I paid around $1K about 2 years ago at Pep Boys here in Buffalo NY. Did not replace the hoses.

 

Thanks for the feedback...And I am in Buffalo, NY as well. Small world. Did you do the thermostat as well?

 

I don't recall, though a thermostat is cheap.

 

I have an RD1, so not even a k series engine—can’t comment on any later CRV than mine.

what I will say is that I have done the radiator twice for mine and it wasn’t hard at all. If you have to take the whole front apart for the radiator that sure sounds like a crappy design.

I also did the thermostat. The part is cheap but it was a bit tricky for me because I couldn’t get the hose off the thermostat housing. I had to cut it off and install a new hose. The shop would have the tool for getting off the hose but it makes sense to install new hoses, new thermostat, new radiator. I would also backflush the heater core and then purge with distilled water and fill with coolant, but my heat was almost nonexistent.

 

My 2 cents... for that kind of money-
I'd ck with a dealer before using a generic chain service.
Or better yet- look for an 'independent' Honda shop.

 

Radiator could have leak which likely too much hassle to find and repair if its even possible to repair. A new radiator is good choice. While you at it a new thermostat which is cheap and new rubber hoses is almost a givin when replacing an old radiator. The hoses are likely original as well. So I would replace them all anyway. As for cost..no comment here since I am in Canada and price is different.

 

For that price I would hope its an OEM honda radiator, hoses, thermostat etc. If not you maybe flushing the $ down the water closet.

 

Good quality parts are important, but there is nothing magical about OEM Honda parts

 

When they say that the entire front needs to off the car, they are correct. BUT the car is DESIGNED to make that disassembly easy.

Bumper cover, upper rad support, fan assembly.... only a few bolts and clips.

T-stat, hoses are a common recommendation, kind of like a shop's insistence on replacing brake rotors when they do pads.

+++++++++++++

Regards the reason for the loss of coolant: that's different. Needs to be investigated. (cold pressure test?)

If they drained the coolant to do the VTC actuator, for example, the may not have burped the air out of the system. Interesting, that after filling, you did not have evidence of further coolant loss.

 

A couple of questions here. IMHO, something doesn't sound right.

When you opened the hood on the thruway, was there any indication of fluid splashed around the engine compartment?

What was the time frame from the actuator repair to the empty radiator scenario?

Did you go back to the shop that replaced the actuator? Check your shop receipt. See if they replaced coolant & how much they used. If they botched filling the proper amount of coolant back after the repair, you may get them to share / pay fully the cost.

Are the cooling fans working?

Good luck. Keep us informed.

 

So...My son has his 2012 Honda CRV (110K miles) and we just had the VTC actuator replaced...The good news so far is that it no longer makes noise (I hope it lasts).

However, a few days ago he calls me from his car that his temp gauge is going up when on the Thruway. I tell him to pull over and when he does it is close to maxed out H. He shuts it off and I go out there and it looks like all his coolant was drained from the radiator. I fill it up with water and drive it over to Pepboys who I have trusted for many things and they have been great. It was interesting that no water poured out of the car at all on my trip over. no leaks. Anyway, I leave the car there and they call me a couple of hours later telling me I need a new radiator, thermostat, and hoses. Cost $ 1,490.00. I thought wow that seems excessive and why does all that need to be replaced? Anyway, I feel I have no choice so I give the go-ahead. Now I spoke to them today and they are having a hell of a time with the radiator replacement saying basically the entire front end needs to come off to get the radiator out. So it turned out to be a bigger job than expected but they will not be charging me more.

Now maybe the cost is right but I really do not have a good vibe here and normally I do. Am I being paranoid? To replace everything seems a bit excessive. And the guy I normally work with was not in. Is this cost in line?

And I am also worried about the heads being warped due to the overheating but he says all is good there.

Thanks
Dave

You need to get a second opinion from a competent mechanic. A radiator for that vehicle can be had for between $100 and $200 and is quick and easy to replace. It could have just been a stuck thermostat. My biggest concern other than someone trying to rip you off is that he let it get too hot. There definitely could be severe engine damage caused by overheating to that extent. Find yourself a mechanic and I don't mean a parts store mechanic

 

So...My son has his 2012 Honda CRV (110K miles) and we just had the VTC actuator replaced...The good news so far is that it no longer makes noise (I hope it lasts).

