2018 Honda CR-V: What to check before buying

Gasoline seeps into the engine oil. The dipstick reads above full and smells of fuel, sometimes within the first few thousand miles. A strong fuel odor fills the cabin and garage, and some owners report headaches and stinging eyes. Other reports describe the engine stalling at intersections, with one fender bender, and sudden power loss with a flashing check engine light and limp mode. These are often traced to failed fuel injectors, which Honda sells only as a set of four. A few owners report head gasket failure.

Most of these filings are about recall 23V858000, where dealers could not get the repair part. Owners call the wait unreasonable, and many had no failure at the time they filed. The actual failures are fuel injector faults that bring on warning lights and limp mode, plus high-pressure fuel pump failures that cause stalling and a fuel smell. Injector failures appear anywhere from 27,000 to 116,000 miles. Some owners say the problem returned after the recall repair and they paid for new injectors.

Fuel injectors fail and the car turns on almost every warning light at once. Adaptive cruise, stability control, power steering, and parking brake warnings all come on, and the driver-assist systems shut off. Symptoms include rough idle, stuttering on acceleration, a P0172 rich code, and limp mode that cuts speed sharply on the highway. Most failures fall between 57,000 and 88,400 miles, with repairs around $2,000. Owners describe injector parts backordered for weeks and VINs left out of warranty coverage. One crash involves a stall blamed on the fuel pump.

The wheel feels sticky or notchy, as if it is caught in a groove. It gets worse once the car is warm and at highway speeds, and drivers end up overcorrecting. Dealers usually find a failed steering rack or electric steering gearbox, with repair bills in the thousands at roughly 42,000 to 61,000 miles. Many owners say their VIN was left out of recall 18V663000. Several crashes involve the wheel suddenly stiffening, locking, or pushing back during low-speed turns or parking.

The automatic emergency braking slams on the brakes with nothing ahead. It happens mostly at 15 to 45 mph and is often set off by steel road plates, railroad tracks, or dips. The red BRAKE warning tends to flash at the same moment the car stops, so there is no real warning. Drivers following behind have rear-ended these cars, and owners report neck, back, and whiplash injuries. Dealers often cannot reproduce the fault, and some only recalibrate the sensors.

Batteries die early and keep dying. Some owners are on their second or third battery, a few as early as 21,000 miles, and some suspect weak alternator output. Many reports describe nearly every dashboard warning lighting up at once. Others mention a touchscreen that flickers and beeps, a radio that changes on its own, and a car that powers back on after shutdown. One crash came from the car being shut off in Drive with no alert. One owner reports a heated seat overheating to the point of burns.

Most of these reports describe false automatic braking. The car stops hard on clear roads, over steel plates, at railroad crossings, and on bridges, and in some cases it was rear-ended. A smaller group reports the opposite: a pedal with no resistance, brakes that do not stop the car, or surging while braking, several ending in crashes and totaled vehicles. One parked car rolled away with a brake hold warning showing. Seven filings are crash-related and nine people were injured.

Fuel in the oil shows up here too. Owners smell gasoline, find the oil overfilled, and change it well before 5,000 miles, some starting under 500 miles. Others describe sudden power loss on the highway with every dash light on, traced to an ECM fault or a relay module. One owner cites a federal investigation into differential problems on 2018 to 2022 models and a leaking pinion seal at 74,400 miles. Two crashes involve the car moving on its own while the shifter was in Drive or not fully engaged.

Sudden unintended acceleration while parking sends some cars through garage doors, into walls, or into trees. Owners say the brake did not hold, and airbags deployed in some of these crashes. Other reports describe the opposite problem: lost acceleration and limp mode with misfire codes, turbo faults, or a power grille warning. Owners also mention cascades of driver-assist warnings and the car braking on its own while cruise control is on. Dealers often cannot duplicate the acceleration events.