2021 Honda CR-V
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Steering is the leading concern among 331 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 22nd highest complaint count among 26 CR-V model years with reports.
Of the 2021 reports, 14 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 13 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
Seat belts, rear/other, retractorNov 18, 2021
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."
An unsecured child restraint system can increase the risk of injury during a crash.
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.
Campaign 21V900000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: forward collision avoidance
87 reports, newest first. Show all
Forward collision avoidance, Mar 31, 2025
On several occasions since I’ve owned the vehicle, it has come to a complete stop while driving at highway speeds without any apparent reason, accompanied by a warning of a possible collision. On one such occasion, the vehicle stopped so abruptly that I initially thought I had been rear-ended, though thankfully no cars were near me at the time. If other vehicles had been nearby during any of these incidents, I believe it could have resulted in a serious accident. While I am grateful for the technology, as it has also helped me avoid an accident on two separate occasions (different from the above referenced instances), I believe the system needs improvement to prevent these unexpected stops from occurring.
Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Jan 22, 2025
1) On 3 occasions the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) has self activated and the car attempted to come to a complete stop. The 1st incident, 10/19/24, happened while driving 35-40 mph while changing lanes, a red BRAKE light and alarms sounded bringing the car to a complete stop. While there was traffic around me, no one was directly in front of me or close enough to have required this to activate. A vehicle traveling behind came inches from rear-ending me. The 2nd incident, 11/9/24 concerns me the most, happening 3 weeks after the first incident while on the highway traveling 65 mph. I was in the left lane of multi-lane traffic. While there were vehicles two lanes to my right, there was no one directly in front of me by 100 yards. Again, alarms, red BRAKE light, and the car proceeded to come to a complete stop. The car felt like it was floating and for a moment, I felt like my life was over as the car was out of control. The 3rd incident, 12/9/24 happened 9 days after it was in for service, while traveling 30 mph in town. 2) The 1st incident avoided an accident because of the alertness of the driver behind me. The second incident, at 65 mph, is of the most concern, as for a few moments, I felt like my life was over. This incident is also causing me to have PTSD symptoms while continuing to drive, it has required me to see an MD. 3) An appointment was available about 3 weeks after the second incident. They were not able to replicate it or find anything wrong with the vehicle. After speaking about my concerns after the 3rd incident to the dealership, they have recommended that I turn off the safety equipment. While I have spoken with Honda America, they do not want to get involved unless there is a recall by you, the NHTSA. Nothing has been reported to the police but I have spoken to my insurance agent regarding liability if I turn the safety equipment off. 4) BRAKE light and alarms occurred at the same time as the braking.
Forward collision avoidance, Jan 14, 2025
On at leas 8 occasions in the past 3 years the Automatic Braking System (Forward Collision Avoidance System) engaged with audible warning while on the interstate driving at highway speeds unexpectedly with no vehicles or other obstructions in my lane in front of me. The majority of occurrences were as I was attempting to pass in the left lane, but on at least 2 occasions there were no cars to the left or right of me. The sudden braking could have caused a serious collision. I have not brought the problem to the attention of a dealer or independent service center as I doubt they would be able to reproduce or confirm the issue, as I have experienced before on intermittent issues before. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear
Forward collision avoidance, Dec 5, 2024
While traveling on the highway at 65 mph, in the left lane of three lanes of traffic with no cars in front of, back of, or side of me, (AdaptiveCruiseControl and LaneKeepAssist were both on) when the vehicle did an “emergency” self-brake. A large red BRAKE sign appeared in the dash and the car felt “out of control.” I physically hit the brake, slowed down and exited the highway. I REMAIN FOR ME TO FEEL VERY INSECURE on highway travel. This was a second incident. This occurred early November. The first incident happened a few weeks before this one while traveling around 40 mph in multi-lane traffic. I signaled to move into the left lane, no cars were within two car lengths from me, when the vehicle did a hard self-brake; the ACC and LKAS were NOT engaged at this time. Again, the car seemed “out-of-control” for a short time. This incident occurred mid October.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 18, 2024
