NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Honda CR-V. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
On two separate occasions on local roads while driving under 15 miles an hour I was drawing near an intersection and the car in front of me was actively turning onto a side street and I had ample distance from that car and my car suddenly decided I was about to get in an accident and slammed on the breaks. Its a good thing the cars behind me were responsible and were able to break in time or there would have been an accident both times because no one would have expected me to suddenly break in either situation. There were other people in the car each time and we were all surprised.
A few times (4-5 times) the car activated the automatic emergency braking feature while I was driving. There were no obstacles, vehicles, or people in my path. The system simply activated. The cars behind me nearly crashed into me.
The steering is sticking when turning left and not returning to center. It makes an audible clicking when it happens. It does not happen with right turns, is not speed related, and is intermittent. Seems to happen more frequently after the car has been driven for awhile or when the weather is warmer as it’s been happening for over a year.
A car was way in front of me and had turned right into a driveway, before I was even a close and it stopped in the driveway entrance out of the road. I had my car turning away from the driveway knowing the car was moving slow in front of me. When I reached to pass this my ABS kicked on and brakes locked by itself and scared the pants off me!! My hands came off the steering wheel, my neck jerked forward and my glasses flew off my face at 50 MPH!!! I wasn’t even close to hitting this person. A few days later driving down the road a goose was on the same side right side on side of road as I’m rounding the bend my brakes lock up again!!! Again. The bird wasn’t even in the road!!!!! I had to pull over to read how to turn off this auto braking. I had to go to emergency room days later because my neck and shoulder pain was worsening. I went to ER last night. 3/23/23. Thank god just muscle damage. I was scared it was something worse! It’s just awful. Sometime you can see it say brake and nothing is in front of you. So I make sure I turn it off now. First incident was I think 3/12, when my car was doing 50 mph, second with the goose was 35 mph on 3/18.
The steering wheel will "lock up" and need to be pushed in order to gain full control of the vehicle. This happens most often in turns where the steering wheel will not respond to normal pressure and require excessive force to be used to straighten move the wheel back and forth.
What component or system failed? Is it available for inspection? The component is the Steering Gearbox Assembly / Rack and Pinion. The vehicle is currently in my possession and available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? While driving at highway speeds (40–70 mph), the steering wheel "sticks" or "catches" in the center position. To change lanes or follow a curve, I must apply sudden, extra force to "break it loose," which results in a jerking motion and significant overcorrection. This creates a high risk of losing control of the vehicle or unintentionally departing the lane into other traffic. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer? I have presented the vehicle to an authorized Honda dealership on two separate occasions for this specific issue. Both times, the dealership stated they were "unable to duplicate" the problem and claimed the steering was "normal," despite the symptoms matching a known national defect. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or others? No, it has only been inspected by the authorized Honda dealer technicians. No police or insurance reports have been filed as no crash has occurred yet. Were there any warning lamps or messages? When did they first appear? There are no warning lamps or dashboard messages. This is a mechanical friction failure within the gearbox, not an electronic one. The symptoms first appeared roughly 2023 and have progressively worsened with time and heat.
You have 87 complaints about the Forward Crash Avoidance / Braking System for this vehicle. Since my previous complaint, (#11470565) this unsafe, DANGEROUS, condition has occurred on two additional dates. Nearly all of the complaints that I read, mention the same issue: you are driving along and the system forces the vehicle to brake to a stop or nearly to a stop, NEARLY causing numerous rear end collisions. It’s scary and DANGEROUS.
My steering wheel jerks me back when I try to turn right and other times it will stick when I turn right and I have to jerk the wheel back straight. It is also jerky when traveling straight down the highway - just worse when turning right. After taking it to a mechanic, he found nothing. I took it to the dealership and was told I have to replace the entire steering system. I see there have been LOTS of reports of this and there is now a lawsuit against Honda. I have an open case with Honda and am trying to get them to pay for the repair. They can't give me any reason for the "failure". My car is almost 2 years old!
