The Honda CR-V is one of the most popular vehicles on the road today. So are the tires that come with. When Honda built your CR-V, they tried to walk the line between cost, performance, fuel economy, and treadwear. You might want something different when it comes time to replace your existing Honda’s tires. Maybe you want the most flashy, fancy money can buy. Or maybe you want something that will perform wonderfully in the rain and snow.
Whatever your preference, we hope our overview on the best tire options for the Honda CR-V crossover is helpful.
Have an older Honda CR-V? See tire sizes for previous years.
The best budget tire choice for 2022 is the Hankook Kinergy ST. This option is a standard all-season, dependable tire for crossovers, SUVs, couples, passenger cars and minivans. This tire is very affordable and still earns a four-star rating from owners. The design focus here is a long tread life and performance. This is the value choice.
The TrueContact Tour all-season tires from Continental are our best choice for a mid-priced budget. This tire brand is well known in the industry for dependability, long tread life and excellent durability. While moderately priced, this tire earns a high 4.5 score and is rated Excellent or Good in all categories. Continental emphasized a quiet ride, smooth operation, and long tread life.
With a similar rating to the Continental, but at a higher price by about 20%, this tire may appeal to Goodyear fans. Although the Assurance WeatherReady is considered all season, it also comes with the Severe Snow Certification symbol. If you don’t want to also use winter tires and live in a snowy area, this is your pick.
Pirelli is a legendary brand in the tire world and the Scorpion line used as standard equipment on many fancy crossovers we’ve tested. The Scorpion Verde All-Season Plus II is an affordable choice from a trusted brand. This offering was created for the eco-friendly consumer, performs well in wet and dry conditions and maintains good reviews in light snow.
Yokohama is a well-known brand that Subaru turns to for its crossovers. The Geolandar is a popular tire model and is moderately priced. This tire’s focus is on fuel savings, handling, and treadwear. It earns good ratings in most categories and is a popular choice for the savvy consumer. The Geolandar also has good ratings for performance in wet and dry conditions.
Michelin is one of the largest and most established tire companies in the industy. The company has a model for most every occasion. The Premier LTX is rated excellent in wet and dry conditions, and has excellent ratings for durability and comfort. This well-rated tire is known for superior stopping power and handling, and even performs well in light snow.
Great prices, wide selection and unmatched convenience
The current generation Honda CR-V crossover is sold in multiple trims with two tire sizes:
We’ve recommended three replacement tires in both 17- and 18-inch sizes, in the budget, moderately priced and cost-no-object varieties above. Whether your pockets are deeper than the Mariana trench or Ebenezer Scrooge considers you a role model, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. All of these tires above have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys.
There are two regular milestones that will suggest that it’s time to replace the tires, not only on your CR-V but any vehicle in your driveway: Time and Mileage.
Considering most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, the vast majority of CR-V owners are going to be past the mileage that their original equipment tires were intended to cover before they’ll go past the tire’s usable age.
The life of your tire can be somewhat predicted by its UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) rating. Tire manufacturers apply their own grades to tires for treadwear, traction, and temperature. When you’re researching tires online, a UTQG will come up next to the tire name in three digits and a number (ex. 500 A A).
You can glean a bit of info from the tires by reading this rating:
Original equipment Bridgestone Ecopia tires on the CR-V earn a solid 700 AA UTGQ rating. Unless they are damaged, these tires could last as long as 70,000 miles before you need to replace them.
The other consideration is time. Each tire has a raised date code on the sidewall. The number begins with the letters “DOT” followed by 12 digits in three four-digit groups. The date code is the third group of four digits. To decipher the date of your tires, the first two digits represent the WEEK the tire was produced, and the second two digits represent the YEAR.
For example, if your tire’s date code is 3217, that indicates the tire was manufactured in the 37th week of 2017, or sometime between September 11 and 17th that year.
Once tires go beyond five years old, it’s time to consider replacing them. Tires are made up not just of rubber and steel or kevlar belts, but chemicals that help the tires resist UV rays, temperature changes and a lot of other environmental hazards. Those chemicals start to break down after five years or so, and the tires aren’t doing the job that they need to do.
See our recommendations for the Best Insurance for your Honda CR-V
See our recommendations for the Best Extended Warranty for your Honda CR-V
There’s no harm in replacing your tires with the shoes it came with from the factory. However, depending on what kind of driver you are, there are significant reasons to purchase something different.
