A CR-V Drives Through It

14252 Views 115 Replies 16 Participants Last post by kloker, Aug 4, 2020

ms3224a

Discussion Starter · May 30, 2020

(The title of this thread is based on Norman Maclean’s novel “A River Runs Through It”, which is set in western Montana in the 1920’s.)

Last year, my dad realized he could no longer drive (he’s 83), so he asked if I wanted his 2010 EX-L. I thought about it for a few months then decided to take it. I was driving a 2007 Honda Accord SE with the same 4-cylinder engine; it had about 190,000 miles on it at the time. It was in great shape (still is), and I had no payments on it except for the insurance. And, I liked it, so there was no real reason to find another car.

But it was Dad’s, and I got the impression he wanted me to be driving it, not someone else he didn’t know. So, in late 2019 I said I’d take it.

I was supposed to fly back to the Buffalo NY area (where I grew up & where mom and dad still live) and drive the car back on April 5th. Yeah, that didn’t happen. I could have gone even though both MT & NY were under shelter-in-place orders at the time, and really wanted to, but when I saw in the last few days of March that Rhode Island was stopping all cars with NY plates and forcing them into self-quarantine for two weeks, I decided to hold off. Of course, I don’t drive through RI but what if Pennsylvania, Ohio or Illinois got that idea? At the time, I had started the process to get a Montana title and registration but didn’t have them in hand yet.

Then I bought a ticket to fly back in early May, and the airline cancelled the flight!

During this time I got the car registered in MT and got plates for it, then later on got insurance for it.

I waited until one week before my new planned date to buy a ticket, this time on a different airline. Friday 5/29 came and went with me ending up in Buffalo, finally! Today I put my Montana plates on the car, and all was well with the world.

I’ll be starting the two-day drive from western New York to Montana on Monday. Yes, two days. About 1,100 miles/15 hours per day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all behind the wheel. Stay tuned...

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Carbuff2

· #2 · May 30, 2020

Safe travels!

Hopefully you will find enough bathroom facilities! (I was driving in late March between NJ and TN and MANNNN all the rest areas were closed.) 🙃 <---there's a reason that emoji is yellow.

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lowbar

· #3 · May 30, 2020

Well you'll definitely have time to get to know the car. Drive safe.

Scott091981

· #4 · May 31, 2020

Nice, safe travels, I am sure the CR-V will treat you well

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Wildcat

· #5 · May 31, 2020

15 hours a day is brutal. We'd done as much as 12 hours and I was totally wiped out from the drive. If you feel at all tired, by all means take advantage of the rest areas or bite the bullet and split up your trip into three days. Better to be safe than tired. Caffeine doesn't help me stay awake anymore, but I found that eating carbs will make me drowsy behind the wheel!

Which route are you taking? When we went to Montana from here (southeast Michigan), we took the route around Chicago and picked up I-90, taking that all the way across. (We spent a day at Badlands in SD, before heading up to Glacier.)

The CR-V should prove to be comfortable on a road trip. I've been on five long road trips so far, with the only issue being an AC that quit somewhere in South Dakota in 2017. (Got it fixed in Salt Lake.) It's nice being up higher on the highways.

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13CRVEXLKC

· #6 · May 31, 2020

Your CRV looks great and 26k miles 😎

RockyMtnCRV

· #7 · May 31, 2020

Excellent!

More CR-V's for our wonderful Montana!

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ms3224a

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 31, 2020

I've done this trip numerous times, maybe 25 times.

The route hasn't been decided yet. For many years I'd take I-90 all the way, but the past 4 or 5 times I've taken a detour starting in Minnesota, south through Iowa and joining I-80 there, staying on it until it joins with I-90 in the Chicago area. Taking the Iowa route avoids most of the Chicago tolls, traffic and road construction, plus it avoids Wisconsin & it's silly 65-mph speed limit entirely.

This time though, with all that's going on in Minneapolis, the MN National Guard being activated, etc., I may just avoid MN altogether and continue west across Iowa until I get to South Dakota (and freedom).

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Wildcat

· #9 · Jun 1, 2020

Since I'm close enough to Chicago and the Ohio Turnpike, I got an I-Pass in Chicago a few years ago so I can go through the tolls without stopping. I-Pass also works on any EZ-Pass system, so I can travel the Ohio Turnpike with no issues.

On our last trip through Chicago, for some reason we were routed onto I-90 and got stuck in a long traffic jam in downtown Chicago on a Saturday afternoon. Normally it takes us up I-294. In 2017, I-94 into Indiana (just a few miles past Michigan City) was under construction and it took us eight hours to get past Chicago where it normally took about five.

