2005 Honda CR-V Owner Complaints

I am constantly having my ability to see interrupted by oncoming cars with 3000+ lumen white light bulbs both on the freeway and highway. I have to hold my hand between me and them to prevent the view of my field from being obscured. I also have to aim my rear view mirrors up or at the ground if an especially bright car is behind me, even if its almost a mile behind me. I do not have bad night vision or any eye abnormalities, thousands of people are complaining about this. These headlights do not improve safety, these sort of things should be required to turn off whenever another driver is in front of you. furthermore, when a car is in front of you then that car's headlights are illuminating things far ahead, you dont need your own headlights to go that far.

NHTSA ID

11750220

Incident

Jul 1, 2026

Master Power Window Control Switch failed operating the Passenger power window regulator. While driving, the front passenger regulator popped and the window started falling down all by itself. It happened by a glass repair company, so I asked them what happened. He said when the voltage going to the regulator is not uniform, the regulator will pop and the window will drop down. He offered to repair it for $200 including parts which I thought was a fair price. I went to a website where they tell you if any parts on your vehicle have been recalled. It did include a master power window control switch for a 2005 Honda CR-V. So I called Middletown Honda, (NY) and they said the master Power Window Control Switch was $405. My car was not included in the recall (which only included switches made in the U.K) and they would only see the car if they could get a new Master Power Window Switch. I proceeded to tape up the window which dramatically reduces visibility to the rear view mirror and to side traffic on the highway. I don't have comprehensive insurance on my car and don't want to report it to my insurance company as I am [XXX] old reducing the chances of getting insurance from another company. The airbag light has been coming on and off since this incident leaving me with another unknown electrical problem. I told Middletown Honda that I would probably junk the car, but due to the car's age, they offered no comment, (the car is a 2005 Honda CR-V EX AWD). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11743268

Incident

May 1, 2026

The vehicle becomes a hazard due to faulty PCM/ECM software. The sudden loss of power and hesitation creates an unpredictable driving environment, leaving the driver and others vulnerable to T-bone collisions or rear-end accidents. This is a documented software glitch identified in Honda TSB 08-089 "MIL comes on with DTC P1009" yet the manufacturer refuses to provide the necessary software flash to rectify the safety hazard. The issue has been reproduced through live data logging. It is a persistent failure that occurs when the vehicle reaches operating temperature (188 degrees F) Timing advance will retard into the negatives, causing unpredictable hesitation, struggle with going up hills, and inappropriately retards when deaccelerating. Honda refuses to preform the software update despite a recent $3703 engine rebuild, citing the vehicles age as a reason to ignore the service warranty and known software defect.

NHTSA ID

11728696

Incident

Mar 31, 2026

Power door locks do not work and driver side door lock can't be push down at all and will not open when locked.

NHTSA ID

11679007

Incident

Aug 7, 2025

As I was driving home from work last week 04/22/25, I noticed a drop in the rear passenger side and an odd noise I had never heard before. I only live 3 blocks from work and I immediately pulled it in the garage and put it up on the jack. Once I removed my drivers side rear tire and got a closer look, I found that my drivers side rear trailing arm and the frame have rusted through and completely broke. My vehicle had just been inspected 5 months earlier with no issues and is parked in a dry garage at all times when not in use.

NHTSA ID

11658710

Incident

Apr 22, 2025

The contact owns a 2005 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The contact stated there was an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure recurred, and the contact parked the vehicle and had not driven the vehicle due to the safety concern. The failure mileage was approximately 209,300.

NHTSA ID

11651765

Incident

Jan 17, 2025

Mileage

209,300 mi

I have read of several air bag recalls. This car has an air bag light that comes on the dash.

