2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

Incident: October 19, 2026 · Filed: October 23, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the check engine warning light started flashing and the vehicle went into LIMP Mode and the vehicle decelerated. The vehicle was immediately driven to the local dealer to be diagnosed, and it was determined that the cylinder head needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was made aware of the NHTSA Action Number: PE25016 (ENGINE). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the investigation. The failure mileage was 49,000.

Incident: April 3, 2026 · Filed: October 23, 2026

While freeway driving at flow of traffic, typically in the HOV lane, on three separate occasions, the vehicle without any warning lost power completely causing me to immediately manuever the vehicle under extremely dangerous conditions to the right shoulder, but in the process nearly becoming involved in collisions with other vehicles, then coasting off the off-ramp. Other drivers are not necessarily courteous when attempting quick lane changes to prevent a more dangerous situation of becoming stranded in the middle of a freeway. On each occasion, my passengers were elderly ([XXX] & [XXX]) and my wife, all with sensitive high anxiety, and completely in states of fear. Concurrent with the vehicle shutting down, the check engine warning appears on the instrument panel. On two other separate occasions, all vehicle dash electronics, again without any warning whatsoever, go completely dark preventing any telemetry displaying, including radio, navigation via Apple link, and remain completely dark for up to 6 mins time. I'm unaware if lane sensors, etc., fail also or if it limited to the dash components only. I have taken the vehicle to our dealership, Spreen Honda of Corona to have the problems addressed, but they were unable to replicate the incidents, nor discover any cause of the problems. I have suggested that these are extremely similar to conditions attributed to other years of this model, but the dealership insists the do not apply to our vehicle. This vehicle will cause us to be involved in a very bad accident! And with two elderly, disabled, and medically-impaired seniors typically as my passengers, including my extremely sensitive wife who can barely muster up enough courage due to her phobias to ride in a vehicle, on the freeway, The next occurrence may not fair so well. I'm a very skilled driver, but there is so much I can control under such helpless conditions. These issues must be investigated and corrected. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident: October 19, 2026 · Filed: October 21, 2026

Since 2021, I have repeatedly taken my car in to Honda because of check engine light followed by loss of power and loud knocking. Each time the code isn't saved after car is turned off and they can't find any issues. In 2025 after leaving Honda getting few miles away car did same thing, without turning it off I drove right back they ended up keeping car for 45 days, changed spark plugs and few other things. Yet again on 19 Oct 2026, my car repeated same thing and Honda again says they can't see any code or error. Now I'm going to pick it up, without resolution hoping this doesn't happen when I'm not able to pull over in a safe place to restart. I have requested all records from Honda and will provide their reports. I've lost track of how many times I've had this issue, but honestly do not feel safe in this car.

Incident: August 15, 2026 · Filed: October 12, 2026

In August 2026, I was driving approximately 70 to 75 miles per hour on the highway when my vehicle suddenly lost acceleration. The check engine light began flashing, and the vehicle started shaking severely. After turning the vehicle off and restarting it, the vehicle appeared to operate normally again. Unfortunately, I experienced another incident a few weeks ago, so this is no longer an isolated occurrence.

Incident: September 18, 2026 · Filed: October 3, 2026

This happened to my Hybrid 2020 CRV" * accelerated to merge onto a busy interstate and immediately after the flashing check engine light came on and the front of the car felt like it was shaking. I was able to maintain speed (around 50 mph) but the car would shake and not go any faster. Drove 10 miles home since I did not want to be stranded. The problem has not come back.

