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
331 reports, newest first.
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.
Steering, Sep 14, 2024
Steering clicking when turning while driving. Intermittent stiffness occurs while driving at various speed causing the driver to over correcting them increasing risk of accidents. Local auto shop recommends replacement of steering gear rack and pinion assembly.
Steering, Sep 12, 2024
My vehicle (2021 Honda CRV EX-L, 47,000 miles) is currently out of factory warranty. However, issue with the steering rack has caused issues with sound and sticky steering. This is a known issue with this specific model. Honda diagnosed an issue with my vehicle as being power steering rack being faulty. A manufacture defect they added. This was after replacing a axle they suspected turned out it was not the issue. They will not honor a full replacement of this faulty part. At the moment after going back and worth, they are agreeing to take care of half the repair amount which we feel is unacceptable knowing that this issue is a manufacture defect. We are aware of a current investigation with the NHTSA that's looking into this matter but we wanted to reach out and ask if Honda should be liable for the cost of the repairs regardless of the warranty expired. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Power train, Aug 29, 2024
Going down highway at 60mph, I heard a loud boom from pass side rear wheel I pull over safely to rest area, Got out thought maybe a tire blew but that wasn’t it, Got towed to a Honda Dealership and upon further inspection I was told the rear differential was cracked, The explanation I was told from Honda was I drove in reverse and hit something so hard that caused the cracks, What they couldn’t explain to me was why there was no other damage to the underneath of the car, I did have the extended warranty on my car but I believe Honda doesn’t want to honor it,I did some research and found this vehicle was having problems with a defective rear seal, Thank you if your able to ask more questions for me
Steering, Aug 29, 2024
UNKNOWN : Steering wheel feels sticky or stuck when driving around slight turns. The wheel will jerk once it is made to go straight. Dealership couldn’t find any issues but did feel it when driven.
Steering, Aug 25, 2024
My car began making a popping noise when I would make a slight left turn and began to straighten back out. It would also have a slight tug on the steering wheel when the popping noise would happen. It started out random and got worse and more frequent as time went on. I do feel like it was a safety concern because of the tug in the steering. I took my car to the dealership and they confirmed that it was the power steering rack and that they had had some problems with the manufacturer they were using and that the new manufacturer they were using had the part on back order. They just called me two weeks ago and replaced it on August 22nd. Since it has been replaced the steering issue and noise has not occurred again. The vehicle did not ever give me any warning indicators.
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.
Steering, Aug 15, 2024
COMPONENT IS THE POWER STEERING RACK. THE STEERING BECAME HARD TO STEER AND SEEMED TO STICK WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS THE STEERING FAILS TO RESPONE AS EXPECTED WHEN YOU ARE TURNING THE WHEEL. DEALER HAS CONFIRMED THE PROBLEM AND WHEN I CONTACTED HONDA THEY VERIFIED THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR ANY OTHER MESSAGES FOR THIS PROBLEM. WHEN THE MANUFACTURE WAS UNABLE TO SUPPLY A REPLACEMENT PART DUE TO BACKORDER THE DEALER PROCURED THE PART FROM ANOTHER DEALER. AFTER THIS PART WAS INSTALLED I EXPERIANCE A GROULING NOISE WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL AND QUICKLY EXPERIANCED THE SAME STICKING WHILE TURNING THE WHEEL. THE DEALER IS STILL WAITING FOR ANOTHER REPLACEMENT FROM THE MANUFACTURE.
Steering, Aug 9, 2024
The car has the sticky steering issue that has already been reported by numerous owners of Honda Civic and CRV. The dealer said the unit needs to be replaced and the car is not safe to drive. There are no parts available and the car has been at the dealership for two months. If it involves a manufacture defect, why has there been no recall by Honda.
Vehicle speed control, Service brakes, Aug 6, 2024
A few times while using the vehicle’s cruise control system, our 2021 Honda CRV suddenly started braking on its own automatically, for no apparent reason. It was sudden, surprising, jarring, and scary. Thank goodness no one was injured. The vehicle components have not been inspected yet by any party and is available for inspection. There were no warnings prior to the sudden automatic braking. We are reporting this to Honda today as well.
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.
Other or unspecified, Jul 11, 2024
On [XXX] at approximately 7am, I was driving eastbound on [XXX] in Missouri, just west of Waynesville, MO. Weather was clear, not a lot of traffic. My sunroof glass exploded. There were no cars around me, I had not seen anything fly out from anywhere and hit the sunroof and I don't recall hitting any type of large bump or pothole prior to the glass shattering. The noise it made was very loud; like an explosion. The sunshade was open at the time and the tempered glass shattered all over the inside of my car. Despite shattered glass everywhere, I was not injured. There were no passengers in the car at the time. Since most of the glass fell inside the cabin, I closed the sunshade so no more would fall on me and pulled over in Waynesville. I was then able to drive on to my destination in Florissant, MO with the sunshade closed. Once there, a mechanic broke out the rest of the glass for me and installed crash wrap until I could get the window fixed. He also vacuumed out as much glass from the cabin as he could. I contacted my insurance company, sent photos and a claim was started. In the end, my insurance company took care of the claim, minus deductible. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the glass exploding. I had also just had a multi point inspection with my tire rotation and oil change just 3 days prior at Pinegar Honda in Springfield, MO and there was no notation that the glass was cracked or otherwise compromised in any way. I don't know if this is a problem occurring with Honda CR V's or if it's just a fluke occurrence with my particular vehicle. The mechanic was unable to determine what caused the glass to shatter. I am reporting this just in case this is happening with other vehicles and the problem is more pervasive. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
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, Lane departure, Jun 27, 2024
While driving at highway speeds my steering wheel gets stuck to one side requiring manual assistance to move it back to center after turning.
