2020 Honda CR-V Owner Complaints

On the evening of [XXX], I started my vehicle while it was parked in my garage. Within approximately five minutes, the vehicle suddenly produced a violent and unusually loud mechanical noise, followed by visible smoke billowing from beneath the hood. Recognizing the immediate potential fire and safety hazard to both myself and my property, I immediately shut the vehicle down. The following morning, I took directly to Honda North, an authorized Honda dealership in Clovis, California, for a professional diagnostic inspection. The dealership's certified inspection determined that the A/C compressor had suffered a catastrophic internal mechanical failure and had completely seized. According to the dealership, the compressor's internal failure while the system was operating resulted in metallic debris being circulated throughout and contaminating the A/C system. This catastrophic seizure heavily strained the engine's drive belt system. The failure was a direct result of the factory compressor shaft seal leaking out all system refrigerant and lubricating oil, causing the unit to run dry and seize. As a result, the dealership determined that replacing only the failed compressor would not be sufficient to properly restore the system. The recommended repair requires a complete A/C system overhaul, including replacement of the compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and associated refrigerant lines/components. Honda has openly acknowledged this exact factory defect in Service Bulletin 23-040, extending the shaft seal warranty to 10 years. However, Honda Corporate Customer Service is refusing responsibility for the downstream consequential destruction caused by their own defective component, citing only general vehicle age and mileage, despite the vehicle having 55,782 miles and sitting well within the 10-year extended warranty window. They have refused to provide an engineering justification or written analysis for this safety-related coverage denial. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA),

NHTSA ID

11756507

Incident

Aug 12, 2026

National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration August 11, 2026. Dear Sir, Madame, I am writing regarding a safety issue with my 2020 Honda CR-V, purchased about one year ago. There is a serious issue with the steering column, and American Honda has declined assistance with repairs. I am seeking expedited assistance from NHTSA. This issue was first noted on the day I drove the vehicle to the Honda Dealership for maintenance (XXX). My daughter has been driving this vehicle, and did not report anything abnormal. I routinely schedule maintenance for her car when I have a day off. So I noticed this "sticking" of the steering wheel during my drive, especially at higher speeds and on the highway. However, I also notice a lunge during turns at lower speed. I asked the service advisor to test drive the car to assess this (and road noise - later deemed normal). The steering wheel actually gets stuck when making even minor (fine motor) adjustments during routine (straightway) driving conditions. It is a continuous problem, not intermittent, and it is easily noticeable to me and my wife. The service advisor who test-drove the CR-V with me and later provided the repair estimate is Eric Laurendeau (832). He suggested I reach out to American Honda for assistance. I reached out to Honda, who promptly declined any assistance. This CR-V has only 54,000 miles on it and is otherwise near-new. This car has been in one minor incident; the repair shop and insurance adjuster found no structural problems. This accident was the other driver's fault (not my daughter's). The estimated repair costs total $6657.41. I have a copy of the estimate. In my view this should be a safety recall, as it involves the steering column, and I do not feel comfortable allowing my [XXX] daughter to drive the car- and I cannot afford the repairs! Is there anything the NHTSA can do to help me with this??? Sincerely, [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11756296

Incident

Jul 30, 2026

While driving at highway speeds, my steering wheel physically binds, catches and then suddenly jerks when trying to make normal adjustments. This creates an unpredictable control hazard. This is similar to NHTSA Recall 24V-744 and Honda TSB 24-011. The internal steering gearbox is binding due to the same design & manufacturing tolerances.

NHTSA ID

11755882

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

While driving at higher speeds and I turn to the left the steering wheel would stick. It would take a second to unstick to be able to move the wheel back to the right. I took it into my local Honda dealership and they said my power steering has an issue and needs to be replaced. I researched and found multiple 2020 Honda CR-V have had this issue and Honda has issued a recall from 2022 and newer CR-V and not for the 2020's. I have logged a complaint with Honda of America. My Honda is only 6 years old with 65,670 miles on it.

NHTSA ID

11755444

Incident

Jul 24, 2026

My vehicle exhibits a "sticky" steering column and has done so for a few years now. Honda issues a recall notice for 2022 CRV models, but mine is a 2020. The recall number is 24V-744. In June of 2023 with 25260 miles on the vehicle and while still under warranty, I took the car to my local dealer and was told they could not reproduce the issue and the steering was functioning as designed. It has done it ever since! This recall needs to be expanded to incorporate 2020 models as well.

