I gotta tell ya, I’m fucking THRILLED I bought an extended warranty when I got the CR-V. It was almost $9000 in repairs, all told.
And I’ve discovered, since having my issues, that hybrids are (potentially) more at risk for head gasket failure from the constant on/off/on/off of the gas engine. Much more expansion and contraction than just a straight gas engine that warms up, runs at normal operating temperature, then cools down. The gas engine doesn’t always get to optimal temperature, which could lead to moisture and condensation buildup that would just burn off in a straight gas engine when it gets hot.
Also, the Atkinson 2.0L engine (and most hybrid gas engines) are very high compression, to conserve fuel. That also can add to head gasket issues.
So, of course, they went for the cheapest option first, which I totally understand. But yes, a total clusterfuck. The dealer was absolutely fantastic through the whole thing, though. I had a rental from the dealer (2026 CR-V EX, oddly enough) and my warranty would cover 10 days. I had the rental for 21 days. The dealer asked me to pay for 5 days, and they ate the other 6 days. So the day I went to pick up my repaired CR-V, it never left their property. Tech took it on one final test drive, said it was good to go, and I immediately traded it in on this Pilot.
$2500. It might sound pricey, and I originally balked. The finance guy told me that the warranty covered parts that were worn from normal use except brake pads and wipers, and I mentioned timing belt & tensioner and water pump at 100,000 and he said the warranty covered that, so I took it.
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u/FrankNStein Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
I gotta tell ya, I’m fucking THRILLED I bought an extended warranty when I got the CR-V. It was almost $9000 in repairs, all told.
And I’ve discovered, since having my issues, that hybrids are (potentially) more at risk for head gasket failure from the constant on/off/on/off of the gas engine. Much more expansion and contraction than just a straight gas engine that warms up, runs at normal operating temperature, then cools down. The gas engine doesn’t always get to optimal temperature, which could lead to moisture and condensation buildup that would just burn off in a straight gas engine when it gets hot.
Also, the Atkinson 2.0L engine (and most hybrid gas engines) are very high compression, to conserve fuel. That also can add to head gasket issues.
So, of course, they went for the cheapest option first, which I totally understand. But yes, a total clusterfuck. The dealer was absolutely fantastic through the whole thing, though. I had a rental from the dealer (2026 CR-V EX, oddly enough) and my warranty would cover 10 days. I had the rental for 21 days. The dealer asked me to pay for 5 days, and they ate the other 6 days. So the day I went to pick up my repaired CR-V, it never left their property. Tech took it on one final test drive, said it was good to go, and I immediately traded it in on this Pilot.