CSR

Honda · NHTSA safety record

2017 Honda HR-V

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

120

Complaints

13

Crashes

0

Fires

7

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2017 Honda HR-V have filed 120 safety complaints with NHTSA between March 2017 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 31 of them (26%). The typical failure was reported at 20,000 miles, the median across the 51 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints fell 39% year on year: 14 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 23 in the twelve before.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 120.

POWER TRAIN 31 26%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28 23%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 27 23%
STRUCTURE 15 13%
SERVICE BRAKES 12 10%
ENGINE 11 9%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 11 9%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 8 7%
AIR BAGS 6 5%
STEERING 4 3%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 3%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 20.

2017 2024 2026
2017 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

I WAS WAITING ON THE LIGHT TO MAKE A LEFT ON A CITY STREET WHEN A VEHICLE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND HIT ME HEAD ON AND HIT THE FRONT OF MY CAR. THE IMPACT WAS SO GREAT THAT IT BEND THE FRAME, THE HOOD, LIGHTS AND OTHER COMPONENTS OF MY CAR. THE INSURANCE COMPANY DECLARED THE CAR A TOTAL LOSS. NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED AND AS A RESULT I WAS INJURED BY THE SEAT BELT IN THE LOWER ABDOMEN, HAVE BACK PAIN, FEEL DIZZY AND I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE.

NHTSA complaint 11080190. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 5,030 miles

I WAS REAR-ENDED AS I WAS STATIONARY WAITING TO MAKE A LEFT HAND TURN ON A HIGHWAY NONE OF MY AIRBAGS DEPLOYED MY CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS. FAULT THE 17 YEAR WAS TAILGATING A TRACTOR AND SLAMMED INTO MY CAR.POLICE CAME I WAS TRANSPORTED TO A LOCAL HOSPITAL

NHTSA complaint 11011512. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

1 injured · crash · towed · 20,000 miles

HAD ACCIDENT WHEN BRAKES FAILED ABOUT 5 MONTHS AGO. HONDA NEVER ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY. CITED DRIVER ERROR. GOT CAR BACK. DRIVE ABOUT 4 MONTHS. BRAKES FAILED AGAIN MARCH 19, 2019. SAME EXACT CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS TIME I KEPT MY FOOD ON PEDAL I DEPRESSED UNTIL CAR HIT PARKED CAR. MY FOOT WAS ON BRAKE PEDAL. SO FAR HRV'S FROM 2016, 18 AND 19 HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR BRAKE PROBLEMS.

NHTSA complaint 11191448. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 17,000 miles

IN NOVEMBER 2018, WHILE WAITING IN TRAFFIC, WHEN IT WAS MY TURN TO TURN LEFT, I WAS T-BONED BY A CAR THAT WAS DRIVING ILLEGALLY ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD. MY HEAD HIT THE DRIVER'S WINDOW VERY HARD AND THE LATERAL AIRBAG ON THE DRIVER"S SIDE NEVER DEPLOYED. AT THAT TIME, I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY HONDA, THAT IF YOU ARE DRIVING LESS THAN 30 MILES PER HOUR...AIRBAG DOES NOT DEPLOY. RECENTLY, I DISCOVER THAT THE ACCIDENT DAMAGED REALLY BAD MY LEFT EYE, THE SIDE I HIT MY HEAD ON THE WINDOW. LAST MONTH, I NEEDED 3 PROCEDURES AND SURGERY AND I HAVE NOW AN IMPLANT IN MY LEFT EYE. ALL SPECIALISTS I CONSULTED ARE UNANIMOUS THAT ONLY A VERY IMPORTANT IMPACT COULD HAVE CAUSED THAT MUCH DAMAGES, DAMAGES

NHTSA complaint 11376687, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
SAFETY HAZARD NOTIFICATION: INTERMITTENT IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE & STRAND RISK I am filing a formal safety complaint regarding a known manufacturing defect in the ignition start/stop switch of my 2017 Honda HR-V. This component is suffering from an intermittent failure that creates an unpredictable and immediate strand risk, compromising driver safety by leaving the vehicle unable to start or power down correctly in potentially hazardous or isolated environments. Manufacturer American Honda Motor Co. is fully aware of this systemic defect, having issued Technical Service Bulletin TSB 20-116 (Diagnostic Trouble Code DTC B12C5) specifically addressing ignition start/stop switch failure.

NHTSA complaint 11747739, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
THE CVT TRANSMISSION BELT IS BREAKING APART WHICH SUDDENLY SLOWED THE CAR WHILES DRIVING ON A FREEWAY, AMERICAN HONDA QUIETLY SENT NEW BULLETIN TO DEALERS WITHOUT INFORMING ME AS A OWNER OF THIS CAR FROM 02/2019. AMERICAN HONDA NEW ANOUT THE BELT DETERIORATION AND DID NOT TOOK STEPS TO SAFEQUARD MY INVESTMENT, LIKE ADVISING TO CHANGE TRANSMISSION FLUIS MORE FREQUESNTLY THAN MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDATIONS. THIS IS LACK OF COPORATE GREED AND WHEN I ASKED FOR A GOODWILL REPAIR THEY DENIED IT WITHOUT ANY REMORSE OF THEIR WRONG DOING. AN APOLOGY WOULD HAVE BEEN ACCETABLE. SINCE AMERICAN HONDA ID NOT CORRECTING THERIR ACT, IAM REQUESTING NHSA TO ADVISE DMV TO NOT RENEW THESE UNSAFE CARS UNTIL HONDA

NHTSA complaint 11742593, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
The car suddenly was unable to move forward or back even though engine was still running. I was able to roll to a stop in the parking lot at work, but moments before had been on the highway. Tow truck driver noted cap to transmission fluid had popped off. The car was towed to Honda dealer which determined new transmission needed. Even though there had been Honda technical service bulletins describing issues with transmissions for Honda HRVs for years 2016 to 2020, both the dealership (not purchased there), corporate Honda and dealer where car was purchased, all refused to pay for the problem.

NHTSA complaint 11741082. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
cVT transmission failure Honda Eatontown diagnosed and gave 8400 estimate to replace/repair it

NHTSA complaint 11738312. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
While driving, starting from a stop sign / or traffic light, the vehicle will stall out upon light acceleration. Going through the recall information, it appears that many 2017 Honda HRV and 2018 Honda HRV have a safety recall for the fuel pump ( located inside the fuel tank / under the drivers seat). For whatever reason, my HRV is not included in the recall but suffers from the exact same problems as the recalled vehicles. This has happened numerous times, in light traffic and in extremely heavy traffic where my life was put in danger by this stalling issue.

NHTSA complaint 11737980. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
BCM module failure. Car controls flash on and off. Vehicle won’t start. Alarm goes off randomly.

NHTSA complaint 11737460. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Honda HR-V

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 42 1
2024 107 4
2023 682 3
2022 84 3
2021 62 4
2020 82 5
2019 224 7
2018 154 3
2016 238 2

Other 2017 Honda models

Every Honda on this site — 187 vehicles, 362 recall campaigns and 10 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst