KnownCarProblems2021 Honda CR-V Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 336 complaints with NHTSA about the 2021 Honda CR-V, most often about the steering (34% of complaints, typically around 40,000 miles). It is 22nd of 27 CR-V model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2021 Honda CR-V problems
Steering
113 complaints · 34%Half of these problems showed up before 40,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. The contact stated that the steering wheel was hard to steer and the steering wheel jerked. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an…
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became inoperable and became difficult to turn and felt very sticky when attempting to steer with no warning lights illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The…
Driver assistance
94 complaints · 28%Half of these problems showed up before 24,500 miles. Parts named most often: automatic emergency braking, warnings, adaptive cruise control, assist.
â the contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the forward collision avoidance sensor failed to brake causing the contact to crash into another vehicle. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The…
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) independently activated, causing the vehicle to suddenly come to a stop, and the front driverâs and front passengerâs side seat belts to independently…
Other or unspecified
38 complaints · 11%Engine
36 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 52,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while parking, and the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle accelerated inadvertently up a slight incline and collided with a stone boulder/wall. Neither the contact nor the passenger sustained injuries. The contact stated that no collision warnings were…
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving 73 MPH with two children inside the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated, and while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle decelerated and failed to respond as needed. The contact was able to move over to the right side of…
Electrical
34 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 15,000 miles. Parts named most often: ignition, instrument cluster/panel.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V modified for disabled personnel. The contact stated while attempting to drive the vehicle out of the driveaway, the gear shifter remained stuck in the park position. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact turned the vehicle off. The vehicle was towed to the dealer…
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving 5 MPH into the garage, the vehicle inadvertently started to reverse. The instrument cluster lights went blank. The brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond, and the vehicle drove over some rocks in the yard. The contact…
Fuel system
29 complaints · 9%Parts named most often: delivery.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed, however the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact became aware of an abnormal sound coming from the engine with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The engine…
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road and turned off. The vehicle was restarted and…
Brakes
27 complaints · 8%Half of these problems showed up before 3,000 miles. Parts named most often: antilock.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated she attempted to start the ignition but was having difficulty and was able to start on the fifth attempt. The contact stated shortly after while driving at 47 MPH, when depressing on the brake pedal and the vehicle failed to stop and rear-end another vehicle but…
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while seated inside the vehicle, the vehicle was started, and the acc and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred. The…
Air bags
15 complaints · 5%Parts named most often: sensor.
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the air bag fault message was displayed. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired but continued to experience a failure. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was…
The contact owned a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, three deer ran into the road, causing the contact to abruptly apply the brakes. The vehicle spun around and crashed into several trees; however, no air bags were deployed. The contact sustained several injuries and received medical…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2021 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.
Seat belts: retractor
Risk: An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the second-row center seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed january 14, 2022. Owners may contact honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Full defect summary
Honda (american honda motor co.) is recalling certain 2021 accord sedan, accord hybrid, cr-v, ridgeline, 2022 insight and cr-v hybrid vehicles. The automatic locking retractor on the second-row center seat belt assembly may deactivate improperly, which can result in an unsecured child restraint system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard number 208, "occupant crash protection."
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 2021 Honda CR-V
- What are the most common problems with the 2021 Honda CR-V?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (113 complaints, typically around 40,000 miles); driver assistance (94 complaints, typically around 24,500 miles); other or unspecified (38 complaints).
- How many recalls does the 2021 Honda CR-V have?
- 4 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 2021 a bad year for the Honda CR-V?
- It is 22nd of 27 CR-V model years by number of complaints, with 336 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.