NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Honda CR-V. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
As I was driving home from work, I tried to accelerate to merge onto the highway and my car would not go over 30-40 mph. It felt like it was going to stall. This could have caused a major accident. I was able to make it home. I took the 2018 honda crv to the dealer that night and was told that Turbocharger was broke. During this whole ordeal, the engine light did not come on once, nor leading up to this event. The dealer ran computer diagnostics and nothing came up. They had to take the car apart to find out what was wrong. Because the turbocharger had been broken, this also caused damage to the fuel injectors and they needed replaced. 25 days later, again on my way home from work, every single light and warning message is flashing on my dash, as if there is a battery problem. THERE WAS NO WARNING APPEAR PRIOR TO THIS EVENT. Took it back to the dealer and was told that there is blown head gasket, coolant leaking into the cylinder, no compression in cylinder. Luckily, nothing happened while I was driving. THIS NOW REQUIRES MY WHOLE ENGINE TO BE REPLACED. Seems due to driving with the malfunctioning Turbo, the original problem, WHICH I HAD NO IDEA OR WARNING LIGHT, damaged my car further. VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THE HONDA CRV 2018 SAFETY ONBOARD DIAGNOSTICS AND IN MY OPINION MALFUNCTIONED.
I was driving about 30 mph across several railroad tracks when the car suddenly braked very hard, without my foot on the brake pedal. I saw the orange “BRAKE” sign on the dash, and the car just suddenly slammed on the brakes. Fortunately, no one was behind us. It was scary - if a car had been following us, they could have hit me. I don’t trust this car anymore.
While traveling on Rt 29 in Maryland at normal highway speed, heard a beeping sound and then saw that the emergency brake warning was flashing on the instrument cluster. Beeping and light were active for several seconds. There were no cars within several hundred feet of my vehicle. This is the second time this has happened in the last 60 days.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact used excessive force to steer the vehicle off the highway and immediately called for roadside assistance. The contact had the vehicle initially towed to her home where her son inspected the vehicle. The contact's son informed her that there was an issue with the engine and the vehicle needed to be towed to the dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with a defective cylinder head. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
My vehicle stops going down the road. It starts slowing down quickly and is very hard to drive like the power steering is going out. Hopefully I can get to a shoulder to turn it off. I let it sit for a few minutes and it will restart. Close to my home, there are curves where there is no shoulder and it has happened multiple times there. It is not consistent and usually occurs within the first 30 minutes of your drive. This has happened since I bought brand new but is occurring more frequently now.
While driving through town at approximately 30-35 mpr the red brake light flashed on and the brakes slammed hard. There was nothing in front of me or approaching from the sides. My child and I were jolted as if in an accident. Luckily the car behind me did not rear end me. I did call and report it to my dealer and have scheduled an appointment for diagnosis. I once had the brake light flash on while on the highway but the brakes only slightly gripped.
While traveling on a roadway unoccupied by another vehicle, the Honda's emergency braking system engaged and brought the car to a sudden stop. The roadway was clear and weather was dry and sunny. This incident occurred in the middle of the afternoon. The vehicle was clean with no obstruction around any of the sensors. If there would have been a vehicle traveling close behind, there may have been a rear end collision.
Automatic AEB brake system comes on and car slows down, on highway doing 65 mph. With no one in front
Driving down road at approximately 30mph, no obstructions in road or vehicles in front of me and the car suddenly slowed down to approximately 10mph due to automatic braking system engaging.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the Collision Mitigation Braking System engaged abruptly and the vehicle almost came to a complete stop. The Collision Mitigation Braking System warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle resumed speed independently after the failure. The contact stated that there were no vehicles around the vehicle at the time the failure occurred. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no open recalls associated to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,757.
New Jersey: While driving to work (I am a healthcare worker) at 5:30 am on Route 9 North in Manalapan NJ, at a speed of approximately 50 miles per hour, the brake warning light went on and the car unexpectedly slammed to a full stop. No car was immediately behind me or they would have crashed into me. My purse, coffee and book on front seat went flying to the dashboard. Prior to this event happening, the Brake warning light would go off even if no one was in front of me or anywhere around me. the Honda dealership in Freehold NJ dismissed my concern and said there is nothing they can do without recreating the problem. I called the Freehold dealership and was told the service manager was out for a month, no one is covering for him. I asked to speak to someone else in the service department and they told me to drive down and they will have a technician drive with me to see the problem. I told them it was random and never happened before, but to no avail. I asked if I could turn off the Collusion Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) and they said no. Just to adjust the ACC (low speed follow) to long. I insisted on being seen today, but am concerned that this will happen again.
