CR-V Transmission Replacement

My son owns a 2001 CR-V EX, and has been having a miserable time with the transmission. He currently has 170,000 miles on this car.

The car is at the Honda dealer and is being diagnosed. Initially, he was told by the service manager that the problem sounded like the transmission, but we have not yet had that confirmed.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but someone has told him that a replaced (new) transmission on a CR-V will last only 10,000 miles, so it is not worth spending the money.

Has anyone got any info or experience with having to replace a transmission on a CR-V?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

lasting 10,000 miles..................well that depends on the condition of the used tranny you are buying.

the b20z tranny is hard to find, so, you may get lucky on ebay, recycler.com, junkyards, honda-tech.com classifieds, etc,etc,etc and get a good buy. or you can just get it rebuilt at any transmission shop for a good price if you look around.

you can save some major labor dollars and do it yourself. a few bolts, lines, and wires and its out. its not that a tranny replacement is hard, its just time consuming. spend a day on it with your son and save a few hundred, if not a few thousand depending where you take it to.

My first post concerned a possible tranny repair to my son's CR-V EX, which has 170,000 miles on it. Thanks, superbluecivicsi, for your intelligent reply.

We learned today that the result of the dealership diagnosis is not the tranny, but apparently cracked heads on two of the cylinders. Apparently the codes that were pulled up on the computer indicated this.

My dealership mechanic, with whom I've done business for years, wanted me to consider how many miles are on this car, and if we wanted to go ahead with the repair, which would be to replace the heads.

This car is loaded with all sorts of accessories, etc., as it was a college graduation present. I feel the investment risk ($2600) is reasonable, considering (a) what it would cost to replace the car with something similar, and (b) what the car cost originally.

Can we believe in the possibility of my son getting another 100,000 miles ouf of this car, once fixed?

Are there any other things we should be taking into consideration?

the crack is in the head or the shortblock. you can easily get a head or shortblock by itself for around $300 each. a complete longblock can be had for around $500. if you have the know how to do the engine swap yourself, you could save thousands. or just buy the block and have someone you know who knows how to, to do it for a few hundred. a day or maybe even two and itll be done.

$2600 is for a complete engine rebuild? with a warranty?...............not bad if it is a complete rebuild. maybe you can find local engine shops that already have a b20 block in stock and will just sell and install the block for you. or you can buy a block yourself and take it to them, and have them install it. it would be cheaper than paying honda to do it. honda is good, but, too expensive for me. if you are comfortable with the price assuming if that $2600 is for a new rebuilt block with a warranty, you are basically looking at an engine with 0 miles on it. brand new engine, just like when you first bought the car.

Thanks, superbluecivicsi , you've helped a great deal. You've given us several options, which is what we needed.

Just a question for you regarding your CRV. What made you think the transmission was bad?

I have a 2000 CRV, that makes a grinding/vibraion noise under light acceleration from 52-55 MPH. It is a honde certified vehicle so they alreay changed 2 transmissions on it, then test drove another CRV to find out that all 4 wheel drive CRV 2000 model make this noise. (im not so sure right now, but just wanted to see if it was a similar problem)

Hi, Eric,
Thanks for your post. I am happy to report that the problem was not with the transmission! The cylinders were replaced, and now the CR-V is running like a fine Swiss watch.

The transmission theory was just that - a theory.

Hello all,

i have a 2002 Honda CRV with only 87000 on it and while driving last week, the vehicle simply start revving without moving the car, so immediately I guess it was the transmission, my mechanic towed it to his shop and when we got there he got in the car and managed to drive it around no problems. He said the transmission needs replacement, do you agree and if that is so does repairing it cost less (what is the average cost of that)? thank you for any advice.

Mark-