NHTSA ID

11754948

Incident

Jun 13, 2023

All the safety lights came on on the dashboard suddenly the brake assist did not work. Honda tells me the brake servo is bad. This is a known defect as other 2020 crv hybrids were recalled for the same reason. It is a dangerous safety hazard.

NHTSA ID

11754699

Incident

Jun 28, 2026

While out of state for thanksgiving in 2025. after stopped for break, car started up with all of the warning lights and check engine lights on. Like front radar out, hybrid system fault and etc. took to Honda dealership near by immediate. Diagnosed (their words) customer states check engine light is on and flashing pulled codes had code p0562 and pOED. traction motor control module system voltage low and HV battery cell voltage sense circuit. went through honda trouble shooting and honda states to replace power control unit (PCU) and battery condition monitor module. test drove vehicle codes came back recommend replacing modules. includes reprogramming. They indicated it is not safe to drive as you may not able to start the car or it can die while running. This was at out of state and have to repair without options and get a rental car for a week. Tech said they never seen that before in hybrid. Local dealer back home said they can’t say they had issue before. Reached out to Honda Corporate before Christmas and they declined good will reimbursement request.

NHTSA ID

11754091

Incident

Nov 26, 2025

When driving on highway, the engine light came on and the car suddenly slowed down causing me concern about traffic around me still going at highway speed. Not understanding what the issue was and afraid the car would lose all power, I was able to shift lanes quickly to get to the breakdown lane. I was able to get the car to Honda Dealer driving at slow speed using back roads. The Honda Dealer confirmed an engine misfire caused the engine light and slowdown. The cause of the misfire was coolant leaking into engine cylinder and would require replacing the head gasket to fix the problem. The car had 75,000 miles and had been running fine until that point.

NHTSA ID

11753213

Incident

Jun 30, 2026

I have experienced four instances of my vehicle braking (two very extreme) when nothing was nearby or in front of my vehicle. Two of these happened when passing through an intersection, but no other vehicles were nearby. Fortunately, no one was following close behind during two occasions, or I would have been rear ended. I mentioned this today while having my car serviced at the dealership(White’s Auto Mall in Hopkinsville, KY) but they wanted to charge me 207.00 for an inspection, which I didn’t think I should be responsible for paying. I have researched and found “phantom braking” to be a problem in my vehicle make and model.

NHTSA ID

11751183

Incident

Jun 15, 2026

Faulty head gasket. Car is 2020 honda crv with 113,000 miles on it. Brought it honda because the dashboard lit up and all lights came on. Honda inspected it and stated it was coolant leaking into cylinder 2 and my car has shown no issues if this happening. After doing research, many have mentioned faulty head gaskets in the 10 gen hondas.

NHTSA ID

11751166

Incident

Jul 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended and failed to exceed 50 MPH while depressing the accelerator pedal. The message "Cooling System Failure" was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted and advised that the vehicle should not be driven to prevent additional damage. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with a blown head gasket. The head gasket and other unknown parts were replaced at the owner's expense, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.

NHTSA ID

11751000

Incident

Jul 7, 2026

Mileage

112,000 mi

I was exiting the freeway driving south about 110-115pm in [XXX] when suddenly my car seemed to stall or stop and brake orange light came on. It all happened very quickly and without any warning. The nearest vehicle ahead of me was very far away, at the stop turning left and I was entering the exit. Initially I thought the engine cut out but it didn't it was that the car had braked. It was very jarring and thankful no one was tailgaiting me because it could have caused an accident. I don't believe the car came to a complete stop but it reduced speed considerably. Later that day I went to an auto shop to use their digital check to see if there were any error codes etc. Nothing came up as flagged. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11750001

Incident

Jul 12, 2026

The steering rack has failed on the 2020 model and apparently I’m not alone. Other model years have noted this issue with “sticky steering” issues and newer models have recalls. Honda is failing at providing quality parts to this vehicle and causing dangerous situations on the road.

NHTSA ID

11749647

Incident

Jul 9, 2026

I got onto the free and accelerated to the speed limit. I glanced at my dash and saw the check engine light start flashing. I could feel the car start to lose power and handle differently than normal. I immediately pulled to the shoulder and had the car towed to the dealership. They diagnosed it as having a blown head gasket and that coolant had gotten into 1 of the cylinders. The adviser informed me that 2018-2022 1.5 turbo and hybrid engines have been having issues with blown head gaskets. I had also been seeing complaints of that on social media before this happened to mine. My vehicle has over 100k miles and it isn’t even 6 years old. I have had older Hondas, acuras and Toyotas with similar mileage or more and no issues like this. If so many drivers are having blown head gaskets Honda needs to be looked into for this and have a recall to repair their defect. The service adviser told me it was nothing I had done to my vehicle to cause this. I get oil changes when the maintenance light comes on and I have completed scheduled maintenance on my vehicle. I also use Costco gas 95% of the time and only use other brands when traveling.

