RoadVitals

2020 Honda CR-V Driver assistance Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Driver assistance reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
87
Latest Aug 4, 2026
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
25%
of 343 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
7
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
3

What this page shows

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2020 Honda CR-V submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 87 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming driver-assistance

The 25 most recent of 87, in the owner's own words

BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Aug 4, 2026

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
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Jul 17, 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
Driver assistance
Filed Jul 13, 2026

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
Driver assistanceFuel system
Filed Jun 26, 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
Driver assistanceElectrical
Filed Jun 9, 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
Driver assistance
Filed May 27, 2026

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
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed May 6, 2026

On multiple occasions, this vehicle has initiated automated braking with no other vehicles in the immediate proximity. On 2 occasions, the automated braking has resulted in near misses of rear end collisions. This is an intermittently occurring fault that has become more frequent as of late. The vehicle has <100k on the odometer. The vehicle was taken to the local Honda dealer and their investigative procedure included an 8 min test drive of less than 5 miles and reported that there was nothing wrong with the system. No attempt to make any corrections or improvements was attempted.

NHTSA ID
11736179
Incident
Jan 15, 2026
Driver assistance
Filed May 4, 2026

tHE VEHICLE IS ACTIVATING EMERGENCY BRAKE ASSIST WITH NO OBJECT IN FRONT OF IT CAUSING THE BRAKES TO SLAM ON WHILE DRIVING. LANE DEPARTURE WARNING IS TRYING TO CORRECT/MOVE VEHICLE INTO A DIFFERENT LANE

NHTSA ID
11735527
Incident
May 1, 2026
Driver assistanceElectricalPowertrain (other)
Filed May 3, 2026

In November 2025 a new transmission was installed Curry Honda in Atlanta GA on my 2020 Honda CR-V. The new transmission came with a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. In March 2026 my vehicle broke down and was towed to Tameron Honda in Daphne Al where a speed sensor was replaced at my expense of 388.44. The adaptive cruise control was not working prior to this repair. Within two weeks the vehicle experienced further issues and had to be driven in a compromised condition back to Curry Honda in Atlanta where the transmission wire harness was diagnosed as corroded and replaced at a cost of 1696.99. My vehicle has been garage-kept its entire life except when in the care of a dealership. Corrosion on a recently replaced transmission in a garage-kept vehicle cannot be attributed to environmental exposure or owner neglect. It points directly to a defective part of improper installation at Curry Honda. These failures occurred within months of a new transmission installation with no prior history of issues. I believe this is a safety defect as the vehicle broke down unexpectedly and had to be driven in a compromised condition posing a safety risk.

NHTSA ID
11735409
Incident
Mar 6, 2026
Driver assistanceSteering
Filed Apr 18, 2026

Choppy steering ,sticking, not smooth. Getting worse. It started when it was new . I did not know how lane departure assist worked,or felt. BUT EVEN IN THE OFF POSITION MY STEERING WAS STILL STICKY,AND CHOPPY. So I thought that this STICKY ,CHOPPY STEERING WAS NORMAL . It slowly has gotton worse , it has progressed to the point ,that I kmow that somthing is very wrong with my HONDAS steering. . I HAVE LOOKED INTO THIS PROBLEM ,IT IS NOW WELL DOCUMENTED THAT HONDA ,NEEDS TO REPAIR THIS DEFECT UNDER A RECALL ORDER. THIS is definatly a Honda Factory Defect in THEIR STEERING. PLEASE CALL ME [XXX] KRAUSE AT [XXX] . PS. I AM NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE IT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11732060
Incident
Oct 15, 2020
Driver assistance
Filed Mar 26, 2026

I was driving on the freewayin the night time on several occasions and the Emissions light and check engine light comes on and the car lost speed and would not accelerate. I had to put my hazards on to exit the freeway slowly to pull over turn the car off, sometimes this corrects the problems. but this has happened on several occasions. the vehicle is now at the dealer being diagnostic, they end up keeping the vehicle and haven't told me yet what the issue is.

