I have been looking around for a mid/small SUV, mainly to take camping and on light trails, and I think I have decided upon a CR-V. My dad had an '02 and loved it..sold it because he has a 75 mile commute each day and the Prius that he got is much more economical.

That being said, I have been looking at the 1st gens because I don't have a ton of money to play around with. I would want to spend about $3k max. It has to be a 5-speed, but I am having trouble deciding upon an exact year range.

As I understand it, the 96-98 used the B20B engine, whereas the 99 and up had the B20Z? Somebody correct me if I'm wrong. I wanted to get the opinions of people with each type: does the 30hp or so really make that big of a difference, that I should further limit my search to the later years? How is MPG affected? All I've read says that they get about the same (~23mpg is what my dad got consistently).

So far, I've found a '97 that could be a candidate. Thanks for the help guys; I have a '97 Civic right now and love the reliability and being able to do most things myself. Just took it cross country and basically lived out of it for a month - it had some trouble, especially in AZ and Northern California..which is why I need a more capable vehicle that sits higher off the ground. Thanks for any input and advice that you guys have.

 

Get the 99-01 cause its the b20z and it has the darker interior

 

This thread might give you some insight:
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-cr-v-element-156/1st-gen-crv-gas-mileage-3056113/


What's your average MPG for your Civic? The good thing about 1st Gen (97-01) CRV's is that they're based off the 6th gen (97-00) Civic's. So many parts are interchangeable. Assuming you get around 30mpg (and assuming your Civic is well maintained), you should be able to get between 23-28mpg on a CRV. Like mentioned in the thread above, an OBD1 conversion an tune could get you up to 30+ MPG.

 

Get the 99-01. It has the 20 hp more and you do notice the difference.

 

I came from a 97 LX auto to an 01 EX 5-speed and the difference is day and night. I don't remember the gas mileage on the 97, but on my 01 I usually get at least 25MPG minimum doing mostly 60 on the freeway and city driving. Do 80 and you're getting like 20. I'm trying to get 400 miles out of my gas tank right now even though the needle is on E. It's at 370+, but it's worth a shot!

Some notable differences between an LX vs EX is colored door and side mirrors, ABS, useless reclining rear seats that you can turn into a bed, alloy wheels, keyless entry, possible dash clock, and a CD player

The difference between 97-98 vs 99-01 models is B20Z motor (which makes a huge difference), dark grey interior (looks a lot nicer), an Overdrive button on automatic models, lighted power switches, rear door cup holders, and rear child seat tethers on 01 models.

The only differences I can think of with automatic vs 5-speed models are:
Automatics have extra cupholders under the ashtray, an extra storage bin under the cupholders, and an armrest on the driver's seat.
5-speed don't have the armrest, instead of cupholders it has a smaller storage bin, and instead of the bin under the cupholders in automatic models it a small pocket and your shifter is there also. There were always rumors that 5-speed seats "hug" you more than automatic models, but I was never too sure. I've driven both and never really noticed it.

 

yeah stock i never got under 25mpg, with highway i would almost hit 30. i have seen second gens for around and slightly under 5k. i still dont see a lot of first gens under 3k though but they are starting to get down there. its a really popular vehicle where i live. i wish i had cash i just saw some nice ones for around 3k myself haha. saw one for 2200 last weekend.

these are great cars you will be happy with it. i went in just wanting a good practical car, and ended up actually putting more money into my crv than my 350z since i bought it. although to be fair i had already done everything i wanted to that car before i bought my crv haha. but still.

 

I get about 30mpg in my Civic - anywhere from 30-32, depending on how I drive it.

I would definitely be interested in the OBD 1 conversion to get up to 30mpg! But on that thread, didn't the guy also install a turbo booster? That'd be a bit much for me to do myself, especially since I don't care as much about power as I do MPG, which might make turboing it too costly. (hence the D16Y7 Civic, haha).

I didn't know about the interchangeable parts, but it will definitely help having a similar platform. Thank you for the link to the helpful info. I guess I have narrowed it down to a '99-'01..just have to be patient now.

I really wanted to get an idea of the difference between LX / EX, as well as the model year differences - and you guys accomplished that. What about the manual transmissions? I haven't heard anything negative about them - do they hold up well?

My dad had an automatic, sold it at 180k and it never gave him problems. He was having consistent problems with the A/C compressor, though. No fun. So realistically, I should expect about 23mpg?

And to clarify - these people that are getting 30mpg in their CR-V's are doing what exactly? I read the thread posted above - so are they changing the OBDII for OBDI (don't know what the advantage of that would be) and changing the ECU to Civic ECU?

