CSR

Honda · NHTSA safety record

2023 Honda CR-V

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

Owners have filed 515 safety complaints about the 2023 Honda CR-V with the US government. Of those, 21 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 21 people were injured and no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it.

The most complained-about system is the steering, named in 325 complaints, 63% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 9,350 miles, the median across the 38 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers December 2022 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

515 complaints on file

515

Complaints

21

Describe a crash

1

Mention fire

21

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
STEERING 325 · 63%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 37 · 7%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 33 · 6%
LANE DEPARTURE 30 · 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 29 · 6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 28 · 5%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 25 · 5%
STRUCTURE 22 · 4%
ENGINE 21 · 4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 16 · 3%
POWER TRAIN 14 · 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 · 3%
0 131 262

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 515.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 253.

268 201 134 67
22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2022 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2023 Honda CR-V, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall Not rated
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover Not rated
Chance of rollover 15.5% —
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

3 on file

STEERING

24V744000 · October 3, 2024

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Acura Integra, Civic Type R, CR-V Hybrid, CR-V, HR-V, 2022-2025 Civic, Civic Hatchback, 2024-2025 Acura Integra Type S, 2025 CR-V Fuel Cell EV, Civic Hybrid, and Civic Hatchback Hybrid vehicles. The steering gearbox assembly may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can cause excessive internal friction and lead to difficulty steering the vehicle.
The risk
Difficulty steering can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the worm gear spring and redistribute or add grease as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2024. Owners may contact Honda Customer Service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are SJS, MJU, QJT and VJV.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 1,693,199 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

23V858000 · December 18, 2023

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

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 2,490,460 vehicles across all model years covered

SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:RECLINER

23V092000 · February 16, 2023

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023 CR-V vehicles. The front passenger seat back frame may not have been welded properly, which can cause the seat back position to fail in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 207, "Seating Systems" and 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact."
The risk
A seat back position that fails may not adequately restrain the occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the front passenger seat back frame assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 27, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is 6PK.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 98 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations

1 on file

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Momentary Increased Steering Effort

EA23003

Closed engineering analysis · opened November 29, 2023 · closed January 28, 2025 · led to recall 24V744

the steering

On November 29, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Engineering Analysis (EA23003) to assess allegations of momentary increase in steering effort in model years (MY) 2022-2023 Honda Civic, 2023MY Honda CR-V, and 2023MY Acura Integra vehicles (subject vehicles). The complaints received by ODI alleged that the subject vehicles experienced a momentary increase in required steering effort (described as “sticky steering”) occurring mostly at highway speeds after driving for an extended amount of time; these complaints could not be duplicated during dealer service technicians’ quick test drives.  The complaints had been received over the previous two years with most occurring with low vehicle mileage. The steering gear of these vehicles is aided by an electrical power assist unit. This power assist unit inputs force on the steering rack via a worm gear and worm wheel assembly. During PE23005, Honda stated this condition of momentary increase in steering effort occurs due to two factors within this power assist unit. First, during manufacturing, the steering worm wheel goes through annealing and component conditioning processes. These processes cause internal stress and strain within the steering worm  wheel. This strain is slowly released over the first few months of the vehicle life. Over time, the released strain causes deformation of the teeth on the worm wheel, causing the worm gear to catch on the worm wheel. This catching results in the driver’s momentary increased steering effort. Second, the manufacturing process did not guarantee consistent grease application and, therefore, some subject vehicles received insufficient grease which contributed to the momentary increase in steering effort. During EA23003, ODI further analyzed the potential safety related consequences of the momentary increase in steering effort. NHTSA’s Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC) duplicated the allegations of increased steering effort. In addition, VRTC discovered the steering worm wheel and worm gear tended to push grease out of the meshing area, resulting in large amounts of grease resting on top of the worm wheel. Information Request responses collected and reviewed by ODI showed Honda had also discovered this additional root cause during NHTSA’s EA. In addition, Honda discovered the preload of the worm wheel gear spring was set too high, increasing the gear slide load and resulting in higher friction and increased torque fluctuation when steering. The number of consumer complaints made to ODI continued to increase with the expansion of scope from the PE to the EA. Additionally, during EA23003, ODI received ten complaints alleging a crash, in addition to the 13 complaints ODI had received as of the time it opened EA23003. In total, 23 crashes have been reported to ODI due to this alleged defect. On October 3, 2024, Honda filed NHTSA Recall No. 24V-744 to address this defect. The recall will provide consumers with a new steering worm wheel gear spring with a decreased load. Additionally, dealerships will add additional grease and relocate any grease sitting on top of the worm wheel back into the meshing area. The scope of this recall includes all Honda vehicles that were manufactured with this specific improperly produced steering worm wheel and spring. In view of the recall action being taken by Honda, ODI is closing EA23003. NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

