2003 Honda CR-V problems & reliability
467 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2003 Honda CR-V, alongside 13 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.
31 complaints report injuries (38 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2003 Honda CR-V vehicles were involved in 45 fatal crashes with 26 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 124 | 27% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 86 | 18% |
| Electrical System | 62 | 13% |
| Exterior Lighting | 39 | 8% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 32 | 7% |
| Equipment | 30 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 24 | 5% |
| Power Train | 23 | 5% |
| Visibility | 18 | 4% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 17 | 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 70,500 miles (middle 50% between 36,000 and 114,000 miles), based on 317 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Srs light came on 2 months ago. Fear for my safety. Recall please. Electrical. Back rt window and rt front door lock cannot be operated from front driver door. Lighting. Back interior light does not turn off automatically. Paint is peeling from all over the car, especially on the front of it. Looks ghastly.”
Exterior Lighting · filed Jul 15, 2025
“The contact owns a 2003 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the check engine warning light remained illuminated, and the engine fan was inoperable causing the engine to overheat. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who replaced the thermostat, but the failure persisted. The vehicle…”
Engine and Engine Cooling · filed Aug 29, 2024
“I let my daughter borrow my crv, she was coming backing from making errands going around a corner and she could not control the vehicle, she continued to try to turn the wheel in the direction she wanted to go but it would not, she ended up hitting another vehicle and came to a rest in someone’s yard. The officer on…”
Steering · filed Jan 7, 2024
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA15001 · opened Feb 24, 2015 · open · led to recall 22V945
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Preliminary Evaluation PE14016 · opened Jun 11, 2014 · closed Mar 2, 2015 · led to recall 15V226000
- Low Beam Headlights Stop Illuminating
Engineering Analysis EA11012 · opened Sep 12, 2011 · closed Sep 17, 2012 · led to recall 12V136000
- Low Beam Headlights Stop Working
Preliminary Evaluation PE11017 · opened Apr 29, 2011 · closed Sep 23, 2011
- Driver's Power Window Master Switch
Engineering Analysis EA11004 · opened Apr 11, 2011 · closed Oct 24, 2012 · led to recall 12V486000
- UNDERHOOD FIRES
Engineering Analysis EA04027 · opened Sep 9, 2004 · closed Jan 19, 2005
- OIL FILTER FIRES
Preliminary Evaluation PE04018 · opened Feb 19, 2004 · closed Jul 1, 2004
Technical service bulletins
209 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2003 Honda CR-V. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - REVISION SUMMARY - Under WARRANTY CLAIM INFORMATION, a note was added. BACKGROUND Under severe conditions, water or other liquid may enter the driverâ s window and reach the power window master switch…
A20-122 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 10, 2022
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-014 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A18-049 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 25, 2018
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A18-046 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 24, 2018
"service bulletin - as the result of takata defect determinations and nhtsa directives, american honda has moved the 2003-05 accord, 2003 05 civic, 2003 04 civic gx, and 2003 05 civic hybrid from this airbag inflator…
A14-046 - 7-1-15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 21, 2017
Posters sent to hawaiian independent repair facilities, automotive part stores, car washes, and gas stations to remind owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_HAWAII PO · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 7, 2016
Flyer circulated to the residents of hawaii to remind owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_HAWAII FL · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 7, 2016
Letter sent in conjunction with the florida highway safety and motor vehicles department to remind florida owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_FLORIDA D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 29, 2016
Us virgin islands newspaper advertisements to remind owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_TEXT MESS · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 23, 2016
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 2003 Honda CR-V has 13 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 2003 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 70,500 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.