 

5-speed transmissions holds themselves up well. It's like any other Honda transmission. Short gears and revs high on the highway (60MPH at 3k RPM). The biggest fall would probably just be the long throws they have, but a short throw kit will fix it. I haven't had any issues in mine. I'm at 146k+(or was it 164k...) miles right now and haven't had a problem. I'm not even sure if my clutch has been replaced yet either. It could still be the original.

A/C issues were more of the 02-04 CR-V models. I haven't heard of any issues for the 97-01 models.

ECU wise I think they were talking about switching it with an LS Integra or if they have a VTEC head swap, then with a Civic Si or Integra GSR/Type R.

The best way to get good gas mileage would just be to drive it easy. Mine hardly ever see's above 3k RPM and I usually drive around town shifting around 2500k RPM. I do have a short ram intake from a Civic as well (because my stock box got destroyed), but I don't think it really makes a difference other than noise. There's a lot of factors that play with getting high MPGs. Sad to say, but my CR-V gets just as good MPGs as my S2000's.

 

So I will steer clear of 02-04 for sure - my dad had an 02 and went through 3 AC compressors in the 180k that he owned it. Just asked him if he got his valves adjusted, and he did, every 30k.

I will be looking for a '99-'01 because of the upgrades after '98. Since I would skip '02-'04, that would leave me looking at '05-'06. I read that the valves on these tend to get looser over time and make noise (as opposed to the B20Z, which get tighter), reducing the possiblity of a burnt valve / need for a new head. I think the '05-'06 will be out of my ideal price range, but did the upgrade to the K24 make any major differences (engine-wise), besides the valve adjustment difference?

I am thinking the valve adjustment issue won't be major - as long as I am aware and diligent. Even if a head needs machined, I figure that would be what...a $300 or so job by a machine shop? Or am I ballparking it way too low?

The only other major concern I have with these vehicles is the rear driveshaft..something about them being non-serviceable, so if the u-joints go bad they are super expensive to replace?

 

The K-series motor was a completely redesigned motor compared to any B-series motor. I havent' had much experience with K motors, but once again it's a Honda so it'll last you a long time.

Valve adjustments aren't a huge major issue, but make sure you do get it done like every 30k miles or so. I didn't have my VCR at the time (it was at my parent's place), but it ended up getting burnt valves and now it has a new head on it. If I only had it at the time it wouldn't of gotten burnt. I went to Honda a long time ago and got an estimate of how much it'd cost to adjust valves and they said it was 100+ to get it done. A shop mechanic will probably do it for cheaper.

I haven't had any driveshaft problems yet. 166k miles and still going strong. There's a ton of CR-V's out there and junk yards are bound to have them so you can always pick if off from there rather than buy it brand new from Honda.

On a side note: Just going back to gas mileage. Yesterday I decided to push my VCR into the 400 mile tank club. No gas light lit on. It hits 407 miles and then the engine dies... No more gas. I had to walk/job about 1.3 miles each way just to get gas last night around 10. I blame the gas light never coming on!! I did manage to get 27 MPGs average though.

 

i got nearly 30mpg completely stock just driving normally. and i would get 5 speed i think that will help the mpg's, plus its better. i dont like the autos at all.

the few mpg's less you might get from your civic are well worth it if you want to seat 4 comfortably and have a lot of cargo room. i have been able to haul some pretty good sized stuff. i moved into my house with JUST my cr-v haha. except my mattresses, but if i had my roof rack at the time i would have.

the shift throw being long is retarded...i have a foot long shift ****, my throw is like 2 feet and its fine. but i dont know, i am an ex trucker so maybe thats why it doesnt bother me.

valve adjustment is easy. the diff service is easy.

 

If you're talking about the prop shaft that runs to the rear "pumpkin," there's a company that manufactures stand-alone driveshaft U-joints that can replace the "fixed" U-joints in the OEM shaft. It's a bit of work, but I think it's cheaper than replacing the whole shaft as Honda prescribes...

Someone mentioned these are everywhere in junkyards; I've found that's not quite the case. There are a surprising number on the road in these parts (MI) and very few in the yards, let alone the U-pull lots. You may get lucky and find one that's been hit every so often, but it's very hit or miss. In all of 2 years of searching, I've only come across 4-5 CR-Vs being parted out by yards here. Get used to trawling Craigslist/ Searchtempest constantly...

As for the LX/EX split, it mostly came down to a few things -- EXs came with body-colored mirrors and exterior door handles, the split five-spoke alloy wheels, and -- perhaps most importantly -- ABS. In '97, there was no EX/LX split; you either bought a CR-V with or without ABS.

 

About the U-joints from Rockford:

CRV 97-01 Driveshaft
CRV 97-01 Staked in U-joints

Propeller shaft universal joint replacement how to - Dial up Beware!