Anybody have fun with their Honda CRV AWD system going into failure during winter driving conditions? I had fun, when recently being driven home from hospital after major surgery, our supposedly AWD got stuck in the snow. I have long, steep driveway and it is for this reason the CRV was purchased (small sidenote, my previous vehicle - 2013 Honda Accord EXL with Nokians on all four corners made this trek in previous years in the exact same conditions). I expected, at the very least, that the AWD system would engage properly with M+S rated tires and make the climb. What happened, instead, was that the rear drive axles disengaged and only front wheel drive was working. This allowed the vehicle to slide back and off to the side close to a ditch. My wife (a very experienced ex-highway patrol Officer) did not want to try further. I shut it off and gave it a try myself after maneuvering back down for a bit of a run. Same thing happened. Nice walk 300 feet uphill with 60 metal staples holding me together and very strict instructions not to do exactly "THAT"! Not impressed! Being a retired DOT Inspector, I thought I had researched my purchase quite well. I have since found that there exists some "frictional" tests that demonstrate quite clearly that the CRV does have a problem with disengaging it's AWD system in certain conditions. I believe Honda claims that "my situation" does not reflect "real world" driving conditions. All I know is that my supposedly AWD sat for three days at the bottom of the hill. I eventually, against my wife's strongest protestations, drove my little mini-ex down the hill and scraped away the snow with the front blade. I again maneuvered back down the hill, almost sliding over into a serious little down slope on the left side and made a valiant effort to complete the journey. Made it past the first "stuck point" this time and then got stuck farther up near another steeper section and corner. Slid down and lost AWD again! Again not impressed! Now, before anyone decides to inform me of "what did I expect with M+S tires in these conditions" I will gladly inform you that a Subaru Impreza can make this exact same journey with nearly identical M+S tires and not even break a sweat. I paid for AWD and got FWD. I currently have requested a fix from my dealer. Not gonna happen. They will sell me winter tires at a higher price that I can get them elsewhere. Honda Canada has an e-mail question that they have yet to answer and I am seriously thinking of cutting and running. Anybody else have this occur?
