Just picked up a black with black leather 02 this week for my
wife....she absolutely loves it.

I plan on adding a couple of accessories as the next couple of weeks
pass.

Roof rack and Side Step-up rails, and maybe the fog lights as well.
The rack seems quite simple. Does anyone have experience with the
step-rails, or any negative comments on them? It doesn't look to be a
complicated install, however, any suggestions are welcolme.

Fog lights, are they a simple connection of pre-wired components, or
will all the wiring need to be run? Also, is it neccessary to remove
the bumber for this install?

Lastly, the issue of 5W-20. I know the manual recommends this grade,
and the tighter tolerances, fuel economy and fewer emissions play a
role, but is it really neccassary?

I would prefer to use a fully synthetic 5W-30 grade, mainly because i
have a couple of cases of the oil, and secondly i live outside of
Toronto, and the temps in the winter can dip well below -10 C. So if
anyone has recommendations on this, it would be greatly apprecieted.
The dealer recommended only 5W-20, for warranty reasons and all that i
mentioned above, but are there no exceptions to this?

Looking for some feedback.

Regards

Tommy

One of my friends enquired about the step-up rails and was told they are
STRICTLY COSMETIC, i.e. don't step on them!

AB

This oil thing has me concerned as I'm getting conflicting information from
my dealer & Honda.

The manual quotes 5W-20 (NOT a common oil) for all of North America. The
dealer told me this viscosity # is a general recommendation which can and
should be varied depending on the location. This makes sense to me,
otherwise this same oil grade recommendation would apply to sub-arctic
Canada as well as very Southern California/ Northern Mexico. These diverse
locations are definitely NOT the same climactically.

My Long Island NY dealer informed me that they use/install 10W-30
exclusively in their shop for all Honda models other than the Insight. Based
on this I don't see why I can't do the same for my 2002 CR-V EX.

I intend to bring it in as recommended at 3,750 miles/3 months for the FIRST
oil change. They are going to install conventional mineral-based oil which I
intend to drain when the odometer hits 5,000 miles (this should flush out
most of the break-in oil) and refill it myself using Mobil1 10W-30.

I want to perform all subsequent oil changes based on the severe service
recommendations BUT with a twist. I want my dealer involved for
warranty/extended warranty purposes but don't want to spend any more time
there than I have to. I will thus have them do the oil changes at the
recommended 10,000 mile service interval with Mobil1 (which I supply) then I
perform the intermediate 5,000 mile changes myself. This will preserve my
warranty (just hate a pissy dealer) and limits my dealer visits to once
every ten months.

Looking for comments from those "in the know."

Happy Holidays to all,
AB

I got the side and back rails on my 98'CRV and they are just for show. Nothing to step up on. I like the way that they look, but they are all show and no substance. They may be different for the 2002.
 
jrc
 

it depends on the side bars that you get I did not get
the actual honda I bought after market, and I love
them...they can hold up to 300lbs if someone is
stepping on them. They were the manik brand. The
only problem I had was the plastic pieces but they
will replace them over and over again at no charge, as
they break at where they are screwed in.

Tobi