CarComplaints.com Notes: It's rare when a newer vehicle has defect trends. Judging from the identical 2017 model year, the 2018 Honda CR-V is likely to have at least two — overfilled oil levels with a gas smell, & heat not working.

Both problems affecting the Honda CR-V's 1.5L "Earth Dreams" engine appear to be related to cold-climate regions.

CR-V owners report overfilled oil levels due to fuel in the oil, & sometimes a gas smell in the cabin. That problem appears to be related to fuel injection which Honda hopes to fix via a software update. Honda so far has only conducted a recall in China & a "product update" in Canada.

CR-V owners also report no heat even after warming up their CR-Vs for 30 minutes — not even enough to defrost the windshield. So far, there has been no fix from Honda for this issue.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,756 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.

2018 Honda CR-V electrical problems

electrical problem

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2018 Honda CR-V Owner Comments (Page 1 of 11)

problem #201

Aug 272024

CR-V

  • miles

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

I was driving my mother's 2018 Honda CR-V at a steady rate of about 30 mph when there was a warning chirp and the car suddenly braked hard and came to a complete stop. At that time, I was at least 30 feet behind the car in front and both my car and the one in front were traveling at the same speed. I can only assume that the collision avoidance system kicked in unexpectedly. After stopping, I restarted the car and proceeded normally, with no warning lights showing.

- Eliot, ME, USA

problem #200

Aug 102024

CR-V

  • miles
While away from home on vacation, the car alarm randomly went off for several minutes. Upon returning the battery was dead and would not start. Over the next several days this happened multiple times with the battery dying, car not starting, and the dash would light up and doors would not lock or unlock properly. Replaced the battery and again the same issue with alarm going off in the middle of the night after battery drain. I saw on the forums that the BCM is a common issue with the Honda vehicles. the car recognizes that "the start switch has been pushed, when it has not." This poses a safety risk for the car and the individual. Remedy from the dealer is the body/keyless module replacement at nearly $800. This seems to be something that Honda is aware of, but has not yet addressed.

- Layton, UT, USA

problem #199

Aug 012024

CR-V

  • miles
As soon as I turn the vehicle on, all the warning lights turn on. I cannot use any safety features of the vehicle as the lights remain on. It started a year ago however used to go away itself. But this time it is consistent for over 10 days and not going away

- South Brunswick Township, NJ, USA

problem #198

Aug 062024

CR-V

  • miles

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

8/6/24 confirmed by Honda dealer, steering gearbox internal failure. Need to replace rack and pinion assembly. See attached.

- Bradenton , FL, USA

problem #197

Apr 012024

CR-V

  • miles
Several months ago, I noticed my steering wheel was sticky. While driving it is clearly difficult to turn the wheel. So I bought new tires and had a wheel alignment. The problem continues. I have just over 42,000 miles on the CRV and was under 40,000 when I noticed the problem. I just took it into the dealership and was told it was gear box issue that they are aware of and that would cost me over $3,000 to fix. When I googled this, I found that there are many complaints about this issue. Honda should recognize this problem and recall affected cars.

- Oldsmar, FL, USA

problem #196

Jun 152024

CR-V

  • miles
The following has happened several times before a repair was made: [Car Alarm / Unable to turn on/off car.] Questions: failure. My car is available for inspection. *Unable to turn off/on vehicle, children inside. *Problem reproduced months earlier, and at dealership (Goodyear(920-458-8306) and Honda International(920-208-0200), both in Sheboygan, WI) *Warning lights and messages only appeared during the issue happening, not prior. Started [XXX] Car alarm goes off during inconsistent times. Then if I try to turn it on, I am unable to turn the car back off: dash lights flicker, relay is clicking several times. IF I am eventually able to turn it off, I can not turn it back on, though it does try to (engine). Same symptoms as above. Eventually it seems to possibly drain the battery, and all the dash lights and relay again flicker, But then the brake pedal pushes back at me when trying to turn it back on (with no engine sound). Battery, On/Off switch, and BCM were replaced to resolve(?) this issue. We will see if this continues. I am seeing MANY others online having the exact same problem. Side note: Touch Screen Infotainment screen went black months prior. pulling fuse and inserting it fixed that issue. Also, I have video, but am unable to upload here. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Sheboygan, WI, USA

problem #195

Feb 152024

CR-V

  • miles

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

Vehicle is flashing all kinds of repair needed signals. It is stalling and shutting off. It's not safe for me to drive. I'm elderly (disabled) and need to drive to get medicine and doctors appointments. The fuel pump is on recall and I can not wait until the fall to get the pump replaced. No Honda dealers have the pumps in stick yet. I need help ASAP. Thank you

- Fairburn , GA, USA

problem #194

Oct 172023

CR-V

  • miles
Dashboard all warning lights flashing. Unable to see how fast I-??m going. Has happened multiple times in the past months. And Is also a safety distraction. Light will not turn off unless I connect and disconnect the battery, which will still happen again either way in about a week.

