2016 Honda CR-Z

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

The outside door handles are defective, and Honda is aware of the issue. In warm or hot weather, the door opening mechanism binds up, and eventually the stress is too great and it causes the door handle to break. The problem has been reported by nearly every CR-Z owner. For more incidents, please visit [XXX] This defect creates a significant safety issue as if both door handles are inoperable, the alternative is to crawl in through the rear hatch, climb up to the cabin, and open the door by operating the inside door handle. In my situation, I couldn't fit between the seats, so I had to operate the inside door handle with a wire coat hanger. Please contact Honda and order them to fix this very dangerous problem. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11739740

Incident

May 13, 2026

My driver’s side door handle has broken. I have the broken handle if you need it. It’s a safety issue because it delays entering the car from the driver’s side, which could endanger an owner or a passenger who needs to get inside the vehicle. Apparently, this is a known problem in CR-Zs and is often blamed on the car being in a hot climate (spoiler alert: It’s getting hotter these days). My car had less than 75,000 miles on it at the time the handle broke. I have been driving since 1978, and I’ve never dealt with a broken handle before. I have had a local body shop install a new door handle; that one broke after a week of light use (driving once daily). These are expensive repairs, especially for a retired owner on a fixed income such as myself (the local Honda dealer quoted me $1,000 to replace the handle). There seemed to be no signs of a pending failure that I noticed; I just couldn’t open the driver’s door one day. PLEASE get Honda to recall and replace these faulty handles. I cannot afford $1,000 repair bill every week. (My previous vehicle was a 2008 Acura MDX that had no problems with the handles even after 15 years and 200,000 miles.)

NHTSA ID

11605506

Incident

Jun 25, 2024

Service Bulletin - The MIL is on with P0420 (Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold). Sensors on the vehicle may misinterpret the catalyst as deteriorated or it may have deteriorated.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.

"Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.

Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.