NHTSA ID
11727382
Incident
Mar 23, 2026
Driver assistanceEngine
Filed Mar 26, 2026

I am experiencing intermittent loss of motive power. Without warning at highway speeds I get a flashing check engine light immediately before the loss of motive power occurs. Motive power can be restored by turning the ignition off and back on. However, this action also clears the check engine light and any fault codes that were set. I drive with a code reader in the car and have received a P0302 code. This has happened at least five times since May 2024. It is available for inspection. I have brought it into a Honda dealership for repairs, they have changed the fuel injectors and pistons and it is still occurring. I was told this time that they did not know what was wrong so they could not repair anything. The safety of myself, my husband, and my seven month old daughter was out at risk as it occurs when traveling over 55 miles/hour and we lose power. We have to try and navigate to the side of the road to turn on and off the car. This problem was reproduced by a dealer this last time it went into the shop and it is there currently. The vehicle has only been inspected by Keeler Honda in Latham, New York. There were no other warnings prior to this failure. It has occurred multiple times, May 2024, November 2024, Feb 2025, March 2026 I have a video of what happens but I cannot upload it. This is exactly what is happening in NHTSA Action Number: PE25016

NHTSA ID
11727234
Incident
Mar 16, 2026
Driver assistanceEngineFuel system
Filed Feb 5, 2026

The same issue has happened twice. I'm driving on the highway, going maybe 60 or 65, and with no warning, the check engine light starts flashing and the car won't respond to the gas pedal. The car immediately starts to rapidly decelerate, and I can only try to get to the breakdown lane before I get rear-ended. I've been lucky (especially since my child was in the backseat both times). But when I stop the car, turn it off, then turn it on again, everything is fine. I can get back on the highway, and no problems occur. The codes are not stored, however, so I can't know what caused the problem. When this happened the first time (last year), I took it to the Honda dealer where I bought it, and they said they had never heard of this happening. When it happened the second time in January, I called Honda, spoke to an agent who gave me a case number (XXX), and said she has heard of something like this from other drivers, but the solutions were all different, so she couldn't say what would fix it for me. I did some internet research, and found other drivers who describe the exact same issue: [XXX] I've switched to premium gasoline ($$) and won't let it get lower than 1/4 full, and have an OBDII scanner in my glove compartment ready to go if it happens again. That said, this is a very dangerous defect, and I feel unsafe in my car. I am disturbed that a problem of with such potentially serious consequences has no solution that anyone can offer me. (Note: When I go to submit this, the final form leaves off the last # of the VIN. I tried to correct, but it happened again. The VIN is [XXX] , 2020 Honda CRV Hybrid. Best VIN ever.) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11715938
Incident
Jan 16, 2026
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Jan 14, 2026

Traveling at 70 mph on I-5, Washington State, a warning message telling us the braking system was compromised, referencing "VSA", part so the stability control system. We pulled over and turned the car off, deleting the message. Within two miles of proceeding along the road the display presented a message saying the parking/emergency brake was malfunctioning, at 70 mph. Three days later my wife was backing up in the driveway and the car applied the brakes and would not proceed. When my wife engaged the forward gear the car did drive forward while cycling various error messages. It, via computer interpretation, determines how the brake fluid pressure is applied/distributed to all and any of the braking systems. Some systems are automatically initiated and others are initiated by the driver. These systems include the auto-emergency braking, the application of the electric foot brakes, the parking brake among others. We had the car delivered to the local dealership with the above information. The dealer ran an OBD scan and decided that the electric servo booster. I do not challenge this decision. My concern is that this malfunction has triggered a recall in Japan and that there are worldwide reports of the malfunction. Please have someone look into this system failure with Honda.

NHTSA ID
11710908
Incident
Jan 10, 2026
Driver assistanceEngine
Filed Dec 30, 2025

Every dashboard light came on. Engine, brake and all the adaptive controls were flashing. The whole dash was lit up and my cruise control and lane assist wouldn’t work. Among other things I’m sure. I want to know if this is going to happen again and what about the head gasket now? Can you do the update/ thermostat on my vehicle since obviously it is defective? The car only has 65,000 miles on it. I always heard Hondas were the best vehicles. This is now very concerning. Please advise.

