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CRV Gen 1 V. Gen 2

  

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Hey Scotty, love the videos. I am in the market for a new car, and having had and 04 Honda accord V6 auto with 183,000 miles on it, I am now in the market for some thing with a little more utility as a daily driver, and that will actually last. I was thinking of a CRV and a 4Runner to be possibilities but it seems the latter is out of my price range (about $4000) I’m in between a first generation and a second generation Honda CRV and I’m wondering,: which of the two are the most reliable in your opinion? In either case I’m referring to the more common automatic transmission. I know that the 1st Gen runs from 96 to 01 and I believe that the 2nd Gen is 02-06. I also know that in 98 the CRV had a slight engine upgrade and in 04 it had a transmission change from the 4 speed to the 5 speed automatic. I’m wondering which of these years has the most rock solid reliable engine and transmission (other aspects too, just those are the main concerns). Personally, I prefer the styling of the 1st generations, so I am biased towards them, but I don’t mind the idea of the more common sunroof in the 2nd Gen. So, I’m open to opinions. I’m just wondering what year ranges throughout the upgrades and tests that Honda has done thus far have they gotten it right? Having the current car that I do has made me quite paranoid about transmission failure, and I want to be able to go through stop and go traffic and take road trips again without constantly worrying about a giant looming future repair. 


**EDIT** Another thing that I forgot to touch base on is if the 2WD or real-time 4WD system is better/more reliable for either generation. Also if anyone has any recommendations besides a CRV that is also a smaller suv with comparable or higher reliability and a similar price let me know


2 Answers
1

First gen had issues with engine, stick to second gen. 2005-2006 should be your best bet. As always, have a mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection. Check common problems for each year at carcomplaints.com


Thanks for the reply, I’ll have to keep this in mind. Luckily it seems the 2nd gens are more common around me


0

2007-2011 were the most robust. 2014+ they lost it.


Thanks for the reply. I’m sure those are good years but not really in my budget unfortunately. and truthfully the look of them isn’t for me


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