The Honda CRV was introduced in 1996. The 2007 CRV was available in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive models. Both were equipped with a 2.4-liter multi-point fuel injected, in-line four-cylinder engine. The 2007 Honda CRV was equipped with both a front and rear wiper motor, both located beneath other body parts and panels. Care must be taken not to break the plastic body panels and parts during the removal and installation processes.
Trace the lower side of the wipers on the windshield for a reference, using a white crayon. If the wiper arms are in an upward position, attempt to gently push them down to their resting position by hand. If they do not move easily, proceed to Step 2. Do not try to force the wipers down aggressively; they can be rotated later in the project.
Open the hood and set the hood prop. Disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery using a ratchet and socket. Remove the tow caps from the base of the wiper arms, where they attach to the wiper pivots. Use a flathead screwdriver to remove the caps.
Remove the wiper arm mounting nuts with a ratchet and socket. Pull the wiper arms up and off of the wiper pivots, making sure you do not hit the hood with the wiper arms. Rotate the wiper arms to their resting positions, if the wipers were stuck and would not move by hand. There are small darkened lines in the lower windshield area, near the cowl. Align the wipers with these lines, then push them onto the pivots temporarily. Trace your line below the wipers for easier alignment during installation. Remove the wiper arms from the CRV.
Remove the rubberized hood seal from the wiper cowl covers. Remove the small plastic push tabs from all four wiper cowl covers using a flathead screwdriver to pry the center post up. Pull the tabs up and out of the cowl covers, using pliers if needed. Remove the two side cowl covers, then remove the two large wiper cowl covers from the base of the windshield. This process will allow you direct access to the windshield wiper motor.
Disconnect the five-pin connector from the wiper motor by hand. Remove the under cowl metal panel mounting bolts using a ratchet and socket. There are four mounting bolts across the front of the panel. Remove the three mounting nuts from each side of the under-cowl cover, on top of the right and left strut towers. Use a ratchet and socket to remove the nuts. Remove the four wiper linkage bolts at the corners of the wiper linkage.
Remove the wiper under-cowl completely from the engine compartment. Pull the wiper linkage out of the cowl area. Remove nut and washer from the wiper motor link, on the center shaft of the motor. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry the link from the ball socket end of the wiper linkage. Remove the three wiper motor mounting screws with a ratchet and socket. Remove the wiper motor sub-harness from the motor by hand. Hold the wiper motor from below the linkage as you remove the screws. Do not let the motor fall out of the linkage. Remove the wiper motor.
Connect the negative battery cable to the battery and tighten it snug with your ratchet and socket. Plug the wiper motor sub-harness into the motor by hand. Set the new motor into the wiper cowl area temporarily. Move to the driver's seat of the CRV. Turn the ignition key to the accessories position. Turn the wiper motor switch to "Hi," "Low," then "Off" to place the wiper motor in the park position. Turn the ignition key off and go back to the front of the CRV. Disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery again.
Install the wiper motor onto the underside of the wiper linkage, by lining up the motor studs with the three holes in the linkage. Install the motor mounting nuts and tighten them to 5 foot-pounds using a 1/2-inch-drive torque wrench and a socket. Install the wiper link onto the center shaft of the motor. Align the small triangular mark on the link with the dash mark on the linkage. Install the washer and hold down nut and tighten the nut to 23 foot-pounds with your torque wrench and a socket.
Install the wiper linkage onto the link. Use pliers to compress the linkage ball socket onto the ball of the link. Make sure the link and linkage alignment marks are still in line with one another. Loosen the link nut to make adjustments if needed, then torque the link nut again. Install the wiper linkage into the wiper cowl area on the CRV. Tighten the linkage mounting bolts to 7 foot-pounds. Install the under-cowl onto the strut towers, and tighten the mounting nuts snug with a ratchet and socket. Install the five-pin electrical connector onto the wiper motor.
Install the four plastic wiper cowl covers. Install all of the push pins into their mounting holes, and depress the center pins to lock the cowl covers in place. Install the four wiper cowl mounting bolts into the front of the cowl, and tighten them snug with a ratchet and socket. Do not over-tighten these bolts, or you will crack the plastic cowl covers. Install the rubber hood seal onto the cowl cover by hand, and push down on each mounting clip with your thumb to ensure that the seal is locked down.
Install the wiper arms, using the markings you made on the windshield for an alignment guide. Push the arms down onto the wiper pivots. Install the mounting nuts onto the wiper pivots inside the base of the arms. Thread the nuts with your fingers to start them to ensure proper threading. Tighten the nuts to 22 foot-pounds with your torque wrench and a socket. Install the caps onto the bases of both wiper arms by hand.
Install the negative battery cable onto the battery, and tighten it snug with a ratchet and socket.
Open the rear tailgate of the CRV. Pry the two caps off of the end of the pull-down handle using a flathead screwdriver. Remove the two handle mounting screws using a ratchet and socket, or Phillips head screwdriver. Remove the 12 body clips from the lower panel, using an appropriate Honda body panel removal tool. Pull the lower panel off of the tailgate by hand.
Lower the tailgate. Remove the cap from the base of the wiper arm, where it is attached to the wiper motor. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry the cap loose. Remove the wiper mounting nut with a ratchet and socket, then remove the wiper arm from the motor completely. Pull the circular grommet off the motor stem to access the second nut. Remove the nut from the center of the wiper motor using a ratchet and socket. Remove the second grommet from beneath the nut, using your flathead screwdriver to pry it loose of needed. Raise the tailgate upward again.
Remove the four-pin connector from the wiper motor by hand. Remove the three wiper motor mounting bolts using a ratchet and socket. Hold the motor upward with one hand while you remove the bolts so the motor does not fall down and hit you. Remove the wiper motor from the tailgate.
Install the new motor onto the tailgate, aligning the center stem of the motor through the mounting hole in the tailgate. Install the three wiper motor mounting bolts and tighten them to 7 foot-pounds with your torque wrench and a socket. Move to the front of the CRV.
Turn the ignition key to the accessories position. Turn on the rear wiper motor, then turn the motor back off. This will set the motor to the park position to ensure proper alignment of the wiper blade on the rear glass. Shut the ignition key off, then move back to the rear of the CRV.
Lower the tailgate. Install the first circular grommet onto the center stem of the motor. Install the larger mounting nut onto the motor stem, and tighten it to 7 foot-pounds with a torque wrench and a socket. Install the second grommet over the larger nut. Align the wiper arm horizontally across the rear glass, then install the arm onto the wiper motor. Install the wiper mounting nut, and tighten it to 7 foot-pounds. Install the plastic cap cover by hand, onto the mounting base of the wiper arm.
Raise the tailgate back up. Install the tailgate lower panel onto the tailgate. Insert all 12 body clips into their mounting holes and secure them by pushing them inward with the tip of your screwdriver. Install the pull-down handle onto the lower panel. Install the two mounting screws and tighten them snug with a ratchet and socket or a Phillips screwdriver. Install the two end caps onto the pull-down handle and push them onto the handle by hand.
