2020 Honda CR-V
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Forward collision avoidance is the leading concern among 353 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 21st highest complaint count among 26 CR-V model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 21 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 17 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
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerFeb 1, 2024
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.
An air bag that deploys unintentionally during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
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.
Campaign 24V064000 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
Equipment, other, labelsJul 27, 2023
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."
An incorrectly sized tire may cause premature tread wear, or a tire blow out, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 23V524000 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, storage, tank assemblyMay 26, 2022
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.
An inaccurate fuel gauge may result in the vehicle unexpectedly running out of fuel and stalling, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 22V380000 on NHTSA.gov
Structure, frame and membersDec 5, 2019
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.
A separated rear subframe reduces vehicle handling and can suddenly disable the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
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.
Campaign 19V865000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: forward collision avoidance
73 reports, newest first. Show all
Forward collision avoidance, Apr 26, 2024
On 4/14/24, while driving ~45mph with no cars or other obstacles anywhere in sight, automatic braking engaged. It was out of the blue, and alarming. Fortunately, no car was behind me, so no accident occurred. I had no indication of any problem prior to this incident. This problem has not occurred again. The Honda dealer offered to run a diagnostic for $100, but seemed disbelieving that they would find anything, so I did not pursue, still thought it was dangerous enough that I should report this.
Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 17, 2024
I've owned this car for 4 years. The automatic braking has engaged a couple of times each year. There is never any traffic in front of me when this happens. It only happens on multi-lane highways. It has happend during the day and at night. Weather is always clear when it happens.
Forward collision avoidance, Apr 17, 2024
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH the brakes independently activated. The contact stated that the vehicle slowed to approximately 15 MPH. The contact stated that the "brake" warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was no longer braking, and the contact continued driving to his destination. The contact stated that the failure occurred one more time. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000.
Forward collision avoidance, Mar 12, 2024
Car came to an emergency stop with no cars or other objects in it's path
Forward collision avoidance, Dec 21, 2023
When I am in adaptive cruise control mode, and I am in the left lane and a large vehicle like a semi-truck or a pickup truck pulling a large trailer is in the right lane passes me, from time to time it will engage the braking system even though there is nothing in front of my vehicle. Recently it has also been happening if I am in the right lane and vehicle exits the highway on an off ramp. I have been lucky to date that no vehicle was behind me when the braking system engaged, or there would have been an accident. This issue has been occurring ever since I bought the 2020 CRV new and have brought it to the attention of the dealer several times, and they say they could not find an issue. My last scheduled maintenance appointment they recommended recalibrating the system, and the issue is still there.
Forward collision avoidance, Dec 11, 2023
Driving about 35mph. Nearest vehicle ahead of me (semi trailer) was about a block ahead. My brake alert came on. I did not brake because there was no need to. Then the car applied the brakes automatically. No accident as no one was behind me. This occurred first week of Dec 2023. There was a prior incident about a month ago where the car ahead of me was about a car and a half length ahead. Brake alert came on, then Went off. I didn’t brake and really didn’t think too much of it. But after reading online, others having issues I thought it needs to be reported.
Forward collision avoidance, Aug 15, 2023
On multiple occasions, the car initiated the automated emergency braking, bringing the car to a full and sudden stop in the middle of traffic, despite there being no obstacle, and without first giving a forward collision warning. This easily could have resulted in a catastrophic crash, or at the very least whiplash, at higher speeds. I can provide dashcam footage of one of these events.
Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Jul 4, 2023
Hi - Thanks for your attention. I am reporting an issue that have been affected many Honda CR-V owners' safety: All Warnings Lights On Dash like Christmas tree, while driving slowly on private driveway on [XXX]. No particular reasons we could figure out: Only about 21,000 miles and < 3 years; no blocking of the sensors, good battery, no wire issue by eye inspection. Following some online suggestions, rebooted in Accessory Mode, not working; reconnected/disconnected battery, worked. However, it has been reported this issue will come back again in a short period, in an unexpected way, which poses significant safety issue. There are many online discussions, but Honda has not provided a solution for these severely defective vehicles, which surely has caused severe accidents and caused panic during HIGHWAY drive. Hope you could take some actions to protect the drivers' lives. HUGE Thanks. [XXX] One of the reported accidents (please search "huge accident" in the webpage): [XXX] One online discussion (first reported years ago but no action/response from Honda): [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Forward collision avoidance, Jun 21, 2023
Vehicle activated emergency braking system for no apparent reason. If a vehicle would have been behind us, it may have collided with us. The brake released at around 10 mph.
Forward collision avoidance, Jun 13, 2023
i was driving 55 mph on north long lake road approaching the north long lake/west long lake intersection. A car was in the turn lane and almost turned to Lake Ann. Another car was approaching going east. The automatic braking suddenly came on for no reason Almost stopping the car in the middle of the road. The CRV slowed very quickly from 55 mph to 5 mph for no reason. Then it went off and I was able to speed back up. this is the second time the braking system has stopped the car for no reason. Luckily there was no one behind me. this is the second complaint I have filed to NHSTA for the same reason
Forward collision avoidance, May 24, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle independently stopped. The contact stated that the brake pedal had not been depressed. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE22003 (Forward Collision Avoidance). The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.
Forward collision avoidance, May 19, 2023
AT A 4 WAY STOP INTERSECTION, WHEN IT WAS MY TURN, I DROVE THROUGH THE INTERSECTION AND SUDDENLY THE AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM STOPPED THE CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION BUT THERE WAS NOT ANYTHING i WAS GOING TO COLLIDE WITH. THE "BRAKE" WARNING CAME ON BUT AS SOON AS I STOPPED VERY ABRUPTLY, IT WENT OFF AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE AWAY. i AM TERRIFIED THAT THE CRV WILL BRAKE AGAIN WITHOUT WARNING AND A CAR WILL HIT ME.
Forward collision avoidance, May 15, 2023
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 able to continue driving. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000. The dealer adjusted the cameras and sensors. The repairs were made at the owners expense.
Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, May 3, 2023
Whenever it snows, the radar placement on the front grill of the vehicle gets covered in snow/ice, etc. and all advanced safety features are shut off while driving. This has been reported to Honda before over the last 2 years to no avail. This is a safety hazard and also very dangerous while driving in inclement weather.
Forward collision avoidance, Apr 10, 2023
The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the collision mitigation braking system (CMBS) engaged inadvertently while there were no vehicles or objects nearby the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that they could not duplicate the failure as there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Forward collision avoidance, Apr 9, 2023
Phantom Braking incident. This has changed continually happened since I took delivery of the vehicle. The brakes are autonomously applied for no apparent reason.
Forward collision avoidance, Feb 13, 2023
Several months ago, I was driving on the interstate with cruise control on. I passed a disabled vehicle parked on the shoulder of the highway. My car started to brake like crazy on its own when I passed this vehicle. Fortunately there were no other vehicles next to me or behind me or I could have had a very serious wreck. Last weekend, I was driving in town and already slowing down on my own for a vehicle in front of me. I was barely touching the brakes but the automatic braking slammed on the brakes for no apparent reason and almost caused the car behind me to rear end my vehicle.