- San Jose , CA, USA

problem #193

Nov 132023

CR-V

  • miles
The wiring harness that runs the electric lock on the back doors is faulty. I suspect it is because the wiring harness is too tight, and when the back doors are opened repeatedly it wears on the wires and eventually causes the wires to break. This means that the back door locks become manual locks. I think this is a mild safety issue because we have small children and it makes it difficult to get them in and out of the car. The problem was reported to the Honda dealership, and to an independent mechanic, both of whom reviewed the problem and confirmed it. The vehicle has not been inspected by Honda, the police, or insurance. There are no warning messages. The symptom is merely that the door lock ceases to function. This issue first appeared for us about five years after purchase of the vehicle (we purchased the vehicle new). We had the issue repairs once, and but it has happened again. When I google this issue, there are many forum posts with people experiencing the same issue (I would say it's a "known issue" for this vehicle).

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #192

Feb 132024

CR-V

  • miles
The car quit suddenly while picking up my child at school and would not start. Had to be towed to the honda dealership due it not running. No warning sign of it having any problems, nothing. This qas February 13th and has been sitting therr for over a month now. I have contacted the Honda service department twice and they can not give me an ETA on when my car will be fixed or when the fue pump will arrive and if that is the only thing wrong with my car. This is our main vehicle, I do have a courtesy car to drive but I am making car payments on a car that is not functioning.

- Etowah, TN, USA

problem #191

Mar 082024

CR-V

  • miles

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

All electrical warnings spontaneously engaged on the panel; disabling cruise control and adaptive tools (emergency braking, lane warming, 3rd party vehicle encroachment, etc). The car drives fine. Has happened 6 times in the last 2 years. Either spontaneously resets when I turn the car off and then on, or I have to disengage the battery to reset everything.

- Beaverton , OR, USA

problem #190

Mar 052024

CR-V

  • miles
While driving the entire driving assist system warnings started flashing (lane assist, blind spot, ACC, etc.) resulting in a solid system break light, with none of the safety features functioning. In addition to being very distracting while driving, had I not noticed the warning lights going off, I would not have known that the safety system was off. It is very easy to miss while focusing on driving in a rainy day like today. I am writing to you directly since the last time I emailed Honda about a confirmed SW bug that results in the screen going dark, they told me it is not a safety issue and requested $180 for a SW update. When your screen goes dark when you are driving after changing the brightness on its own, and you don't see the backing off warnings, or camera, I would say it is a safety issue. While I am not writing about this specific issue, I don't trust Honda to do an honest assessment. I am unaware if Honda researched this issue yet, but have seen reports online about this issue.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #189

Feb 212024

CR-V

  • 44,400 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the "Brake System", "Collision Mitigation System", "Road Departure Mitigation", "Adaptive Cruise Control" and the "Lane Keeping Assist" massages remained displayed along with an audible alarm. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,400.

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #188

Mar 042024

CR-V

  • miles
All the warning lights came on at once.but car drives

- Hubert, NC, USA

problem #187

Jan 022019

CR-V

  • 2,500 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the battery had been replaced four times. The contact stated that the dealer replaced the battery two times after the vehicle was purchased in January 2019. The contact stated that the battery had to be recharged daily to prevent battery drainage failure. The contact stated that while researching the failure, the contact discovered information regarding electrical system failure within the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #186

Dec 272023

CR-V

  • miles
See attached letter for complaint details

- Rock Hilll, SC, USA

problem #185

Feb 102024

CR-V

  • miles
On 2/10/2024 I was stopped waiting to put gas in my car when all of a sudden multiple lights lite up on my dash board (vehicle stability assist, vsa problems, hill start assist, adaptive cruise control problems, collision mitigation problems, road departure mitigation system problem, power steering (eps) problems, electric brake system problem, emission system problem, brake system problem, * all integral to safe driving for me. I was able to drive slowly to my mechanic and he was able to do a diagnostic assessment and it showed a code B1234 (Air Mix Control Motor Circuit (Driver's) Short. He was able to turn all the warning lights off. I am now a little afraid to use my car long distance until I can get assured that this will not happen again. In searching the internet I find that this is not an isolated occurrence. There are multiple complaints regarding this same issue.

- Kissimmee, FL, USA

problem #184

Feb 052024

CR-V

  • miles
Display unexpectedly switches to brightness setting and then blinks off and on constantly with loud noise then goes dark, and repeats flashing noise dark etc. controls do not stop it and must pull off if interstate and turn off vehicle and restart to make it stop. It is a huge distraction and very scary to experience. How is this not a safety concern for Honda? Others have experience in what I have read. Needs to be a recall before folks wreck. You should not have to stop your car to get the flashing to quit. Would love to upload video of the experience. This happens about 1 to 2 times time a month at least. And started with about 37k on CRV and still doing it at 64k. Only reported now cause I have read of others having same issue.

- Asheville, NC, USA

problem #183

Dec 272023

CR-V

  • miles
Starting late December 2023, the vehicle drained the battery in the car very quickly. I replaced the battery twice, and twice the battery was drained to death very quickly. It was discovered by the local Honda dealer that the Body Control Module (BCM) on the car wakes up by itself while the car is shutdown and parked. BCM drains the battery very quickly and leaving the car in-operable, leaving us stranded. This is a very serious security risk. It caused over $1000 to repair. This is a wide-spread problem for Honda cars. Actually there is a recall for BCM in Honda Accord models.

- Powell, OH, USA

problem #182

Jan 312024

CR-V

  • miles
All of the warning lights on my dash associated with the Advanced Driver Assistance system listed above come on and off randomly. This has happened numerous times over the last 18 months. I've been to the dealership twice and have also seen numerous complaints online. There doesn't seem to be a certain fix for the issues.

- Columbus, GA, USA

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