2021 Honda CR-V: What to check before buying

The wheel sticks or catches when starting a turn or near center, then lets go suddenly, so drivers overcorrect. Many notice extra effort returning to straight at 40 to 50 mph, along with clicking, creaking, or popping. Reports begin as early as 9,000 miles and cluster around 47,000 to 53,000. Dealers usually diagnose a failing steering rack or gearbox, with quotes of $3,500 to $4,478. Owners note later model years were recalled but the 2021 was not. A separate set of reports says lane keeping assist tugs the wheel unexpectedly, including one crash with an injury.

The car brakes hard on its own with nothing ahead. A BRAKE warning flashes, it beeps, and the car slows sharply or stops completely, at anything from under 15 mph to highway speed. Several reports involve adaptive cruise control, curves, or cars turning off the road ahead. The main danger is a rear-end collision, and two people report neck and back injuries from the jolt. Incidents are reported from 10,000 to 60,000 miles. Dealers often cannot recreate the problem. One crash report describes the system failing to brake at all.

Many of these complaints concern a recall for the hybrid's 12-volt battery cable, where owners waited months because dealers had no replacement parts. Other reports describe the dash flickering, freezing, or flashing a string of driver-assist and TPMS warnings. Some cars lose power on the highway with a flashing check engine light or a 12-volt charging warning, and restarting clears it. One alternator failure at 24,000 miles shut the car down and cut power steering. A crash report describes the car shutting off at 57 mph, leading to a rollover with three people injured.

Power drops on the highway, often on a grade, as the check engine light flashes and the car goes into limp mode. Shutting it off for several minutes usually restores normal driving, and dealers frequently find no code. Other reports describe oil rising above the full mark from fuel dilution, misfires traced to ignition coils, injectors, or a high-pressure fuel pump, and head gasket failure with coolant loss and white exhaust smoke at higher mileage. Two complaints describe unintended acceleration while parking, one ending in a collision.

Most of these reports describe automatic emergency braking firing with no obstacle, from walking pace to 65 mph, sometimes to a full stop and sometimes too long to override with the pedals. Three crash reports describe the brakes not responding while parking as the car surged forward. One car under 3,000 miles lost all brake pressure, with the pedal on the floor. A hybrid owner was quoted $2,500 for a brake module and booster after a VSA code at 27,002 miles. Some cars light up every safety-system warning at once.

Hybrids lose power at highway speed as the check engine light flashes and the battery gauge falls toward zero. A restart usually restores normal driving, and dealers often find no fault. Other reports cover sudden acceleration or movement while parking, oil rising with a gasoline smell, a leaking CVT housing, a cracked rear differential, and an AWD differential temperature sensor fault around 40,000 miles. One head gasket failed at 130,000 miles with a repair quote near $4,500.

Most complaints involve a federal air bag recall that dealers could not complete because parts were on backorder. These owners report no failure, just long waits. Several crash reports say the airbags did not deploy in frontal impacts, rear-end pileups, or a spin into trees, and one adds that the driver's seat belt did not lock. A few owners describe an SRS or air bag fault light that stays on, one as early as 4,000 miles, even after a repair.

The car stops accelerating on the freeway. The check engine light flashes, the gas pedal does nothing, and speed bleeds off until the driver pulls over. Turning the car off and on clears it. Owners report repeat episodes, some three to six times, often with no stored code for dealers to find. Hybrid owners see the battery gauge drop at the same moment. Fewer reports describe phantom braking on cruise control or acceleration without pedal input, including one crash with an injury.