Owners have filed 14,848 complaints on the Honda CR-V, covering 1997–2026. The system named most often is Steering (1,024 reports). Worst years by volume: 2018, 2017, 2019; cleanest: 1997, 1999, 1998. 750 reports describe a crash, 162 a fire, 9 a death. On average the car was 4.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Honda CR-V
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 14,848 CR-V complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 1,024 Read
The contact owned a 2025 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, as the contact slowed to follow a slight right hand curve on the road, the steering wheel pulled to the right. The contact stated that the vehicle drove onto the shoulder, the contact attempted to steer the vehicle back onto…
I recently purchased my 2025 Honda CRV from the dealership January. I was driving with my 2025 Honda CRV and I noticed that the lane keep assist was having the ping pong affect when I first picked it up but I didn't really think too much about it. I assume my vehicle just needed some drive time since it was brand new…
My car still in Honda Collision Since January Waiting for Electronic Power steering Rack which they keep telling me is in backorder . Start to be so frustrating
Electrical System 385 Read
The contact owned a 2016 honda cr-v. While driving 15 mph and making a left turn, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that a spark was observed near the floorboard on the passenger side and a fire ignited. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report…
My elderly mother died in a fire in her 2014 honda cr-v. There were no witnesses to the origin of the fire. The car was first seen when fully engulfed by flame, 10 to 20 minutes after my mother was seen getting into her car. Unknown if she let it idle before driving. She drove about 1200 feet. Her car was found in wet…
Car burst into flames after sitting idle for 9 hours
Air Bags 376 Read
The contacts daughter owned a 2019 honda cr-v. While the contact's daughter was driving 60 mph, she crashed into the rear of a commercial truck. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The driver sustained injuries to the sternum and elbows, a broken back, a carotid artery, and a…
Car was sitting still in traffic on hwy. Was hit directly from behind at 76 mph. The gas tank was crushed and car exploded into flames . Passenger could not be rescued. Left front panel hit, air bag did not inflate
While driving on the highway,rt 24, 7.3 mile marker(?),some one cut us off and my wife was in the center lane and turned to the right. We got hit my another car in the rear or side.we ended up on the side of highway with the driver side on the ground. The passenger curtain air bags inflated along with other passenger…
Forward Collision Avoidance 374 Read
I own a 2024 Honda Hybrid Sport CR-V. The automatic emergency brake will engage only after seatbelts have been engaged. If you have not engaged seatbelts and turn the engine off, the emergency brake will not turn on creating a roll away hazard. This happened to me. I jumped in my car, realized that I left something in…
The contact owns a 2024 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that his girlfriend was driving at 65 MPH when the collision avoidance activated and stopped 40 feet before reaching the vehicle in front. The driver noticed a vehicle driving at approximately 50 MPH from the rear and attempted to avoid a collision however the…
Auto braking system randomly goes off. When it does go off there is nothing the driver can do causing danger to driver and others on the road
Service Brakes 210 Read
The contact owns a 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds and shifting the vehicle in the parking position on an incline of a hill. The brake pedal was applied, but it depressed to the floorboard and failed to respond, resulting in her crashing into her daughter's Ford Expedition.…
On November 17, 2025 at 8:25am, the collision happened while I was parking my vehicle into the parking spot at my work place. The vehicle allegedly failed to stop and unexpected accelerated and subsequently crashed into the wall. The impact caused significant damage to the front of the vehicle triggered airbags…
I was pulling into parking space very slowly, stepped on the brake. The brake made a loud grinding sound. I pressed a little bit more cause I didn’t understand what was going on in the car at launched forward hit a tree slowed down a little and then kept going all the way down across street into more trees in a bush.…
Engine 186 Read
So my car has an air leak in the tire, I brought it to fix it twice and they end up damaging all my engine areas that caused an oil leak all over splashed and I have videos and photos will be attached
The contact's son owned a 2025 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while her son was driving on the parkway at approximately 40 MPH, a loud, booming sound emit from the vehicle. After the booming sound emitting from the vehicle, several warning lights appeared on the instrument panel as the vehicle caught fire. Due to…
The contact was driving , experienced tire pressure and check engine light illuminated. White Smoke was seen underneath the vehicle and then it turned black. Then fire was seen coming from underneath the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the vehicle , and smoke and fire was seen underneath the…
Power Train 144 Read
2015 honda cr-v SUV was traveling highway speed (55mph) in adaptive cruise control mode. Weather at the time of impact was 50f. Adaptive cruise control failed to detect vehicle in front and acceleration occurred resulting in impact
The contact owns a 2024 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while attempting to park while the vehicle was in drive (D), she collided with bushes, and while she depressed the accelerator pedal, the gears inadvertently changed from drive (D) to reverse (R), causing the vehicle to reverse at a high speed. The brake…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while his wife was attempting to park the vehicle at 1 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle jumped a curb and crashed into a tree which stopped the acceleration; the contact, who was in the passenger seat, was able to place…
Visibility/wiper 144 Read
The contact owns a 2004 honda cr-v. The contact stated that the front passenger's side window could not be closed. In addition, a burning odor was emitted from the window area. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis and the contact inquired of a recall under NHTSA campaign number: 12V486000 (electrical…
Windshield delaminating one week into ownership
Re; Honda CR-V Ex-LVIN: [XXX] Purchased [XXX],From Auto Nation Honda, Dulles, VA I have noticed an issue with the windshield wipers and the timing of the water disbursement, where more than half of the windshield, on the right side, does not get water. When operating, the blades start moving from right to left. The…
CR-V years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Air Bags | 9 | 3 | |
| 2025 | Air Bags | 29 | 5 | |
| 2024 | Air Bags, Seat Belts | 27 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 21 | 1 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 14 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 21 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 30 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 45 | 2 | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 40 | 4 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 37 | 4 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 35 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 35 | 7 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 21 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 24 | 3 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 26 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 29 | 2 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 28 | 2 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 38 | 3 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 32 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 20 | 12 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 35 | 17 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 27 | 37 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 41 | 24 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 40 | 16 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 8 | 3 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 9 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 8 | — | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 10 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 6 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 4,017 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.7 |
| Worst single series | 30 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.9 years |
A model average of 3.7 hides a worst series at 30. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,115,966 of them, covering 2,019 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the CR-V?
By complaint volume, 2018, 2017, 2019 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which CR-V years are the cleanest?
1997, 1999, 1998 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Honda CR-V have?
14,848 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1997–2026. Of those, 750 describe a crash and 162 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.
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