I was driving on a straight street doing about 35 MPH and my car all of the sudden braked. Luckily there was no one behind me, had there been, I would have definitely caused an accident. I contacted a Honda dealership and they said there are no recalls on my vehicle, so could only make an appointment, try to recreate the issue and run a diagnostic, but they said they never heard of the issue. I had no issues or warning lights prior too. My car was inspected in June and I just recently had the oil changed and brakes checked. I take the highway to work and I'm very afraid if this happens at highway speed what would happen.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 13, 2024
I have experienced at least 4 occurrences in the last year of the automatic emergency braking system activating when there were no obstructions while crossing a bridge. I have also experienced at least 2 occurrences of the automatic emergency braking system activating while going under an overpass. I live in interior Alaska and in the most recent occurrence I was going over an icy bridge in the dark in below zero temperatures when the car automatically applied the brakes for no reason. Brakes need to be applied carefully on icy roads - had someone been behind me or had I lost control of the car because of the unexpected braking, this could have resulted in a serious accident.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 1, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the cruise control feature became inoperable. There were several warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the cruise control light failed to activate and the brakes would inadvertently activate with no traffic nearby. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled, and while accelerating the speed would fluctuate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Forward collision avoidance, Oct 22, 2024
I was driving on the street with no one in front of me going about 45 miles per hour when the car did "Phantom Braking" and the car tried to stop on its own. It beeped 3 times and BRAKE! flashed on my dashboard as if I was going to hit someone and the car overtook my brakes and tried to stop. There was no one in front of me. The very next day, it did it again. This is extremely dangerous and can cause an accident if someone is driving behind me and the car suddenly decides to stop on its own.
Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Oct 7, 2024
The car's forward collision warning system is defective. The car will randomly bring up "BRAKE" on the dashboard with nothing even close to the car. This has started happening many times over the past few weeks, with even at least one instance of the car braking on its own. I brought this up to the dealership during my last oil change recently, and they inspected and looked into it. They said there was nothing wrong with the sensors/system and they documented it (specifically saying no problem found vehicle is operating normally at this time). However, a day or two after the dealership, the problem returned and it continues to persist. In addition to this, the blind spot warning system also randomly goes off when nothing is nearby, but not as often as the braking system, which is more dangerous in my opinion.
Forward collision avoidance, Sep 25, 2024
The forward collision warning and braking has activated a couple of times without any car front of me for a wide distance or when everything is all clear. It also happened a couple of times when turning a curve or exiiting, also without any car in front of me. The only thing I could notice was the dashboard flashing but I could not read it because I had to focus on the road.
Forward collision avoidance, Aug 23, 2024
I was driving on the middle lane of a major highway, going around 70 mph, when a plastic grocery bag floated in front of the car, at a height of about two feet off of the ground. My vehicle suddenly slammed on the brakes. It slammed hard and I could not make it stop. I tried to push the brake but it was already down. I was nearly rear-ended and could have easily caused a multiple car accident. I may have been using the cruise-control at the time, but I'm not sure. I do not recall if the vehicle flashed an orange "BRAKE" warning. I did not take the vehicle to a dealer to try to recreate the problem.
Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Aug 16, 2024
My vehicle lost brakes as I was driving. The dealer stated it was because of wiring problem but I read where crv were having a problem with the accident mitigation system. They replaced my wiring harnes to my rear view mirror. The dealer couldn't explain why I lost power to my brakes.
Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Jul 18, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the Lane Departure warning light illuminated. The contact also stated that the Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking feature was activated inadvertently without other vehicles nearby. The dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.
Forward collision avoidance, Jun 28, 2024
I was driving on a 2 lane road. There were no other vehicles on the road. The word brake flashed on the dashboard and the car suddenly braked hard. Items on my back seat fell to the floor. The car then resumed normal driving. There was no wind or items blowing across the path of the road. This has not happened before. If there had been a car behind me it might have caused an accident. The vehicle has not been inspected by any entity.
