Reliable Auto DB

2018 Honda CR-V reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 2,138 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Honda CR-V over 9 years — 232 per year. That is more complaints per year than most CR-V years here — over the median of the other years, which is 64. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Fuel pump, and Buckle.

2017 Honda CR-V Touring
Photo by S2k Dude, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Complaints

2,138

Per year

232

Recalls

5

Years on the road

9

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (527 of 2,138), then Forward collision avoidance (392) and Fuel and propulsion system (369). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 12,500 miles, and the middle half falls between 3,800 and 38,000 miles. Those filings include 46 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 39 that report an injury.

Next to 2017 and 2019

The 2017 CR-V has 1,766 complaints, 278 per year, and the 2019 has 1,098 complaints, 99 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2019.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2018 Honda CR-V. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (5)

Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2026-05-21 · NHTSA campaign 26V332000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.
Remedy Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.
Vehicles affected 98,892
Recall Fuel pump 2023-12-18 · NHTSA campaign 23V858000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Remedy Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
Vehicles affected 2,490,460
Recall seat belts, front, buckle 2023-03-09 · NHTSA campaign 23V158000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2020 CR-V, 2018-2019 Accord and Accord Hybrid, 2018-2020 Odyssey, 2019 Insight, and 2019-2020 Acura RDX vehicles. A manufacturing issue with the front seat belts may cause the seat belt buckle channel to interfere with the release button, preventing the seat belt buckle from latching.
Remedy Dealers will replace the driver and front passenger seat belt buckle release buttons or the buckle assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 18, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are NDA, QDB, BDC, MDD, LD9. TDF, FDG, ODH, YDI, ZDE.
Vehicles affected 448,613
Recall Fuel pump 2021-03-25 · NHTSA campaign 21V215000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Acura MDX, MDX Sport Hybrid, RDX, TLX, Honda Accord, Civic Hatchback, Insight, 2019 Acura ILX, Honda Accord Hybrid, Civic Coupe, Civic Coupe Si, Civic Sedan, Civic Sedan Si, Civic Type R, Fit, HR-V, Odyssey, Passport, Pilot and Ridgeline, and 2018-2019 CR-V vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Note: This recall is an expansion of recall 20V-314.
Vehicles affected 624,552
Recall Electric power steering 2018-09-27 · NHTSA campaign 18V663000
Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Honda Civic and CR-V vehicles. The magnet that controls the torque sensor output signal for the electronic power steering system may not be properly secured, allowing the magnet to become dislodged. During a full lock turn, the dislodged magnet may cause steering assist to be applied in the opposite direction.
Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the steering gearbox assembly, free of charge. The recall began November 9, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are C2N, P2O.
Vehicles affected 54

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (2138 total)

Engine
527
Forward collision avoidance
392
Fuel and propulsion system
369
Steering
324
Electrical system
281
Fuel system, gasoline
230
Service brakes
186
Speed control
65
Powertrain
63
Lane departure
45
Visibility and wipers
35
Electronic stability control (ESC)
30
Structure
26
Seat belts
25
Air bags
21
Engine and engine cooling
15
Exterior lighting
12
Wheels
11
Tires
9
Visibility
9
Back-over prevention
8
Hydraulic brakes
7
Seats
7
Suspension
6
Equipment
5
Parking brake
4
Air brakes
3
Adaptive and mobility equipment
2
Latches, locks, and linkages
2
Show 21 more Show less
Crash-flagged

46

Fire-flagged

2

Injury reports

39

Death reports

0

Of the 885 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 12,500 miles. The middle half fall between 3,800 and 38,000 miles.

Complaints filed per year

22017263201831920191132020106202125820222112023397202428120251882026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH and turning right, the steering wheel was sticking. The failure was a recurring failure. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA…"
    Steering · filed 2026-09-17
  • "Every few days or even every few weeks as I'm driving I get SRS airbag malfunction showing up on my dash cluster. So I have to pull onto the shoulder of the road or into a parking lot turn off my car hold power button…"
    Electrical system, Air bags · filed 2026-09-14
  • "Steering sticking in the mid position on highway speeds"
    Steering · filed 2026-09-14
  • "Today, I attempted to drive my 2018 Honda CR-V, but the vehicle would not reverse. I had to turn it off, restart it, and quickly reverse it back into my driveway. The entire dashboard then illuminated with multiple…"
    Electrical system, Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-09-12
  • "My 2018 Honda CR-V with the 1.5L turbo engine experienced an overheating condition while being driven. The temperature gauge fluctuated and reached the red zone, creating a potential risk of engine failure and loss of…"
    Engine · filed 2026-09-11

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2018 Honda CR-V SUV AWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars
2018 Honda CR-V SUV FWD 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 4 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
CR-V all-wheel drive 2.4L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) All-wheel drive 25 31 27 MPG $2400
CR-V all-wheel drive 1.5L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) All-wheel drive 27 33 29 MPG $2250
CR-V front-wheel drive 2.4L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 26 32 28 MPG $2300
CR-V front-wheel drive 1.5L, 4-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Front-wheel drive 28 34 30 MPG $2150

Specs and fitment

5th generation, 2017–2022
Body styles SUV
Oil 0W-20 , 3.7 qt capacity
Tire size 235/65R17 (LX) to 235/55R19 (Touring)
Towing capacity 1,500 lbs

Known issues for this generation

Certain 2017-2018 CR-Vs with the 1.5L turbocharged engine can develop engine oil dilution on short, cold-weather trips, which can trigger a rough idle or a misfire (diagnostic codes P0300-P0304) or a too-rich fuel-system code (P0172). Honda's fix, described in Service Bulletins 18-114 and 18-124, is a PGM-FI and TCU software update together with an oil change and a driveability relearn procedure; the bulletins name Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin as the cold-weather states covered.

Compare

Previous year 2017 Honda CR-V Next year 2019 Honda CR-V See every Honda CR-V model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2018 Honda CR-V reliable?

Owners have filed 2,138 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Honda CR-V over 9 years — 232 per year. That is more complaints per year than most CR-V years here — over the median of the other years, which is 64. NHTSA has 5 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor, Fuel pump, and Buckle.

What are common problems with a 2018 Honda CR-V?

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (527 of 2,138), then Forward collision avoidance (392) and Fuel and propulsion system (369). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 12,500 miles, and the middle half falls between 3,800 and 38,000 miles. Those filings include 46 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 39 that report an injury.

Is the 2018 Honda CR-V more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2017 CR-V has 1,766 complaints, 278 per year, and the 2019 has 1,098 complaints, 99 per year. The 2018 has fewer complaints per year than the 2017. The 2018 has more complaints per year than the 2019.

Has the 2018 Honda CR-V been recalled?

The 2018 Honda CR-V has 5 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2018 Honda CR-V?

Owners have filed 2138 complaints about the 2018 Honda CR-V with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2018 Honda CR-V get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2018 Honda CR-V is 28.5 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2020 Honda CR-V?

5th generation (2017-2022).

Does the Honda CR-V have oil dilution problems?

The 1.5L turbo engine in 2017-2018 CR-Vs is affected by a documented fuel-dilution issue on short, cold trips; Honda issued a software and oil-change fix but did not issue a recall.