Vehicle report

2021 Honda CR-V

Free recalls, owner complaints, and NHTSA safety ratings for the 2021 Honda CR-V, plus how to check this specific vehicle before you buy.

The 2021 Honda CR-V has 4 NHTSA recalls on record and 15 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. Its overall NHTSA crash-test rating is 5 out of 5. Below is the full breakdown, plus how to check this specific vehicle by VIN before you buy in Alberta.

4

Open recalls

15

Complaints

5

Overall safety

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2021 Honda CR-V recalls (4)

  • SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:RETRACTOR

    Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid, CR-V, Ridgeline, 2022 Insight and CR-V Hybrid vehicles. The automatic locking retractor on the second-row center seat belt assembly may deactivate improperly, which can result in an unsecured child restraint system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the second-row center seat belt assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 14, 2022. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

  • AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

    Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

    Remedy: Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024, October 18, 2024, and August 2025. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

  • FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

    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.

  • AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

    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 are expected to be mailed July 6, 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.

2021 Honda CR-V safety ratings

5

Overall

5

Front

5

Side

4

Rollover

Source: NHTSA NCAP ratings.

2021 Honda CR-V owner complaints (15)

  • STEERING

    After vehicle is driven, especially on highway, steering wheel binds or sticks when turning. This causes a dangerous overcorrection, and potential hazard.

  • ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

    Since April 2026 my Honda Crv 2021 had been having issues with all the warning lights on my dashboard turning on and off. When all the lights turn on the sensors don’t function the way they supposed to and won’t alert me when I’m getting close to a car or need to make a sudden break. I took it to Autozone to get the codes from the warning lights and also to Honda and both said that I needed to replace, the fuel injectors. I replaced the fuel injectors and the problem still there. It was inspected by Autozone, Honda and also an independent auto shop.

  • FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

    I was approaching an exit on the highway going about 60 mph when my car braked suddenly causing rapid deceleration. I was not touching the brake pedal and in fact tried to push the accelerator to no effect. Only lasted a few seconds but very frightening as there were cars behind me also driving at that speed.

  • STEERING

    I have noticed a hesitation in the steering of my 2022 Honda CR-V. I can only describe it as a knock but it's a feeling rather than a sound. It's like a "hitch" or "catch" in what should be a smooth motion. I initially though it was something temporary, maybe weather related but it's continued and I now see others reporting the same issue online. It seems this was covered in a recall of 2023 - 2025 CR-Vs but did not include 2022s. I'm concerned that it would be a safety issue if it gets worse.

  • SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

    In the past two weeks, the automatic brake light came on when there was nothing in front of me. Then this past Thursday, I was in the middle lane approaching a stoplight that was about 500 ft. ahead of me, nothing was in front of me and the brake light came on and the car made a quick and hard stop. If anyone was behind me, they would not have been able to stop. Now I am very leery of driving my car, and I disable this feature so I feel safe transporting myself and my family.

  • STEERING

    Steering is sticking after the car is driven for about 20 min. No warning lights or signs are given when this happens. This is a very dangerous safety issue; causing loss of control of vehicle and sometimes causing to veer into the oncoming traffic lane. This started happening 2 months ago when turning left. Dealership service dept could not find it at that time to fix. Sticky steering got worse over the following month, and also started happening when turning right. This matches the recall of other year models: 24V-744. Dealership service dept has now confirmed with diagnosis of problem and wants $3600 to fix this manufacturer defect in the steering gear box.

  • STEERING

    Steering of the vehicle was impacted, especially at highway speeds. The steering was “sticky” and required extra attention and great care to avoid driving off the road at highway speeds. No warning lamps identified the issue. Took vehicle to the dealer where issue was identified as steering rack replacement was required. With this being a common issue with Honda CRV vehicles, with previous recalls, I felt it was important to file this notification.

  • STEERING

    The steering wheel “sticks” near center at highway speeds, then jerks when trying to make small corrections. I reported this to a Honda dealer in July 2025, who diagnosed it as “normal”. The condition gradually worsened, and I returned to the dealership today, June 15, 2026, and was told the power steering rack is failing, and needs to be replaced. Honda has recalled these beginning in the model year 2022. Our vehicle was purchased in September 2021. This has been occurring since approximately June of 2025.

  • STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

    EPS steering rack locks up and causes jerking in steering wheel. This is a known recall on 2022 models but happening on older models as well. There is a clicking noise and a feeling of a stuck steering wheel. My Vehicle has less than 50k miles on it and has only been to Honda for inspections and this was missed. Dealership has even confirmed and charging a hefty repair fee. If these are not caught soon enough they will only get worse causing accidents due to locking steering wheels

  • STEERING

    After driving for about 10 minutes the steering begins to act differently at speeds above about 45 mph. It usually happens when steering to the left for a curve in the road and then trying to steer back to the right to come out of the curve. The steering wheel will stick and require additional effort to turn back to the right. When extra pressure is applied, the steering wheel will turn and a dull clicking sound is heard. If pressure is not applied it could cause a head-on collision. The Honda dealer duplicated the issue and said the repair was to replace the EPS gear box assembly at a cost of $4,300 just for the part. They also said it wasn't a safety issue but if it gets worse, let them know.

  • POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

    While driving a 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid, the vehicle has intermittently and without warning lost the ability to accelerate. When this occurs, depressing the accelerator pedal — even fully to the floor — produces no response, and the vehicle simply coasts and loses speed. This has happened on three occasions — January 13, 2025; December 16, 2025; and June 10, 2026 — including at highway speed. Each occurrence is documented by a Honda dealer service invoice. In each instance, the check engine light began flashing immediately before the loss of power. The only way to restore normal operation was to bring the vehicle to a stop, turn the ignition off, wait, and restart. Restarting restores power but also clears the check engine light and any stored diagnostic trouble codes. Safety risk: Losing motive power without warning, particularly at highway speed or while merging in traffic, creates a serious risk of a rear-end or loss-of-control collision, because the vehicle cannot accelerate out of danger. The affected systems appear to be the power train and hybrid propulsion system, possibly originating from the engine given the flashing check engine light, which typically indicates an active engine misfire. The exact failed component has not been confirmed (UNKNOWN). The problem has NOT been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer during inspection. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Honda dealer for each occurrence, but because restarting the vehicle clears the fault codes, the dealer found no stored codes and could not duplicate the failure during a test drive. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This matches NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE25016 regarding intermittent loss of motive power in MY 2020–2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid vehicles.

  • STEERING

    The steering when turning especially to the left and more so at highway speeds(although I have noticed it just driving and at city speeds making micro adjustments while going straight) stops having a responsive feel and as I come out of turns and start to straighten the steering wheel back up it does not move and then all of sudden feels like it lets loose and moves a few degrees in the direction I am turning it aback to and then feels like it catches again. I do notice it even just moderately adjusting my line (but it does not fall or move as many degrees as when actually tuning) and once again more noticeable at highway speeds. This seems to line up with the service bulletins and recalls the later year models. I believe it is the same problem but due to the model year they would rather distance themselves from the responsibility. I have been noticing something with it for about a week before the date listed but I wanted to make sure and it has actually started showing up more and worse. I am afraid this is going to cause a major issue.

  • STEERING

    Steering during cruising speed (39+ mph) exhibits "sticky" or jerking steering while driving straight or minor curves. It worsened since starting to experience this in the past few weeks.

  • STEERING

    Hello, I have a 2021 Honda CR-V with 38K miles. The steering has become consistent in the way I can think to describe it as sticking then freeing up while driving. From things I’ve read, there was a recall for an issue titled “Sticky Steering,” that the description matches exactly to what I’m experiencing. This has been going on now for a few months. With just 38K on the vehicle, I wouldn’t imagine this type of behavior to be common. Could you please advise if the vehicle should be checked out and if there may be some recall that affects this vehicle? Thank you so much! Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

  • STEERING

    Steering sticks in turns when driving. Steering wheel will stay/stick in this same position without any steering needed. Need to use both hands to unstick steering wheel.

Checking a used Honda CR-V before you buy

The recall, complaint, and safety data above describes the 2021 CR-V in general. To know the condition and history of the specific vehicle you're looking at, check it by VIN. A VIN check shows whether this particular CR-V's recalls are still outstanding, and a full history report adds accident, title, and ownership records the data above can't show.

Before you buy a 2021 Honda CR-V in Alberta:

See other model years of the Honda CR-V, or browse more Honda models.

2021 Honda CR-V — questions and answers

Does the 2021 Honda CR-V have any recalls?+

Our check found 4 NHTSA recalls associated with the 2021 Honda CR-V. Check the specific vehicle by VIN to see which remain outstanding, since some may already have been repaired. Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer.

How many complaints does the 2021 Honda CR-V have?+

NHTSA lists 15 owner complaints for the 2021 Honda CR-V in our results. Complaints are problems reported by owners and don't always lead to a recall, but a pattern of similar complaints is worth weighing before you buy.

Is the 2021 Honda CR-V safe?+

The 2021 Honda CR-V has an overall NHTSA crash-test rating of 5. Review the front-crash, side-crash, and rollover ratings above, and pair safety ratings with a mechanical inspection of the specific vehicle.

How do I check a 2021 Honda CR-V VIN?+

Enter the vehicle's 17-character VIN into our free VIN check to see recalls, complaints, and safety ratings for that exact vehicle, then run an Alberta Personal Property Registry (PPR) lien search before you pay.

Are recall repairs on a Honda free?+

Yes. Safety recall repairs are performed at no cost by a franchised Honda dealer, even for a used vehicle and even if you're not the original owner. Confirm the required parts are in stock before relying on the fix.

Get the full vehicle history report

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