2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid

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.

Car completely shut down with every warning light going off. Before 95,000 the head gasket blew with zero warning signs! All the warning lamps came on only the day the car totally stopped working. No prior warning or signs before.

NHTSA ID

11762270

Incident

Jul 22, 2026

I was driving my 2023 Honda CRV Hybrid on the [XXX] on Sunday, XXX. 5 minutes prior to reaching the interchange where the [XXX] connects to the [XXX], all of the lights on my dashboard flash on, but the car was still running. I got onto the [XXX] and prior to reaching the [XXX] exit, my car suddenly stops accelerating at full power. As I push on the accelerator, I can barely move my car. I pull over to the side of the highway and put my car in park. Quietly panicking (not to stress out my [XXX] old who was sleeping in the backseat), I put my car back in drive and see that I can slowly move forward. I get back onto the freeway and exit via the [XXX] exit. There is a park right there so I slowly circled around until I found a spot to park my car. I called AAA and they came and tested my battery and said there weren't any issues. They advised me not to drive my car anymore and called a tow, and brought my car to the Honda Dealership back near me home 45 minutes away. The dealership was closed, but they called me on Monday and said they would need to diagnose my car. I preferred that my mechanic take care of my car, so I had my car towed there instead. The issue he diagnosed is provided in the screenshots: "P2101 Electric Throttle Control System (ECTS) Malfunction". Both my mechanic and I looked online and there seems to be an open investigation into this (NHTSA ID 11556108) and when you look online, there are MANY other owners complaining about the same thing happening, some with much less miles on their car than mine. There is clearly an issue and something needs to be done. Having your car all of a sudden slow down drastically while driving on an extremely busy [XXX] highway with a [XXX] in your backseat was terrifying. Please investigate this further, I know I'm not the only one who has experienced this with the same model of car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11761629

Incident

Aug 30, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the message "Engine Overheating Do Not Drive" displayed, and a red Check Engine warning light illuminated. The contact smelled smoke and observed smoke coming from the interior vents. On each occasion, the contact pulled over safely, turned off the vehicle for nearly an hour, and then restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket had failed with potential engine damage, and the head gasket and engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with an unknown recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 193,000.

NHTSA ID

11760450

Incident

Aug 26, 2026

Mileage

193,000 mi

The contact owns a 2023 Honda CR-V. The contact scheduled an appointment for a maintenance repair on the vehicle and was informed that recall services would also be performed on the vehicle while the vehicle was with the dealer. The vehicle received repairs under 23-049 (HYBCKP Emission Recall) and 24-049 (HTBrid Press Fuel Safety Recall). Upon retrieving the vehicle, the contact stated that an "Engine Temperature Too Hot" message was displayed on the instrument panel within 5 miles of driving. The dealer was alerted to the failure, and the contact was instructed to bring the vehicle back to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the vehicle the following day and another message "Avoid Acceleration and High-Speed Engine Temperature Near Limit" was displayed on the instrument panel. A diagnostic test was performed, and the contact was notified of a head gasket leak in cylinder #1, and that the head gasket needed to be replaced. The contact contested that the vehicle was never test driven once the initial repairs were performed and believed that the dealer was aware of the issue prior to returning the vehicle. The dealer maintained that the fault was not on the dealer and the vehicle remained with the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was provided a case number. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 79,276.

NHTSA ID

11756906

Incident

Aug 11, 2026

Mileage

79,276 mi

2023 Honda CRV hybrid bought from dealership in Clarksville, Indiana. at 63,000 miles the head gasket blew causing major damage. Regular maintenance and oil changes done. Technician said the component just failed for no known reason and exploded. Repair priced at $5300 Honda Corporation refusing to provide any assistance. Research shows many people having same issues of blown head gaskets at only around 60,000 miles of CRV Hybrid.

NHTSA ID

11756315

Incident

Jul 23, 2026

i was driving my 2023 crv hybrid which is well maintained and has only 73200 miles i was only driving it for 10 min when the cylinder gas kit has blown out and vehicle went into limp mode and power has dropped luckily no one was behind and i pulled over.

NHTSA ID

11753541

Incident

Jul 4, 2026

My breaks stopped working! Car was in drive and my foot was on the break and the break did not function and drove forward. I was able to stop this before hitting anything and turned the car on, but this could have been catastrophic as I was driving to work at the hospital.

NHTSA ID

11746640

Incident

Jun 26, 2026

2023 Honda CR-V, purchased new in Mar 2023 from Friendly Honda, Poughkeepsie, NY. All regular service completed at Lia Honda, Brewster, NY. On [XXX], car was driven without incident and parked inside a garage. On [XXX] upon ignition, car immediately displayed a “christmas tree” of warnings for every major system, including but not limited to: Electric Power Steering, AWD, Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision Mitigation, Hill Descent, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Keeping Assistance. Behavior has continued every time the car is started. Car remains drivable, but all safety and driver assistance systems are disabled. In addition, on [XXX] and [XXX], after stopping at a stop sign, car had very limited power and could only accelerate to 30 mph on a flat road and 20 mph on an incline. Problem was resolved only by coming to a complete stop then accelerating again. This is a significant safety concern, as if this were to happen in stop-and-go traffic on a highway, the car would be unable to accelerate to highway speeds. On 6/20/26, I took the car to Lia Honda in Brewster, NY for diagnosis. They reported a failed Electric Power Steering Control Unit/Steering Rack (trouble code U0420-68). They explained that this single electrical component failure also caused all other components to report failures because they are connected in a ring. Estimated repair cost $4,595.98. I have filed a complaint with Honda to request out-of-warranty coverage. Car is ≈3 years old, 3 months out of warranty, and only lightly used at 17,484 miles. Note that this car falls under NHTSA recall 24V-744, which pertains to a manufacturing defect in the worm gear of the Electric Power Steering. We had the recall service completed on 12/26/24, but it seems possible that continued friction in the worm gear may result in overloading of the EPS control unit. Other Honda CR-V owners have reported similar issues online, so this does not appear to be an isolated incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.

NHTSA ID

11745935

Incident

Jun 19, 2026

Service Bulletin - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire and/or DTCs P0300 thru P0304 stored.

Dealer Message - Under certain conditions, the cylinder head gasket effectiveness may be reduced which may cause vehicles to experience overheating, coolant loss, misfire, and/or DTCs P0300 through P0304 stored.

Service Bulletin - To better manage engine temperatures, a PGM-FI update has been developed to optimize electric water pump operation.

Service Bulletin - To better manage engine temperatures, a PGM-FI update has been developed to optimize electric water pump operation.

Dealer Message - To help improve engine temperatures, a software update has been developed for the electric water pump to optimize its operation.

Service Bulletin - A slight engine vibration and the Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is ON with DTC P0700 (Transmission Control System MIL Request) set during start-up in below freezing temperatures.