I-80 for me is the fastest route to Denver, yet I dislike Nebraska so much that I only go that way if I really need to. I've gotten sick on Nebraska food three times now (not in Omaha, but once you get past Lincoln and into the smaller towns along the way...especially Ogallala). I can take I-70 which cuts through Missouri and Kansas, but that works better if I'm going to Colorado Springs vs. Denver (and it's about 45 minutes longer).

At least I-90 stays far enough south of Minneapolis to avoid it. We stayed in Rochester last year, in fact, and made it to Rapid City the following day.

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kloker

· #10 · Jun 1, 2020

Super nice ride! Easy run across there. Be safe.

ms3224a

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 3, 2020 (Edited)

Finally made it back to MT tonight @ 0015 (that's 12:15 am) Wednesday. Nothing unusual about the trip except that the cops in Cleveland had a few interstate exits closed on Monday. I was just driving through (I'm sure the city of Cleveland wished others did too) so that didn't affect me. Later, I heard on the local Chicago AM radio stations that either some parts of various interstates in the downtown area were shut down due to protests, or the exits to various parts of downtown were. But that was off my radar since I don't venture in to Chi-town anymore.

About 2,050 miles total.

Ultimately, I decided to take my "new normal" route home by getting off I-90 and on to I-80 near Gary, IN and staying on it until the middle of Iowa, where I turned north on to I-380 and stayed on it until it ran out and turned in to whatever road that took me to little towns in central Iowa and ultimately to southern Minnesota where I re-joined 90. I then went west to my hotel in Blue Earth, MN. I stay on 90 for all but about 250 miles of the rest of the way home.

I met up with Mike728 south of Chicago and picked up his Honda rubber floor mats he had for sale. Thanks Mike!

This is what I saw when I woke up Tuesday AM in Blue Earth (home of "ho-ho-ho Green Giant"):

(Who just sung that TV jingle?

)

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kloker

· #12 · Jun 3, 2020

Hah! There's also one of these jolly statues in Denton, Texas, across the street from the Green Giant plant where I used to load when I drove for HEB. Very cool!

So, tell us your driving impressions of the V on the trip. I like the color - almost bought a brown '09 EX AWD like this, before I found my clean green '07 EXL. I have liked it on short trips of a hunnert miles or so, haven't been further. I suspect I'd need a gel seat cushion for that, as my leather seat gets kind of hard after a couple of hours. Otherwise, it seems to drive effortlessly, and runs a steady-state 75-80 easily. Just needs more punch in the audio department, which is in the works. Been getting about 27-28 hwy with the oversize tires (255/55/R18's). You?

EvanG

· #13 · Jun 3, 2020

26k miles? Wow it's brand new!!

What are you getting for gas mileage on this trip?

The CR-V is such a great road tripping car!

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Wildcat

· #14 · Jun 3, 2020

Sounds like a nice trip! Quite a haul in two days.

ms3224a said:
(Who just sung that TV jingle? )

I thought the "Ho Ho Ho" may have been Thurl Ravenscroft (aka the voice of Tony the Tiger for decades, and the singer of "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch") or someone like Gene Morford (of the Ron Hicklin Singers), but it was a Chicago-based singer named Len Dresslar. That's our useless trivia for the day. 😁

Heading south on I-69 towards Indianapolis, I've passed the Nestle Quik Rabbit (not my photo):

This has turned into an episode of Roadside America... 😉

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Rebelsun

· #15 · Jun 4, 2020

Carbuff2 said:
Safe travels!

Hopefully you will find enough bathroom facilities! (I was driving in late March between NJ and TN and MANNNN all the rest areas were closed.) 🙃 <---there's a reason that emoji is yellow.

I guess that all "depends"

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ms3224a

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 4, 2020

Well, some observation about the car:

What's not to like about a 7-speaker, 270 watt stereo? Maybe one thing - the speakers themselves, but that's easily solved. With decent aftermarket units it would be a real nice sounding unit.
- I have never had a car with a subwoofer. With the sub set to +1 or +2, it adds just the right amount of... coloration I guess, to the music.
- Speed-sensitive volume - I love it. The Accord does not have it and I'm constantly fiddling with the volume.
Auto headlights - nice feature. Don't have it on the Accord either.
Easy entry/exit. I'm 6' 1" 320#
Major oil consumption. Over the 2,000 mile trip, I had to add 2.5 quarts.
- Dad did get the letter about the warranty extension but never took it in. At the time he said it doesn't use any so no need to test for it. True, it won't use any oil if you put only 30 miles on it per week.
- Needless to say, this is a big-time problem.
Not-so-good (to me) fuel economy. The Accord, with the same k24 engine and a similar transmission, on the same route, gets 32-34 mpg (as calculated by me; it doesn't have a computer that can do that). The CR-V's computer calculated an average of 24 mpg. Maybe that's ok for a CR-V but I was hoping for more.
Somewhat hard ride. This afternoon I checked tire pressure: 3 at about 37, one rear tire at 45! No wonder it was hard.