Traveling a city street about twenty to twenty five mph when the vehicle abruptly stopped/braked. It stopped so hard I thought I hit something. The BRAKE warning did not flash before the stop. I think it flashed when the car stopped. I put the car in park, got to see if I did hit something. Nothing. No animals, children, balls etc in front of the vehicle. There was a steel street plate. I do not recall if the vehicle was on top of it or just before it.
Responses to bullet questions above: - steering wheel started sticking, especially noticeable at low speeds, kept getting worse - we were afraid that the steering would eventually lock up while we were driving - many people complaining about the same problem online, but no dealer recall (yet) - dealer had to replace the electronic rack & pinion assembly ($3300) - there were no warning lamps or indicators of a problem
All of the warning lights on the dashboard turn on. There is nothing wrong with any of the components. The lights eventually all go off but then will randomly come back on.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle unintentionally accelerated. Additionally, the RPM was fluctuating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. ty56The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.
The automatic braking system engaged without warning and without reason as I was not within close proximity to any other vehicles or obstructions.
I was driving on lower level on Manhattan Bridge toward Manhattan, New York. It was about 10:30am. The car experienced a hard brake while I was driving with no obvious obstacle ahead or sides. The most closest vehicle was in front, on my right side lane, which had at least 5 car distance.
Bought car end of November used 10o18 CRV breaks have come on hard without me applying them was in cruise control. Frist time other cars were nearby by not in danger plenty of distance between us. However third time no cars were in front, coming from the front in opposite lane and none to my rear, thank god for set belts!
Additional info related to complaint number 11454465. While driving on I-74, the car in front of me moved over to the exit ramp then slowed down because there was a sharp curve on the ramp. My brakes engaged unexpectedly but my lane was now clear. I looked down at the dashboard and noticed that my car was still sensing that there was a car in front of me. Then sensor turned off and the brakes released.
Was driving yesterday (2018 Honda CRV) and the brakes suddenly engaged and the big orange brake warning light appeared on the dash. We came to a jarring stop. Nothing in front of us, no rain. Luckily, we were only going about 10 mph and no car behind us. This has happened before but didn't result in such a jarring stop. Other times it was on residential streets but also on freeway. In those incidents it was a quick engagement like a brake pump. The big orange warning light came on in all of those instances.
I have experienced my car braking when it shouldn’t (beeps and says brake but there is no vehicle or obstacle around) but today was scary. I had just left the highway and was going about 30 mph when suddenly the car stopped throwing me and everything in my car forward. The car beeped but the hard brake had already been applied. There wasn’t anything in front of me or in the oncoming lane. Fortunately the car behind me was able to swerve into the other lane. I have never stomped on the brakes as hard as my car stopped. There were no warning lights or symptoms that this was about to happen - just a beep after the fact. I will call Honda tomorrow to see what needs to be replaced. This could have caused a very bad accident and now I’m scared it will happen again.
Driving on parkway at 50 mph, our vehicle began braking on its own. There was no vehicle in front of our vehicle. This occurred twice in past month.
Car will drift towards the left, when correcting this the car resists a bit then release, like it was stuck and it jerks to the right. This will happen over and over.
Vehicle randomly slammed on brakes without driver touching the brake. There were no obstacles or other cars in front of the vehicle at the time. Automatic emergency braking was on. The only warning that came up was the”Brake” warning as the vehicle was slamming on the brakes. Luckily the car behind the vehicle was able to move to another lane to avoid a collision. The vehicle was taken to the Honda dealer and inspected. They were unable to find the cause of the random braking or to reproduce it.
“Brake System Failure” shown on dashboard 2/25/22. Honda 2018 CRV would not start. AAA towed to Honda World dealership. I called Honda Corporate office and was given a case number; and dealership know of problem as they have vehicle at the Honda Service Dept. Honda World changed brake fluid and recalibrated the brakes on 9/24/21 per service requirements at 7823 miles. The vehicle currently has less than 10,000 miles.
2018 Honda CR-V EX, especially in colder weather the forward collision mitigation system will malfunction and phantom brake randomly. When I turn on the active cruise control, sometimes it'll stop working due to the collision mitigation system malfunctioning. There were multiple incidents where it'll start braking in the high way almost causing collisions, and I would have to manually disable the mitigation system.
