2024 Honda HR-V: What to check before buying

The wheel sticks, pulls to either side, or stops responding, and federal recall campaign 24V744000 covers the problem. Drivers describe having to break the wheel free in curves and roundabouts, constant jerking on straight roads, and a wheel that seizes while reversing. Sticking starts around 4,000 miles and worsens by 9,000. Of 46 complaints, 7 involve crashes and 7 report injuries, including cars that ran straight off the road or rolled over. Many filings say the recall part is unavailable, leaving cars parked at dealers or driven unrepaired.

Driver-assist warnings appear without cause, most often a message to clean the windshield or the safety features will not operate, which can return even after a dealer replaces the windshield camera. Other reports describe sudden hard braking, power windows that cycle up and down or slam shut, and doors and the trunk locking on their own, in one case trapping a child. Rear cargo lights staying on, an AC system that will not turn on, and the LX fob unlocking all doors at once also appear.

The front windshield cracks with no clear impact or from a very small pebble, and one shattered while the car was parked. Some owners say the crack is on the inside of the glass and report seeing other HR-Vs with similar cracks in the same area, which they blame on weak glass. Separately, the driver-side wiper sprays only from the lower nozzles, leaving the driver's line of sight uncleaned in frost and road grime and leading to near misses.

Front seat belts lock without braking or will not release, forcing the occupant to unbuckle to reset them. A seat belt recall covers the problem, but most reports describe dealers with no parts and no ETA, a recall marked done that was not performed, and a new car sold with the recall still open. A dealer belt replacement did not always cure it, and one locking failure came at 5,000 miles. A separate complaint describes the driver's seat lowering on its own while driving.

The collision mitigation system brakes hard with nothing in the lane, throwing occupants forward and nearly causing rear-end crashes. Triggers include cars waiting on a side street, traffic accelerating away, and an empty freeway. One car on cruise control dropped more than 20 mph with the road clear. No warning comes before these events, and the system also engages while the driver is already braking. Unexplained dash alerts about debris on a clean windshield appear as well.

Brakes fail to stop the car, letting it roll into a garage door and, on another occasion, into an intersection with oncoming traffic. These events came at 17,518 and 18,122 miles, and an insurance and collision shop inspection found no cause. The other complaint covers the Honda Sensing system steering out of lanes and throwing repeated collision mitigation, lane departure, and road departure warnings, while the dealer reports no codes found.

The fuel tank emissions system turns on the check engine light, vents gas fumes through the fuel cap, and leaves a strong gasoline smell, with more than 7 dealer visits producing no fix. The other report describes dashboard fuel economy of 17/19 mpg city/highway, well below expectations, persisting after a dealer diagnosis, along with a maintenance alert appearing at only 2700 miles.

A "Road departure mitigation system problem, see your dealer" message appears repeatedly, sometimes with a collision mitigation braking warning, and returns soon after dealer visits. Dealers find no codes and cannot reproduce it, so nothing gets fixed. Owners also describe the car trying to leave well-marked highway lanes. One owner counts around 20 appearances of the message and calls it a serious safety concern.