2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid problems & reliability
99 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
3 complaints report injuries (5 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | 32 | 32% |
| Electrical System | 24 | 24% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 21 | 21% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 14 | 14% |
| Unknown OR Other | 13 | 13% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 13 | 13% |
| Power Train | 9 | 9% |
| Service Brakes | 8 | 8% |
| Steering | 6 | 6% |
| Structure | 3 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The vehicle experienced a premature failure of the head gasket; it was blown at 130,000 miles. I was close to home when I received a dash alert stating not to accelerate as the engine was nearing a critically high temperature. If I had not been able to get home so quickly, my safety may have been compromised as my car…”
Power Train · filed Sep 18, 2025
“Brittle / torn top black windshield seal gasket tendency to fog / moisture / rain/water penetration inside the car . Also decolorize all black plastic side panels”
Visibility/wiper · filed Aug 16, 2025
“While traveling northwest at 37 mph, the automatic brake system engaged jolting the driver. The camera shows no objects in front of but there were two vehicles traveling southeast in the opposite lane prior to the brakes applying. There were shadows from trees. If there was a vehicle behind, and the driver did not…”
Service Brakes · filed Aug 8, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Loss of Motive Power
Preliminary Evaluation PE25016 · opened Oct 28, 2025 · open
- Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Engineering Analysis EA24002 · opened Apr 15, 2024 · open
- Pedestrian alert sounds
Defect Petition DP22005 · opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000
Technical service bulletins
43 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid. The 10 most recent:
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the passenger side transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may…
ATI&04272026903 · Other · issued Apr 27, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the passenger side transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may…
ATI&04102026906 · Other · issued Apr 10, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the passenger side transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may…
ATI&03272026903 · Other · issued Mar 27, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the passenger side transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may…
ATI&03112026901 · Other · issued Mar 11, 2026
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may also be found…
ATI&03312025902 · Other · issued Mar 31, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may also be found…
ATI&01302025902 · Other · issued Jan 30, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may also be found…
ATI&01162025901 · Other · issued Jan 17, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may also be found…
ATI&01022025906 · Other · issued Jan 3, 2025
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2021 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of an oil leak coming from the transmission/differential oil seal. The leak may also be found…
ATI&12022024907 · Other · issued Dec 3, 2024
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2022 Accord FHEVs & 2020-2022 CR-V FHEVs with a customer complaint of the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) on with the DTC P030X…
ATI&11132024906 · Other · issued Nov 13, 2024
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.