2021 Honda CR-V: Common Problems, Recalls and Vehicle Data

What the public data shows

NHTSA has logged 422 complaints against the 2021 Honda CR-V. The largest category is labeled "other," 136 complaints, followed by steering at 115 complaints — together these two categories cover more ground than the rest of the list combined, with electrical complaints a distant third at 50. The more notable signal in this year's record is an open investigation, EA24002, examining forward collision avoidance and automatic emergency braking. An open investigation is a question NHTSA is asking, not a conclusion — it does not confirm a defect exists, only that the agency is looking into reported behavior of the system. A second investigation, PE22011, concerning the power train's axle assembly and axle shaft, has already been closed. Four recall campaigns apply to this model year, touching air bags (two campaigns), seat belts, and the fuel system. That is a small number spread across a few systems rather than repeated action on one part, so the recall record here reads as varied rather than concentrated. Separately, Honda's service bulletins for this year cluster somewhat around the electrical system (26 of 123 bulletins) and the fuel system (22). Bulletins are guidance to dealers for addressing reported symptoms, not recalls, and their presence does not mean a widespread or safety-related problem exists. As always, complaint counts reflect how often owners reported an issue to NHTSA, not how many vehicles were actually affected.

431 complaints on file with NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, grouped into CarTold's broad component categories.

Most frequently reported, by the specific component NHTSA logged each complaint under (not CarTold's category groupings above):

• STEERING — 101 complaints (23%)
• FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — 68 complaints (16%)
• UNKNOWN OR OTHER — 31 complaints (7%)
• ENGINE — 20 complaints (5%)
• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — 18 complaints (4%)
• SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — 14 complaints (3%)

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Consequence: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

Consequence: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:RETRACTOR

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, CR-V, Ridgeline, 2022 Insight and CR-V Hybrid vehicles. The automatic locking retractor on the second-row center seat belt assembly may deactivate improperly, which can result in an unsecured child restraint system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence: An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the second-row center seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: SENS

Opened 2024-04-15

On February 21, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE22003) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, in model year 2017-2019 Honda CR-V and 2018-2019 Honda Accord vehicles.  The reports allege that activation of the AEB system occurs while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that they were aware of a total of X,XXX reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Ho…

POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT, POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT:SEAL, POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY, POWER TRAIN:

Opened 2022-11-28 · Closed 2024-07-22

On November 29, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE 22-011 after reviewing field reports alleging rear differential seizure in 2018-2022MY Honda CR-V and HR-V vehicles equipped with all wheel drive. To date, ODI has not received any consumer complaints. Some of the field reports received alleged the vehicle’s wheels locked up with no warning while the vehicle was in motion. These vehicles were towed to a dealership. Examination of these vehicles showed the driveshaft had broken and the differential unit was completely damaged. The field reports cited a lack of oil due to…

NHTSA crash-tests each body-style/drivetrain configuration separately, so ratings can differ by variant — shown as tested, not averaged. See how the 5-star ratings work, including why an overall score isn't the average of the three category scores.