mother back in 2004 when she got her 2004 RAV4 FWD, She never does any work to any of her cars other then oil changes. No cleaning, no tune up, usually relies on state inspections to tell her everything is ok. So when I got it there were some rust holes that I told myself I was going to fix up, 8 years later well.. it got worst so I decided just to get something new. Plus the trusted mechanic says they can't pass safety unless the holes are patched up.

I do have a few questions in general.

1. How does everyones 2012-2013 CRV handle on the freeway? When I drove the 2004 RAV4 FWD which uses the same size tires as the CRV LX except it has Yokohama Geolander H/T-S G051 at 90 MPH on the freeway I had a nice a firm steering wheel and felt like I could drive it faster without much resistance, compared to the 2012 CRV as soon as you hit 70 MPH you have to constantly fight it, when it rains or when it is windy it is even worst.
You have to constantly fight the steering wheel it is like a work out. When it was really pouring out when I was at 60 MPH in a heavy rain storm it felt like the CRV was driving on ice, one sudden turn felt like I was going to spin out.

I did drive in a straight flat road at 45 MPH and notice the CRV was straight and no alignment problems, maybe because of electric power steering?(P.S. I don't floor any cars, there was a lot of open road I-95 and its an area where police don't usually patrol. So I just cruise up to speed.

2. What is everyones tire pressure?
3 Months after I had the CRV it was getting cold out, and the Low tire pressure light came on (!). I checked it said 28 PSI on all tires. Inflated them to 35 PSI but light did not go out. I had to drive on the freeway to go off. It came on again a few weeks later and pressure was reading 34-35 PSI. Drove on freeway again before it went off. If I drive on the streets it won't go off. The third time it came on I was going insane, inflated to 40 PSI as soon as I got the last tire to 40 PSI I saw that the tire pressure light just went off on its own. *has not come back on since*
Sidewall says 44 PSI max, I would hate to inflate so high in the winter and deflate for the summer..
These are Continental Cross Contact LX with only 800 miles at the time.

3. Does anyone notice the speedometer is off a little? When I am driving in a school zone and my speedometer says 30 MPH the sign as well as the GPS reads 28 MPH. On the highway when I set cruise control for 70 MPH, the GPS says I am only going 68 MPH, it seems to be off by 2 MPH, which is somewhat annoying but I am use to it because the corolla I had was 5-6 MPH off when I got above 60 MPH. You think with everything electronic it would be calibrated?

4. TPMS Sensor.
Since the wheels themselves have TPMS sensors and when you get a winter tire set you need new TPMS sensors as well as going to the dealer to reprogram, would it be a good idea to leave the all season tires/wheel in the trunk? Just mount a set of winter tires and wheels without the TPMS sensor? Since the RAV4 uses the same tire size have a set of winter tires and mount them on the vehicle that will be used the most. The RAV4 uses ABS/ Wheel rotation for its TPMS
Or do you recommend chains in the trunk so when it does get very bad out just mount them in some parking lot? Snow storms aren't a big problem. they seem to hit every other year here.

5. What is the average lifespan of a TPMS sensor? It has a battery that powers it, but when you change your tires do places replace the battery also? Or would you have to go to the dealer to get a new one when battery runs out and have them reprogram


Threshold braking vs ABS. I am not use to all these new computer monitors and electronics in a new car. So when the low pressure light came on it drove me insane. I hate seeing "Something is wrong!" light. I am also not use to slamming on the brakes, I have tried to use ABS on the RAV4 a few times, it comes on when stopping on icy roads and no matter how little the brakes you apply it comes on automatically.

I have always applied brakes pretty firmly but not hard enough to engage ABS or lock the wheels. I am use to giving enough distance to stop, twice when it was raining out and I was on the freeway(55 MPH) I noticed a sudden stop on the freeway because the on ramp was backed up, Everyone approaching was slamming on their brakes! realizing I was not going to stop in time, When I applied a little bit more brakes wheel locks up. I have enough time to look at the next lane to see if I can change over or go to the shoulder to stop, I release the brake pedal a bit so wheels can grab the road and keep that amount of pressure until I come to a full stop in another lane. (saved me twice!)

So how is the CRV braking power and distance and has anyone have to make a emergency stop before? I ask because since I am use to applying brakes firmly but not hard I am not use to slamming the brake pedal or gas pedal, usually I try to go 1/4th throttle, and go a little over half throttle if I need to change lanes and pass someone. When I need to make a emergency stop I usually apply half down on the brakes, and slowly add a bit and release a bit if wheels lock up. I was wondering if CRV ABS can stop faster then threshold braking? I haven't tried it because I think it is a good habit to keep of not smashing the brake pedal in an emergency.

