GarageCalc What the data says
Steering accounts for about 28% of this year's Honda CR-V complaints. That is a moderate concentration; worth knowing, but complaints are spread across several areas.
The 2018 model year contributes 169 complaints (18%). Older vehicles dominate, consistent with age-related wear rather than a new defect.
Complaints are up year over year, 858 to 954 (+11%), against a market that rose about 2%. Year-over-year movement is the most useful signal here: a model's sales are roughly stable from one year to the next, so a sharp rise means the per-vehicle complaint rate genuinely moved, not just that the model is popular.
How to read this
Raw complaint totals track how many Honda CR-Vs are on the road as much as they track quality, so a high count on a best-seller is partly a volume story. Complaints are also self-reported: they capture what owners chose to file, not a controlled survey. Use these numbers to know where to look during a pre-purchase inspection and which recalls to check, not as a verdict on their own. Compare any car instantly in the Car Complaint Checker, or read the full 2026 study for the market-wide picture and methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Honda CR-V reliable?
Complaint counts alone cannot answer that, because they track how many are on the road as much as build quality. What the 2026 data shows: 954 NHTSA complaints so far (rank 7 of 765 models), +11% year over year, with steering the most-cited area. Treat it as a starting point and cross-check recalls and a pre-purchase inspection for the specific vehicle.
What is the most common Honda CR-V complaint?
Steering: 263 of the 954 complaints filed in 2026 cite it (about 28%). That is a moderate concentration; worth knowing, but complaints are spread across several areas.
Which Honda CR-V model year has the most complaints?
The 2018 model year, with 169 of this year's 954 complaints (about 18%). Older vehicles dominate, consistent with age-related wear rather than a new defect.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database, complaints received 2026-01-01..2026-08-24, compared with 2025-01-01..2025-08-24 (same window). Counted once per complaint ID, vehicles only. Aggregated data is available under CC BY 4.0 with a link to GarageCalc.