Forward collision avoidance, Jan 11, 2023, crash
Driving on I-275 freeway along with my friend to Airport. Both Lane Keep Assistant and Adaptive Cruise Control were ON. I kept cruising at 65 miles/hour and drove about 7 miles with no issues. My vehicle slowed down by detecting a vehicle ahead of me driving in 55 m/h. As the next line was free, I moved to the left line and my vehicle started accelerating to 65 m/h. It had not detected a stopped vehicle ahead of me. I expected the ACC OR CMBS features to detect and slow down my car but no alert was received. Also Automatic Emergency Breaking system not slowed down or stopped my vehicle. I applied hard breaks but the vehicle hit the stopped vehicle and both airbags deployed. Lucky that we are safe and no injuries to us but car was totaled. Progressive Auto Policy: [XXX], Police Incident Number: [XXX], Ticket Number: [XXX], Honda complaint number [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Forward collision avoidance, Dec 20, 2022
In March/April 2020 I was driving at 65 miles per hour on a rural highway. The only vehicles on the road were my car, the pickup in front of me and the pickup behind me. Since the highway was so quiet, I decided to try Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). I set it for 65 miles per hour (the speed limit). We had been driving for about 15 minutes, each car maintaining the same speed and distance. The pickup in front of me turned on his turn signal for a right turn and entered the right turn lane. As my car approached the pickup, in the turn lane, the automatic braking system activated. I lunged forward, the seat belt activated, braking warning was displayed on screen and there was an audible alarm. I managed to take control of the vehicle and to accelerate. I was afraid the vehicle behind me would collide with me. I turned off ACC and tried to regain my composure. When the pickup moved into the right hand lane, there was nothing in front of me as far as the eye could see; just open highway. I will never use ACC again. Yesterday, December 19, I was driving on a side street. I had just exited a school zone, speed limit 15, and my speed was now approximately 22, no vehicles in front of me just some cars parked at the curb ahead to my right. There was an audible tone and the word BRAKE displayed on the screen. The brakes did not activate.
Forward collision avoidance, Dec 6, 2022
The auto brake feature engaged on the beltway by itself and caused the car to come to a complete stop while cars behind us were forced to swerve out of the way to avoid a serious accident. My wife is afraid to keep driving the car and we are now figuring out a way to get rid of it. Reported to local dealer but did not get any response.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 29, 2022
Phantom Braking Incident. As I was driving at approximately 35 mph, the vehicle applied brakes for no apparent reason. Luckily, the vehicle traveling behind me didn't crash into the rear of my vehicle but had this happened when traveling at higher speeds, there would have been a serious accident. This has happened numerous times since owning the vehicle, but only the 2nd time I've reported it here.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 14, 2022
When driving at high speed on the highway, I have had instances of both FCW and/or AEB activating when there was no vehicle in front of me. This tends to happen without known cause and while I take the same route every day on my commute, the issue does not always occur. When FCW initiates with a large flashing BRAKE warning on the dash and loud beeping while at highway speeds, I am startled and second guess myself that I am not seeing something I am about to impact with. This creates confusion and can lead to making a maneuver or my braking in error which can cause a crash. This issue has occured numerous times and in speaking with other owners of the same vehicle, they have witnessed the same issue. I have also had AEB initiate at least twice while at highway speeds when there was no vehicle in front of me. This is the most frightening and dangerous issue that I've experienced in any vehicle I have driven. As with the above issue with FCW, there seems to be no way to reproduce the issue and it happens at random. While at highway speeds after receiving the FCW BRAKE warning, my vehicle instantaneously began emergency braking with no vehicle in front of me. This issue is unacceptable and can cause a serious crash on the highway. I speculate that these issues both may be caused by overhead highway signs or bridges but does not seem to occur in error consistently, even when driving the same route. I worry that these issues will cause myself or my family to be seriously injured due to failing safety technology and I have considered disabling these features in my vehicle. These issues have not been inspected nor verified independently as I have felt the issue is unresolvable based on feedback I have heard. At this point I consider myself lucky for not having been in a crash due to these systems failing.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 11, 2022
I was driving and the automatic emergency breaking activated without warning. I was driving 40 miles per hour with no car near me and the car abruptly stopped without warning. This is the second time this has happened with a similar situation occurring
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 4, 2022
Automatic braking system engaging when no cars or objects are present. Has happened while on highway at relatively high speeds and on regular neighborhood streets.
Forward collision avoidance, Oct 2, 2022
I have noticed multiple times that when i exit from highway it will suddenly deaccelerate. I wasn't following any cars on those days and luckily no car behind me those times.