KnownCarProblems2020 Honda CR-V Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 355 complaints with NHTSA about the 2020 Honda CR-V, most often about the driver assistance (21% of complaints, typically around 25,500 miles). It is 21st of 27 CR-V model years by number of complaints and has 7 recalls.
Most common 2020 Honda CR-V problems
Driver assistance
75 complaints · 21%Half of these problems showed up before 25,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic emergency braking, warnings, adaptive cruise control, warning.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly came to a complete stop. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home safely. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The…
The contact stated that his granddaughter owned a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while his granddaughter was driving approximately 40 MPH, the automatic braking system activated on the instrument panel and the vehicle stopped immediately after the failure. The driver had to wait several minutes before being…
Fuel system
48 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 50,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery, fuel injection system.
The contact's daughter owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for an oil change, the contact was informed that there was a mixture of oil and fuel in the oil pan. The contact stated that while checking the engine compartment later, there was an abnormally…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle almost stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle was losing motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle had decelerated to 5 MPH and failed to respond…
Air bags
47 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 26,500 miles.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while at a complete stop, another vehicle going at high speeds crashed into the front end of the passenger's side of the vehicle, and the driver's side air bag deployed abnormally. The air bag exploded and propelled a chemical powder that burned the contact's…
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 local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall…
Electrical
43 complaints · 12%Half of these problems showed up before 11,500 miles. Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while his wife was attempting to park the vehicle at 1 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle jumped a curb and crashed into a tree which stopped the acceleration; the contact, who was in the passenger seat, was able to place…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving in a parking lot and depressing the brake pedal, there was a clunking sound coming from the braking system before the brakes became inoperable. The contact forcefully depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle eventually came to a stop. The…
Steering
42 complaints · 12%The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH and coming to a stop, the steering wheel became loose. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and making slight right turns, the steering wheel was sticking and required to be manually steered to the center. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently.…
Engine
40 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 50,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated while maintaining automotive power. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where the mechanic retrieved dtc: p219f, and there were…
The contact's daughter owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for an oil change, the contact was informed that there was a mixture of oil and fuel in the oil pan. The contact stated that while checking the engine compartment later, there was an abnormally…
Other or unspecified
36 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 4,000 miles.
Navigation head unit spontaneously went erratic during route navigation. Display flashing on and off, brightness control appearing and disappearing. Unresponsive and unable to reboot system. Dangerous distraction for driver because of sudden nature of system failure. Stopping and restarting vehicle returned normal…
The cabin of my crv smells nauseatingly like gasoline causing severe headaches. It happens while the engine is running at low and high speeds, and also when the engine is not running. My vehicle has less than 4000 miles on it. I thought this problem was fixed in the 2020 models.
Brakes
30 complaints · 9%Half of these problems showed up before 13,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving in a parking lot and depressing the brake pedal, there was a clunking sound coming from the braking system before the brakes became inoperable. The contact forcefully depressed the brake pedal, and the vehicle eventually came to a stop. The…
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked with the engine on, the emergency parking brake was not engaged, she reached the vehicle to push the push/start button to turn off the vehicle, and the vehicle started to roll backward. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled over…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2020 Honda CR-V recalls
Air bags: front passenger
Risk: Air bags that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed july 7, 2026. Owners may contact honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are bol, wo9, ooa, wom, xoh, noc, pod, boe, uof, pob, eog, aoi, qo8, toj, do7, and sok. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24v064. Vehicle identification numbers (vins) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning may 29, 2026.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 acura tlx, 2019-2024 rdx, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 mdx, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 honda ridgeline, 2017-2022 pilot, 2019-2021 passport, 2018-2026 odyssey, 2019-2022 insight, 2019-2021 hr-v, 2018-2020 fit, 2020-2022 cr-v hybrid, 2017-2022 cr-v, 2017-2018, 2021 civic type r, 2017-2021 civic hatchback, 2016-2020 civic coupe, 2016-2022 civic, 2017-2022 accord hybrid, and 2016-2022 accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Air bags: front passenger
Risk: An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed march 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are xhp and vhq.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 pilot, accord, civic sedan, hr-v, odyssey, 2020 civic coupe, fit, 2021-2022 civic hatchback, 2021 civic type r, insight, 2020-2021 cr-v, cr-v hybrid, passport, ridgeline, accord hybrid, 2020 acura mdx, 2022 acura mdx, 2020-2022 acura rdx, and 2020-2021 acura tlx vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.
