NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2023 Honda HR-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
rear window shattering .
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact heard a loud pop and became aware that the rear windshield had shattered. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there were no signs of an impact that could have caused the damage to the windshield. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling at a stop light, the rear windshield exploded, causing a large hole near the top of the windshield on the driver's side, eventually causing additional fractures throughout the windshield. The failure occurred with no impact to the vehicle. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the failure was common. The dealer diagnosed that the windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 95,000.
Almost all advanced safety features have stopped working including the ones selected and still others more such as lane keep assist, parking collision warning etc.
I pulled my car into my driveway on April 22, 2024 and got out of the car to assist my husband with his walker. We heard a big BANG at the back of the car. When we walked behind the car we found that the rear window had completely shattered. It had been raining and we had the reat window defogger running in the car. If this had happened while the car was moving it could have caused an accident with all of the glass falling out onto the road and endangering the cars behind me. I have called Safelite to come to my house to replace the glass as I don't feel safe driving the car like this.
While driving, with my rear defrost on, my rear window shattered. It was loud, and very scary. I’m glad my kids weren’t in the backseat. Brought it straight to my local Honda dealership where my vehicle was purchased and was surprised to hear they knew of the issue but no recall had been issued.
The steering wheel keeps clicking, feels stiff, and hard to move while driving. I felt unsafe driving my vehicle so I took it to the dealership and they said my steering gear box was the problem. The dealership said there weren't any recalls for the steering gear box and that there was 6 other 2023 honda hrv with the same problem. They said they could order a part for $3000 but because the part is on back order they don't know when my car will be fixed. No warning lights came on.
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that upon closing the front driver’s side door, the rear windshield shattered into several small pieces. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, and it was discovered that the failure occurred due to a defective rear defroster system. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.
Rear windshield shattered due to windshield defroster and have not received a recall notice. Safety of driver and other can be at risk, as once shattered, cannot drive at normal speed affecting others nearby and, depending on wind speed, glass continuously falls off and can even fly forward to passengers until it's been replaced. Honda is aware of this issue, but has yet to issue a recall. The vehicle has not been addressed by anyone other than Auto Glass Now, who installed new rear windshield. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptom of the issue prior to the shatter. No police report was submitted, as no vehicles or objects were obstructed at the time the event occurred. I was simply able to pull over.
The rear windshield spontaneously shattered. It was in the late evening and I had put on the rear defogger. It made a loud sound. My infant daughter and toddler son were in the backseat when it happened. I contacted American Honda (Corporate) and reported it as I read online that hundreds of HR-Vs are having this issue due to the rear defogger. The Honda dealer inspected it and they ordered the part and will be replacing it. We had to pay for a rental car in the meantime, which I didn't feel I should have to pay for since it's a car defect. But corporate said it should be covered under my warranty (I lease the car). There were no warning messages or anything to know this was going to happen. This sounds like the beginning of a recall that needs to be put on HR-Vs immediately.
I was driving and the back glass on my HRV shattered. It was pouring rain and I had been running my rear defrost and wipers and I heard a loud pop and there was glass everywhere.
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH with the rear defogger activated, within 15 minutes of the defogger being activated, the rear windshield imploded. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided the contact with a claim number. The approximate failure mileage was 26,000.
MY BACK WINSHIELD EXPLODED no rocks hited no cars around me just exploded
My rear windshield on a 2023 Honda HRV just exploded. My car was parked in the driveway, when we suddenly heard a loud sound with a shatter, the center of the windshield was all shattered into pieces. We are currently dealing with the dealership on this matter.
My rear Window completely shattered, the car was on and in a complete stop. No trauma no force, it randomly just broke. It is now in the shop, estimating to be in the shop for about a month because of back order parts.
Rear windshield shattered while driving with rear defroster on
The rear windshield shattered while driving in I95. The road was smooth and I did not hit a pot hole. It randomly made a loud sound and the rear windshield fell apart while driving. I tried uploading 5 pictures but it keeps saying upload failed.
I was driving home march 15th at 8:23 pm and turned off the rear defroster and then the back glass exploded, sounded like a m80 going off in the car, took car to my honda dealer and was told no glass is covered by the warranty, the service manager inspected the glass on monday and called me and said that honda will do a one time goodwill claim, they ordered the glass, the next day they called me again and told me the back glass is back ordered till May but they could have an after market glass install the next day, so i had them install the aftermarket glass, i mean who can wait 6 weeks for a glass, I need the car. Im not happy that they put a none original glass in a new car
Turned on car to warm up and set my windshields to defrost. 15 minutes later when after waiting for car to warm up I turn off the defrosters because I smell something warm/hot. 5 minutes later my rear windshield pops and shatters. All while parked, checked for any sort of debris and none to be found.