When I am driving at the regular speed limit, of 55 mph, not slower, and on smoother road pavements, there seems to be a resistance, where the steering wheel sticks in one spot. I have to use pressure on the wheel in order for it to move to the correct position for driving again. We purchased the vehicle on November 13, 2021, with 36,000 miles on it and it now has 56,000 miles on it. We didn't notice any issues until the winter of 2022-'23 on a long trip. It was windy and we presumed that was the reason for the fluctuation in the steering, however the problem persisted on days with no wind. The problem is getting more noticeable, and we think it should be addressed by the Honda Company. We took the vehicle in for service and had a tire alignment done however the issue has still persisted. We were informed, by credible people, that sometimes it just needs an alignment to alleviate the sticking sensation. I have information of several other 2018 CR-V's having this steering issue and there is no recall for repair on these vehicles. If my husband or I would be driving on a freeway at 70 mph, and the steering would stick enough where strict corrective action was needed, the probability of a serious accident would increase considerably. Upon further research, the vehicles mentioned in the articles, needed to have the 'steering rack' replaced. This is over $3000.00 if we pay out of pocket. If this problem persists, there could be very serious accidents and I think if the Honda Company is aware of this, they should willingly offer to fix the problem at no cost. There were no warning lights, messages or other symptoms prior to this issue. I am hopeful that Honda Company will listen to these concerns and take action to correct the problem before there are tragic results.
SUV braked hard and almost came to complete stop more than 5 times since owning SUV new.
When I was turning into a parking lot, all of the dashboard warning lights came on and the vehicle lost power. I was able to safely park the vehicle, but I was unable to get the vehicle to maintain power. The vehicle was towed to the nearest Honda dealership. It was determined the fuel injectors failed, causing the spark plugs to fail and fuel to leak into the oil. The dealership said that they had seen this previously in certain years and models. After researching the issue on the internet, it appears that this is a known issue for certain Honda vehicles. Honda agreed to reimburse me for the spark plugs and labor for the spark plugs because it is a known issue. I'm just very lucky that I wasn't on a freeway traveling at higher speeds when this happened. I believe there is a pending class action lawsuit that is trying to force Honda to issue a recall for this problem.
While driving on highway the car suddenly braked without any obstacles in front or on the sides of it. (2/22/2022)
In December 2021, my kids and I were in the car waiting outside the restaurant for our food. The car was on and in less than 10 minutes all the warning lights flashed on the dashboard. I turned the engine off and on but all the warning lights were still flashing. Called the dealership and was advised to have it towed. They couldn’t find any problem. On February 16, four days after our car was serviced, on the way to work the vehicle was slowing down and running rough. I turned it off and on, same thing, foot on accelerator but it only slowed me down. Called the dealership and was advised to have it towed. They couldn’t find any problem. On the afternoon of February 21, every warning lights came flashing on the dashboard again. Every time you turn it on, the warning lights are still there. I’m on my way to have it checked to the dealership again.
The CMBS (Collision Mitigation Braking System) activated and suddenly locked up my brakes as I started to accelerate the car on the street after being the first car at a standstill at the metro tracks. Two or three seconds after accelerating, just as I had gotten over two sets of tracks, it happened. The car even jerked when it stopped at the somewhat low speed that I was going. No metro train went by at the time and no safety arm had come down while I was at the standstill at the tracks. No metro train lights ever flashed either. I could have easily been rear-ended by the car behind me because there was a long line of cars waiting along with me. I felt very unsafe driving the car to my next stop as I was in a very high --traffic area. This is why I called the dealer immediately and made an appointment for two days later. I felt even more unsafe driving the car back through the same area. It did not happen again upon my return as I went over the tracks. The problem has not happened again because I now know how to turn off the CMBS system every single time I get into the car. I do not want to chance going even a bit faster or being on the freeway and having the car come to a sudden halt. There would most certainly be grave injuries at freeway speeds on such crowded L.A. freeways. I am so afraid of this happening that I must drive without the CMBS from now on. The dealer said that they did code checks and a DTC ? check. On my Honda service papers, they said that the possible cause could be my dash cam position. They drove my car to test it but nothing happened. In fact, I bought my dash cam for this car specifically and have driven with it in the same general position for 3 years and this never happened before. The dealer found that there were no problems with the car. No police nor insurance were ever involved since I luckily did not cause any accidents. I noticed a BRAKE WARNING on the dashboard AFTER the car had stopped by itself.
