Honda FRV - Honda FRV - Reliability.

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Fri 26 Jul 2013 20:29
Honda FRV - Honda FRV - Reliability. - debonairzummerzetmillionaire

In conjunction with the post relating to the WhatCar? September 2013 Reliability Survey I wondered whether anyone could give me information on the reliability of the Honda FRV. Having read numerous positive reports I was looking to purchase one, but it's been absolutely panned in the survey as unreliable and expensive to fix. The report stipulates that 10 per cent of all FRV's developed a problem and that these were expensive to repair with 46 per cent of faults being engine related (typically oil system, timing belt, valves and springs). The average repair bill was set at £846.64. I wish these reports were more specific, given that the car was manufactured with 1.7, 1.8 and 2.0 petrol engines and a 2.2 diesel unit. I'd assumed that the only engine with a belt in the FRV was the 1.7? Surely they can't all be that bad? HJ's Car-by-car doesn't seem to reveal anything untoward. I'm hoping someone might be able to enlighten me by offering specifics. Thanks, in anticipation.

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Fri 26 Jul 2013 21:56
Honda FRV - Honda FRV - Reliability. - Sulphur Man

We run a 2008 FR-V 1.8i EX VTEC petrol auto. Purchased from Honda main dealer in May 2011.

So far, utterly reliable. The only unforseen was the third party bluetooth system, fitted by Honda at the time of purchase, causing an intermittent battery drain. This fault was isolated and the whole unit replaced under warranty - not even a factory-fitted Honda component. That is customer service in excelsis.

Absolutely excellent car. Feels like it will go 150K miles without complaint. The feedback by owners on this forum and other motoring websites (the ones linked to the popular magazines) is uniformly good/great. Especially for the 2.0 and 1.8 petrol versions.

Due to very positive word of mouth, and increasing scarcity, good examples are sought after. If you can find a tidy petrol model from 08-reg onwards, with full Honda history, then seriously consider it.

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Fri 26 Jul 2013 23:06
Honda FRV - Honda FRV - Reliability. - debonairzummerzetmillionaire

Thanks for the feedback SM and HJ, much appreciated. I shall resume my search. Honda dealer prices certainly seem quite steep for 2007- cars.

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Fri 26 Jul 2013 23:37
Honda FRV - Honda FRV - Reliability. - Sprice

Agreed on the subjectivity of some reliability surveys. A lot of it comes down to owners expectations which explains why Skoda, which uses VW mechanicals does so much better than VW and Audi in lots of surveys.

Edit: Oops, wrong thread!

Edited by Sprice on 26/07/2013 at 23:42

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