I was driving on State Road 426 in Florida at 40 MPH. The weather was cool and sunny with light traffic on the roadway on both sides of the median. Suddenly, the vehicle “Hard-braked” on its own while my foot was on the gas pedal. The brake action lasted about two seconds and luckily the car behind me was not following too close or it would have rear-ended us.
When changing lanes on a 60 MPH highway to avoid vehicles that were stopped, the brakes auto engaged and the car came to a stop. The driver coming from behind had to swerve into a ditch to avoid rear ending my car. Thank God nobody was injured this time.
2021 Honda CR-V with about 17,000 miles. On at least 3 occasions, the vehicle activated the emergency brake warning and applies brakes, on 2 of the occasions, driving in a straight road with no vehicles or persons in sight. On another occasion, the brakes were also applied in the highway reducing the speed dramatically and almost causing an accident behind me, there were no cars nearby in front but on the lanes adjacent to our driving lane.
The car was suddenly stopped by the automatic braking system at a time when there was nothing else around me and I was moving forward under normal driving conditions. This happened during acceleration around 20-25 mph. Thankfully, there was no one behind me as that might have caused a rear end collision.
On two occasions now, the Automatic Emergency Braking has engaged without there being an actual danger, meaning nothing in front. The first time I was driving at about 55mph on the highway and it engaged with a dash alert to brake and then proceeded to decrease my speed. Luckily, no cars were behind me or else I would have been rear ended. The second time, I was going 5mph at a grocery store parking lot and it did the dash brake alert and stopped. Again, luckily no cars were behind me. Honda will be inspecting the car this coming week but did not seem worried about my initial report. It wasn't until my second incident of 5mph that they suggested taking a look at it.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with the cruise control activated, the vehicle lost motive power with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure, and no error codes were retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 6,851.
My car has done this phantom braking multiple times before, however this time it managed to pull my car into a curb and pop my brand new back tire and ruin my front tire. This is a huge safety issue because if there was anyone in front of or behind the car could’ve caused a major collision. I have done some research and noticed this has been an issue on previous years of my vehicle. I feel unsafe driving my car and my dealership has basically told me there is nothing than can do and that is not acceptable with me. The fact that my life was put in danger due to a malfunction with the forward collision warning is absolutely ridiculous. I will probably never buy another Honda if something is not done to correct the issues.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the Forward Collision Avoidance: Dynamic Brake Assist activated, and the vehicle came to a sudden stop without another vehicle nearby. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 40,000.
This has happened approximately once a month since i got the car and i've had the car for 13 month. When using adaptive cruise control on the freeway going at least 60, the car will randomly give me a forward collision warning. Sometimes the car slams on the brakes, and other times the warning goes away after about a second. I can override it by pressing on the accelerator. This always happens when theres no cars anywhere near the front of me. The car has not been inspected by the manufacturer because the problem cannot be recreated on demand. its very infrequent. Other than that the car has had no other major problems.
Twice on 10/10/2022, the automatic brake warning system engaged while the car was in cruise control at approximately 55 mph. There were no other vehicles or safety hazards in the lane of travel that should have prompted a brake system activation. The incidents happened on separate trips, with the car having been parked and turned off in between.
I was just driving on Ventura blvd, a busy street, it was very sunny out and suddenly for no reason, as I am driving around 35 MPH at least... the car fully brakes. everything goes flying - my neck is now sore, as is my upper back and shoulders... if someone had been behind me they would have hit me. It's pure luck it didn't cause an accident. This has never happened before and I want to get rid of this car now...
My sunroof glass spontaneously exploded on a sunny day at 50 mph. There was no road debris or impact with the glass. Ambient temp was 55 degrees, clear sky. The resulting noise and cascade of small glass particles made it quite difficult to maintain control of the vehicle.
