2018 Honda CR-V
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 2,145 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 26 CR-V model years with reports.
Of the 2018 reports, 46 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 47 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMay 21, 2026
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 that deploy unintentionally during a crash increase the risk of injury.
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.
Campaign 26V332000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpDec 18, 2023
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.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 23V858000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, front, buckle assemblyMar 9, 2023
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.
An unlatched seat belt cannot properly restrain the seat occupant during a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
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.
Campaign 23V158000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpMar 25, 2021
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.
Campaign 21V215000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemSep 27, 2018
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Honda Civic and CR-V vehicles. The magnet that controls the torque sensor output signal for the electronic power steering system may not be properly secured, allowing the magnet to become dislodged. During a full lock turn, the dislodged magnet may cause steering assist to be applied in the opposite direction.
The unintended steering input reduces vehicle maneuverability and increases the risk of a crash.
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gearbox assembly, free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are C2N, P2O.
Campaign 18V663000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: steering
327 reports, newest first. Show all
Steering, Jul 26, 2025
Rack and pinion required repair/replacement. The car has less than 50,000 miles on it. Issues appeared several weeks ago. Repair was just completed because of issues with steering. Repair was done due to safety concerns.
Steering, Jul 24, 2025
Stick in steering while driving; slight clunking noise when steering wheel is moved and same noise heard while backing out of parking spots slightly turning the steering wheel .
Steering, Jul 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel was sticking while attempting to make a turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and it was determined that the steering gearbox had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 112,000.
Steering, Jul 23, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and turning the steering wheel to the left or the right, the steering wheel failed to return to center. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering gear box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.
Steering, Jul 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a creaking sound coming from the steering column, and the steering wheel was momentary sticking while turning the steering wheel in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering gear box and steering magnet was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000 (STEERING). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 125,000.
Steering, Jul 21, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the steering wheel became sticky, making it difficult to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Steering, Jul 16, 2025
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the ongoing steering problems I have been experiencing with my 2018 Honda CR-V. This has made it difficult and even dangerous to operate the vehicle at highway speeds. Specifically, the steering wheel often becomes extremely hard to turn, creating a feeling that the power steering is not working as it should. Additionally, the steering wheel frequently fails to return to its center position after making a turn, further compromising my ability to control the vehicle safely. Upon researching this issue, I discovered that other CR-V owners have experienced similar steering problems. Furthermore, a recall (18V-663) was issued for some 2018 CR-Vs due to a potential problem with the torque sensor magnet in the electronic power steering system, which may result in unexpected steering behavior during full-lock turns.
Steering, Jul 16, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the steering wheel was abnormally loose, and easily turned. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
Steering, Jul 8, 2025
"Sticky Steering" is what its being called. I have been dealing with this for several years (after the warranty was out) but over the last 2 months it has gotten worse. While at highway speeds (45+) there is more resistance when trying to straighten the steering wheel causing an over correction and veering into another lane. Problem is known to dealer but has yet to be duplicated by several garages.
Steering, Jul 8, 2025
Although the incident date is recent (since an alignment was done a few days prior) this issue has been happening for over a year, but is now getting to the point that we are unable to drive safely at highway speeds. Our steering wheel, especially at highway speeds, gets stuck either side of center, pulling the car to one side or the other. The steering wheel feels stuck and has to be turned with effort constantly to keep the car traveling in a straight line. Even the lane assist feature is also constantly having to correct the steering. After a wheel alignment the problem seems to have gotten worse. The steering also does not recover to the center position after making a turn at low speed.
Steering, Jul 8, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact stated that it felt as if the steering wheel was stuck. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with power steering rack failure. The contact was informed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. In addition, the contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was provided with a monetary discount to assist with the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 81,418.
Steering, Jul 7, 2025
The steering is bad. its going to cause a crash. Hoda knows the steering part is bad, but they will not provide any help to fix it. $5000 was the quote from the Honda dealership. The recommend a replace =ment of the EPS rack.
Steering, Jul 6, 2025
The steering sticks making the wheel difficult to accurately control. I believe this is the same EPS problem that has been recalled in later models.
Steering, Jul 2, 2025
Car has developed a sticky steering problem in the last 12 - 18 months ... seems to be getting worse and is more noticeable the longer you drive at highway speeds ... not sure what is going on but believe it to be a safety issue as it is definitely not normal plus uncomfortable to the point of concern
Steering, Jul 1, 2025
The steering at highway speeds doesn't allow for small corrections. If you move the steering wheel slightly nothing happens , then it suddenly “grabs” causing overcorrection then , you get it back to center but then it “grabs” too much in the other direction. Taking the car to dealer tomorrow for inspection. Something wrong with the steering rack cpuld cause big problems.
