2015 Honda CR-V

Early-defect pattern

40.8% of complaints about the 2015 Honda CR-V came in its first year of service — a higher share than 98% of the 195 2015 model-years on record. That points to problems present from new rather than wear. The most-reported system is engine (242 complaints), typically at 1.2 yr or about 1,000 miles.

Complaints: 968
Median age at failure: 1.3 yr
Median mileage: 3,000 n=716
Crash / fire / tow: 8.3% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

System

0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y

Engine

242 reports · 1,000 mi

1.2 yr

3.7%

Power train

144 reports · 1,000 mi

1.0 yr

3.5%

Other

142 reports · 1,059 mi

1.2 yr

5.6%

Electrical system

83 reports · 29,500 mi

5.0 yr

4.8%

Steering

45 reports · 3,450 mi

1.1 yr

2.2%

Seats

39 reports · 780 mi

7 mo

5.1%

Structure

36 reports · 3,450 mi

1.2 yr

8.3%

Service brakes

35 reports · 16,000 mi

2.2 yr

40%

Fuel / propulsion

31 reports · 17,000 mi

5.2 yr

Speed control

31 reports · 14,000 mi

2.3 yr

38.7%

Air bags

25 reports · 22,344 mi

4.0 yr

48%

Suspension

20 reports · 800 mi

9 mo

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

23V858000 2023-12-18

Fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

17V305000 2017-05-04

Engine

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2015-2016 Honda CR-V vehicles that recently received a replacement engine. The replacement engine may have been built with the wrong pistons, potentially affecting the engine's performance.

The reduced performance may result in an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

15V121000 2015-03-02

Engine and engine cooling:engine

American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2014 Accord L4 vehicles manufactured July 29, 2014, to July 31, 2014, 2015 Accord L4 vehicles manufactured August 14, 2014, to January 30, 2015, and 2015 CR-V vehicles manufactured September 9, 2014, to February 6, 2015. The affected vehicles may have been assembled with improperly torqued connecting rod bolts, which can cause the engine to lose power or leak oil.

Loss of engine power may result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash. If the engine leaks oil in the proximity of hot engine or exhaust components, there is an increased risk of a fire.

In owners’ own words

Other 50 mi 2 mo in service

CAR VIBRATES AT IDLE, ONLY WAY TO FIX THIS IS TO EITHER PUT THE CAR ON NEUTRAL, OR PUT LOAD(TURNING ON HEADLIGHTS, HEAT/AC,ECT..) CAR CVT ALSO MAKES A SMALL WHINY SOUND DURING ACCELERATION. *TR

Other 500 mi 6 mo in service

JUST PURCHASED THIS CAR A MONTH AGO AND HAD TO TAKE MY CAR TO DEALER TWICE FOR SEVERE VIBRATIONS WHEN MY CAR IS IN IDLE. DEALER LET ME KNOW THAT HONDA IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT DOES NOT HAVE A FIX. VIBRATIONS BEGAN ON NEAR PASSENGER SEAT BUT NOW CAN BE FELT IN THE ENTIRE CAR. THEY ARE DISTRACTING AND CAUSE ME TO BE NAUSEOUS SINCE I HAVE A LONG COMMUTE IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. *TR

Other 2,800 mi 5 mo in service

JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER COMPLAINTS FOR THE 2015 HONDA CR-V, WHILE SITTING AT A RED LIGHT, IDLING, THE CAR SHAKES SO MUCH THAT I FEEL LIKE I'M GETTING MASSAGED. I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED HONDAS AND THIS IS RIDICULOUS FOR A BRAND NEW HONDA. I HAVE OLDER VEHICLES THAN THIS AND IT RUNS SMOOTHER. MY HONDA DEALER STATES THEY CONTACTED HONDA AND THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS ISSUE BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE YET! *TR

Seats 200 mi 3 mo in service

THE IDLE SPEED FOR THE VEHICLE IS TOO LOW. WITH THE ENGINE WARMED UP, YOU CAN STEP ON THE BRAKE (AS IS TYPICAL AT A RED LIGHT) AND THE CAR WILL VIBRATE A LOT AND THE DRIVER WILL FEEL AN UNCOMFORTABLE VIBRATION. AT TIMES, IT SEEMS LIKE THE ENGINE MIGHT SHUT OFF. WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS RELEASED AND THE ENGINE RPM INCREASE A LITTLE BIT, THE VIBRATION STOPS. A QUICK SEARCH ON THE INTERNET WILL REVEAL THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. *TR

Other CR-V model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.