Best Tires for the Honda CR-V in 2024

The Honda CR-V is one of the most popular SUVs on the market today. When Honda chose tires for the 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 CR-V’s tires. Maybe you want the longest-lasting tire money can buy. Or maybe you want something that will perform wonderfully in snow or off-pavement.

Whatever your preference, we hope our overview of the best tire options for the Honda CR-V crossover is helpful.

Car Talk's Top Tire Picks for the Honda CR-V

• Best Overall Tire: Falken ZIEX CT60 A/S »

• Best Budget Tire: Laufenn S Fit »

• Best Premium Tire: Michelin Defender 2 »

• Best 4-Season Touring Tire Winter: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady » and Michelin CrossClimate2 »

• Best 4-Season Touring Tires for Off-Pavement: Falken WildPeak A/T Trail »

• Best Dedicated Winter Tire: Michelin X-Ice Snow » and Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 »

Have an older Honda CR-V? See tire sizes for previous years.

Best Tires for the Honda CR-V:

Best Budget Tire - Laufenn S Fit

The best budget tire choice for the CR-V is the Laufenn S Fit A/S tire. This option is a standard all-season, dependable tire for crossover SUVs. This tire is very affordable and still earns a four-star rating from owners. This tire is the value choice.

• 45K mile warranty
• Good reviews
• Very low price point
• Excellent value

Best Overall Pick - Falken ZIEX CT60 A/S

The ZIEX CT60 A/S all-season tires from Falken are our best overall choice for the CR-V. Falken designed this tire model specifically for crossover SUVs like the CR-V. In our testing, the ZIEX CT60 A/S performed very well in all seasons. The handling was just right for a vehicle like the CR-V. The price point of this tire is mid-range, which makes it a good value. The design team emphasized a quiet ride, smooth operation, and long tread life. Another good alternative in this price range if the Falken is not available in your size is the Cooper ProControl.

• Car Talk tested and approved
• Good durability
• Quiet ride
• Predictable, stable handling

Best Premium Tire - Michelin Defender 2

The Defender 2 from Michelin is a highly-rated tire with an extremely long tread life warranty. The Defender2 is a great tire for all-season use and works well with crossovers like the CR-V. In our testing, the Defender offered handling confidence, a quiet ride, and good traction in all situations.

• 80K mile tread life warranty
• Great reviews and ratings
• Excellent durability
• Car Talk tested and approved

Best 4-Season Touring Tires for Harsh Winter Commuting - Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady and Michelin CrossClimate2

Although the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady and Michelin CrossClimate2 are considered all-season, these tires come with the Severe Snow Certification symbol. If you don’t want to use winter tires and live in a snowy area, one of these two is your pick. We tested the Michelin CrossClimate2 tires and found that they are very good in spring, summer, and fall, but in winter, they really make a big difference in even deep snow by comparison to traditional all-season tires.

• Great reviews and ratings
• Excellent durability
• Car Talk tested and approved
• Good for harsh winter use

Best 4-Season Touring Tires for Off-Pavement Use - Falken WildPeak A/T Trail

If you use your CR-V for off-pavement excursions, overlanding, or on dirt roads quite a bit, there is a tire that can make your adventures more enjoyable and also less likely to involve tire damage. The Falken WildPeak A/T Trail tire is a step up from an all-season tire but is not as extreme as an all-terrain tire. It features a reinforced sidewall, deep tread grooves, and the ability to be aired down a few psi for added traction and comfort off-pavement. It also earns the Severe Snow Duty symbol so that you can skip the dedicated winter tires. In our testing, the Falken WildPeak was outstanding in all seasons and on trails and dirt roads.

• Great reviews and ratings
• Excellent off-pavement
• Car Talk tested and approved
• Good for harsh winter use

Best Winter Tires - Michelin X-Ice Snow and Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2

If you must drive your CR-V in the very worst winter conditions, a winter tire can help you start, turn, stop and stay connected with the road when underway. Winter tires are the best option for icy conditions and also for deep snow. You will need to remove them in spring, so many owners opt to purchase dedicated rims and TPMS sensors to make the swapping on and off a bit less cumbersome. Our picks for the best winter tires for the CR-V are the Michelin X-ICE Snow and the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2. In our testing, both performed exceptionally well.

