CarComplaints.com Notes: 2011 Honda CR-V owners are reporting problems where the engine revs when braking.

Our data is showing early signs of a defect trend, so that's why we've flagged the 2011 CR-V with our "Beware of the Clunker" rating. Time will tell whether this continues to be a problem, & if so, whether Honda will be able to identify the problem & fix it.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,983 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 Honda CR-V engine problems

engine problem

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2011 Honda CR-V Owner Comments

problem #19

Nov 112011

CR-V

  • 20,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owned a 2011 Honda CR-V. while stopped at a stop light to make a left turn, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to approximately 20 mph while the brake pedal was depressed. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle crashed into a nearby fence and came to a stop in a cluster of bushes. The air bags deployed. The vehicle was towed and deemed destroyed. A police report was filed. The contact sprained her right hand and received medical attention. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, a case was not opened. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

- Shoreham, NY, USA

problem #18

May 042019

CR-V

  • 57,000 miles
When braking for a stop light, the engine suddenly accelerated. Eventually, it stopped. This has happened multiple time intermittently.

- West Hills, CA, USA

problem #17

Mar 222018

CR-V

  • 65,840 miles
Honda CRV 2011 unwanted acceleration on March 22 2018 as I was coming to a stop sign went flying in to traffic got lucky nothing coming. Again on sat 24 when I started my CRV in park kept pushing brake then gas at slowed down so I could, but still high idle.

- Flagstaff, AZ, USA

problem #16

Dec 162017

CR-V

  • 83,300 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was accelerating from an on ramp to enter the highway. After I was in the flow of traffic, I hit my brakes to keep pace with the traffic. My brake pedal would only move slightly and the engine was reving. I moved the shifter to neutral and the engine was still revving. I then hit the button on the side of the gear shift to put the car in D3 and continue to try the brakes. The brakes finally started working I put on my 4 way flashers and moved to the side of the highway and put the car in park. As I sat there I kept testing the brakes to insure the pedal would move toward the floor and kept revving the engine to be sure it would slow down when I removed my foot from the gas. I did call the local Honda service center and they said unless they were able to replicate the problem, they would not be able to say what the cause was. They did ask if I had floor mats. I do have floor mat, but I do check them to be sure they are pulled back and not under the pedals.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #15

Aug 192016

CR-V

  • miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda CR-V. while the brake pedal was depressed at approximately 3 mph, the vehicle independently accelerated. As a result, the contact crashed into a building. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was driven away by the contact. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN and failure mileage were unknown.

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #14

Sep 032016

CR-V

  • 46,000 miles
Car was being driven in a parking lot and as the driver pulled into a parking space and was pressing on the brakes, the car began to accelerate. The car jumped a curb, and continued to accelerate until striking a tree in front of a business. Driver smelled a burning odor just before the acceleration started.

- Schaumburg, IL, USA

problem #13

Jun 172016

CR-V

  • 4,560 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

TPMS system on a number of occasions the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)has faulted out while driving on the highway. Each time the fault resulted in the traction control system turning on with no way of turning it off which essentially means you are in all wheel drive mode even on the highway. I brought it in to the dealer who basically said that the problem is due to the TPMS system faulting out due to radio frequency interference caused by a cell phone charger cord plugged into 12V accessory outlets in the front of the vehicle when the car is driven more than 49 mph for over 20 minutes. The radio interference affects most Honda cars. Honda warranty does not cover the cost to reset the TPMS system.

- Brockton, MA, USA

problem #12

Aug 232015

CR-V

  • 45,946 miles
In late August I pulled into my church parking lot as I do every Sunday. My right foot was on the break pedal and I was going about 5 mph when the car suddenly accelerated. While I pressed down hard on the brake pedal, the vehicle shot past the parking space hitting a tree. The car barely missed a parishioner walking on the sidewalk. The driver side window and side of the car were smashed. The car was towed to a Honda collision repair shop. American Honda came out and inspected the vehicle and told me they could not reproduce the unexpected acceleration and that what happened to me "is not known to be a problem with this vehicle." The damage was $5885. I was very upset because I loved the CRV, but knew I could not chance a repeat performance. This meant trading it in at a significant financial loss to my family. We got nowhere trying to get american Honda to reduce the financial burden.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #11

Dec 132014

CR-V 4-cyl

  • 66,300 miles
On December 13th at approximately noon I was stopped at a traffic light in mansfield, MA behind the wheel of my 2011 Honda CRV( with a little over 66, 000 miles), heading West on route 106 at the intersection with route 140, in the left lane. With my foot squarely on the brake pedal, the car began to slowly move forward. It felt like I was being pushed from behind. I immediately put the gear shift in neutral and the engine revved up to red line at which point I shut the car off. I sat there for a minute and decide to turn the car back on to see if the engine was still revving. It was not, so I carefully drove home with on hand on the gear shift. The car was subsequently inspected by prime Honda and Honda motor co (case no. [xxx]) and no defects were found. At my request, they installed a new computer chip charging me their cost. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Mansfield, MA, USA

problem #10

Nov 302014

CR-V

  • 42,000 miles
We pulled our Honda CRV 2011 into a parking lot at bonefish grill in canton Ohio on November 30, 2014. My mother was pulling into a parking spot and the accelerator moved to the floor and the car could not be stopped by slamming on the brakes. We ended up running into a car parked in front of us then a car to the left of us and then the car was finally stopped when we ran into the side of another car parked in the lot where it finally came to rest. The air bags did not deploy, and we were not injured. We were very scared and there was substantial damage to the 3 other cars as well as our own. We have read online the stories of others that had very similar situations with this particular make and model vehicle. We do not plan on ever getting in this vehicle again and will not trust any vehicle that Honda builds as well. This incident luckily happened in a parking lot. If we would have been in an intersection we or someone else would likely have been killed. This vehicle needs to be recalled and customers should be compensated for the negligence on the part of the company. It looks like from the stories that we have read that Honda is claiming no responsibility for this issue and blaming it on driver error. This is not acceptable and Honda needs to own up to their incompetence and dishonesty.