Steering, Jun 25, 2025
When turning, the steering wheel has a very loud creak and when driving, the steering wheel sticks. The Honda maintenance dept said there’s a recall on 2018 CRV’s for this exact problem due to a faulty steering gearbox but that my VIN # is not affected. The problem on my car has been confirmed by the Honda dealer. The maintenance supervisor at our Honda location stated there is also a recall on newer model Honda’s for the steering gearbox. Honda, as well as multiple independent mechanics, have stated that this issue can cause catastrophic injury or death. However, Honda Corporate has refused to offer assistance in fixing this issue and said the out of pocket cost to me will be $4300. There have been no warning signals about this issue and it started about 1 year ago. The car currently has only 62k miles. The original owner of the vehicle was my mother-in-law who leased it directly from the Honda dealer. She only put 18k miles on the car. We both have had it serviced according to Honda’s official maintenance schedule. This is a serious, known issue with active recalls that can cause a fatal accident and Honda refuses to expand their recall for public safety.
Steering, Jun 25, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at speeds above 40 MPH, the steering wheel became sticky and failed to return to center while turning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 34,000.
Steering, Jun 25, 2025
The contact's wife owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and making a turn, the steering wheel failed to return to center automatically. Additionally, the contact stated that the steering wheel jerked while driving, causing the vehicle to jerk and to make sudden movements. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was test-driven. The dealer diagnosed that the EPS gear box rack assembly needed to be replaced, and an alignment, and reprogramming of the PSCM to the steering neutral position needed to be performed. The dealer related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 52,400.
Steering, Jun 25, 2025
The steering wheel sticks especially after being driven for a while. It is necessary to use slightly more force to move it sometimes causing overcorrection. I took it to the Honda dealer and they said eventually the gears will be worn so much that the steering mechanism will fail and potentially cause an accident. There are no warning lights for this issue, and currently no recall. I have not had it fixed because the repair cost I was quoted was $4,300. My vehicle has not even hit 100K miles, and should not have such a dangerous, costly issue already.
Steering, Jun 24, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V663000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 45,000.
Steering, Jun 23, 2025
We started to have "catches" in the steering wheel when driving - from just small catches when turning the steering wheel to more noticeable occurrences. This had been ongoing for several months prior to taking it into the Hertrich Honda dealership in Easton, Md. (We had, previously, taken it into the mechanic that regularly services our cars but they could not recreate the problem), The Hertrich service tech had to drive it several times before experiencing the problem and ID'd it as an issue with the steering rack, requiring replacement. We, then contacted Honda Corporate (05/21/2025) as we saw that a recall had been issued back in September, 2018 (1 month after we purchased our CR-V) for same year and model cars as ours for "Steering : Electric power assist system" - recall# 18V663000. We explained our issue and asked if it would be covered for repairs as it appeared to be the same. We were told that since our vehicle was not included in the recall and that the repair that the dealer listed as being necessary - "replacing steering rack (53620-TLA-A13)) is not the same as the recall repair authorized, "...the steering gearbox assembly...". A follow-up call to the dealership service manager to clarify the difference resulted in being told that they are essentially the same repair, that they do not replace the steering rack without the steering gearbox assembly for that model. Calling Honda, again, for additional clarification we were told that, from their viewpoint they are separate repairs and would not authorize coverage. However, they are willing to provide a "Customer Good Will Adjustment" to the quoted dealer repair estimate of $5,020. and reduce it to $3,500. As it appears that we have no other alternative, we will be contacting Honda to accept this and arrange to schedule the service. Also, as an aside the service manager at Hertrich told us that we wouldn't believe how many of these repairs they have had to do on these Civics and CR-V's
Steering, Jun 20, 2025
Steering is popping and sticking when making a hard turn. It has gradually become worse. We're not comfortable taking it on long trips. A claim was filed with Honda this week. It has been 5 days and we only get voice mail when we call. Its very scary to think our steering could go out and the car only has 90,000 miles. It's going to cost $5,000 to fix. A recall for this problem was issued, but dealer says my vin is not included in the recall.
Steering, Jun 17, 2025
Steering becomes "sticky," and it becomes difficult to turn the steering wheel. This happens after about 45 minutes of driving and at speeds of 50 miles per hour and higher. The steering wheel sticks in one position and it takes greater effort to unstick it. This is a safety issue, because turning and lane changes take longer and could lead to a crash. This issue hasn't been confirmed by a dealer because of the time it takes for the problem to manifest itself. The vehicle has not been inspected outside of normal dealer servicing.
Steering, Jun 17, 2025
When the steering wheel is turned to its maximum angle you can hear popping noises at slower speeds in parking lot or when backing out of driveway. When traveling at higher speeds 35mph or more the steering wheel sticks and is hard to move. When it unsticks it jerks the vehicle in the opposite direction. Worried this can cause a crash. Why is this not covered under a recall? There are other 2018 CR-Vs that are covered under 18V-663 recall why is my VIN excluded considering i am having the same issue?
Steering, Jun 16, 2025
2018 CRV with less than 55,000 miles on it has developed an issue with the steering control felling "sticky" at times. This is very noticeable at speeds over 40mph and once the car has warmed up. The feeling while driving is that the steering is stuck in a notch and is not smooth causing the driver to put more effort into steering which then causes over correction and erratic driving. No warning indicators are lit and vehicle does not have any ADAS systems