Great thread. I'm curious to see what other people post. What do you keep in the little spot over your left knee? I'm a little dissapointed in the storage space so I'm trying to figure out what will fit there. In my old car, there was a little drawer in that spot which was great for keeping spare change and money for tolls. I don't really think that little spot will work for that as it would probably spill out. I'm trying to find a little change purse that will fit in there but so far, haven't found anything.

I do like the little mirror on the overhead sunglass holder for keeping an eye on the backseat

 

Great thread. I'm curious to see what other people post. What do you keep in the little spot over your left knee? I'm a little dissapointed in the storage space so I'm trying to figure out what will fit there. In my old car, there was a little drawer in that spot which was great for keeping spare change and money for tolls. I don't really think that little spot will work for that as it would probably spill out. I'm trying to find a little change purse that will fit in there but so far, haven't found anything.

I know its been a while - One of those soft plastic Coin Holder with chain, like you see at checkouts in old fashion hardware stores. I keep a supply of parking meter quarters in it.

 

I had the same little pocket in my old car. I would put my various gate access cards there or my apartments gate remote. It was convenient. I no longer have the gate cards and my remote is too large for this little cubby area, so I'm also curious about what others may store there.

One gem I've discovered is the second button under the handle on the rear hatch. I knew about the larger button to open the hatch, but I didn't know about the second smaller button to the right of that that will lock the vehicle. I would usually walk around to the front doors and push that button or I would use the key fob. It helps to read the manual it would seem,

 

I had the same little pocket in my old car. I would put my various gate access cards there or my apartments gate remote. It was convenient. I no longer have the gate cards and my remote is too large for this little cubby area, so I'm also curious about what others may store there.

One gem I've discovered is the second button under the handle on the rear hatch. I knew about the larger button to open the hatch, but I didn't know about the second smaller button to the right of that that will lock the vehicle. I would usually walk around to the front doors and push that button or I would use the key fob. It helps to read the manual it would seem,

I like this button too, very helpful when you aren’t going back in the car. I also set up the walk away lock.

 

2nd button? Must be on the EX and higher?

I had the same cubby in my Civic and used it for change and never had it fall out. You could always lay some soft material in there to dampen so the coins don't bounce (I never had them bounce, nor did I hear them, but I also had my garage door opener on top of them).

 

I also put my garage door opener in that on my 09 Civic. I took velcro though and stuck it to the top of the cubby. Was out of the way, totally accessible, kinda hidden from theives and the rest of the pocket is still usable.

 

The tonneau cover when not in use can be stowed away in opening of the cargo area. The tonneau in this stowed position can be pulled up vertically and locked in place where you could store small grocery bags items or items you want to hide from prying eyes between the tonneau cover and the rear hatch.

 

That is interesting. Can you share a picture of the cover stowed?

 

You can change the wallpaper on your central large screen.

Need a thumb drive to transfer it from your PC.

 

How did you even find that out and how did you do it? Could I transfer an image from my iphone?

 

Yes, there could be more storage for our goodies in the '15 CR-V.

I like to have info readily available, i.e. insurance card, license plate registration. So I place those items into a plastic sleeve that is just big enough to hold them. Then I placed velcro onto one side of that sleeve and the velcro mate onto the inside of the lid of the center console. That keeps those out of sight and always close by.

Another use for velcro, for us that did not buy a Touring model, is to mount the remote garage door opener inside the flipdown sunglass holder, placing velcro on the back of that and the mate onto the back of the opener. One caution on that is that it made a rattle and I had to modify the garage door opener case that caused it. Believe me it was one of those rattles I could not figure out for a while. Finally I thought back to when there used to be no rattle and then when it started. What changed, yep, it was the opener causing the rattle. You may or may not have a rattle from your opener, I did but solved that. It makes for a very handy place to keep and use the opener, just push to drop down the compartment and push the opener button! Hope this helps. ...Velcro is my Friend!

 

My hidden gems:

1. Speedometer and MPG instrumentation are precise. My Toyotas and previous vehicles were always reading several percent high. I compared speed to gps, and am tracking mileage and gas fills on my smartphone.

2. Transformers style rear seats that fold down with one lever pull with no electric power.

3. Is almost 2 feet shorter than my previous Sienna minivan, meaning more room in the garage, and the hatch can be raise with the garage door closed.

