Hona CRV

Recently purchase a 2008 Honda CRV and am very unhappy with the hard ride. You can feel every little crack in the road. Is there anything I can do to improve ride?

I heard that they have made some improvements on the 2009 Models

Thanks

Have you checked the tire pressure? If it’s high, set it to the recommended pressure shown on the door sticker usually located on the driver’s side door jamb.

Ed B.

Great you purchased one of the top tier small SUVS: CRV, Toyota RAV4, 2009 Subaru Forester. However of that group it offers a degradation in ride for other qualities. It not terrible but the Forester and RAV4 are much better IMHO and it seems ratings.

You can check tire pressure for overfilling. But otherwise softer tires may help. Next time if you did not already arrange for an extended half day test drive(they do this) instead of the typical short one to gloss over the vehicles shortcomings to you.

Thanks for the reply. I knew I would experience a harder ride due the short wheel base, but nothing like this. My son has the older model CRV and was very surprised at the bad ride. I have checked tire pressure and it is OK, I have even considered lowering the pressure a few pounds to see if there is any improvement.I realize this will not help mileage.

The older CRV may simply have worn enough or out shocks to make the ride more soft but other qualities poorer. Old CRV’s did not have a ride to write home about.

Have you taken a long trip in the Honda CRV? The reason I ask is that what seems to be a hard ride around town may be less tiring on a long trip. We own a 2003 Toyota 4Runner. Compared with the softly sprung 1993 Oldsmobile 88 that we sold when we bought the 4Runner, the 4Runner seemed to ride like a wheelbarrow. Yet, on long trips, we find the 4Runner very comfortable. We much prefer it on 350 mile trips to visit our son than the softly sprung Oldsmobile. Also, the fluid in the struts or shock absorbers is thicker in cold weather and makes a vehicle ride harder. If you recently acquired the Honda CRV in cold weather, this may be why it seems to ride hard.

I had a 1950 Chevrolet 1 ton pick-up that I thought rode hard, unless I had spent the day disking a field with the International Harvester F-12 tractor. Then the pickup rode like a dream. In a similar fashion, when I thought my Rambler rode too hard, I would drive the Chevrolet pick-up for a while. Then the Rambler had a better ride. At any rate, I would recommend making a trip of at least 100 miles in your Honda CRV and see if the ride is really tiring.

WHAT tire pressure is OK? Use the tire pressure on the decal when you open the driver’s door.

I too have the same problem with my 2008 CRV. Sometimes driving on the freeway at 65-70 mph the car start bouncing so much my teeth chatter. I’ve tried lowering the tire pressure 2 to 3 lbs but the ride is still very hard. We ended up buying some chair cushions for the seats to absorb some of the bounce.
I’ve owned jeeps and 3/4 ton trucks and I’ve never felt such a hard ride. I like my CRV, but not the ride. If I had felt this hard ride when I test drove it, I would never had bought it.

We’ll softer shocks help, or any other suggestions?

I don’t understand. Didn’t you test drive the vehicle before you purchased it?

You won’t be able to make any substantial change in the ride quality. If you really don’t like it your only option is to trade for a vehicle with a more comfortable ride.

Check the brand and model of your tires and find them on tirerack.com; see if the reviews are favorable. You might be able to improve the ride some by changing to different tires.