UPDATE 4/2/2020: Since we published this story, many of you out there in the TFL community reached out to share the stories of your high-mileage CR-Vs. Check out those stories here!
Second Update 7/14/2021: Stephen sent us a mileage update, and his CR-V is now over 350,000 miles!
Even with modern cars being more robust and ready to handle high mileages than ever before, most of us don’t dare dream of driving hundreds of thousands of miles before trading up. Sure, you get the occasional million-mile Hyundai story, but outside pickup trucks? It’s not likely most people will break into six mileages, especially within the first six years of ownership.
Right now, most drivers tend to average between 12,000 and 15,000 miles on their car each year — or about 1,000 miles per month, depending on how much you commute.
But TFLcar reader Stephen S. laughs in the face of ordinary driving habits. No, he took his 2014 Honda CR-V, which he bought new in August 2014, and drove it way farther than most would. Not 100,000 or even 200,000 miles, but he actually clocked over 300,000 miles in just five and a half years. In essence, that translates to 4,513 miles driven each and every month over the CR-V’s short life.
Okay, it’s a high-mileage CR-V…what’s broken?
Despite living most of its life in the city and driving from the Earth to the Moon (and making the return trip as we speak), precious little has actually broken on Stephen’s CR-V.
Here’s his own account of the ownership experience:
“I was reading your story of the 1995 Dodge diesel with over 900k miles on it yesterday. And while that is indeed quite a milestone, I think a gas-engined daily driver 4 cylinder over 300k miles is just as significant if not more so.
I bought my 2014 Honda CR-V AWD in August of 2014. The 2015 models were out but I specifically wanted the 2014 with the 5-speed automatic. I am leery of the CVT because my understanding is that you cannot repair or rebuild you have to replace.
My Honda is a daily driver and 95% of the miles on it are city driving. It has run O-20 synthetic oil since the factory and I have averaged 10,000 miles between oil changes.
I have not had any major malfunctions or repairs done to the vehicle. I replaced the belt tensioner at 180k miles because it failed, it had been squeaking since 80k. The original alternator failed at 280k. I am currently on my 5th set of tires and just completed my 3rd brake job. Also I replaced the rear struts and mounting brackets at 298k.
Everything on the vehicle is operational and there are no warning lights on the dash. I also have the factory tow package and I pull a small boat on occasion.
No news is certainly good news
Honda does have a solid reputation for reliability, but you still expect to have some problems driving a car that much over a short span. That’s much the same as you run into problems if you don’t drive your car enough. Still though, to just need a belt tensioner and alternator beyond general wear-and-tear items? That’s seriously impressive.
My gut instinct says you made a good call forgoing the CVT as well, but never having actually owned a CR-V with one I can’t personally speak for its reliability. If you do own a CVT-equipped Honda, let us know how it’s doing in the comments below! I prefer a true automatic tranmission (or a manual, if I can get one) over a CVT on performance alone, but I can understand your concerns there. At least in your experience, it seems like that was a good move, as transmission replacements can be expensive.
If you have a high-mileage car you want to tell us about, please send an e-mail to info@tflcar.com or leave a comment below!
