The problem with your CR-V are the valves. The symptoms that I experienced myself were my car stalling on cold starts and rough idle. Later, the symptoms extended to intermittent stalling when the engine was warm. The valve adjustment was something I decided to do. Mechanics tried to discourage me by telling me that my vaklves didn't need adjusting. I demanded that they adjust them anyway. After the adjustment, the problems disappeared. The mechanic told me that my valves were so tight that he wasn't sure that he would be able to adjust them. Lucky for me, he was able to. I learned from other CR-V owners what to look for, and now I'm at 189,000 miles without any engine or transmission replacements. It'll easily hit 300,000 miles if taken care of correctly.
Valve failure is becoming a very common problem because most people fail to have them adjusted. Most of that stems from Honda giving the recommended service at 105,000 miles when they should be adjusted every 30,000 miles. Another problem is that most mechanics follow the "all engines are basically the same" rule. The issue occurs when the valves tighten to the degree that they burn out. Usually mechanics make a valve adjustment call based on a loud tapping noise that usually occurs when the valves loosen- which is very common on engines. However when the valves tighten, they are quiet. If you can't hear any noise from the valves, get them adjusted immediately!!! I can't stress enough on how important it is to get them adjusted every 30,000-35,000 miles. Do that and you'll extend the life of your CR-V even more.
Please note: Since the B20Z engine in the 1999-2001 CR-Vs have higher compression than the B20B in the 1997-98 models, the 1999-2001 CR-Vs are more prone to the problem. I hope this answers your question and happy motoring!!!