• Great reviews and ratings
• Excellent in icy and snowy conditions
• Car Talk tested and approved
• Good for harsh winter use

Original equipment CR-V tires

Honda has used many different suppliers of original equipment tires in the past. These include Hankook, Bridgestone, and other brands. You need not buy the same brand or model when you shop for replacement tires. Choose a tire that suits your needs best.

Top replacement tire brands for Honda CR-V

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. Some of the tires we recommend we have ourselves tested, and others are chosen based on user reviews.

When should you replace the tires on your CR-V?

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.

The quickest way to check if your tires have enough remaining tread is to check your treads and wear bars. If the tread has reached the bars, it’s time to replace them.

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:

• 500 - The durability rating of a tire, compared to a control tire with a tread life of 100. To obtain a grade, tires run on a 640-kilometer course for 11,520 km. Every 1,280 km, the tread depth is measured, to provide a projected tread life. The higher the number, the longer the predicted tread life.
• A - This is the Traction rating of a tire, which indicates how well a tire stops in wet conditions. The highest letter grade is AA, followed by A, B, and C.
• A - The second letter in the UTQG is the Temperature rating, which indicates how well a tire holds up to extreme heat. A is the highest, followed by B and C.

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

Why not replace with original Honda equipment tires?

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. Many vehicle owners are disappointed with the original tires their vehicle comes with.

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.)

Changing Honda CR-V tire sizes

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:

• Better ride quality – More rubber means more cushion for poor road conditions.
• Cost reduction – Big tires are expensive, so moving to a smaller wheel size will mean less costly tire purchases.
• Seasonal changes – Winter and snow tires are available for a larger selection of smaller wheel sizes and the narrower footprint will provide better traction.
• Off-road – Many people choose to downsize wheels for off-road use to increase the vehicle’s shock absorption capabilities and bump traction on loose surfaces.

On the other side of the coin, going up in wheel size has its benefits:

• Better handling – Slimmer profile tires make for less rubber to move around.
• Better looks – This one’s subjective, but many people feel that larger wheels look better than smaller wheels with more rubber.
• Better braking – Larger, wider wheels provide a bigger patch of rubber on the ground to slow the vehicle, reducing braking distance.

How to read tire sizes

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:

• 235 - indicates the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters. This tire is 235 millimeters wide.
• 65 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. In this case, it’s 50 percent or of the tire’s width.
• R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire and have fabric woven in at various angles with a tread that is strengthened with additional layers of rubber.
• 17 - indicates the wheel diameter.
• 103 - is the tire’s load rating.
• H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph.

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:

• Touring and All-season tires - provide a smooth ride, good wet and dry traction, decent winter traction, and longer tread life. These tires are acceptable for winter use but can’t be expected to provide the traction and stopping power that a dedicated winter tire can.
• Performance tires - are focused on providing confident handling, better wet and dry traction, and a sporty feel. Their higher grip and speed ratings come with a tradeoff of shortened tread life and reduced ride quality.
• All-terrain tires - are built to maximize off-road traction and provide good durability overall. Their construction means more noise and less comfort on the road, but winter traction and tread wear are acceptable.
• Winter and snow tires - are made with special rubber compounds that maintain grip and pliability when temperatures drop. patterns to maximize the vehicle’s ability to start and stop on very slippery roads.

Car Talk Community's favorite tires

Car Talk's very active online Community has many interesting and thoughtful perspectives on the best tire brands in the industry, based on real life user experience and knowledge.

Read more on the Best Tires in the industry according to the Car Talk Community here.

Tires sizes by year

Read more on the Best Tire Deals available here

See our overall recommendations for Best Tires

See our recommendations for the 10 Best Tire Brands for 2024