Owners have filed 1,748 complaints on the Honda HR-V, covering 2016–2026. The system named most often is Visibility/wiper (276 reports). Worst years by volume: 2023, 2016, 2019; cleanest: 2026, 2025, 2021. 89 reports describe a crash, 6 a fire, 1 a death. On average the car was 2.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Honda HR-V
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,748 HR-V complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Visibility/wiper 276 Read
The driver-side quarter glass shattered for no apparent reason while the vehicle was parked
My front windshield developed a crack starting at the base near the wipers, and nothing hit it or caused any obvious damage. It started off really small but has gradually gotten bigger over time. The car is available if anyone needs to inspect it. The crack is a safety concern because it can affect visibility,…
The windshield crack from a very small pebble strike out of all the cars I’ve owned I’ve never seen one break so easily it is a joke all the windows on the vehicle are flimsy and poor quality it crack near the bottom center edge just from finishing the drive home on a rural drive
Electrical System 272 Read
The NHTSA should recall these brakes or open an investigation alongside the electrical system. After reading the complaints on this website, I have found these problems in my 2022 Honda HR-V EX-L
Brakes failed, air bags didn't deploy, seat belt failed, collision mitigation system failed
On 8/10/2023, around 9:25 AM, at the parking lot of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, I was pulling into a parking spot, moving very slowly. I was about to stop when the car suddenly took off in full speed, went over the concrete barrier toward hilly area covered with shrubs. That impact…
Steering 165 Read
The contact owns a 2025 Honda HR-V. The contact stated while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, another vehicle suddenly pulled in front of the vehicle. The contact's wife attempted to make a turn, but the steering wheel failed to turn, causing the front driver's side corner of the vehicle to crash into the…
While driving in the freeway trying to exiting all of sudden I feel my steering wheel move itself toward the curve and trying to break and steer itself at the same causing my vehicle to crash agaist the curve and go to on top making me loose control of steering wheel and crashing to the car infront of me, also the…
The contact owned a 2024 Honda HR-V. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, she had a crash which resulted in a roll-over of the vehicle. The contact stated that the police and EMS arrived and she was transported to a hospital. The contact stated that she had no memory of the accident and had no memory…
Power Train 162 Read
- The transmission had several problems that failed, leading to the car being unable to drive. The car starts, but does not drive in Drive or Reverse. The exact Honda vehicle codes affected are: P0171 and P0793. -My safety was put at risk because the car had previously stalled several times, leading to needing to pull…
The contact owns a 2019 honda hr-v. While attempting to park the vehicle, the contact attempted to ease forward by lightly tapping the accelerator pedal. Upon lightly tapping the accelerator pedal, the vehicle accelerated forward independently without warning. The contact crashed into another parked vehicle in front…
The contact owns a 2019 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while attempting to park her vehicle, the vehicle independently accelerated into a tree without warning. The air bags did not deploy upon impact; the contact did not sustain any injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer body…
Structure 84 Read
My incident occurred in january 2020, within 2 weeks of purchase. The car was brand new. I was driving in my parking garage and turning into my parking spot. As I was making the turn to the right, I hit the brakes to slow down. Instead of reducing speed, the car accelerated and hit a cement pole next to my parking…
How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? -YES. [XXX] Burbank, CA, intersection [XXX] and [XXX] [XXX] ) There was a huge rainfall this evening. I was heading east on [XXX] and was about to make a "U" going back opposite direction. Making sure there is no on going or opposite traffic, safely i made a "U"…
A total brake failure caused an accident. When pressing the brake pedal, it was rock solid and would not budge. My wife was driving getting off a highway exit when the brakes failed and rear ended an SUV stopped at a stop sign. The accident caused her back injury which still bothers her to this day. The crash wasn't…
Fuel System 75 Read
The contact owns a 2025 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that the window sticker stated that the fuel economy was 27-32 MPG; however, the contact stated that the vehicle was only achieving 16-20 MPG. The contact was filling the fuel tank 3 times per week. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda HR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda HR-V. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The oil and battery warning lights illuminated. After waiting ten minutes, the vehicle restarted. The contact stated that occasionally the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who…
Visibility 75 Read
The contact owns a 2025 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the rear glass fractured, causing glass to fall into the rear of the vehicle. The contact reviewed the back over prevention camera and saw no cause for the glass to fracture. The dealer was informed of the failure and…
See attached document for complaint
About 10am in Dec 14th, there was something is broken sound after closing my car door, and when I turn around to check what happened, the rear windshield of car is shartted. It's obviously to see the cracks is started from sides. And excluding the man-made and natural possibilities, I think it is the bad quality of…
Air Bags 55 Read
The car was inspected about 2 weeks prior to the accident. Airbags never deployed nor indicated and the car was smashed in. Electrical problem as I should have seen an indicator and airbags never deploy (wearing seat Belt, neck injury, shoulder and back and bilateral knee injuries)and I am as per dr. Order on medical…
The car went up in smoke, the airbags never deployed and there was no indicators. The front was all smashed in. I’m completely disabled
We had an accident with my Honda HRV where we rear-ended another vehicle. Right before the crash, a message showed on the dashboard that the brakes system isn't working. Also the airbag didn't deploy. We suspect a technical failure that caused the accident. The Car was towed and then totaled. We had to go to the ER…
HR-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 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2025 | Air Bags,service Brakes,forward Collision Avoidance | 2 | — | |
| 2024 | Electrical System | 8 | 1 | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 10 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 5 | — | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 8 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 16 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 11 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 10 | — | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 12 | 1 |
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 | 594 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.9 |
| Worst single series | 26 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 2.5 years |
A model average of 2.9 hides a worst series at 26. 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
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 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 HR-V?
By complaint volume, 2023, 2016, 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 HR-V years are the cleanest?
2026, 2025, 2021 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Honda HR-V have?
1,748 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2016–2026. Of those, 89 describe a crash and 6 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.