Steering, Jun 23, 2024
When turning the vehicle to the left, the electronic system freezes the steering requiring a substantial "jerk" of the wheel to come out of the turn. Obviously, having to overcorrect the steering has bad potential outcomes. The Honda dealer described it as a failed electronic steering unit. There were no warnings. The vehicle has 50,000 miles. Parts are on back order and we have no idea when it will be repaired. The local Honda dealer that has the car is Fred Anderson Honda, 330 Woodruff Rd, Greenville, SC 29607 864-565-7535
Electrical system, Air bags, Jun 19, 2024
Important safety recall unresolved. There are defects to the internal short circuit from environmental humidity. This issue may cause the airbags to deploy and increase the risk of injury. There is a limited supply of parts; according to the recall letter, the dealership confirmed the current status. I called the manufacturer's care program and was told there are no changes in the status of the recall being repaired.
Steering, Jun 17, 2024
Experiencing freezing/sticking of the steering wheel during driving at both slow and fast speeds. After inspection by a Honda dealer, the problem was able to be reproduced was determined that the vehicle requires a new steering gearbox. There were no warning lamps or messages that appeared to indicate this issue.
Steering, Jun 16, 2024
2021 CRV EX experiences sticking when steering. Vehicle was purchased used as Honda Certified and problem noted at 13,800 miles of usage. When driving at approximately 40-45 mph, the steering wheel requires additional effort to return to center position, especially noticable when turning left. There is also a noticable clicking sensation and sound coincidental to this anomaly. There are no apparent error codes and LKAS is enabled. I have not yet taken the vehicle to Honda Service
Steering, Jun 12, 2024
When I am driving sometimes I feel the steering wheel “sticks” and I have to apply more pressure to “break” the lock in order to steer it. I have noticed it at highway speeds and even on some curves which I believe makes it easier to accidentally over correct. It has the potential of creating an accident if on a curved road where one has to apply more pressure to break the steering wheel and accidentally over correct which could cause the vehicle to stray into an adjacent lane or barrier. The problem has not yet been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. I believe the vehicle needs to be driven for a while and at highway speeds in order to recreate it. No other entity has inspected the vehicle in relation to this issue. No warning lamps, or messages were shown prior to this issue.
Steering, Jun 12, 2024
The steering wheel began sticking some time ago. It seemed to come and go, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to it. It mostly would stick when I steered to the left and then back to the right. It would stick coming out of a curve or after it had been driven straight for a while. Mostly it's left to right. I took it to the dealer yesterday and was told that the steering rack at a cost of $3600.00. Unfortunately, the car is no longer under warranty. Additionally, the part is on national back order and may not even be received until November. This feels like a dangerous issue and in my opinion, there should be a recall.
Steering, Jun 10, 2024
Steering feels sticky and temporary requires extra force to get the wheel to turn
Steering, Jun 7, 2024
The steering is sticking. It takes effort to correct the steering. There is also a clicking sound when the wheel sticks. This can make steering the car more difficult.
Steering, Jun 4, 2024
The steering sticks and there is an increase in the steering effort. Part No. 53620-TLA-A30 was diagnosed by the dealer to need replacement. The dealer informed me that this part is out of inventory in the entire Honda organization and there is no date as to when this part will become available. Since this is my only vehicle I am currently driving a car with a known safety issue and no expectation as to when it can be repaired. I also have a copy your ODI Resume Investigation EA23003 which describes the exact same problem on other Honda CRVs and indicates that there are reported crashes and injuries.
Electrical system, May 28, 2024
With keyless transmitter in my possession…Intermittent Attempts to start the vehicle can be almost impossible due an extremely firm brake pedal with high resistance. First attempt.. extremely firm brake pedal with high resistance…pressing the start button… no results. Second attempt brake pedal will have a slight “give” .. pressing the start button only results in all dash warning/ inspection lights illuminating. Third attempt usually results in the vehicle starting normally. In an attempt to remedy the problem… I have replaced the start/stop button… problem still persists. Have read numerous articles and posts in forums and on the internet that other owners of various Honda models with the push button start switches experiencing the same issue. I have contacted my local Honda dealer… they state to date they have not had any customer reports of this problem … However… …. contacting an independent Honda repair shop reveals they in fact have had customers report this issue. When this happens… there is no warning… no illumination of DTC lamps on the dash… intermittent… but very concerning