However, a few days ago he calls me from his car that his temp gauge is going up when on the Thruway. I tell him to pull over and when he does it is close to maxed out H. He shuts it off and I go out there and it looks like all his coolant was drained from the radiator. I fill it up with water and drive it over to Pepboys who I have trusted for many things and they have been great. It was interesting that no water poured out of the car at all on my trip over. no leaks. Anyway, I leave the car there and they call me a couple of hours later telling me I need a new radiator, thermostat, and hoses. Cost $ 1,490.00. I thought wow that seems excessive and why does all that need to be replaced? Anyway, I feel I have no choice so I give the go-ahead. Now I spoke to them today and they are having a hell of a time with the radiator replacement saying basically the entire front end needs to come off to get the radiator out. So it turned out to be a bigger job than expected but they will not be charging me more.

Now maybe the cost is right but I really do not have a good vibe here and normally I do. Am I being paranoid? To replace everything seems a bit excessive. And the guy I normally work with was not in. Is this cost in line?

And I am also worried about the heads being warped due to the overheating but he says all is good there.

Thanks
Dave

I -literally- just did this myself on my 2012 w/160k on it. Difference was I did it myself. Total cost for parts (Radiator, upper and lower hoses, thermostat and thermostat housing [the housing is plastic, strictly speaking the housing didn't need to be replaced but I was there and was worried about breaking it due to frozen bolts])
Total cost for parts was around $280, all parts from Rock Auto. BTW- The radiator was the same brand as what Honda installed- Dorman. Definitely do the hoses and thermostat. Small price to pay to not have to do it all again later.
Dealer wanted $1200 +

Labor wise, it's very straightforward to replace, which took me about 3 hours to complete (backyard mech, never done this particular repair on this car before). The small front grill does need to come off, as do the 2 upper radiator support brackets. I think maybe 6 bolts, at most?
Both fans need to come off as well, which is a bit more complicated due to the wiring, etc, but once those are out, everything else is very straight forward.
The thermostat was a bit of a pain due to some frozen bolts, but I got those out without any damage.

BTW- Also watch for a corroded heater bypass tube that can leak coolant down where you can't see it. It's down under the intake manifold. The dealer told me $1400 for that, and it was on national backorder (I found it at another local dealership).

VTC is next. Not looking forward to that.

 

I have seen posts on here of the corroded tube. Funny to replace hoses but not that. It does seem like a generic approach.

$1400 for a bypass tube?? 😳
Should have asked, do you have a regular one instead of the solid gold one?

 

dang that's a lot of money. that would be something a friend and me would tackle on a weekend early in the morning after made sure i had all the parts and watched like 20 different videos on how to replace that specific radiator on youtube first.

 

I replaced the rad three years ago, 2008 CRV with 60k miles at the time.
It was slow leak that I detected before it had the change to overheat the car.
Dealer quoted me $800+ for the job, which with extras would have probably gone to 900+.
A local Indi did it for $500 putting a non OEM rad which he said it was good. No problems after and so far.
No thermostat or hoses recommended to change. My rad rusted because I take the car often to the beach, so it gets salt air.

 

I thought they were plastic and aluminum, what rusted?

 

A radiator for the 2012 CR-V lists for $102, on Amazon with free shipping.

 

Had to replace the radiator on a '99 and an '04 in the past, plastic cracked where the upper hose connected on both if I recall. Both times the radiator was about $100 and took a few hours, new hoses of course; don't know if a 2012 would be that much different but you will scrape your knuckles if you're going to DIY. Getting the fan bolts out took time, the radiator pulls straight up without having to pull off the front grill on the ones I worked on.

 

(sorry for the long delay- too busy @ work recently)
This tube is painted steel, located under the intake manifold. It connects to the thermostat housing on one end and snakes around the lower front of the engine to the drivers side towards the back, where it connects to the rubber hose leading to the heater core. There is also a branch off this tube that goes to the throttle body assy.