NHTSA ID

11638571

Incident

Jan 25, 2025

There was no tell tail signs, my son and I got out of the vehicle and walked inside the Hampton Inn in deming nm standing in line waiting some lady runs in saying there's a car on fire outside so I walked outside and saw it was my car. A fire extinguisher was used the battery and driver side headlight was melted fire damage on driver side only

NHTSA ID

11614585

Incident

Dec 9, 2022

The contact owns a 2005 Honda CR-V. The contact stated the vehicle had previously been repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V768000 (Visibility, Electrical System), and the power window switch on the driver’s side was replaced with a water-resistant switch. The contact stated while opening the front driver’s side door, the power window switch was wet from previous rainfall. In addition, the contact noticed after attempting to roll down the four windows, the power window switches failed to respond. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

NHTSA ID

11595438

Incident

Jun 19, 2024

Mileage

170,000 mi

I was driving in town so, each block has either a stop sign or a traffic light. I realized that my brake pad seemed to get spongy. At the red light as I was nervous that there was something wrong I looked down and seen a light blinking but, it was my oil light. After heading to the next block my brakes were suddenly not doing anything and the pedal went down to the floor. I was not going fast so I decided that if I had to I would pull the emergency brake. I did that as well to no avail. I went to the closest parking lot and checked all my fluid. My oil was fine, my brake fluid was low. I added brake fluid and went on my way. The following day I left my home as usual and another light came on. The oxygen sensor. I'm not sure why the vehicle is doing this as I do keep up with maintenance. I have spoken with a mechanic , his assessment was it could be anything yet seems to be electrical. I did some research do to the fact that my car has been with me since 2009 (used). I would love to keep my car for as many more years as possible but, I also have to be safe. At this point it has to be something wrong with the products I'm using on my vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11591673

Incident

May 13, 2024

Airbag light on , recall notice

NHTSA ID

11564059

Incident

Jan 1, 2015

The Passenger side has water coming in from the windowshield (I think that's were it is from) when it rains to the point it completely soaks and sometimes makes a puddle on the floor of the passengers side. This causes mold and a horrrible smell.

NHTSA ID

11563275

Incident

Jan 1, 2023

Passenger rear trailing arm broke off from body mount. Vehicle is still available for inspection. Coming to a stop sign and car came to an abrupt stop. Something had stopped the car before I even got to the stop sign. Coming down to the stop sign car began to lost steering and swayed back and forth. Car is in very good condition has 138,100 miles on it. But now it can,t be driven cant be fixed and be safe. Still books for $3200.00. Our family was left vulnerable to a horrible accident if going any faster when this happened. Broke down on a back road at 10:30 p.m. close to a stop sign. Had to be towed. A recall of the 2007 to 2011 CR-V. stated that this happens to those models. They didn't go back far enough on this recall and if I hadn't told people who still have the 2005- 2006 model they wouldn't have known and this could happen to them. Vehicle was inspected by insurance co. and Honda dealership and reported to Honda corp. Rust no coverage or repair for this vehicle. Mechanic looked at can't repair and make safe. Same problem as those vehicles recalled. But because it wasn't on the recall list there is nothing they can do about this vehicle. This left me, my loved ones vulnerable to a serious accident if I had been on a freeway let alone on any road going 50 and above in speed. No warnings what so ever that this could happen. No messages, no lamps no letters from Honda nothing.

NHTSA ID

11550340

Incident

Jun 18, 2023

The contact owns a 2005 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 2 MPH, the rear passenger’s side window became inoperable. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V768000 (Visibility, Electrical System). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 121,900.

NHTSA ID

11550181

Incident

Sep 1, 2023

Mileage

121,900 mi

The contact owns a 2005 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a burning odor in the interior of the vehicle. The contact arrived at the destination and discovered that the driver's side power window master switch was inoperable and melted. The contact stated that the failure was related to the NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V768000 (Visibility, Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 173,000.

NHTSA ID

11538667

Incident

Jun 13, 2023

Mileage

173,000 mi

Seat belt has slack in it and does not tighten up and the Airbag light on the dash comes on intermitently

NHTSA ID

11533578

Incident

Jun 11, 2023

Body frame terrible

NHTSA ID

11521925

Incident

Jun 2, 2022

The contact owns a 2005 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, she rear-ended a vehicle in front. The other vehicle's windshield shattered during the impact. Both vehicles were severely damaged. The air bags did not deploy. No one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not towed, but the contact was able to push the vehicle into a parking lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 170,000.