2018 CR-V my air conditioner began to blow warm air after warranty expired. Research showed that many people are having same defect. Honda has put out service bulletin TSB APAS11162021901. The local dealer quoted 1500$ to replace seal. Honda help line declined to help with cost. We live in AZ so AC is a safety issue.
The radio info system keeps turning off and on when driving. Also the brightness switch keeps doing the same thing. It is hard to drive when this hapens. Have to pull over and turn off the car and reboot the system. Service at dealship said Honda knows about this but cannot come up with a fix. At times it is unsafe to drive when this happens.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the brakes were applied inadvertently. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, there was an audible warning buzzer alert. The contact stated that the vehicle decelerated to 30 MPH. The unknown warning lights then deactivated and the vehicle resumed the preset cruise control speed. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The dealer confirmed to the contact that there were no associated recalls under the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had occurred five times while the cruise control was engaged. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.
Numerous times the automatic braking has applied. Sometimes, only a “brake “ indicator light flashing on the dash. Other times hard braking has occurred. This has typically occurred when passing under a bridge, and the shadow of the roadway above has fooled the car into thinking it is an obstruction in the road. It does not have to be an exceptionally sunny day for this to occur. I have taken the car to the dealer on several occasions and complained about this. They claim that it is from an obstruction on the windshield. This is not true. The windshield was exceptionally clean the last time I took it to the dealer, immediately after one of these instances. I am afraid I’m going to get rear ended, or provoke someone into a road rage, thinking that I brake checked them.
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing a software glitch. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was sludge in the engine and the engine and turbo needed to be replaced. The DTC: P0299 was displayed regarding the turbo under boost. Additionally, there was an abnormally strong oil odor inside and outside the vehicle. The contact declined the repair. The engine oil was drained and refilled. The manufacturer was notified of the but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 69,000.
In the time I have owned this car I have experienced phantom braking 3-4 times. The most recent was about a month ago when merging on an ramp entering a highway. NO cars were around me or in front of me but the brake warning flashed several times. It did not actually engage the brakes at this time but about a year ago the same thing happened and the brakes suddenly came on slowing me down. I am concerned about losing control or being rear ended if this occurs.
The Automatic Emergency Break is applying when no obstacles found and all of a sudden it was stopping. Recent incident is when I was returning from Costco, neither object nor vehicle exists on my road, it was small bridge and is clean out of any obstacles, but suddenly the warning is appeared on the dashboard and Automatic break was applied by vehicle. I was on the speed limit of 15-20 miles/hour and there were no vehicles behind my car otherwise it would be a major accident. Luckily I didn't bring my wife and new born kid (Day's old), else they would hit the driver seat and passenger seat due to this sudden break and I may need to rush to hospital as there is newborn inside the vehicle. And I was totally blank when this was happened. I stopped my vehicle sometime on the shoulder and started later. Earlier to this incident, good no of times, my vehicle was forecasting the warning messages on Dashboard though nothing was there, I thought may be sensor is covering the objects with broader angle but suddenly stopping the vehicle for the first time. As Honda is providing the major safety features, I was purchased this CR-V particularly and thinking I am safe on long drives, but this incident is changed my mindset and now worrying in future if it happens what to do? For a speed limit of 15-20 itself it was trouble me, if it is in a highway with a speed limit of 70, I can't imaging what would have happen? Please take this as a complaint do a investigation as required.
Traveling on I-20 My wife reported the car just quit working with no warning between Atlanta and Birmingham about 90 miles from home. She was able to get to the side of the interstate and called me. She said all the lights on the display were showing as failed systems. Internet search lead me to believe it was the battery. On arrival i installed new battery but symptoms remained car would not start and just shuddered when attempting to start. I called the dealership we purchased from to talk to a tech. I was asked if she was low on gas below 1/2 tank. Yes the gauge shows 1/4 tank remains. I was told to get gas and it should be fine, some of the CRV's run out of gas but read that gas remains. I did get gas and car cranked we drove home. At 63 we don't need this kind of dangerous situation to happen. Think how easily this could have gone from bad to worse. She did call the state patrol and asked for the roadside assistance truck to come. This would at least have some flashing lights. They never made it. The dealership told me on the phone that this was not a recall or covered but they knew about it occurring. They would be glad to fix it at my expense. Money for maintenance is one thing but I might as well let my wife drive a junker if this is what I get when I buy a Honda. This occurred 02/16/22 so I have not been to the dealer for their evaluation, just to the gas station.
