1998 Honda CR-V problems & reliability
128 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1998 Honda CR-V, alongside 2 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.
9 complaints report injuries (12 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1998 Honda CR-V vehicles were involved in 31 fatal crashes with 24 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 38 | 30% |
| Air Bags | 19 | 15% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 9 | 7% |
| Power Train | 8 | 6% |
| Tires | 7 | 5% |
| Engine | 6 | 5% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 6 | 5% |
| Steering | 6 | 5% |
| Structure | 5 | 4% |
| Suspension | 5 | 4% |
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.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 123,552 miles (middle 50% between 60,500 and 168,900 miles), based on 39 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I was driving normally, going 47mph & accelerating as I was about to merge into traffic on high way, when my cars engine suddenly died. I dident even notice at first because it happened suddenly and quietly. I only noticed because the steering locked up and I found it very difficult to turn the wheel. I was able to…”
Engine · filed Jan 26, 2021
“Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 1998 honda cr-v. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 20v026000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Honda of fort…”
Air Bags · filed Oct 15, 2020
“Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 1998 honda cr-v. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 20v026000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called cardinal honda (531 ct-12, groton, ct 06340; (860) 449-0411) where it was confirmed that parts were not…”
Air Bags · filed Oct 6, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
106 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1998 Honda CR-V. The 10 most recent:
This SKU is a Front Upper Ball Joint. The customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for the outer diameter of the ball joint housing being too small. The outer diameter being too small would…
DORE5C4S09 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 11, 2019
Honda: troubleshooting of diagnostic trouble codes (dtc) p1456 and p1457. Dealers are to run evap function test to find if there is a leak so the vehicle can be repaired. *kb
SB-99-075 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 2013
Speedometer shops can transfer odometer mileage. Honda service news. *tt
07012005 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 1, 2005
Transferring odometer mileage at odometer r&r. *tt
405 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 16, 2005
Diagnostic trouble code p1298 is stored in the ecm/pcm. *tt
05006 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 25, 2005
Poor a/c cooling during hard acceleration. *eh
07012004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 1, 2004
Rear differential moans moans with brakes applied at low speed. (4wd) *sc
06012004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 1, 2004
Differential moan when braking at low speed. (4wd) *sc
104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 16, 2004
Audio unit and navigation system anti-theft codes available on interactive network. *nm
05012004 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2004
Audio, anti-theft codes. Honda. Tech line summary. *tt
404 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 16, 2004
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 1998 Honda CR-V has 2 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 1998 Honda CR-V?
- · 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.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 123,552 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.