NHTSA ID

11748957

Incident

Jul 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was coasted off to the shoulder of the highway and restarted. The vehicle went into LIMP Mode after restarting. The vehicle was slowly driven to the local dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #4. The contact was informed that additional diagnostic tests were needed to determine the cause of the failure. The contact inquired several times about the vehicle, but was not given a direct answer or updates on the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,500.

NHTSA ID

11747248

Incident

Jun 27, 2026

Mileage

50,500 mi

There is a sound that appears to be coming from inside the dash (confirmed by a Honda dealership). It sounds like a ball bearing rolling around in a contained environment. The sound is heard when accelerating, braking, or turning. The sound is not heard when traveling at a constant speed. My concern is that the source is a ball bearing, the ball bearing had a purpose that is no longer being met, eventually leading to an undesirable outcome.

NHTSA ID

11747242

Incident

May 24, 2026

The fuel injector system failed or malfunctioned. This past Tuesday while going to merge onto the highway the car stalled and would not move beyond 40 mph which nearly led to a collision because I was unable to accelerate to merge with traffic flowing at a high speed. Immediately after this all of the dashboard warning indicatros came on. It was terrifying to say the least because we could have been in a serious auto accident. I was forced to pull into the break down lane and move along at a slow speed until I was able to navigate to a safe location. There were no lights or prior warnings leading up to the event to indicate there was a problem. I also had this same issue two years ago in 2024. Both times I have been told it is related to the fuel injectors and has cost me over $5,000 out of pocket to repair. This does not include having to find alternate transportation and missing work to have the car repaired. I spoke with the mechanic at Colonial Honda of Dartmouth,MA and asked if this was normal for a car to have the same issue with this part or to have it happen within such a short time frame and he said no that it was not common. Both times they have repaired the car.The car is currently running fine but I have fear that it will randomly happen again without warning and I may not be as fortunate to escape a collison.

NHTSA ID

11746647

Incident

Jun 23, 2026

Software problems causing the backup camera to become disabled and the driver to lose their rear visibility. The screen is completely blackened. This occurred without warning. One day it just went dark. On other note - I do not have access to any information appearing on the screen at all. Very inconvenient and frustrating.

NHTSA ID

11745678

Incident

May 16, 2026

Vehicle has only 100,395 miles on it (Hondas are know for being long lasting), vehicle was burning radiator fluid and repair for new head gasket and cylinder head is over $6300! Hondas are known to last a long time, a 2020 model with 100,000 needing a repair that is nearly half the value of the vehicle is shocking - i have seen similar complaints online and want to file my complaint officially.

NHTSA ID

11744198

Incident

May 2, 2026

There is a known Recall for my vehicle and Honda has been negligent in attempting to fix the Recall.

NHTSA ID

11743053

Incident

Jun 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact received a recall notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags). The dealer was contacted, but an appointment was not scheduled. The contact stated that the unrepaired recall repair posed a safety hazard and that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The manufacturer was not contacted. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ID

11743047

Incident

Jun 9, 2026

My 2020 CR-v hybrid has suddenly lost power on the freeway a total of 4 times in the 6 years I've owned it. It is always at freeway speeds. The flashing engine light appears and the car loses power. After pulling over, turning off the car, and waiting a few minutes, the car can be turned on and driven with no more flashing engine light and no more problems for months. Each time I've taken it to the dealer and each time they haven't been able to replicate or find the problem. I've been told that error codes were not generated. I purchased my car new in July 2020, and the power-loss incidents were: - Fall 2020 - Summer 2022 - December 2024 - June 2026 A google search shows that many other crv hybrid owner have experienced the same problem, and also have had service technicians unable to find problem. This is a major safety concern.

NHTSA ID

11742237

Incident

Oct 10, 2020

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, however the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. In addition, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with low fuel pressure. The contact was advised to contact the dealer. In addition, the contact was informed of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

NHTSA ID

11740723

Incident

May 14, 2026

Mileage

150,000 mi

Almost all lightsnlitenup on dash and Honda attempted to claim i was in accident and daid the entire radar system had to be replaced at expense of 3300.oo dollars. The fault had to be intheir craftmenship not my handling car.

NHTSA ID

11740426

Incident

May 6, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was contact multiple times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that the remedy parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ID

11738550

Incident

May 18, 2026