You only need to purchase ONE set of tires for your car every four years or so, depending on how much you drive. When an auto manufacturer purchases tires, they buy them by the hundreds of thousands. For the manufacturer, the decision to choose a supplier one brand or another comes down to a price point.
For you, your consideration may be completely different. If you could get a tire that stopped 20 feet shorter for an additional $10 per tire over the original equipment, you’d probably do it. Similarly, if there was a tire that for a minimal investment overstock, you’d probably decide on the slightly more expensive tire. (that is unless you’re trying to drown out the conversation of your back-seat-driving spouse.)
Depending on the year and model, you may be shopping tires to fit anything between 15-inch for older models to 18-inch wheels with various widths and sidewall sizes along the way. It is possible to change the wheel and tire sizes, but a general rule of thumb is to keep the total diameter of the wheel and tire the same. So, that means that downsizing an 18-inch wheel to a 17-inch wheel would include a proportionate upsizing of the tire sidewall to compensate.
Downsizing wheels has its advantages. Benefits include:
On the other side of the coin, going up in wheel size has its benefits:
When reading tire sizes, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean. The Honda CR-V’s 17-inch wheels come with 235/65R17 103H all-season tires:
You may have noticed that the Honda CR-V’s two tire sizes have different diameters and also different aspect ratios. Generally, automakers choose tires that have the same outer diameter. This allows them to have only one speedometer setting.
Now that you know what comes on the new CR-V and how to read the size numbers, let’s look at the different types of tires available to you. Depending on the type of driving you’re doing, where you live, and the weather, you have a variety of choices for tire types:
Year | Trim Type | Tire Size |
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Check inside your driver’s side door for a white and yellow label that will tell you the exact tire pressure recommendations for your CR-V model. Note that the pressure on the tire itself is never the correct setting, but rather a maximum.
Rotating tires is more about the tire than it is about the car. A typical rotation interval is somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 miles, though specific cars and tires may change those numbers a bit. The CR-Vis a front-wheel drive-based car, so the front tires will be worn more quickly than the rears.
Your Honda CR-V should have come equipped with a compact spare tire and changing tools in the trunk. In this case, you already have everything you need to physically change the tire, but you may want to carry an extra roadside emergency kit with an upgraded lug wrench, jumper cables, and emergency markers just in case.
Great prices, wide selection and unmatched convenience
Several online retailers like Tire Rack offer regular discounts and free shipping for their tires. Their sites also have tire fit guides and pricing estimators to help you understand what you’re buying. Read more on the Best Places to Buy Tires Online and Save Hundreds here.
Most online tire retailers have free shipping or reduced shipping cost when you choose to have them installed at a partner shop. The retailer may have an arrangement with a local tire chain or installation center and can ship the tires there for free.
Retailers like Tire Rack offer fast shipping and can often have tires to your preferred installer in as little as two days. Many others, like Discount Tire Direct, offer the same fast and free shipping. It also depends on where you live. If you’re in a large metro area, close to a distribution center, it should be relatively quick. If you live 5 miles from East Moosejaw, it might take a little longer.
Some shops will offer free installation when you purchase tires from them, and online retailers often promote the same deal for people who choose to have the installation done at one of their partners. If you do find yourself paying for tire installation, expect to pay between $15 and $50 per tire, depending on what is needed. That money pays for mounting and balancing the tire to ensure a safe and comfortable ride.
The tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is independent of your tires, but should be checked at regular intervals to ensure no damage or malfunctions are occurring. Your local tire shop can perform this check as part of a normal tire rotation or installation.
Yes! You can find the right fit, tread pattern, and speed rating on nearly any online retailer’s site. They sometimes offer specials and rebates around the time when people start looking for winter tires (late fall).
It’s certainly not a requirement to buy your tires and wheels from the same place, but you’re more likely to get a deal on the package if you buy from the same place. Check the retailer’s specials and make a determination from there. You may also find a better deal ordering either the tires or wheels online and buying the other component from your local shop.
Yes, and in some cases, rebates are offered alongside discounts on the tires. It’s important to ask questions and understand what you’re getting, so be sure to chat or call the retailer before ordering if the rebates are unclear.