Tim

 

Security shade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmJQ0DTeIFw

 

Clever! I like that, thanks! I will have to figure our a 'work-a-round' the cargo liner as it does obstruct the factory cutouts for doing that.

 

....or cut it. Yikes!

 

There's 2 positions to stow away the tonneau cover, in the vid he said to use the upper position as opposed to the lower position. The cover squishes the cargo tray a little but it fits.

 

I am not sure whether this is a hidden gem but I realized that the wipers are speed controlled. Say its raining heavy and your wipers are working at full speed , you stop on a traffic light, voila the speed of the wipers will slow down as well automatically instead of you manually doing it ... great feature !!!

Also the rear wipers work automatically as soon as you hit reverse and have your front wipers on !

 

I am not sure whether this is a hidden gem but I realized that the wipers are speed controlled. Say its raining heavy and your wipers are working at full speed , you stop on a traffic light, voila the speed of the wipers will slow down as well automatically instead of you manually doing it ... great feature !!!

That's the EX-L and Touring with the automatic variable speed wipers, is it not? I have to adjust their variable speed manually on my EX!

Also the rear wipers work automatically as soon as you hit reverse and have your front wipers on !

That one is across the board. Nice little touch.

 

Thanks much for the mentions of the second button on the rear hatch and the alternate positioning of the shade cover in the cargo area. I did not know about these two features!

Here's one I discovered on a long drive and didn't notice when I skimmed the owner's manual: we all know the left steering wheel control with left/right arrows tunes to the next preset station of your SiriusXM radio. But did you know that a long press on one of these arrows takes you to the next up/down SiriusXM station (that is, not a preset station)? This is a great way to pass time and slowly work your way through the 100+ channels to see what is on!

Peter

 

I'm not sure if this one has already been mentioned but I love the way the visors extend. That's awesome!

 

Mine do not extend. I have an EX-L. Do you have a Touring model?

 

Didn't know about the reverse wipe when wipers on. Pretty cool keep them coming.

 

2015 hidden gem? CRV's had this since 2007. So much to learn......................

 

People with Nav. When on the nav screen, you can pick some options from the steering wheel if you hold down the menu button and let go.

 

He's one for the Canadian owners with the Touring Model. Honda did not removed the HD radio receiver. If you live near the border you can get US Station that broadcast in HD FM. Also the HD traffic system works in the Greater Toronto Area. You can set the NAV system to automatically reroute you around traffic incidents.

 

Hi! I would love to know how this works for you. I can't get any traffic data in the GTA at all. I see it connects and traffic is available, but it only shows me info for the US highways. Rerouting around traffic doesn't work.

I must be missing something.

Thanks!

 

Center console arm rest slides forward for better arm support.

 

Thanks. My wife was seriously pleased when I showed her this feature. The prior Windstar had captain's chairs and she did not realize how much she used the arm rests they had.
Kevin

 

Just found this out yesterday. Using the handles located along the top of either end of the rear bench, there are 3 positions you can put the seats. One is obviously folded forward all the way for more cargo area. But you can also lock it in the upright position (i.e., 90 degrees to the seat) and you can also lock it at a slightly reclined position (i.e., maybe 110 degrees to the seat).

 

I was re-reading this thread, and somehow overlooked this one. Will have to try this someday.

Great thread. I have had the CRV a week and have found these two gems.

1. If you want to sit with the car running, at night, you can turn off the day time running lamps ( so the lights don't shine in a window, etc) by setting the Emergency brake.

2. There are extra defroster wires on the rear window right where the wiper sits to make sure it stays free from ice. Very crafty, Honda. Very crafty.

Most vehicles with DRLs, you can disable the DRLs by setting the BRAKE down one or two clicks.

Great thread - I'm learning a lot.

I've had my CRV 10 days and discovered by switching the mirror adjust switch to the passenger side mirror, when placing the car in reverse the passenger mirror automatically tilts down to provide better curb side vision during the maneuver.

Not so much hidden, as it is the manual, more lost in the weeds; but certainly a gem!

I have 2015 CRV Touring model and it does not work ' Reverse Tilt Door Mirror '. I checked Honda manual and it does not mention that at all. I'm sure this will apply for Europe model and not for USA model. Any one can confirm that? Thanks.

I have never found this feature on my EX-L.

Sunroof is one touch close like the front windows. IDKT!

My EX-L does NOT do that, have to hold the switch in the 'CLOSE' position.

