2016 Honda CR-V

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect.  During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (ACU) for the supplemental restraint system (SRS) Electronic Control Unit (ECU) manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The ECU receives signals from crash sensors mounted in the vehicle and deploys the vehicle air bags and seat belt pretensioners in accordance with manufacturer design specifications.  The ECU in the subject vehicles contains a model DS84 application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which controls the communication of the crash sensor signal, firing commands (i.e., when to deploy the airbag(s) and/or pretensioners), and fault information (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes). In September 2016, FCA announced recall 16V-668 for certain model year (MY) 2010 to 2014 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep products manufactured with the subject ZF-TRW ACU.  In this recall, FCA discussed an EOS condition that resulted in a failure of the subject DS84 ASIC, which caused air bag non-deployment.  FCA noted that the defect condition had only been observed in vehicles equipped with sensor harnessing routed across the front of the vehicle.  Other FCA vehicles that also used the subject ACU, but were not equipped with cross-car harnessing, had not experienced EOS failures, despite similar time in service. During the course of this investigation, ODI sent two separate Information Request (IR) letters to six vehicle manufactures (including FCA, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Mitsubishi, and Toyota) and one IR letter to ZF-TRW.  These IR letters resulted in ODI receiving comprehensive data from these manufacturers and suppliers. Studies of this data found that the DS84 ASIC does not have sufficient protection against negative electrical transients or electrical overstress (“EOS”) that can be generated in certain severe crashes.  An electrical transient occurs when the electrical power supplied to a circuit changes momentarily over a short duration of time.   In these severe crash cases, the crash sensors and other powered wiring can be damaged and short circuited so as to create a negative electrical transient of sufficient intensity and duration (that are outside the vehicle manufacturer's specification) to damage the ASIC before the restraint device deployment signal is received by the SRS ECU.  This damaged signal can lead to incomplete or nondeployment of the air bags and/or pretensioners.  Airbag non-deployment and/or lack of pretensioner operation can increase the risk or severity of injury in a crash.A total of 8 fatalities and 14 injuries were associated with known EOS events. The common element in all investigated manufacturers vehicles is the SRS ECU containing a DS84 ASIC manufactured by ZF-TRW.  The risk associated with the ASIC is equally shared among all OEMS involved in the investigation.  The actual real-world risk can be mitigated by other factors which were assessed by ODI during this investigation. The first mitigating factor involves protections built into the ACU design which protect the DS84 ASIC from damage.  There are multiple strategies and levels of protection employed by different OEMs that provide effective EOS mitigation.  The two most common strategies at the ACU level are circuit protection diodes on the remote senor signal lines, and current limiting resistors that protect critical components. The second mitigating factor is found at the vehicle level and involves the location and routing of the wires leading from the crash sensors to the SRS ECU.  If the wires are well protected in a crash and are not routed with other power wires carrying large currents, the risk for an EOS event is significantly reduced or eliminated. These design specific factors combine to produce a spectrum of risk for the vehicles equipped with ACUs using the DS84 ASIC.  Given the many of years of field exposure, it is possible to divide the subject population into two groups; vehicles which have experienced EOS events, and vehicles which have not experienced EOS field events. Four of the six OEMs involved in this investigation have experienced EOS field events on at least one of their models equipped with a DS84 ASIC.  All vehicle models (including the Toyota models identified in the Failure Report Summary of the opening resume for this investigation) with field events have been recalled.  In an abundance of caution, ODI kept this investigation open five years to monitor field performance and did not identify any field events on vehicles not included in existing safety recalls. Given the spectrum of risk identified in this investigation and that all vehicles with a demonstrated unreasonable risk have been recalled, ODI is closing this investigation. ODI is closing this investigation with the following manufacturer safety recalls: 16V-668, 18E-043, 18V-137, 18V-363, and 20V-024.  With the recall actions taken by the subject vehicle and equipment manufacturers, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or model year vehicles outside of the recall scopes. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

Last night I was stopped at a light with my foot on the brake waiting for the light to turn green. The car suddenly wanted to move forward and was fighting the brake. I'm not a two-footed driver, so only my right foot was on the brake. I took my foot off the brake for a second and the car lurched forward on its own, so I had to apply the brake to stay stopped or the car would have entered a very busy intersection on a red light. Once the light turned green I used the accelerator pedal to move forward and the racing engine stopped. I pulled over and checked to see if the floor mat was somehow in the way, but it was not. It is physically impossible for me to press both the brake and the accelerator at the same time with one foot. I have not had this problem checked by the dealer or a service garage, and it did not happen again on my return home last night or during some errands I ran this morning.

NHTSA ID

11753953

Incident

Jul 30, 2026

Spontaneously shattered sunroof. I was driving on the freeway going 50mph and I heard an extremely loud 'bang' and then glass was falling down on me and my passenger. The sunroof had completely shattered with no explanation or prior indication of cracks, etc. No extreme temperatures fluxes - this was in San Francisco on June 23, 2026. I know there are over 50,000 reports of this exact same thing happening with Honda vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11746254

Incident

Jun 23, 2026

Front passenger airbag light is on and I have been told it is the sensor. This has been recalled on other 2016 CRVs. I think more cars may be affected than those that are recalled.

NHTSA ID

11745196

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

November 2024 I had a new battery and tires put on my 2016 Honda CRV. 14 months later my car would not start. I had to have a jump start. I had to have it jump started a few times more than took it to have it checked out. They put in a new battery February 2026. A month later my car would not start. I took it to a mechanic who found the door handle sensor bad. I have seen many other owners having the same problem. I also found out that it costs upward of $1,000 to fix. This should be a recall since so many had this problem, and I am sure you are aware of it. Please help us.

NHTSA ID

11727756

Incident

Feb 6, 2026

My daughter left her house to go to an appointment in statesboro, an hour away. When she proceeded onto HWY 196, the dashboard lit up with: check engine light, TMPS light, Traction Control light, Power steering control light. The speed limit on this road is 40MPH she was unable to accelerate over 20 mph. She immediately took it to an Orielly auto parts store on hwy 196 to have them to diagnose the check engine light. The veri scan presented a code P0087 indicates that the FuelRail/ System pressure was too low for a predetermined period of time. The most likely solution stated to Replace High Pressure Fuel Pump. This is the first time this has occurred. This is the same issue that a recalled was done in 2023 on the 2013-2016 CRV, but my VIN was not part of that recalled. I called my local honda dealer to verify if my vehicle was part of the recalled and was told it wasn't. I hope we can get this resolved before someone gets hurt or my family get in an accident. Mr [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11710977

Incident

Jan 14, 2026

[XXX] Please click link i have a 2016 honda crv that's doing the same thing as a 2015 honda crv excess Vibration While Driving and/or Stopped in Gear INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11710559

Incident

Dec 31, 1969

Sunroof spontaneously exploded.

NHTSA ID

11710008

Incident

Jan 9, 2026

Unknown electrical problem. Both headlights will go out simultaneously without warning while driving. Frequent malfunction of running lamps, headlamps, break lamps.

NHTSA ID

11706740

Incident

Dec 1, 2024

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.

Service Bulletin - When cold-starting the engine and shifting to Reverse, the engine stalls in the first 10 to 14 seconds. There is too much oil clearance between the input and stator shafts, which allows ATF to drain out of the torque converter during extend off periods. During a cold start, when the torque converter is refilled, air gets trapped in the torque converter. This applies the lock up clutch, which stalls the engine.