My rear window exploded while parked on the garage. I had the rear defroster on for only a few minutes. There was a loud bang that startled me and left me in shock unknowing what it could be. There was absolutely no warning of any kind. I took my vehicle into my local dealer where I bought the car. Still awaiting an answer. I saw online this has happened to many people with this same year and make.
Rear window glass shattered on its own.
I went out to my parked 2023 Honda HRV Sport and saw a hole in the rear hatch glass. It completely shattered when I touched the corner. My local Honda dealer said they've never heard of this issue and never received any service bulletins about this issue which I found online and read to them. Honda customer service said there is an open recall and to take it to the dealer and it should be covered under the warranty.
The rear window shattered on March 8, 2024. The defroster had been used briefly to clear fog. It was parked and when I returned to the car later, the window was shattered. There was a hole in part of it where it had broken with glass on the inside and some shards on the outside on the ground. It was is also broken around the edges where it would be sealed to the rest of the car. I had to drive home in the rain for approximately 40 minutes with glass continuing to break with any minimal and normal bumps from driving on the road. Had anything happened, like a wreck, while we were driving, this defect likely would have affected our safety in addition to simply having glass falling at random. Because we initially thought the car might have been broken into, the police were called and did inspect it. Nothing was stolen and the hole was not big enough for anyone to get into the vehicle. I found this has been a known issue with the HR-V after having it checked on. When I called the dealership this morning (3/9/2024) they stated they didn’t know anything about this issue and did not have any information on it. They gave me Honda’s customer service number, which I called, but since it’s Saturday, no one was there to answer. There was no warning or any symptoms prior to this happening. It’s like it spontaneously shattered.
Valve cover started leaking after 3rd oil change in dealership. Took it in and they retorqued to factory spec, applied silicone and cleaned it under the included drivetrain warranty. They did not replace my valve cover like I thought they would. This should not be happening on a year old vehicle with about 15900 miles.
While having rear defroster on The back window exploded while driving down the highway
1. The rear glass shattered out of no where 2. Car is now insecure to weather and theft 3. Yes, this is happening all over the world 4. Not yet 5. No
Woke up in the morning and discovered that my rear windshield had randomly shattered at some point during the night while it was parked. At first thought it was vandalism, but there was no specific point of impact anywhere on my windshield and it was not indented at all. If I was driving my vehicle when this occurred, it absolutely could've resulted in sudden shock and caused an accident. There was nothing wrong with my windshield in the days leading up to this.
Rear windshield shattered spontaneously.
Dear Sir/Madam While driving on [XXX] the message came on the screen 12 volt battery charging system problem. Do not drive. Time 10.54AM. The noise would start in the engine compartment while accelerating, then a smell entered the cabin of the car. I pulled over one mile after at a nearby service area and when I opened up the hood i have discovered a loose belt and a loose pulley. I towed the car to the [XXX] Honda in Reading, MA. The service didn't do much to investigate the issue and instigated that because I did not do an oil change at Honda Dealer they cannot cover the malfunction by warranty until Honda Corp approves it. I did my own investigation and found a broken off bolt laying in the bottom of the engine cover. I showed the discovery to them and then they voided a 240$ diagnostics charge. Then the real mechanic showed up by accident, saw the bolt and said that it did not surprise him at all. I think that the bolt pulleys bolts were overtightened and over the time they snap loose. Big issue is present for a new model 2023 Honda HR-V and later editions possibly. Thank You [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
steering is very sticky electric steering box problem
While driving on the highway, the steering becomes sticky (even with the lane assist off). The steering does not turn back and forth smoothly. It will get stuck in a position, and then release. This has made it nearly impossible to maintain a straight drive path without constantly readjusting the steering wheel. The car shows no maintenance or warning indicators. I feel this is a risk for me and my passengers as well as other drivers. Additionally, this is not a random occurrence; it happens every time I drive the vehicle.
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that the alarm had sounded without incident and the contact disabled the alarm. The contact stated that hours later, the contact attempted to start the vehicle with several messages displayed on the instrument panel. After several failed attempts, the contact attempted to jumpstart the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to a dealer where the contact was later informed that rodents had chewed on the wiring harnesses due to the wiring harnesses being made with soy-based, eco-friendly materials. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under warranty and that the repair would be performed out-of-pocket. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.
Back windshield shattered. Parked in driveway and had not been taken out that day.
