Complaint volume
321 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Honda CR-V Complaints
321 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Honda CR-V, grouped by component category.
321 Total complaints
21 Crash reports
2 Fire reports
15 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are forward collision avoidance, air bags, steering. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 21 crash reports, 2 fire reports, 15 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 80 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 29,741 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to forward collision avoidance, air bags, steering?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Honda CR-V?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Honda CR-V
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Honda CR-V complaints?
21 Crash
2 Fire
15 Injury
0 Fatality
22 Towed
12 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Honda CR-V complaint categories?
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 50
AIR BAGS 40
STEERING 25
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 20
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 20
ENGINE 15
SERVICE BRAKES 11
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 8
SEAT BELTS 7
321 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle began to brake suddenly. The contact deactivated the cruise control and the vehicle began to function normally. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 8,000 |
| May 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My car has been braking on its own the last 5 months. Today it braked for no reason. There was no car in front of us or to either side of us. There was nothing in front of us either. It braked super hard and there was someone behind us who luckily slammed on their brakes and didn’t hit us. It gave me and my kids whiplash. Other times it will brake on its own if there’s a shadow from a bridge or something. Again when it does that there are no cars in front or next to us or even remotely close to us. This is beginning to be a frequent thing happening once or more a week. It’s super dangerous and I don’t feel safe with it braking for no reason. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact's mother owned a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while her mother was driving at under 10 MPH, the accelerator pedal was stuck and the brake pedal failed to stop the vehicle while depressed. The vehicle went over an embankment and crashed into a house, then came to a complete stop after crashing into several trees. The air bags were deployed upon impact. There were no injuries to the residents inside of the house. The contact's mother suffered soreness in her right leg, but no medical attention was received. No police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop and was not yet deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | 7,000 |
| Apr 2022 | TIRES | In September of 2020 I purchased a brand new 2020 Honda CR-V Touring with 235/55R19 CrossContact LX Sport M+S tires. On April 3, 2022 I was on a trip away (several hundred miles) from home when my 17 year old daughter (who drives the CR-V) contacted me about one tire that was low on air. She sent me a photo. I informed her to put air in the tire to see if it continued to leak and I would fix it when I got home. Taking initiative, she asked me if she could fix it while I was away. I gave her inspection instructions. She carefully inspected the tire and found no outside defects such as screw/nail/puncture foreign material. Since the leak was very slow, she filled the tire with air and safely drove the car to Firestone Tire at 395 Eisenhower Dr, Hanover, PA 17331. Once she got there the tire technician attempted to find the leak. He was unable to find any outside defect or leak and continued by removing the tire from the rim. I then got a phone call from my daughter who had the technician on speakerphone. He described the issue to me as a tire manufacturing defect that he has never seen before. My daughter then texted me photos of the issue. The defect is easily seen on the inside molded lines in the sidewall. It is where the bead rolls into the sidewall. In the molded lines there are areas where the lines are interrupted/missing and with what appears to be several small holes in the rubber. Firestone could not advise how to proceed. The tire was remounted. The technician put a little extra tire sealant on the bead. She then drove the vehicle home. I have since also read the these tires, of other sizes, have had a vulcanizing problem. My tire clearly has this issue and Continental needs to update their recall list to include these as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | I was attempting to park in front of a medical professional building with my foot on the brake slowly rolling between the parking lines when the car experienced sudden unintended acceleration. Although I realized the car was accelerating and lurching forward, the brake was not stopping the vehicle. The car jumped the parking curb and crashed into the building causing damage to both the exterior and interior wall of the doctor's waiting room. While neither myself, my passenger, nor any patients in the waiting room were injured, someone could have been. The air bags did not deploy, and the Collision Mitigation system did not engage preventing the collision. Damage to the vehicle consisted of mostly front bumper and grill damage. When I called the local Honda dealership service department asking if I should have them evaluate the car before having body work completed, I was told that the dealership does not accept damaged cars until the body work has been completed. Consequently, I had the car towed to a body shop even though it was technically drivable. I did not feel safe driving the vehicle fearing it would suddenly accelerate again. I reported the incident to the Honda corporate office and a case was opened. I was again told that damage to the car had to be repaired by the body shop before the car would be evaluated by Honda. When the body shop completed the repairs, I had the car towed to the local Honda dealership for evaluation. I specifically requested that the Event Data Recorder be evaluated, but I received conflicting answers when I asked if it had been accessed during the inspection. I was told that the Honda District Representative reviewed the data from the inspection and invoice states, "no defects in materials or factory workmanship were found (NAME of tech) inspected and found no issues, relayed information to Honda and they advised the vehicle is ok to drive at this time". The vehicle was released back to me, but I refuse to drive it. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving the Automatic Braking System engaged even though there was nobody in front of me. The first time was on a freeway, it suddenly engaged even though there wasn’t a vehicle anywhere close to the front of my vehicle. This could have been bad and I could have been hit from behind if a driver behind me wasn’t paying attention and my vehicle stopped all of a sudden without warning. The second time it happened I was driving on a city road. My lane was empty ahead of me. The system automatically engaged and stopped my vehicle. I noticed the vehicle behind me had to stop quickly because of this. I have not had this checked by Honda yet. I did see that Honda has recalled other year model vehicles for having the same issues. If my vehicle is having the same problems then I would hope Honda would inspect it at no charge. There were no warning lights or advanced warnings that this was going to occur. I feel it is very dangerous because the vehicle just stops all of a sudden and as the driver you are jerked forward. The first occurrence was not very long ago, within the last month. The latest incident was 3/5/22. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Infotainment display. Yes it is available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The display periodically freezes in rear camera view when the vehicle is moving forward. It also freezes in other views and crashes. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No, dealer could not reproduce. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | I have a 2020 Honda CR-V that is having a Phantom Braking issue. It has happened several times, 3 of which were while on the expressway and a tractor trailer was behind me. The CR-V warning system would flash "BRAKE" and then stop suddenly, there was nothing in front of me, nothing to either side of me. When I took it to the dealership, the technician could not replicate the issue and said 'it was a common issue with all vehicles' and recommended that I 'just turn it off, I did so on my vehicle.' After seeing the news I now know that I am not the only one with this issue. I purchased this vehicle from the dealer in June 2020, and this began in September 2021. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield has a significant refraction causing issues with visibility at night. Light passing through windshield is variably refracted depending on eye level and viewing angle. Issue has existed since car delivered. Vehicle was taken to dealer and advised of this several times with no fix attempted to date. Will continue to seek remediation from manufacturer and will consider lemon law if not resolved. This is becoming a common issue with more windshields as there are no real standards for windshield light refraction. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On multiple occasions during highway or other driving, the automatic emergency braking has engaged causing the car to either slow quickly or attempt to come to a stop which required immediate intervention to avoid potentially being rear ended. Driving was occurring during daylight hours and not in traffic. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On several separate occasions our Honda 2020 CRV has applied braking in circumstances where it should not have. On one occasion the vehicle ahead was maintaining the same speed and distance and our car applied brakes although the vehicle ahead was more car lengths ahead than 1 per 10 MPH. On other occasions there were no vehicles ahead or beside, while we were traveling at highway speeds on open highway and the car abruptly applied brakes. In each instance the braking stopped after a short jerk. In other words, it behaved as if the driver had lightly tapped the brakes, although that was not the case. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | We were cruising along Rt 130 in New Jersey when suddenly the Automatic Emergency Braking System "Brake" flashed on my dashboard and my vehicle braked for a while (from 50mph to 30mph) although there were no cars or any obstacles ahead of us. I had to step on the gas pedal to avoid any rear-end collision on me. Luckily, there were no vehicle behind me at that time. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The vehicle battery drains if parked for a week without driving. The battery needs to be boosted to start the vehicle if parked for a week without driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Almost 2 weeks ago I was driving on the Florida Turnpike (about 77mph) and suddenly the gas quit on the car. It slower down to about 50mph as I kept trying to give it gas but to no avail. Meanwhile I was lucky enough to be able to steer it into the right lane. This seemed to last a long time but in. truth it was probably only about 5 - 7 seconds. Then suddenly the gas came back on. This happened two more times during the same trip but these were shorter in duration amounting to a big hiccup on the gas. It has never happened to me again. I took it to the Honda dealer. They said they took it out for a spin and couldn't replicate it and had no idea what was wrong. Now I rarely drive on roads that are high speed so perhaps that is why it has not happened again. I see that you are investigating a similar issue for CRV's that are 2018 -19 but mine is 2020. It sounds as though it's the same problem. Luckily I was never in an accident with the car so the police and insurance was never involved. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My car has applied the automatic emergency braking 4 times with no emergency needed as no other cars were around. All events included shadows from either a highway sign or a group of trees and occurred throughout the summer/fall of 2021. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Following a car that then pulled over in to the breakdown lane the automatic braking engaged when there was nothing in front of us reducing the speed causing other cars behind us to have to lockup their brakes for no reason. This was very dangerous to myself and the cars behind us. The system does this often with nothing in the lane. