[bradleyp]

Hello guys,
I have just purchased a brand new Honda CRV- Touring in the Middle East. It was manufactured in the Ohio plant. I was curious and noticed that the insulator hood in the engine compartment was missing. I first checked the VIN with my service-parts team at the local dealership where I purchased the vehicle from. They confirmed after checking on the system that the vehicle was shipped by default without the insulator hood. However, they told me that the part was available for purchase separately on order basis at an additional cost of 50 US $ since they don't have it currently in stock.
However, I researched online and found that the insulator hood comes standard on the Touring trims for CRV's. I have attached a Touring model photo which I was able to download from online and it clearly shows that the insulator hood comes along with the vehicle when purchased. I'm confused and can't understand why it was missing from my vehicle.

 

[bradleyp]

Would the dealer let you open the hood of other Touring cars in-stock to verify if the insulator is on THOSE cars?

If you feel that you need one, don't forget to order the attaching clips.

PS: You say it's a 2019. Was it sitting in stock for a while?

Yes, it was lying in stock for around 4-5 months. Anyways I checked with another random driver who has a similar 2019 Touring model which he purchased during Feb 2019. Mine was purchased during March 2020. He too doesn't have the insulator hood so I presume the GCC market doesn't order all models with the insulator hood on.
Just a quick question is the insulator hood really important/beneficial. Should I purchase it additionally at an additional cost of 50 US$? I have browsed online and saw some reasons to have it installed. Are these really true in the case if I install it on my CRV ?
-Insulation to reduce engine noise and oil.
-To keep the hood marginally cooler
-Keep the paint (undercoat and upper coat) under the hood last longer due to huge under-hood temperatures. Paint doesn't like high heat very much and it will age faster.
-To keep the engine temperature fairly constant

 

[bradleyp]

I have no idea how CRVs are configured for the middle east market, much less how they handle dealers and sales. But different regions ARE handled differently in terms of exact features included in any trim level. A lot of this is driven by local regulations and requirements for motor vehicles.

So...what features are present in the Touring Trim, and what comes "standard" varies by regional market. Just because a vehicle is produced in the Ohio plant, does not mean it will have all the listed US version features. Even for the North America plants.. they produce different versions for the US and Canadian markets.

If it was produced for specific export to the Middle East, it will in fact be produced to the specs for the region it is being exported to. Does the middle east market have vehicles produced specifically for their region?.. or does the middle east simply rely on regional configurations for the EU or Asia markets??

If this was indeed a US spec vehicle, and simply purchased and exported by a local dealer on their own... your issue is with that dealer. But as another post above noted... go check some other Touring CRVs at your local dealer, and see if they all have it missing. If so.. tough luck. If not.. then you have a case with the dealer.

I checked with another random driver who has a similar 2019 Touring model which he purchased during Feb 2019. Mine was purchased during March 2020. He too doesn't have the insulator hood so I presume the GCC market doesn't order all models with the insulator hood on.
Just a quick question is the insulator hood really important/beneficial. Should I purchase it additionally at an additional cost of 50 US$? I have browsed online and saw some reasons to have it installed. Are these really true in the case if I install it on my CRV ?
-Insulation to reduce engine noise and oil.
-To keep the hood marginally cooler
-Keep the paint (undercoat and upper coat) under the hood last longer due to huge under-hood temperatures. Paint doesn't like high heat very much and it will age faster.
-To keep the engine temperature fairly constant

 

[bradleyp]

My guess is the insulator serves two main purposes:

1) some noise baffling of the engine compartment, it would also absorb vibrations from the engine compartment as well.
2) thermal insulation.

In purpose number 2, you really don't need that in the Middle East where it is generally arid and hot most of the year. Purpose number 1 is more subjective, and more about competition in nuance like total noise in the very competitive market of motor vehicles.

Given the cold blooded nature of the 1.5T engine, my guess is the insulator comes into play in protecting the engine from freezing cold radiation from the hood, which would be continuously re-cooled by the very cold air outside the engine compartment. How much difference does it make? Probably not much... but Honda is very much into "layered design" engineering... meaning that they to many small or subtle things that add up to a bigger total return overall.

My Touring model 2019 CRV is a 2.4 Litre 4 cylinder engine and this come standard in all trims. The Middle East market doesn't import the turbo charged engine.