Advise about Honda CRV

[rgrugg]

We bought a 2009 last fall. Supposedly has 4x4 but cannot find anything about it in the owners manual nor am I able to find any way to manually engage it. And then, it has a navigation system and I am not able to find out how to get it to vocally notify me of turns, change of routes, etc. If I push on the screen it will talk to me but that certainly doesn't thrill me. In order to get directions vocally, it seem like I'd have to spend way too much time looking at the screen instead of the road. Any help will be appreciated. The dealer is almost 50 miles away so that's a nuisance. Thanks

[Thomas G.]

You should be able to verify 4x4 easily enough by looking at the rear axle. If it has a differential housing with a driveshaft attached it is a 4x4. If the two rear wheels are just basically like trailer wheels, attached to suspension arms, it is a 4x2.

[Ed Harris]

Bob

The CRV uses a full time 4wd system really more of an all wheel drive and it can not be turned off or adjusted at all I am fairly certain.

Ed

[honda03842]

Sorry Bob.

We don't have the Honda GPS, I use Ginny. The kids mentioned getting us a GPS and Ginny's eye's drooped, I could almost hear her say "What's next a dog?"

There is no drive shaft to Honda's 4 wheel drive. It's hydraulic, and at least on my 2004, it's not selectable but an on demand unit. It detects slippage on the front wheels and activates the rear wheels as needed.

On a couple of occasions when I felt I needed the four wheel drive I have activated it by dropping to a lower gear to accelerate, causing a front wheel to slip and kicking in the rear drive. Other than my actions, when and if it happens, it's invisible to me.

I activated the rear wheels once in a road flooded situation and another time on an AZ dirt road/stream crossing. Other than that the Honda front wheel drive has always managed to pull us through.

[mary and bob]

Our 2003 CRV has a driveshaft to the rear differential, do the newer ones use a hydraulic motor to power the rear wheels. Is it a single one driving a differential, or one for each rear wheel. Sounds like an engineering nightmare to me. I like my old 4 X 4 vehicles that have driveshafts, locking front hubs, and a lever to activate the four wheel drive.

[honda03842]

Now I need to crawl under the Honda (as soon as it stops raining). At minimum there's a hydraulic 'coupler' that is often over looked during maintenance cycles.

Reggardless it is an on demand system though a selection switch would be handy.

[honda03842]

Admission from wet Norm (wet in more ways than one) drive shaft to hydraulic unit.

Learn until you die.....

[Ian G.]

Originally Posted by rgrugg

... And then, it has a navigation system and I am not able to find out how to get it to vocally notify me of turns, change of routes, etc. If I push on the screen it will talk to me but that certainly doesn't thrill me. In order to get directions vocally, it seem like I'd have to spend way too much time looking at the screen instead of the road. Any help will be appreciated. The dealer is almost 50 miles away so that's a nuisance. Thanks

Google can be your best friend
YouTube overview of system
2009 Honda CR-V Navigation Feature Presentation - DCH Academy Honda - YouTube

In the manual it appears that there are voice buttons on the steering wheel
Refer to page 4 diagram of the dash
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/.../AWA0909OM.pdf

[mary and bob]

I'm sure the all wheel drive system is activated by a computer that reads wheel spin from the ABS sensors. I've worked on so many ABS problems on trucks that were caused by bad sensors or wiring problems that I have no faith in the systems. They're great when they work, but can be a nightmare to fix when they don't. Modern day mechanics have to be knowledgeable about computers as much as mechanical stuff. So glad I'm retired from that business!

[Thomas G.]

Some 4x4 systems have a clutch pack that locks when there is relative spin between front and rear wheels. Not sure how Honda does theirs.

[Jared J]

If its like the 2000 model, it's a bit goofy, IMHO. There's a wee bit of lag in the system. For instance, if you're turning left at an icy intersection, and skid to the outside a bit, and decide to give it a little more steering and gas to pull it through…about then the awd kicks in, and you're headed for the left lane.

IIRC, it's also not a true even awd, I think you only get 20% max to the rear, but I could be wrong on that.

I was always all over the place with that car, and mom drove it fine. I realized she just didn't react, and if you waited a second, the car sorted it out. It was a little unnerving for me, that's what promoted me to look at Subarus, I wanted full time 50/50 awd that didn't switch back and forth. The subaru is a night and day driving difference to me.

That being said, the crv worked great for her, and was damn reliable. When the awd kicked in, it did surprisingly well in snow.

[Ian G.]

The Honda AWD system is very interesting and the Honda engineers put a lot of thought and "out-of-the-box" design into it.

There are a number of articles available on the AWD system, although most refer to earlier models than your 2009 yhey all describe the same concept and design, there is no way to confirm your unit is the same.

You the technical members this following webpage in quite interedting
Honda all wheel drive explained | awd cars, 4x4 vehicles, 4wd trucks, 4motion, quattro, xDrive, SH-AWD, Haldex, Torsen, wiki - How it works

[Pam Garlow]

...Any help will be appreciated. The dealer is almost 50 miles away so that's a nuisance. Thanks[/QUOTE]

Well, if the answer doesn't surface, it could be combined into a nice day trip. Go out to breakfast, visit dealer, sightsee, have dinner on the way home