Looking at buying one off my buddy, it has 130 000 mile's (yes a lot) but he's kept up on all maintainance and everything on it is new plus it run's minty. How are these car's at high km?

 

If the oil is changed on a regular basis and the engine has never been run low on oil, it generally won't have probems. If the oil has been changed infrequently or the car has been run low on oil several times, chances are that the engine will have problems with the timing chain and/or the VTC system.

Some '02-04 CR-Vs are affected by a faulty A/C compressor, which explodes internally and then contaminates the rest of the system with particulate compressor innards, requiring the entire A/C system (or at minimum, several parts of it) to be replaced at great expense (anywhere from $800-2000 depending on labor costs and parts required).

Door lock actuators are a common failure. The lock cylinders in the doors tend to seize up also - I recommend squirting some lock cylinder lube in them on a regular basis to keep this from happening. The original primary oxygen sensor tends to go bad at some point and trip a Check Engine light; unfortunately it's pretty expensive.

Other than that, they hold up well. Of course you'll have the normal consumable parts go bad (sway bar links, bushings, ball joints, axles, brakes, tires, struts, etc.). These cars also tend to consume tires faster than most vehicles depending on driving conditions, so it's not a bad idea to buy tires with a treadwear warranty and rotate them as needed to validate that warranty.

Change the Dual Pump fluid in the rear differential every 30,000 miles to provent the diff from making growling noises during hard turns. Change the trans fluid every 30,000 also.

They're pretty good vehicles if they're taken care of (as with most Honda cars). If the car has a solid recorded service history and is in good shape, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it regardless of the mileage.

 

wow good post man, the compressor did fail and he did have it replaced fairly recently. So other than oil change's there pretty solid? The mileage is crazy but if I get even 75k miles or even 150k miles+ (finger's crossed) out of the car that would be more than enough lol

 

You need to find out if the seller got just the compressor replaced, or if it was done properly as in replacement of compressor/clutch/coil, suction and discharge hoses, condenser, and evaporator core. 9 times out of 10 when the compressor goes on these CR-Vs they REALLY go and like Targa stated, they take the rest of the system out with it.

I've seen a few customers' CR-Vs (I work at a Honda/Acura only repair shop) that have had a compressor replaced elsewhere and it worked for a while, but eventually started making noise and died again because of old contaminants left in the system because they didn't flush the system and replace all the parts I listed above.

I'll also echo the door lock actuator issues as I've seen this on a few customers' vehicles. One such customer has had all 4 doors done (driver's side now two times!) and the hatch door actuator replaced!

I wish I could find a correlation between if the problems were limited to either the British made ones (VIN starts with an "S") or the Japanese made ones (VIN starts with a "J") but I've seen the lock and a/c issues on both types.

 

he had only replaced the compressor which was a bummer so I passed on that CRV I found another with 95k miles might be a better choice

 

I was told the transmission in my 2002 CR-V is not servicable. How do you change the transmission fluid? I have 185K on mine and its running great. Other than routine maintenace, I have only had to replace one coil. Its a great comuter car.

 

It is serviceable with just a simple drain and fill procedure, very easy. There is a drain plug underneath, and you refill it through the dip stick hole with a funnel. They take about 3.5 quarts of Honda ATF-Z1.

 

They're pretty reliable vehicles.
Just make sure the owners been on task with preventative maintenance.
Also a note. Inspect for oil leaks. Oil pressure switch and front main seal tends to leak.
Front main seal is easy to do, but the dealer charges quite a bit for labor.
Other than that, there is really no other problems other than those already stated by others on here.

 

I got a 2002 going on 300k original miles...runs like a freakn champ.

 

To Targa250R: I have a 2000 CR-V EX with 155xxx miles on it and the CEL came on. Everything seems to run fine, but I was wondering if it was the O2 sensor like you said.

 

wow first post was right one had to replace ac compressor on my 2004 crv

 

I have a Honda 2002 CR-V. I have had to replaced the compressor 3 times the first 5 years, it was a factory problem. The last time they must have put a more upgraded compressor because it has been 4 years and no problems.

 

Since when is 130k miles a lot on a 10 year old car ?

 

anyone know where the expansion valve is located on the 2002 honda crv? any help locating and accessing it would be appreciated.

 

I just bought a 2002 CRV w/ 130,000 miles. You're right on the w/ the growling noises during hard turns. Thanks for the advise on on changing the Dual Pump fluid in the rear differential every 30,000 miles to prevent the diff from making noise. I'm going to have this done and see if it helps.

My suspension needs to be checked out, too. I think it needs new ball joints and maybe struts.

 

I, too, had the rear noise when turning at high speed.... it was rear hub bearing. Quiet as a mouse now with 360,000 miles. Also have replaced a/c compressors several times, and have minor oil leaks. Oil and Filter change every 10,000 miles since new, but use Synthetic oil. My buddies always ask when I'm going to trade that old car, and my reply is, when it stops running. So far, so good.

 

i have 02 crv previus owner did replace tensioner and they silycone and made vtec stop working a made the ecu go lean mode which i only clean vtec selenoid and does it star working rigth ....

 

Just got a crv 02 with 18x,xxx mileage and it runs well but i need a detailed VIN:JHLRD78862C043986 report to help me no when to do major service changes like d liquids.

 

That's something you should've done Before buying it. just sayin'

 

Digging up old ****, but my gf's 2002 Cr-V is at 246,xxx miles and is still killin it. Primany o2 censor just triggered the cel. Hopefully that's all it needs.