With my 16 EX-L, the headlights come on automatically when the wipers are in use and that is useful as it is required by law in Virginia. However, yesterday, I found out that the headlights must be in the auto position for it to work. If the headlights are turned off, the feature does not work.

I have an EX-L, and mine has yet to do that in the rain. I didnt see anything in the owners manual about that. I know there is a feature available (Touring model?) on the widshield wipers called automatic intermittent wipers, where there is a rainfall sensor that adjusts the speed of the intermittent wipers. I suppose such a sensor could theoretically open the door locks as well. But again, I didn't see it in the manual.

I'll have to try to recreate that situation again but i swore it unlocked itself for me when it was dumping rain; no one else was with me and i highly doubt my car can see that i had a bag of pastries in my hands. I hardly ever use the buttons on the keyless fob and mainly rely on the button on the outside of my door handle to lock it and to place my hand behind the exterior handle to unlock it.

I've never noticed that before, but I do know that putting your hand on one of the front door handles, or under the liftgate handle, will unlock the vehicle.

I love the blue led map light in the 07 to 09's.

You should be able to change out the bulbs.

New here -- what a great thread!

I stumbled upon a YouTube video showing how to get to the rear-view camera anytime, not just in Reverse.

On the steering wheel:
1: Tap Menu
2: Press and hold Menu & Source for 5 seconds
3: A new menu appears - select Camera

Viola!
Please don't watch it while you're driving -- very unsafe! (But passengers can feel free to )

Personally, I'd like to be able to engage the rear camera, whenever I felt like it. Looking at adding a switch somewhere, a lot like the 'LANE WATCH'.

If you are parked (standing still) and you put it into N and then press the power button it will turn off the engine but leave the radio on. Can't remember if you need to have the foot on the brake or not. The only downside is that to turn ON the engine again, it will turn off/on the radio and also if you want to turn off the car completely you need to hit the Power button twice to do so.

I'll have to give this one a try, too.

Did you know, that with 'LANE WATCH,' you can turn the camera on, whenever you wanted? You can also turn it off, as soon as you turn on the right turn signal. When I'm going down a two-lane road, as soon as I hit the right turn signal, I press the button on the end to turn the camera off. Sometimes, the lights off the vehicles behind me are too bright, coming thru the camera and off the display, that I have to turn off the camera when I'm changing lanes.

 

I store items on and around the spare tire. Jumper cables, a cool bag, and reusable grocery bags. I have saved the stretch nets from a previous car for holding things from becoming airborne if in a crash. I store a can of deicer in there also.

 

Thanks! This is a great tip! I've taken to do this too. You can store quite a bit of things in that area!

 

Posted in error to this thread.

 

There’s another pair of LATCH anchors in the middle seat of the second row!
Every other car I’ve seen only has 2 pairs. This is the only car I’ve seen with 3 pairs.

 

Awesome thread, new to the CRV scene...

 

Just got my EX a week ago and was looking for a thread like this. The CR-V is my first Honda, my first Crossover/SUV and my first AWD. I've gleaned a few neat tips from the posts here. The extended visor tip was just in time as I was just about to purchase a visor extender. Had no idea the visor extended like that. I get direct sunlight from the driver's side on my daily work commute.

Tip: The user manual that comes with the car is just the starter/abbreviated version. You can order the full hard copy manual for free within six months of your vehicle purchase. The ordering information/website is in the user manual. I'm more of a digital copy person and have downloaded the pdf files online but for those that prefer hard copy and are within six months of your CR-V purchase, you can order it free online

 

Tip: The user manual that comes with the car is just the starter/abbreviated version. You can order the full hard copy manual for free within six months of your vehicle purchase. The ordering information/website is in the user manual. I'm more of a digital copy person and have downloaded the pdf files online but for those that prefer hard copy and are within six months of your CR-V purchase, you can order it free online

You should have received a CD-ROM disc with your new CR-V (assuming that it's a new one). That disc also has the full owner's manual (and warranty docs),

 

This is more of a tip than a hidden gem: when the rear seats are fully folded down, one can store the retracted, removable cover for the back cargo area in the small gap that is between the back of the front seats and the top of the folded down seat. (That may be hard to visualize). Moreover, you can take the protruding flap of the retracted cover and tuck it into that gap. I hope this makes sense! Peter

 

This is a great thread! I've had my CRV almost 7 months and learned several new things on here!!!