hey all - i have a 2002 honda cr-v EX with about 4500 miles on it -
recently, about 500 miles ago, i noticed that when at idle or in
reverse, there is noticeable vibration that can be felt in the
steering wheel and even the seat(practically the whole front end of
the car). This vibration was not felt when the car was brand new.
When put into neutral or park, the vibration within the car is gone.
does anyone know what the cause could be?! and has anyone taken their
cr-v to the deal for this problem and what were they told. Thanks to
all in advance!

I have the same problem, sometimes worse than others. The dealer
says it is normal. When I mentioned that my old 98 CRV didn't do it
he said that it is because of the new engine and there is nothing
they can do. I guess it is a design problem and we will have to live
with it.

I'm sorry but I've always had a serious distrust for dealers in general,
especially after I caught one of them trying to do something illegal, and then
watched their response after I called them on it. That answer is simply not
acceptable, depending on how serious the vibration is.

You have to ask yourself this question as you sit in your car experiencing the
vibration: Is this normal? Is this what my car should be doing and is this
vibration acceptable, as normal? What would 12 people on a jury say to this
question if they were here with me experiencing this? Not that you're going to
take it to trial, but if enough people are having this problem then I would
think it might just get there.

If it's really not a major, beyond normal kind of thing, then I wouldn't even
bring it up in this chat area. And I say that only because there are plenty of
problems out there that are serious.

Hans

I also notice a bit of vibration at idle.
It is not objectionable in my CR-V but yours might be worse.
Some vibration at idle on a big 4 cyl engine is normal.
The ddesigners usualy fix this with counter ballened shafts, and
carefully tuned engine mounts.
The CR-V is one of teh bigest 4 cyls out there, so I would not expect
it to be perfectly smooth at idle, especially as the idle speed keeps
getting lowered for fuel milage reasons.

Whats sad is our 00 auto EX developed a bad vibration in the front
end on accelleration only, and worse in lower gears than higher
gears. Dealer said all 97-01 CRVs are like that because of the angle
of the axles. I think it was BS. Personally I think there is a
problem with the auto transmissions, possibly thte torque converters
but they will never admit it and I cant prove it. Bought an 02 EX as
a replacement. Hopefully Ill escape the tranny gremlins this time.

Haven't had that problem yet.  Do know someone who had to have the whole tranny replaced, but it was under warranty. 
 
Hans