While parked about to drive out to work @ about 18:30, I turned on my car and my rear windshield spontaneously shattered. My wiper is still intact, but my entire windshield has spider web-like cracking all over, leaving a hole on my left side, slightly big. Please see photos attached. (My recalled seatbelts were already serviced by AutoNation Valencia.) I found an online article from last month where this is a random, on-going issue with Honda 2023 HR-V models: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
While driving, I heard a loud pop, and the rear windshield shattered completely. I had the rear defroster on. There was no sign of an object that hit the windshield, it just blew out unexpectedly. I took photos and called the insurance company, but nobody else has inspected the windshield except for me. This posed a safety risk, as I was startled and could not see out the back window. I was not able to pull over due to the lack of a safe area to pull over. There were no warnings of this event, this was the first and only incident. I did some research on this issue, and it appears that I am not the only one who has had the rear windshield shatter in my 2023 Honda HRV, due to a manufacturing defect in the seal around the rear defroster system.
Was driving at a regular route, about 50mph and was using only front windshield defroster at the time because the weather was cold and the entire rear windshield shattered suddenly and made a whole on the left side I had my toddler in her car seat and thankfully she wasn't injured. Looked up online after the fact and found several exact incidents in this same model and year vehicle
I was driving on 2/17/2024 with the rear defrost on and my rear window shattered. It was snowin This was very scary to me. no warning light dealer is closed today. I called Honda they are closed also. I have a car seat in the back had my kids been in the car this could have been hurt since the glass in all over the hatch inside the hrv.
[XXX] about [XXX] Mountain time, my wife was driving the vehicle back to Pueblo, Colorado from Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was a freezing drizzle and to help deal with visibility she turned on the defroster for the rear hatch window. About 15 minutes afterwards she heard a massive "boom" and looking in the rear view mirror it looked like that rear hatch window was completely cracked across the whole window. Although the situation was frightening, she was able to get home. Looking online it was clear that this situation has already been experienced by a large number of people. We reported the problem to Honda who opened a case, and directed us to a local dealer. The local dealer was rude, said that some object must have impacted the glass. We are trying to take the vehicle to a different dealer tomorrow. When I looked at the glass, there was a large section missing in the center, and there were numerous "shards" broken off along the perimeter of the glass that were independent of the large hole in the middle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Rear windshield shattered when wife was driving to work, took to dealer and they have ordered window but it is back ordered for 4 weeks
The steering wheel will automatically jerk to the left and right while driving, particularly in cold weather. I had at first thought this was the lane assist, however I turned it off and the it was still happening.While driving on the highway it’s as if the steering wheel is making small motions left and right on its own as I am trying to keep a straight path on the road. It has not put me at any direct safety risks but it is definitely a nuisance and makes the driving experience very annoying. I have not yet taken it to a dealership to be duplicated or inspected, however I have read that there have been multiple reports made to NHTSA about this same issue. There were no warning lamps or messages associated with this issue.
The car feels like the lane assist is on when its not. When you try to steer it jerks instead of smoothly turning especially on the highway when steering to the left. I feel it’s getting worse.
The car stalls randomly while driving. Has stalled 5 times in less than a year. 3 times while accelerating and 2 times while coming to a stop at a stop sign. Car was dropped off to dealer for a couple days and testing and evaluated. Dealer service could not determine an issues with any systems. Car being dropped off again to the dealer today
The car was parked in the garage and the back windshield exploded for no reason. The garage is insulated and was around 60 degrees. No impact had occurred and no prior damage. The car is only a year old. There are other reports of similar incidents with the back window. No warning just exploded out of no where. I am having to replace it out of pocket.
The back window blow up
rear window windshield or glass (at the trunk or above the license plate) of my 2023 Honda HRV EX-L shattered and exploded while parked. There was no impact or an object hitting it. It just exploded. I strongly believe it’s a manufacturing defect which needs a recall or warranty coverage.
The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH with the rear defroster activated, there was a loud booming sound heard and the rear hatchback windshield shattered, causing glass shards to fall into the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 10,600.
My rear window unexpectedly shattered without any force while I was sitting in the car parked.
While driving on Feb 7, 2023, the rear window shattered, no impact or foreign object. i did smell like something was burning but did not see anything, my car is. Honda HRV 2023
While my car was sitting in our garage, not driven for two days, our back windshield shattered out of nowhere. We just heard a loud bang and found a hole in the glass and could see it was separating from the sides of the window. We took our vehicle to the dealership and it’s been over a week with no estimated date it will be fixed and still no loaner vehicle has been offered.
My rear window shattered after prolonged use of the rear defroster. It was raining in California very heavily in January 2024. I had been using my rear defroster for a long period of time. On [XXX], I got into my car and as soon as I closed the door the windshield shattered and sprayed glass on the inside of my car and all over my driveway. There was no warning or indication of this, it just shattered on me when I got into my vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)