- Stow, OH, USA

problem #9

Nov 052014

CR-V

  • 32,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Pulled into turning lane off highway. In preparing to turn, I pressed on the brakes but instead of slowing down, the car accelerated. Pressed brake to floor but felt no resistance (soft brake). Pressed emergency brake to the floor and threw car into neutral. Luckily I was going slow enough and there were no other cars coming so I was able to make the turn even though brakes were not working. I turned the wheel quickly onto a straight away and released the emergency brake. I pressed the brakes and they worked fine. Second time this has happened where car accelerated instead of stopping.

- Kula, HI, USA

problem #8

Oct 292014

CR-V

  • 40,500 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda CR-V. the contact stated that while approaching a stop sign, the vehicle accelerated independently and surged forward. The contact shifted into neutral and applied force to the brake pedal in order to slow down the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,500.

- Springfield, VT, USA

problem #7

Feb 272014

CR-V 4-cyl

  • 48,000 miles
While driving to work on major highway traveling approx. 60-65 mph passed a car and then touched the brakes.. suddenly the car accelerated to over 100 mph with the R pm's red-lined. I have to stand on the brakes with both feet to try to slow it down and even when it did it was still revving off the charts. Had it towed to Honda dealer who said they couldn't find anything wrong with it and most likely was "operator error". I'm too scared to even drive it now. Don't know what to do.

- Rockport, MA, USA

problem #6

Jun 072013

CR-V 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 23,800 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda CR-V. the contact stated while attempting to park the vehicle it suddenly accelerated while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact placed shifted the gear in reverse and the vehicle continued to accelerate which caused the contact to crash into the wall. The vehicle was towed to the a body shop. A police was available. The contact was not injured. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure and current mileage was 23,800. Updated 8/5/13

- Turnersville, NJ, USA

problem #5

Aug 212012

CR-V

  • 29,417 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda CR-V. the contact stated that while pulling into a parking spot traveling 2 mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a cement light pole. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 29,417 and the current mileage was 29,427.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #4

Apr 012012

CR-V 4-cyl

  • 2,600 miles
Three times dangerous and unwanted acceleration when braking at stop light. Engine severely revved up, had to put vehicle into neutral. Took it into Honda dealership where we purchased the vehicle. They had their mechanic check it out and could find nothing wrong. The next day we had a meeting with the district service manager and he had it rechecked and he took it for a test drive. He could not recreate the problem and therefore couldn't do anything more. Since they couldn't diagnose a problem, he said to continue driving it to see if the situation recurred. I am now afraid to drive my new six month old car and have lost faith in its reliability.

- Orangevale, CA, USA

problem #3

Dec 092011

CR-V

  • 4,800 miles
The engine suddenly accelerated in a parking garage. The brakes slowed the car on the first acceleration, but almost immediately the engine again revved-- to a shrill, loud sound like that of a jet engine. Result : car rammed into a support pillar in the garage; airbag deployed, and I was wearing my seat belt. Car may be totaled, still awaiting estimate from insurance. I spent 4 days in the hospital for surgery on my broken arm, multiple bruises and swollen face, and will not be able to drive for 3-4 months.

- Athens, OH, USA

problem #2

Dec 182011

CR-V

  • 14,210 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Honda CR-V. the contact stated that while stopped, there was a rapid increase in the engine rpms. The failure continued until the contact shifted into neutral. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they were unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 14,210.

- Dobbs Ferry, NY, USA

problem #1

Jan 042011

CR-V

  • 400 miles
I bought a new 2011 Honda cr V and have a serious safety issue. The engine maintained its speed or accelerated on four separate occasions when I applied the brake and tried to stop. The worst incident occurred when I tried to come to a stop at a red light with cars in front of me. I applied brake and car stopped but engine raced. I had to apply very strong pressure to brake to hold car in place. Engine was racing and car was pulling forward. I shifted to neutral, engine continued to race and then I heard a loud knocking sound come from engine like a washing machine makes when it is out of balance. I was very scared. I turned engine off and then at green light turned engine on and it was ok. This happened four separate times when the car had just over 200 miles on it, just over 400 miles, 723 miles, and 819 miles. I did not have my foot on both gas and brake, the mats are the Honda mats that come with car and are fastened to the floor and were not on the gas. This really happened, very scary. Reported to Honda and took car in twice. Honda said there were no codes and the brakes looked ok. They said to call american Honda which I did. I reported it as a serious safety issue. Honda said someone would get in touch with me the next day. Its been a week and no one has contacted me. I have owned the car for 40 days and driven it less than 850 miles and this has happened four times and been in the shop twice. Honda says they cannot reproduce and that I should just let them know when it happens again. They have not tested anything with the idle or the throttle sticking are not concerned with my safety.

- San Jose, CA, USA

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