I do have a clunking noise from the front right wheel area. Almost every time I go over a bump, clunk. It doesn't matter if I'm going straight or turning.

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Scott091981

· #17 · Jun 4, 2020

Sounds like lots of good!

Just speaking from my experience with a 2009 in no specific order

I believe the tire pressure, as you noted, has a substantial role in the rough ride. I run right around 32-33 front and 30-31 rear and it honestly doesnt ride bad for a 10 year old vehicle.

As it was not driven much I think the mileage will improve, a couple tanks of premium with some PEA based cleaner will probably help. I can easily get 24-26 mpg around town and pull 27-29 mpg on the open road staying 72 or under. Over 80 aerodynamics take over and I get somewhere around 24-25mpg

RE: oil consumption - I have seen where people have had luck getting Honda to cover a good portion of the repair for oil consumption, others not so much. I wonder if a quality synthetic oil and some MMO over time would help to open back up these oil passages. Thats is a substantial amount of oil and will need to be addressed in some form or fashion. You do not want that much oil going through your combustion chamber and cat long term.

Sway bar links tend to be a common issue on these vehicles and a inexpensive part - may start there and see of that could be the issue. Also seen a couple when I was shopping and pulling CarFax reports had swaybar bushings replaced so maybe that as a second option

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ms3224a

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 4, 2020

The transformation has begun...from a CR-V to my CR-V.

I had about 1/2 bottle of MMO laying around, so I put it in the engine today. Let some air out of the tires and gave it a bath at the car wash.

Back at home, I vacuumed out as much of the pine needles that I could. Mom & dad live in a place infested with pine trees, maple trees and more trees. The car was garaged all the time, but occasionally it was parked on the driveway under said trees. There were pine needles and tree leaves packed in by the hood hinges even.

I looked at the engine air filter tonight, it looked like.....an air filter that's 28,000 miles used. A bit of dirt on it but not bad. I could see the Sun through it, somewhat. It says Honda on the frame, so it's likely original. I don't know if I'll replace it yet.

The MM says 80%, A1. It was at 100% before I left.

Since the car hasn't been driven much in the past year or so, it had a dead battery back in April and needed to be towed to a shop. New battery installed.

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ms3224a

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jun 4, 2020

And tonight I was rewarded with my first CEL. Also, the VSA light was on solid.

The CEL was for p0013, intake air temperature sensor 1 circuit high bank 1, and p0102, MAF sensor A circuit low.

When I removed the cover for the air cleaner, I unplugged the MAF sensor. I'm not sure, but the key may have been in the ON position when I did that. If so, the computer apparently did not like that.

I had to look in the service manual to find the OBD2 port. On the Accord it's on the left side of the car, above the fuse block. On this CR-V, it's to the right of the steering wheel and hard to see if you don't know where it is.

That lesson learned, I plugged in my wi-fi OBD2 reader and was able to reset the codes. But the VSA light was still on.

I went to get gas, and after I started the engine I noticed the VSA light was now off. Yay me.

This VSA stuff is new to me; the Accord doesn't have it.

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kloker

· #20 · Jun 4, 2020

Sounds like you might have a dry shock with that clunking. I quickly learned to ignore that average mileage calculator, as mine is not remotely accurate. I would wonder if, at 28k, it would help you out to go with full synthetic oil. I have the "tree" issue here too, and have noticed that the CR-V's bodywork has nooks and crannies all over the place that accumulate leaves and other tree detritus. Even the lip around the rear hatch when it's open gets clogged with them. Also, not just around the hood hinges but below the wipers too, and inside the door hinge areas. It adds a whole 'nother step to the car wash process. Also, I am annoyed by how much the dash is a dust magnet. It gets dirty faster than the top of the engine. I would hope you could get a lot more miles out of it before oil consumption becomes an issue. Dang. Just my little nitpickancies.

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