I was driving at about 35-40 MPH and the automatic emergency braking engaged for no reason. There was nothing on the road ahead of me. The vehicle braked very hard and had there been a vehicle behind me I suspect there would have been an accident. This is not the first time this has occurred - it has happened several times before - but it was the most severe braking that has occurred. There was no damage, so the police were not involved. I have not yet reported this to the manufacturer.
Vehicle suddenly emergency braked, by slamming on the brakes, when driving on a highway with no cars in front of us and no cars to the sides of us. This happened twice within the same afternoon. We had the adaptive cruise control on at these times. The highway was clear of obstructions and was in perfect shape. The car was clean on the outside. It was a bright sunny afternoon and the road was dry. We recall no warning as this happened. We had just purchased the vehicle used with 11000 miles on it.
2 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE I have a lemon with Honda CR-V year of car 2021 bought it in October of 2021. The 3-year warranty is about to expire. I have taken the car several times to two different Honda dealerships because they are the closest to my home and I don't have anyone to pick me up or take me back. They claim there's nothing wrong with the vehicle but lights in the dash come up every other day then disappear after several hours then return the next time, I use the vehicle. the vehicle also has an issue with the acceleration; sometimes I step on the gas pedal but after trying to drive the car, the MOTOR does NOT move faster but rather the force of the vehicle decreases and doesn't allow for me to go faster than 20 MPH. The odometer is also inaccurate; one month after driving the vehicle about 80 miles-the vehicle odometer increased around 10 miles. I only have about 9,877 miles that I’ve driven the car… I'M [XXX] and cannot drive and take pictures while I'm driving. I barely know how to use my phone. I get nervous, start to panic and my heart starts racing and I feel like I'm going to crash. I'm scared for my life and my grandchildren that I pick up after school and take them to their home. ive tried to upload documents but i keep getting an error...INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Non impact windshield crack on 9/8/2022
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed at night, the vehicle stopped independently. Additionally, the contact stated the headlights failed to operate as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.
The inner wall of the wheel is punctured causing the tire to inflated. The incident happen during driving on the highway. Safety issue is concerned
Rear tires are at 1/32nd of depth after 12,100 miles. Fronts are still at 5/32nds. Tires were rotated at 8,000 miles. Honda had a service bulletin, SB20-081, for the 2017-2020 years. It appears that this was not fixed for the 2021 model year. Tires are below manufacturer min specs in that very limited highway miles. Tires inspected by Honda dealer.
The contact owned a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, three deer ran into the road, causing the contact to abruptly apply the brakes. The vehicle spun around and crashed into several trees; however, no air bags were deployed. The contact sustained several injuries and received medical attention. The contact is unaware if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The vehicle was deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,800.
2021 Honda CRV, went for first oil change, upon inspection if was discovered that strut tower came apart. Insurance adjuster inspected the vehicle and determined there is absolutely no physical damage that could have cause this welded piece to come apart and must be factory defect. Honda denied and does not want to acknowledge manufacturer defect. Vehicle has been deemed unsafe to drive.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the roadway surface changed and the Forward Collision Avoidance feature activated and the vehicle independently started braking. The vehicle then started driving normally after the failure. The dealer was contacted and an appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 12,000.
I have had 4 separate instances where the automatic braking system abruptly applied the brakes. Two of them happened at a place on the road where the pavement color changed. One was a pedestrian crosswalk painted on an asphalt road surface. Another was where a new concrete roadway changed to new asphalt. Those 2 situations led me to believe the system may see road color change as if there was an obstacle in front of the car. However, 2 additional events happened with no obvious reasons as the road surface did not change. This is a 2021 Honda CRV. I have not taken it to a Honda dealer nor have I discussed it with Honda. I was fortunate that nothing was close behind and the road surface was not slippery. There is no telling what might have happened if the road was snow packed or icy.