While driving on the interstate, the automatic braking system has engaged without warning or reason. This occurs both when adaptive cruise control is engaged and when it is not. This occurs when there are no vehicles within at least four car lengths in front of my vehicle. Occasionally there has been a vehicle in a parallel lane that is well within its lane markers and has not entered my lane when this occurs. This has drastically reduced the vehicle's speed in a way that is dangerous not only to myself and my passengers, but also to those in vehicles behind me. There is no warning message regarding a failure with the automatic braking system or any other automated safety features. The car has been regularly maintained according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
the steering wheel sticks or has some resistance when returning to straight position from a right turn position. It has been doing this for several months. I have to give it a pull to center which is enough to swerve into the left lane of traffic. This happens at any speed but at high speed this is dangerous! I went to the dealer Coggin Honda in Ft Pierce, FL to have the service dept. confirm this symptom. A service writer told me that the Rack and Pinion Steering unit is malfunctioning and should be replaced. This car has 11,000 miles on it and the steering unit CAN'T be worn out so it must be defective and will be very unsafe as it seems that it is getting worse.
I have had multiple incidents when the vehicle has braked when no vehicle of obstruction was in front of me. Many times this has occurred on US 15 south at the overpass of the PA turnpike. A recent incident happened on interstate 83 south where the only thing that I could see for the reason for braking, was the skid marks from a locked up trailer wheels. No vehicles were close to me. It also has happened on a rural road where mud from a farm tractor was on the road. It has also occurred in construction zones. It is quite scary as I have been honked and probably cursed by drivers behind me. I bought this vehicle for it's safety features but wish this feature could be deactivated before being hit from behind or assaulted by an aggressive driver for braking for no reason.
UPDATE TO REPORTED PROBLEM FROM 2/14/2022 - After Coggin Honda said that I should have the 2018 CR-V rack and pinion steering box replaced at a cost of $3,000.00, I considered selling the car but I tried to fix the problem myself. I found that the steering column has a bushing behind the steering wheel that I thought was causing the steering to be stiff and be unsafe and made a noise as the steering wheel was moved from a stationary position. All of this I showed to a service writer at the dealership. So I removed the cowl under the steering wheel and used WD-40 to lubricate the bushing as much as I could access it and then turning the wheel several turns to work in the lube. The unsafe steering problem was FIXED and the dealer was very willing to charge me for an expensive replacement repair that would NOT have fixed it!
While driving, my vehicle suddenly braked, this has happened at least twice. The first time there was construction and a platform on the road. My vehicle detected it and suddenly forcefully breaked. The second time, a vehicle breaked in front of me, but not completely, my vehicle forcefully breaked and stopped.
Engine oil diluted. 2/8/2022 Engine oil was Diluted by 55mm. This happened within 400 miles of the last oil change. That's a lot of gasoline in the oil and oil viscosity is significantly decreased. All updates/recalls have been completed on the vehicle. The updates that are specific to this issue have been completed. Talking to Honda dealership, this is extremely unnormal and results in premature engine wear.
The Collision Mitigation Braking System is malfunctioning when driving over metal plates. It has happened when I get close to drive straight over the metal plate (at probably 20-25 MPH), my car slams onto the brakes and comes to a complete stop. If anybody were behind me, they would rear-end me. This is very dangerous and needs to be corrected to save lives and property.
On multiple occasions while driving at highway speeds with the cruise control on the vehicle has slowed down on it's own for no reason. There were no cars immediately in front of me and nothing in the road, but the car just suddenly slowed down. Thankfully there have not been instances of the vehicle braking hard, but is definitely slows abruptly for no reason. This has been noted to happen 3 or 4 times so far in the last month. I took it to the dealership and made them aware of the issue. They were not able to replicate it or find any issues. After I had this happen to me I saw an article on CNN noting that there have been several complaints over this same issue in similar vehicles, so I wanted to make sure it was reported.
The contact owns the 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the brake warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact stated that during the failure, the warning light would flash and the vehicle would inadvertently come to a stop before returning to normal operation. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,000. Vin is invalid. Although the dealer knew about the issue, dealer could do nothing about it. Vehicle was taken to another dealer, they wanted $130.00 for repairs, but consumer refused to pay stating it is there fault.