Steering, Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, May 13, 2024
Steering is very noisy Hard to drive Lane departure comes on And makes car drive out of lane of traffic Then brake assist kicks in And stands me on my head I have taken to dealership They can’t get the car to do it They tell me turn off all the features and drive it I feel very unsafe in it I want the problems fixed Or I will call my attorney
Exterior lighting, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 18, 2024
Interior lights switch does not seem to work properly. It started a couple of months ago. I have had issues with the automatic braking when the car "thinks" there is something in front of me and slams on the brakes. 4 out of 5 times there was nothing there. 1 of those times was during a rain storm, so that time I chalked it up to the radar being wet. I have also had several instances when the car flashes "BRAKE" when there is no reason for it. Similarly, when in reverse, the car again "thinks" there is something behind me and beeps when there is nothing within 50 feet of my car. I keep my cameras and radar clean at all times. Before each trip, I wipe them clean.
Forward collision avoidance, Apr 17, 2024
A few times (4-5 times) the car activated the automatic emergency braking feature while I was driving. There were no obstacles, vehicles, or people in my path. The system simply activated. The cars behind me nearly crashed into me.
Forward collision avoidance, Apr 2, 2024
Driving in the highway when I was signaling to exit going right, My car suddenly brakes on its own and continue to drive. I did shoulder my vehicle to check my vehicle. No vehicle was around me that time and I check my car surrounding and it was clear. Incident happen multiple times which I did adjust my sensor to low distance but still happens.
Forward collision avoidance, Mar 31, 2024
I was driving going about 30 in town and there were no cars, no pedestrians, no obstacles and all of a sudden my car's dashboard flashed brake and my car braked itself. We went from 30 to zero with a screech. I did not touch the brake during this time. It was unnerving and nothing like this has happened before. I commute on the freeway regularly and I am very scared this could happen at much higher speeds with deadly consequences.
Forward collision avoidance, Mar 13, 2024
Since new and on numerous occasions, the vehicle will slow down drastically for no reason. No vehicle in front or object close to either side, it just brakes automatically. It only happens when the vehicle’s cruise control is on. On March 7th 2024 I was on the highway with the cruise control set at 75MPH. The vehicle for no reason slammed on the brakes and tried to come to a complete stop. No skidding or loss of control due to the ABS, but if had not stepped on the accelerator, it would have. I went from 75MPH to about 20MPH in seconds. Thankfully, the driver behind me reacted and went around me on my right side. I there was another vehicle to my right, I am certain, I would have been re-ended. I took the vehicle to the HONDA dealership and was told they were not aware of the problem, but they could attempt to fix it. I have lost confidence in driving the vehicle with the cruise control engaged.
Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Dec 19, 2023
Took my Honda CRV 2021 EX in because all of my warning lights (Critical Failure) were going off as I was driving. All safety features were failing including AWD control, braking, sensors, cruise control, etc. They replaced the battery and tested the alternator. They reset the system and said it was fixed. I picked mine up today, drove it for 10 mins on the highway and then hit the "MAIN" button on the stearing wheel to turn on the cruise control. As soon as I did that, ALL of the warning lights came on at the same time and the systems started to fail again. This is a hazard and could cause an accident at any moment. In reviewing the Honda forums, this is a massive problem with hundreds of Honda CRV EX 2020-2022 models. I'm 7000 miles over my warrant and Honda won't look at it. However, it is directly their problem and my car is only 2 years old.
Forward collision avoidance, Sep 26, 2023
Since purchasing the car new, there have been four instances in which the collision sensor has falsely detected object of vehicles that are no where in sight. The "BRAKE" warning flashes and then the car brakes hard, sometimes to a complete stop when no object/car are beside/in front of me. These have happened going at speed between 25-50mph. This is very dangerous because anyone behind could collide with me from behind and put my family in danger. These event happened at 10,000 miles. 20,000 miles, and up to 60,000 miles.
Forward collision avoidance, Sep 15, 2023
Driving in cruise control, no one in front of me, suddenly hard braking, enough to throw me forward in the seat. There was a car behind me but fortunately he braked also. There was no apparent reason for my car to brake. Called service center, no solutions or recommendations.
Forward collision avoidance, Aug 15, 2023, crash
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 manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.
Forward collision avoidance, Lane departure, Jul 20, 2023
The front windshield camera was deemed it had faulty parts by the dealer and the car is less than two years old