2016 Honda CR-V problems & reliability
392 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda CR-V, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 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 components.
28 complaints report injuries (36 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2016 Honda CR-V vehicles were involved in 126 fatal crashes with 65 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Engine → | 101 | 26% |
| Unknown / Other | 85 | 22% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 65 | 17% |
| Electrical System → | 64 | 16% |
| Power Train → | 45 | 11% |
| Air Bags → | 32 | 8% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 28 | 7% |
| Service Brakes → | 18 | 5% |
| Steering → | 17 | 4% |
| Structure → | 17 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 26 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 220 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 20,000 miles (middle 50% between 9,450 and 39,625 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“On August 8, 2026, while operating a 2016 Honda CR-V (62,459 original miles) at highway speeds, the engine’s factory water pump experienced a sudden, catastrophic internal failure and froze completely. The seized water pump instantly sheared and shredded the serpentine belt. This induced an immediate, sudden loss of…”
Engine · filed Sep 8, 2026
“My 2016 Honda CR‑V has only had one driver since purchase and currently has approximately 86,000 miles. It has been properly maintained, yet it is experiencing the same symptoms described in Honda’s recent warranty extension concerning head-gasket failures. Despite its relatively low mileage and limited use, the…”
Engine · filed Sep 2, 2026
“While I was driving on I-75 in Cincinnati OH my vehicle suddenly lost all power with no advanced warning. My car was working fine on the way to work and even when I began my commute home but then suddenly every light on my dash illuminated, my steering wheel became almost impossible to steer and the car stalled. I was…”
Electrical System · filed Aug 28, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Electrical overstress
Engineering Analysis EA19001 · opened Apr 19, 2019 · closed Sep 19, 2024 · led to recall 20V024
Technical service bulletins
85 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda CR-V. The 10 most recent:
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS01242020902 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 24, 2020
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS01072020908 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 7, 2020
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS12022019902 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 2, 2019
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS11142019903 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 14, 2019
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS10282019903 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 28, 2019
Service Bulletin - When cold-starting the engine and shifting to Reverse, the engine stalls in the first 10 to 14 seconds. There is too much oil clearance between the input and stator shafts, which allows ATF to drain…
A18-072 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 15, 2019
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS10092019903 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 9, 2019
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area.
APaS09252019904 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 25, 2019
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS09092019901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 9, 2019
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2016-2019 Accords, Civics, CR-Vs, Odysseys, Pilots & Ridgelines with a customer complaint of fuel smell or leak from the fuel tank area. To…
APaS08272019901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 27, 2019
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 2016 Honda CR-V 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 2016 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.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 20,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.