Currently have 2,250 miles on it, average fuel economy is 23.1 MPG. Highway speeds @ 70-75 MPH MPG is about 26.5 MPG driving in the city it is about 22 MPG so not bad, reaching the average for the car, and since winter fuel blend hurts it a bit. Mostly city driving without eco button.

[PNutts]

Please take this as a sincere reponse when I say that some of your driving habits are extremely dangerous. Nobody wants you or your new car banged up!

[miko]

Ever write a book?

[Grafarian]

Please take this as a sincere reponse when I say that some of your driving habits are extremely dangerous. Nobody wants you or your new car banged up!

I don't weave in and out of traffic if that is what you are concerned about. I know it sounds bad, but most of the time I do follow the speed limit.. well when I say follow I mean just like everyone else. Here in the NE no one really follows the speed limit, they are usually 5-10 MPH above it.
Heck people even on my street go 35 MPH here on the residential 25 MPH road and their is a daycare and few schools nearby! There is a 35 MPH speed limit on the next street, but because it is always full of traffic because of commercial stores people usually take the next street over (us) and don't slow down here. Always staying constant speed and boring and having to keep having to hold position of your foot also hurts my back a bit.

This stretch of road is I-95 between Boston, MA and providence RI. Once you get out of the city you can get 14 miles + of light traffic and plenty of empty room. Police don't usually enforce near the outside of city boundaries, or middle of nowhere.. Unless you happen to be a corvette, for some reason I seen corvettes get pulled over out here and no one else usually. Well maybe others do get pulled over, but when I go out I have only seen 2 incidents and both times they were corvettes getting puled over and no one else. Speed limit for 20+ miles of road before you reach I-93 is 65 MPH.

When you jump onto I-93 towards Boston or get close to the city of providence right past south Alberto, then traffic, usually I go with the flow of traffic. I know going in and out of lanes is a waste of gas, because usually when you hit traffic or traffic light you still see people in your mirror.


I have only been in 2 accidents, both times not at fault. First time was a new driver in a mid 90's Honda Accord who had a provisional license and was talking on the phone the entire time when I got rear ended at a stop light and got pushed into the car ahead of me. I think she hit me about 10 MPH, these old bumpers were tough only a dent mark but didn't crack or fall off.(I found out it was provisional or new license when the police was asking her (mother?) about needing an adult with her in the car with the new license. She stayed in her car on the phone the entire time, but called her mother who was a nice lady that came to inspect the damage. Lucky I had enough space and my bumper only slid underneath the other cars bumper. The second time was on a hill in traffic when this Oldsmobile driver he claims stepped on the gas instead of the brakes because he was wearing sandles at the time and rear ended me about the same speed AND in the same spot where the other driver hit me literately 2 weeks later! Both times the insurance company didn't really want to fix it, (don't blame them the body was in pretty bad shape) They just gave me their deductibles and that was the end of it.







I only ask about freeway experience and TPMS because I was wondering if electric power steering makes the car or if it is just the tires that makes the car harder to drive at higher speeds. I only driven on the freeway with 40 PSI tires on the CRV because the Low tire pressure light keeps coming on. I wonder if keeping them at 29 PSI(factory recommendations) would make a huge difference, and how to get the CRV to accept that the 29 PSI is the recommended pressure for the vehicle without the light yelling at me, it is to low!







The 89 Corolla did fine up until 70 MPH, anything higher the car shook violently but the steering wheel is still stable, pushing a 98 HP motor has its limits and probably rusted front end/ mounts. The RAV4 are on 30 PSI. Both cars actually had belts for power steering, this is the first Electric power steering vehicle for us.
Since I am going on. I am getting 25-27 MPG average for the 12 CRV, I got 27-28 with the 89 Corolla, and get 22-24 with the 04 RAV4 FWD. So I don't aim for fuel economy. As long as I get mid 20's I am happy.



Also P.S. I can never write anything short :S
The only way I seem to know how to write is through a story or if I am trying to explain something to someone. So if anyone ever sees my post it is OK to just skim it!
This helps for writing papers and stuff, but doesn't help with people who want to the point. So I guess I will just put extra spaces to something I just want to say, but can't because I spend about 25 minutes typing something long!