Incident: September 19, 2026 · Filed: September 20, 2026

My 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid (125,000 miles) has repeatedly lost propulsion power at highway speeds. On Sept. 19, 2026, the vehicle suddenly lost drive power, slowed rapidly, and came to a complete stop in high-speed traffic. The dashboard displayed: “Critical Failure Detected. Stop Driving When Safe” and “Power System Problem. Do Not Drive.” The vehicle had to be turned off and restarted three times before enough power returned to move off the road. No crash occurred, but there was a serious risk of being rear-ended. The vehicle has come to a complete stop twice, and similar power-loss events have occurred multiple times. The same problem resulted in five dealership visits: • Aug. 29: Catalytic converter replaced under California emissions warranty; problem continued. • Sept. 8: Code C1870-00 detected; codes cleared; no repair addressing the failure. • Sept. 15: Code P06AF detected; fuel pump assembly replaced; problem continued. • Sept. 17: Dealership reported “fuel dilution” and drained the tank; failure recurred two days later. • Sept. 20: Returned after the Sept. 19 highway incident. The dealership has documented the repeated problem, but the root cause remains unresolved. Restarting the vehicle temporarily restores power, which may complicate diagnosis. Because the loss of propulsion occurs suddenly at highway speeds, there are sometimes no safe places to pull over. I am aware of NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE25016 concerning loss of motive power in 2020–2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid vehicles. My symptoms appear similar, although I am not claiming they have been determined to be the same defect.

Incident: August 30, 2026 · Filed: September 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the brakes failed to operate as needed. The brake pedal was depressed, and the brake pedal almost went down to the floorboard, and the braking distance became extended. The vehicle was driven to supermarket parking lot and gradually slowed down before slowly being driven back to the residence. The brakes, VSA and road departure warning lights were illuminated with several other unknown warning lights. The dealer was contacted and diagnosed the vehicle with brake failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

Incident: March 22, 2026 · Filed: September 1, 2026

One four occasions our 2020 Honda CRV Hybrid has started after sitting overnight in the greater Seattle area in the spring and summer with a rough idle. Within two miles of leaving our home at speeds of no more than 35 miles per hour, the check engine light began to flash. All four times, the rough idle and check engine light were accompanied by degraded speed responsiveness and the error cleared with turning the car on and off again. We have taken the vehicle to a mechanic twice and each time they couldn’t find any stored codes or replicate the issue. The issue continues to occur and seems to be getting worse. I’m concerned this will happen at high speeds and result in a total loss of power which will be unsafe.

Incident: February 19, 2026 · Filed: August 25, 2026

2/19/26 My car lost power while accelerating up a hill at about 60mph and the car had been operating for an hour and a half or so. The car was shaking, running on reduced power and the check engine light was flashing so we had to pull over to safety on a busy road. The car was towed to the local Honda dealer. The dealer said the code was a misfire on cylinder #4 but once they restarted the car the error went away. They did perform multiple tests including a compression test on all four cylinders and a leak test, and the car passed them all. They were unable to reproduce the problem. They did swap the #4 coil so that if it happened again, we would have more diagnostic information. They recommended no further action at that time. On 5/11/26 we had the same experience, also while accelerating uphill, after about 30 minutes of driving, this time on the interstate which was very scary; reduced power, car shaking and check engine light flashing. We pulled over, turned off the engine, and sure enough, when we restarted the car, it started normally. When we went to the repair shop a few days later there were no engine codes showing. On 6/12/26 the same thing happened again. While going uphill, on the interstate, after a couple of hours of driving. This time, as soon as we got home, we used an engine code reader and saw code P0304 – Cylinder 4 misfire. On 8/13/26 Lehigh Valley Honda reproduced the problem on the interstate, going uphill and do not have a clear fix. They want me to spend $587 on a Valve Clearance Inspection and Adjustment that I think won't yield any result.

Incident: February 1, 2026 · Filed: August 25, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle lost automotive power. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer to be diagnosed, and the contact was informed that there was a misfire in cylinders #4 and #6. The fuel injectors were replaced. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost automotive power and failed to exceed 35 MPH, with the check engine warning light flashing. The contact stated that while accelerating from a stop, the vehicle failed to exceed 10 MPH. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the mechanic failed to retrieve a fault code and found no cause for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.