SERVICE BRAKES

3 injured

I am submitting a formal safety complaint regarding our 2023 Honda CR-V because of repeated and increasingly serious problems involving the vehicle's computer/electronic systems, automatic steering/driver-assistance systems, and automatic braking system. My wife and I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle. The problems have occurred repeatedly during September 2026 and have now reached the point where an unexpected hard-braking event caused me neck pain and I am scheduling an appointment with my doctor for evaluation. INCIDENT TIMELINE September 5, 2026: The vehicle began experiencing computer/electronic malfunctions. This was the beginning of the recent series of problems we have

NHTSA complaint 11765576, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

2 injured · crash · towed

I was pulling up to the Subway sandwich shop to pick up my lunch. I was approaching from their back ally (coming from Walgreens next door) so I could not have been going faster than a few miles per hour. As I approached the parking space the car started speeding up so I turned right to keep from going through the building and drove in circles to keep from hitting the buildings. I could not go onto the street because traffic was heavy. I kept pumping the brakes and the car did not stop until I hit a parked car and pushed that car into another car. All airbags deployed. My 16 year old grandson and I were injured, but no individuals were in the parked cars.

NHTSA complaint 11520655. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

2 injured · crash · towed

On December 10th 2023 I was involved in an accident that I believe was caused by a defect in the vehicle. I was traveling at night with low visibility due to rain on an old country road with no street lights. I was rear ended while making a right turn and at the time did not think much about it as far as how it happened. I just assumed the driver that hit me was just not paying attention. While on side of the road I heard the driver tell his dad that it was not his fault that I just slammed on brakes in front of him. I was like whatever, you were just not paying attention. A few days later I got to thinking about it, I was using B mode in the transmission along with the paddle shifters to

NHTSA complaint 11562916, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

2 injured · crash · towed

The vechicle was in an accident were it went off the road into grassy area. Hitting several street signs and a power transformer. The safety features automatic braking or lane keep assistance did not engage. The driver tried to brake the car did not stop nor did it seem to slow down by the distance it traveled. The car is possiblity a total loss, currently under review by insurance company. There were 2 passenger in the vechicle during the accident. Driver and toddler in the rear. Police did come out to the scene. Insurance representative are going through thier claim process.the accident was 2 days ago. All safety feature prior to the accident were opperating proper to my knowledge. I

NHTSA complaint 11723916, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
While driving my 2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid at approximately 40-45 mph, the vehicle began hesitating and not accelerating smoothly. A Check Engine/Emissions System warning also appeared. The vehicle had approximately 31,873 miles. I took the vehicle to an authorized Honda dealership for diagnosis. The dealer recommended replacement of all fuel injectors and the spark plugs. The vehicle has not yet been repaired and the components remain available for inspection. I am concerned about the safety risk because the hesitation/loss of smooth power occurs while the vehicle is being driven and could affect the ability to accelerate normally in traffic. Honda has issued Service Bulletin 25-044

NHTSA complaint 11764437, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
My crv is roasting a problem related to the steering (guide/steering wheel) to what many call Hardened Steering: The steering wheel becomes rigid intermittently, making maneuvers difficult

NHTSA complaint 11764476. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
My car is experiencing a failure of the shutter grill motor. It’s a motor that opens and closes the shutters to let air through a cooling radiator. The car is not getting hot. The shutters are fully open. I assume this is an energy efficiency mechanism. However: Since the motor is not working, and the shutters cannot adjust properly, the car is derating my power. THIS IS DANGEROUS. I cannot climb mountains on the interstate at proper speeds. I have also almost had a few wrecks trying to pull into traffic due to loss of power, thus acceleration. The computer is choosing to derate my power and acceleration, but it isn’t necessary. I would like to fix the issue, but it is expensive and I don’t

NHTSA complaint 11762644, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

WHEELS
Vehicle was brought in for steering gearbox recall repair. After the recall was performed, the vehicle developed a loud thumping noise from the front passenger side. Upon returning to the dealer for diagnosis, the dealer found the passenger front wheel was missing 3 lug nuts and had only 1 lug nut holding the wheel on. The lug lock was also loose. The vehicle was driven at highway speeds in this condition. The dealer's own work order confirms these findings. The missing lug nuts were a direct result of the recall repair service.

NHTSA complaint 11760859. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

48,000 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, several warning lights remained illuminated, including the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), power steering, and check engine warning lights. Additionally, the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering rack needed replacement. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,000.

NHTSA complaint 11760036. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Honda CR-V

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 143 0 —
2025 253 1 —
2024 392 2 —
2022 261 3 —
2021 331 4 —
2020 353 7 —
2019 1,101 8 1
2018 2,148 5 —
2017 1,771 7 —
2016 393 3 —
2015 670 3 —
2014 587 1 3
2013 382 2 —
2012 403 3 —
2011 554 13 —
2010 481 15 1

Other 2023 Honda models

Every Honda on this site — 192 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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