NHTSA ID
11707866
Incident
Dec 1, 2025
Driver assistanceExterior lighting
Filed Dec 20, 2025

The failure involves the Electric Brake Booster (EBB) / brake control system on my 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid. The malfunction affected brake assist, ABS, Vehicle Stability Assist System Problem, Brake Hold System Problem, Brake System Problem,Electric Parking Brake Problem, Road Departure Mitigation System problem,Collision Mitigation System Problem, Adaptive Cruise Control Problem, Hill Start Assist problem. The vehicle and components are available for inspection upon request. This failure created a serious safety risk. Braking performance became inconsistent and unpredictable, increasing stopping distance and reducing vehicle control. This condition increased the risk of a crash during normal driving or emergency braking. The problem is persistent and reproducible. Multiple brake-related warning lights reappear every time the vehicle is driven. The symptoms are consistent with Electric Brake Booster failure reported on similar vehicles. Dealer diagnosis is pending / has identified a brake system fault related to the brake booster. The vehicle has not been inspected by Honda corporate. It has been / will be inspected by an authorized dealer or qualified service center. No police or insurance inspection occurred because no crash happened. Warning lamps appeared suddenly while driving, including Brake System, ABS, and VSA warnings. There were no prior symptoms such as noise, vibration, or gradual brake degradation before the failure. Once illuminated, the warnings remained active.

NHTSA ID
11706322
Incident
Dec 2, 2025
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed Nov 12, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that approximately four times while driving approximately 35 MPH, the brake warning light flashed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle unexpectedly came to a complete stop for several seconds before unintendedly accelerating. The contact expressed concerns about driving the vehicle with his grandchildren inside the vehicle due to the failures. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer who also failed to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000.

NHTSA ID
11698879
Incident
Apr 15, 2025
Mileage
58,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Sep 3, 2025

Facing the sun, driving through an intersection with a green light. No cars ahead or behind me, and no pedestrians in sight. As I passed under the light, the car slammed on the brakes once, let up a little, and then slammed on the brakes again. It flashed the BRAKE indicator on the dash. Then driving resumed as normal. If there had been a vehicle behind me, it would have rear ended me, no question.

NHTSA ID
11684885
Incident
Sep 3, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Aug 14, 2025

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there were no other vehicles or objects nearby however, the Forward Collision Avoidance system inadvertently activated. During the failure, the Collision Mitigation Braking System engaged and brought the vehicle to a complete stop. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The Forward Collision Avoidance warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: EA24002 (Forward Collision Avoidance). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID
11680710
Incident
Aug 14, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 14, 2025

6/14/25 - automatic emergency braking system engaged twice without any impediments in road while driving 40 miles of non-freeway driving. Mileage of vehicle is 30460 miles. AEBS engaged at 45 mph and 50 mph. Scary incidents but no accident or injury today. Concerned about continued driving and future incidents. Will contact Honda dealership. Need to issue a recall.

NHTSA ID
11666920
Incident
Jun 14, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 10, 2025

While driving the vehicle the collision avoidance activated on its own. The brakes automatically applied when I was not near a vehicle in front of me. When over railroad crossing and the system activated. My speed was around 28 to 30 mph. The system slowed me down to 24 mph. This has occurred twice. First occurrence was on [XXX], and second on [XXX]. Dash camera footage inside and outside is available to both occurrences. Ide Honda in Penfield, NY was notified after the first instance. The vehicle was not brought in to have it looked at. The vehicle is scheduled for service on June 12, 2025 at Ide Honda in Penfield, NY. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11666003
Incident
May 19, 2025
Driver assistanceFuel systemPowertrain (other)
Filed Jan 30, 2025

While driving down the freeway at around 60 mph, I sharply accelerated to negotiate traffic and my vehicle lost power and the check engine light was flashing. I was able to roll to an exit ramp where i could barely get up a slight incline. I was able to get out of traffic but at speed of less than 5 mph. It sounded like the vehicle was running on two cylinders. I pulled over and turned the car off. I was able to re-start the car after which it ran normally. I went directly to the dealership where they were unable to reproduce or diagnose the issue.

NHTSA ID
11639655
Incident
Jan 27, 2025
Driver assistance
Filed Jan 21, 2025

The vehicle seems to get a mind of its own and around turns on the highway or by curved roads with a barrier, the vehicle slows down. This has happened quite a few times in different scenarios.

NHTSA ID
11637238
Incident
Jan 2, 2024
Driver assistance
Filed Dec 3, 2024

While driving on the road and passing through an intersection, my car suddenly applied the brakes automatically, attempting to stop the vehicle. During this time, there were no obstacles in front of the car, and I did not step on the brakes.

NHTSA ID
11628530
Incident
Dec 3, 2024
Driver assistance
Filed Oct 30, 2024

Car suddenly breaks without my control, and wheels do not recognize new paved roads. Traction light stays on. Car pulls me outside of lane and I have to force the wheel to drive straight and stay in the lane.

NHTSA ID
11622759
Incident
Oct 30, 2024

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

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