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Automatic Braking applied even when nothing in front of vehicle, on freeway at freeway speeds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My car was parked in my driveway all day and all night. At some point during the evening all of the windows and moon roof were opened without my knowledge (my keys were on the counter). It rained all night and my car obtained substantial water damage which cost approximately $18,000.00 to repair. I couldn’t drive my car until the repairs were made due to risk of electrical incident while driving. Honda has taken no responsibility. My car is a 2020 Honda CRV. It was recently brought to my attention that windows opening unexpectedly on Honda CRVs has been an issue since at least 2017 with the most recent incident that I know of happening on a 2021 model. Honda has been aware of this “glitch” for at least five years but has done nothing to correct it. It is a safety issue for many reasons. I would like this “glitch” to be corrected so that others will not have to suffer the loss and damages that I did. Insult to injury is I purchased my car from Honda in 2020 for $33,000.00 and then in 2021 I had to pay Honda almost $18,000.00 to fix damages sustained due to their negligence in addressing an issue that they knew about for at least 5 years. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Spontaneous sunroof shattering/explosion. While driving on a highway the sunroof on my Honda 2020 CRV AWD vehicle suddenly shattered and blew out completely. As I was on a two lane busy highway - I-80 going East 2 miles south of Colfax I had to slow down and exit after driving 2 miles and find the frontage road. There have been many owners of Honda's that have experienced the same event. Honda should be responsible for installing faulty glass in their sunroofs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | THIS OUR 2ND HONDA VEHICLE - QUALITY VEHICLES. THE HEADLIGHTING SYSTEM IS HIGHLY INADEQUATE IN NIGHT DRIVING IN LOW LIGHT AND VERY DANGERIOUS. CONTACTED DEALER SERVICE DIRECTOR ,BUT THE RESPONCE WAS"I NEVER HEARD ANY THING ABOUT THAT ! THE DEALER NEED TO BE ALERTED ABOUT THIS DANGEROUS HEADLIGHTS ! I HAVE FOUND OUT THRU RESEARCH, THIS IN ADEQUATE HEAD LIGHTING IS SOMEWHAT COMMON ! THIS DEALERSHIP IS GREAT AND I WILL CONTINUE TO REFERR PEOPLE TO THEM, ITS LIKE DEALING WITH FAMILY ! MY WIFE WILL NOT DRIVE THIS VEHICLE, TRUTH BE TOLD WE AVOID DRIVING AT NIGHT. SOMETHING MUST BE SOLVED WITH THIS VEHICLE ! [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked with the engine on, the emergency parking brake was not engaged, she reached the vehicle to push the push/start button to turn off the vehicle, and the vehicle started to roll backward. The contact stated that the vehicle rolled over both legs and she required medical attention. A police report was filed. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped once it collided with the neighbor's house across the street. The vehicle was towed to a collision shop for diagnostic testing and body repairs. The diagnostic testing has not been performed on the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and advised the contact to call the Honda manufacturer. The contact stated that she has not been able to reach the manufacturer to make them aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | 17,000 |
| Dec 2021 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | WE HAVE A 2020 HONDA CRV LX -PURCHASED NEW. THIS IS OUR SECOND HONDA VEHICLE, THAT HAS THE SAME DEFECT, POOR HEAD LIGHTS. NIGHT DRIVING IS A NIGHTMARE AND WE LIMIT IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. HIGH BEAMS AND LOW BEAMS ON A DARK STREET ARE DRIVING AT RISK. SEVERAL HONDA CRV LX OWNERS ON OUR STREET HAVE THE SAME NIGHT DRIVING EXPERIENCE. I CONTACTED THE DEALER STAFF REGARDING THIS SAFTEY FAULT, BUT THE RESPONCE WAS "I NEVER HEARD ANY THING ABOUT THAT ! ? THEY NEED TO BE UPDATED ! THIS IS A GREAT VEHICLE, HAD PRIOR GREAT DEALER SERVICE, WE HAVE BEEN TREATED AS FAMILY, FROM THE OWNER ON DOWN ! BUT MY WIFE AND I HAVE DANGERIOUS VEHICLE AS I HAVE FOUND OUT THRU RESEARCH. JACK J. SWIFT | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2021 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2020 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while his wife was attempting to park the vehicle at 1 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle jumped a curb and crashed into a tree which stopped the acceleration; the contact, who was in the passenger seat, was able to place the vehicle into neutral and shut off the engine. The contact stated that the airbags did not deploy upon impact. The police were called the scene and a police report was filed. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back home despite the severe front-end damage. The contact was also able to drive the vehicle to an independent body shop as several warning lights had appeared on the instrument panel which he linked to the accident. They remained in the possession of the body shop for repair. The contact and his wife sought medical treatment from a doctor where his wife was treated for a large lump on the back of her head and the contact was diagnosed for chest contusion after having a chest X-ray. The dealer was notified of the contact of the failure and was informed that they do not perform body repairs. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 11,500. Consumer stated the total repair cost of the car was $10,446.10. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Medical attention | 11,500 |
| Oct 2021 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | My 2020 honda cr-v will randomly auto brake on the hwy when approaching a shadow at a hwy overpass. It doesn't happen every time so not predictable. It is terrifying when it does happen as I am driving at hwy speeds and then my car randomly slams on the brakes. This is not ok! I have experienced this about 5 times in the last 6 months. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When I bought the car it had collision mitigation technology. Now it does not. I took it to Airport Honda in Alcoa TN yesterday for this problem along with regular service. They said they contacted Honda, who had no answer on why this system failed to work. I paid for a safety system that worked. Now it doesn't any Honda has not idea why and offers no solution or recourse. I consider this a safety issue that I hope you will take some involvement in. Thank you very much. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |