2018 Honda HR-V problems & reliability
156 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2018 Honda HR-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.
5 complaints report injuries (5 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2018 Honda HR-V vehicles were involved in 40 fatal crashes with 19 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 → | 47 | 30% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline → | 27 | 17% |
| Unknown / Other | 22 | 14% |
| Power Train → | 15 | 10% |
| Service Brakes → | 15 | 10% |
| Engine → | 13 | 8% |
| Fuel/propulsion System → | 13 | 8% |
| Structure → | 11 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 10 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 7 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 19 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 43 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 33,000 miles (middle 50% between 12,883 and 60,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The white paint on this vehicle is peeling off. It may come off in a large amount driving down the highway which could cause a safety issue for any vehicle nearby. Honda is aware of this defective paint and should be made to repaint this vehicle no matter when the grace period ranout.”
Structure · filed Aug 30, 2026
“Far right gauge in cluster, namely fuel level, mileage, warning icons etc only is visible when the vehicle is extremely warmed up. Otherwise, this gauge is totally black. Has been this way since 2019.”
Electrical System · filed Aug 22, 2026
“Car paint is White Orchid Pearl and had been issued NHTSA complaint about it. The manufacturer lately issued warranty for the paint limited to 7 years (Mar/2025). Car paint started to chip off firstly on the driver side door as a small spot in 2022 and when notified the dealer, they did not pay much attention. Later…”
Structure · filed Aug 17, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Rear Differential Seizure
Preliminary Evaluation PE22011 · opened Nov 28, 2022 · closed Jul 22, 2024
Technical service bulletins
91 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2018 Honda HR-V. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Due to the possibility of early deterioration of the Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) drive belt, American Honda is extending the warranty coverage on these CVT models to 7 years from the…
A21-047 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
Service News - Some customers have complained of fluid leaking from the rear differential after it has been serviced due to over-torqueing of the drain plugs during servicing.
A23110A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 3, 2023
Service Bulletin - Due to the possibility of early deterioration of the Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) drive belt, American Honda is extending the warranty coverage on these CVT models to 7 years from the…
A21-047 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 3, 2023
Dealer Message Request for Visit: 2018-2022 Accord & HR-V Front Damper Noise (ACTION REQUIRED)
ATI&03312023906 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 31, 2023
Service Bulletin - (Repair Procedure Revision) Due to swelling of the fuel pump motor impeller, the fuel pump may seize and stop working. If this occurs, the engine may not start, or the engine could stall while…
A20-053 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 30, 2022
Service Bulletin - (Repair Procedure Revision) Due to swelling of the fuel pump motor impeller, the fuel pump may seize and stop working. If this occurs, the engine may not start, or the engine could stall while…
A20-052 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 30, 2022
Servicenews article - If you are inspecting an HR-V and notice oil residue on the A/C condenser, it's not always an indication that the condenser is leaking refrigerant. The source of oil residue can potentially come…
A22080B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 25, 2022
Dealer message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2016-2021 HR-V that exhibits a leak at the A/C Condenser. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect the…
ATI&07112022902 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 11, 2022
Dealer message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2016-2021 HR-VS that exhibit a leak at the A/C Condenser. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect the…
ATI&06032022901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 3, 2022
Dealer message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2016-2021 HR-V that exhibits a leak at the A/C Condenser. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to inspect the…
ATI&05252022901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 25, 2022
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 2018 Honda HR-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 2018 Honda HR-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 33,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.