Fuel system: fuel pump
Risk: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed september 6, 2024. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are kgc and kgd. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21v-215 and 20v-314.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 honda accord, civic coupe, civic sedan, civic hatchback, civic type r, cr-v, hr-v, ridgeline, odyssey, acura ilx, mdx, mdx hybrid, rdx, rlx, tlx, 2019-2022 honda insight, passport, 2020 honda cr-v hybrid, 2018-2019 honda clarity phev, fit, and 2015-2020 honda accord hybrid, pilot, acura nsx vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Equipment: labels
Risk: An incorrectly sized tire may cause premature tread wear, or a tire blow out, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install a new corrected label, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed september 18, 2023. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is cf7.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2017, 2020, and 2022 cr-v vehicles. The certification label on the driver's side door states incorrect gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr), gross axle weight rating (gawr), and tire size information. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard number 110, "tire selection and rims."
Seat belts: buckle assembly
Risk: An unlatched seat belt cannot properly restrain the seat occupant during a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belt buckle release buttons or the buckle assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed april 18, 2023. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are nda, qdb, bdc, mdd, ld9. Tdf, fdg, odh, ydi, zde.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2017-2020 cr-v, 2018-2019 accord and accord hybrid, 2018-2020 odyssey, 2019 insight, and 2019-2020 acura rdx vehicles. A manufacturing issue with the front seat belts may cause the seat belt buckle channel to interfere with the release button, preventing the seat belt buckle from latching.
Fuel system: tank assembly
Risk: An inaccurate fuel gauge may result in the vehicle unexpectedly running out of fuel and stalling, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed july 5, 2022. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is rcb.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2020 cr-v vehicles. The clip for the absorber inside the fuel tank was not secured properly and may detach, which can cause an inaccurate fuel gauge reading.
Body and structure: frame and members
Risk: A separated rear subframe reduces vehicle handling and can suddenly disable the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear subframe bolts and retorque them or replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began january 27, 2020. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is r6m.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 cr-v vehicles. The rear subframe bolts were improperly manufactured and may loosen, allowing the rear subframe to separate.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Inadvertent automatic emergency braking
Summary
On february 21, 2022, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation (pe22003) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs), an automatic emergency braking (aeb) system, in model year 2017-2019 honda cr-v and 2018-2019 honda accord vehicles.â the reports allege that activation of the aeb system occurs while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that they were aware of a total of x,xxx reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and alleges that some customers possibly had an inadequat
Rear differential seizure
Summary
On november 29, 2022, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe 22-011 after reviewing field reports alleging rear differential seizure in 2018-2022my honda cr-v and hr-v vehicles equipped with all wheel drive. To date, odi has not received any consumer complaints. Some of the field reports received alleged the vehicleâs wheels locked up with no warning while the vehicle was in motion. These vehicles were towed to a dealership. Examination of these vehicles showed the driveshaft had broken and the differential unit was completely damaged. The field reports cited a lack of oil due to damaged oil seals as the cause. Honda provided data including consumer complaints, field reports,
Questions about the 2020 Honda CR-V
- What are the most common problems with the 2020 Honda CR-V?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: driver assistance (75 complaints, typically around 25,500 miles); fuel system (48 complaints, typically around 50,500 miles); air bags (47 complaints, typically around 26,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2020 Honda CR-V have?
- 7 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 21, 2026 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2020 a bad year for the Honda CR-V?
- It is 21st of 27 CR-V model years by number of complaints, with 355 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.