I was driving at approximately 35 MPH on a straight, flat road. There were no cars in front of me, behind me, or oncoming. Without warning or any action on my part, the vehicle wheels locked up, the vehicle jerked to an abrupt stop, and the display went black. I noticed what appeared to be a red block of text on the display, but I was unable to read it before the vehicle started moving again. Luckily, I had both hands on the steering wheel, and I was alone in the vehicle. I was shaken up at the abruptness of the stop. If I had my dogs in the car, they would have been launched forward. If I or anyone else in the vehicle was not belted in and facing forward, there for sure would have been injuries. If there were someone behind me, there would have been impact. I am grateful none of these things happened, but I remain fearful of driving this vehicle if it were to happen again. I brought the vehicle immediately to my dealer for inspection. (Balise Honda, West Warwick, RI). The service manager stated this was a know issue with CR-V's, a result of the radar on the front of the vehicle that controls the ABS malfunctioning for some reason. He was unaware of a solution. His only recommendation was to turn off the ABS and LKAS, the very safety features that I purchased this car for, and paid extra for. I reported this to Honda on July 5, case number 13119359. They were to get back to me with an update by July 12, but I have yet to hear from them. The case manager only said there were no know recalls or bulletins on this issue. I had requested they open a bulletin as this is certainly a safety issue that needs to be addressed. For now, I am driving my vehicle without the safety features this vehicle advertised, and have limited my travel with this vehicle as well. NOT what I expect from a new 2021 vehicle.
Twice while driving the FCW warning brake light flashed on the dash with nothing happening. One time the brakes actually engaged and flashed the brake icon on the dash for the FCW and stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road and luckily no one behind me and I didn’t get hit.
This vehicle was involved in a 2 car crash. The vehicle rear ended a car and air bags never deployed. No passengers, just driver in the vehicle.
I was at a complete stop at a flashing red light with my foot firmly on the brake petal. My intention was to make a left hand turn. As a truck going the opposite way started to pass in front of me, and the traffic was clear, I took my foot off the brake pedal and without touching the gas pedal the car on its own accelerated into the passing tail end of the truck. The airbag deployed and my small car was totaled.
Driving on empty road about 40 mph. Brakes engaged momentarily and red brake light came up on dash. Happened in daylight with excellent visibility. No cars in front or other lane and nothing on roadway. Car has 1040 miles on it. Will report to dealer but expect little resolution.
I'm trying to report an incident that involved my Honda CRV running into a totally stopped Tesla in the HOV lane on I-75 in Atlanta Georgia on Sunday, May 8, 2022, at around 9 AM. We came around a large curve and had no time to avoid running into the TOTALLY STOPPED Tesla in the HOV lane. I have seen reports of "phantom braking" in Teslas. The driver of the Tesla stated to us that he was using cruise control and when the Tesla sensed a car pulled off into the breakdown lane, it stopped completely and there was nothing he could do. Our car sustained serious damage. Fortunately, we were not injured, but I believe NHTSA should be investigating Tesla for these incidents. If this is not the correct form to report this, please advise. There was no problem associated with my CRV in this incident.
While driving, using cruise control, usually at speeds between 35-45 mph, the automatic emergency braking will engage after a vehicle, formerly in front, has completed a right hand turn. That vehicle is no longer in front of my vehicle when my vehicle begins to brake. My vehicle was automatically maintaining distance and not accelerating. I informed the Honda dealer of this at the 15,000 mile check up. The Honda dealer told me that the car was responding correctly through the side sensors. It is jarring to almost come to a complete stop and could cause a driver behind to rear end my car. This has happened at least four times.
I was driving on a divided 4 lane road that offers a wide right side shoulder at around 43 MPH. I was traveling in the right lane. The lane markings are fresh and visible. It was late afternoon and sun was shining. The road surface was dry. There were no vehicles immediately in front of or along the side of mine. I had not activated the lane keeping assist or automatic cruise control features. Only the hazard mitigation/automatic braking and road departure mitigation features were operational. The car suddenly attempted to swerve left, away from the center of the lane being utilized. The automatic braking system also activated. I was able to simply "drive through" the malfunction without incident. This was the first instance I have noted of this kind. Due to the fact that it was late afternoon, there were shadows from overhead power line being cast onto the lane being driven. I have owned previous cars that sometimes attempted to track said shadow when the lane keeping assist is activated. That was not the scenario yesterday as LKAS was not selected. It was as though the sensors detected a pending pedestrian strike or other collision.
