This is our "SUV" . A 2004 Honda CR-V. I like it. Decent on fuel, enough power, carries 6 people, the "real-time" 4-wheel drive works ok enough for the light offroading I do in it, carries mountainbikes, hiking gear, etc without complaint. Basically its a simple, practical vehicle.

My wife was driving home one day last week, when it shut down. In traffic. On the highway. No power. She managed to get it to the side of the road, turned it off as the engine was still running, and tried to restart. It would not rev above about 2800 rpm. It worked fine until that point, started, idled, even drove just as always, but cross that 2800 rpm threashold and it would buck, kick, spit and lose power until the motor lost revs again.

It has VTEC. On most Honda's, this type of variable valve timing is used to get more high-rpm power out of an engine by changing the valve opening characteristics once a certain rpm threshold is reached.

The CR-V uses an "economy" minded VTEC. It shuts down a valve and alters the timing at LOW rpm to be more fuel efficient. Guess where the rpm threshold is?

So, it's still under warranty, we take it to the dealership where we bought it and I tell them the VTEC solenoid isn't working, and it must be sending an error code to the engine control unit which then either shuts off the fuel or spark or both as I describe the symptoms..

"Who told you this?" the counter guy says. I explain it can't be anything else, state my reasons, and leave.

Two days later I get a call. " You were right, it was the VTEC switch, it's fixed and ready. "

I go pick it up, as I took my motorcycle I brought my wife along to drive the CR-V back home.

She gets @ 1 mile from the dealership when.... it happens again. In traffic. No power. She gets home, Pissed. I call the dealership and make an appointment to bring it back again.

They have it for another day, when I get it back this time, he says, " Wasn't the Vtec switch this time, it was just a loose electrical connector to the Vtec switch. " Thanks. He says that two techs have test driven it since the "Fix", and he even had a senior tech "sign off" on the work, apologizing for the error.

I get a call the next day from a manager, asking about the fix, the car, the service, so at least there was some concern shown. All I care about is having a reliable vehicle that doesn't unexpectedly shut off on the highway.