NHTSA ID

11504914

Incident

Feb 1, 2023

Mileage

170,000 mi

Approximately 2-3 months ago as I was driving I smelled a warm, buring electical smell coming from the left door. Immediately after this I had noticed my driver side lock, power mirror controls, would not work on the drivers side. After speaking with my mechanic I was told that this issue has a current safety bulletin opened for it. Today I took my car to Apple Honda of York to have the recall taken care of. The issues persisted and Honda refused to inspect the door wiring. The remedy of this solution was to be as follows: Remedy Please call any authorized Honda dealer and make an appointment to have your vehicle repaired. The dealer will replace the power window master switch and INSPECT THE WIRING HARNESS FOR PROBLEMS, replacing it if necessary, for free. For additional questions or to get help locating a dealer, owners may contact American Honda Customer Support and Campaign Center at 1-888-234-2138. This dealership only replaced the switch but did not inspect the wiring or wiring harness in detail for issues that certainly could have occurred due to this safety recall. I still wonder from time to time while driving if the wiring will short causing a fire and explained this to the Honda dealership. I have followed up with Honda of America to report this issue which is currently being investigated by a case worker. (Incident #: [XXX]) I believe the dealership was not interested in resolving my safety concerns regarding this matter. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11489246

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

Driver's side window has never operated properly. I sent in the recall form from Honda about 1 year ago today, and heard nothing from them. NHTSA RECALL # 20V-768

NHTSA ID

11457547

Incident

Mar 20, 2022

TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE AC LOOKED AT WAS TOLD THE COMPRESSOR HAD WHAT THEY CALLED BLACK DEATH. I WAS TOLD THAT THE COMPRESSOR HAD BLEW APART AND SENT SMALL PIECES OF METAL THROUGH THE AC SYSTEM. AND THE WHOLE COMPLETE SYSTEM HAS TO BE REPLACED I HAVE READ ON A FEW SITES OF OTHER PEOPLES CRV DOING THE SAME THING. PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS I JUST PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11448227

Incident

Jan 20, 2022

My driver power window switch melted and failed in the same way described in the current recall for the same model and year vehicle, just not under the SHS vin numbers that are covered. I suspect this recall should cover more cars than previously thought. I noticed this problem after heavy rains, first my windows stopped rolling up and down, then I began noticed a burring/melting plastic smell coming from the drivers door. I took the door apart and tracked the smell down to the power master switch. After inspecting the switch, it was indeed the switch that melted on the circuit board. It seems to have damaged the driver wiring door harness as well, also like the current recall states. All just as described in the current safety recall which I have attached below. **Safety Recall: 2002-06 CR-V Driver’s Power Window Switch (Only VINs that start with SHS) ''under severe conditions, water or other liquid may enter the driver’s window and reach the power window master switch on the door panel. Liquid in the switch can damage the switch’s printed circuit board (PCB), causing the switch to fail. In rare cases, the damaged PCB creates a short circuit that overheats the switch connectors and melts them, leading to a possible fire.'' All affected vehicles, even those previously repaired under S/B 12-067, must have the driver's power window switch replaced under the current recall.

NHTSA ID

11447490

Incident

Dec 23, 2021

Y 2005 CRV SE driver window stops after rolling halfway up. I have to press window button a 2nd time. The driver window will roll down on it's own. Some 2005-2007 crV were recalled because this problem can start a fire.

NHTSA ID

11432493

Incident

Sep 10, 2021

Slowed down to turn left into a driveway. As I turned, the car accelerated and the engine RPM crossed 5000. Had the brakes depressed but the vehicle accelerated and crashed into the garage door. The problem has not been confirmed by a dealer or an independent service center. The smog check was performed at a test center less than a month ago and passed. Engine light came on intermittently a couple times between the smog test and the day of the crash.

NHTSA ID

11424018

Incident

Jul 6, 2021

MY DRIVER SIDE WINDOW REGULATOR AND MOTOR MALFUNCTIONED; IT REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. I THEN RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION SEVERAL MONTHS LATER REGARDING THE POWER WINDOW MASTER SWITCH REPLACEMENT - I BELIEVE MY MASTER WINDOW MOTOR MALFUNCTION IS RELATED TO THIS RECALL

NHTSA ID

11396981

Incident

Sep 23, 2020