Tire sensor fail to warn of a low tire in time. TPMS is triggered after 15-20 miles of driving on a low tire. Tire was low from a screw and drove home, and the warning light never came on.
Slowed down to go across a metal plate where work had been done on the street. Suddenly the car came to a hard stop. There was a car in the left lane that also slowed to cross the metal plate. Once before I was rounding a curve and the car softly broke on its own, but didn't completely stop. There was a car again in the left lane. had the car behind me been closer, I would have been rear-ended. There was also no cars in front of me at both times. The warning collision light did come on and beep. I did call the dealer, they check for recalls and there were none. No inspections have been done. I plan to take it to the dealer for inspection.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V modified for disabled personnel. The contact stated while attempting to drive the vehicle out of the driveaway, the gear shifter remained stuck in the park position. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact turned the vehicle off. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the interior roof harness cable located behind the rearview mirror had detached as the contact constantly placed his handicap placard behind the rearview mirror. The dealer informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under warranty. The vehicle was repaired at the contact's expense. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 14,800.
My 2021 Honda CRV is activating the brakes at inappropriate times. I've had 5 total instances that could have resulted in a rear-end collision both on the street driving 5-35 mph and freeway at 30-50 mph. The system on the dash board flashed "brake." However, there is more than a car space between the car in front of the car. The braking system activates and I am unable to counteract the brakes locking up on the car. I am very concerned that if I were to continue to drive my car , it may result in an accident with a car crashing into the back of my car. At this time I am waiting for the vehicle to be inspected.
When driving after dark on rural roads or roads with low light, and using the low-beam headlights, the road is only visible through the lower 1/3 of the windshield. Visibility forward is extremely limited. There is a band of darkness on the upper 2/3. This makes for very dangerous and limited visibility. The visibility improves when the high beams are used. This problem has was first noticed in 2021. I have a video I took of the issue. I took my car to the dealer for service and they say they cannot fix it. They claim, so far, that the headlights are working fine, but they admit that they are unable to check for nighttime issues as I describe.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was placed in reverse(R) and then drive; however, the Back Over Prevention camera remained illuminated. Additionally, the Lane Keep Assist feature caused the steering wheel to jerk while activated. The contact also stated the four-wheel alignment was off due a nail being in the tire. The tire issue was corrected. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed with a loosened sensor. The sensor was properly reattached. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 18,000.
The srs light came on the dash board and yet to clear.
Hood latch sensor started beeping on a trip from Colorado to Wyoming 12/19/21. I had never opened the hood but it had recently had it’s first service, and I could find no visible issue. I had made an appointment with Freedom Honda because they have no shuttle service to my part of town for 12/30/21 I needed to get a ride from my son. On 12/21/21 I had to drive 40 miles and noticed the hood was actually vibrating. I have been told that the dealership needs to order a new hood latch. This vehicle has less that 5,000 miles on it. They are telling me to come pick it up and the part “a new hood latch” will possibly arrive on Tuesday the 4th. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle at this point. They are expecting me to pay for the new latch, when it is obviously a manufacturer defect.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced unintended braking. The contact then deactivated the collision mitigation braking system. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the display screen intermittently went blank. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,200.
I have a 2021 Honda Crv Awd. On 11/14/2021 the Forward Collision Avoidance System engaged . I was stopped at a red light and when the light turned proceeded in 30 feet the system engaged. There was no car or pedestrian in front of me. The car beeped and brakes engaged. Luckily the car behind me was able to stop. Like another car with the same problem brought it to the dealer and was told they couldn’t find anything was wrong. They did lower the sensitivity of the sensors. The also said that a leaf could set it off. My wife is not comfortable riding in the car now. She fears that it could happen on the HiWays.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026