2016 Honda Hr-V problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (66) · Electrical System (30) · Structure:body (17)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Honda Hr-V model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
117 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (2)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:foundation Components:disc:caliper 2018-11-01 · campaign 18V777000 · 64,785 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Acura MDX, 2017-2018 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda HR-V and Honda Odyssey, and 2016 Honda HR-V vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating, causing gas pockets to form, reducing brake performance. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems."
Risk: A reduction of braking performance increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Owners will be notified, and Honda or Acura dealers will bleed the brakes, free of charge. The recall began December 11, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are C31 and L30.
Equipment:other:labels 2015-07-28 · campaign 15V472000 · 11,511 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2016 HR-V vehicles manufactured January 12, 2015, to May 20, 2015. The affected vehicles may be missing the required tire placard indicating "Tire and Loading Information." These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 110, "Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,
Risk: If the tire placard is missing the driver or owner may not know at what pressure to inflate the tires, resulting in over or under tire inflation which potentially increases the risk of a tire failure and crash.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicle, and apply a new label, free of charge. The recall began on September 18, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is JT2, or JT4.
Service bulletins (109)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Power Train 2025-02-20 · A21-047 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 original date of purchase or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Power Train 2023-05-03 · A21-047 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 original date of purchase or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Visibility 2022-08-25 · A22080B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 from other components.
Visibility 2022-07-11 · ATI&07112022902 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.
Equipment:appliance:air Conditioner 2022-06-03 · ATI&06032022901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.
Visibility 2022-05-25 · ATI&05252022901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
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 vehicle prior to you attempting a repair of any kind.
Showing the 6 most recent of 109 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-19 · Power Train“transmission blew while on highway in 2025…”
2026-10-16 · Electrical System:instrument Panel:speedometer/Odometer · 194,000 mi“odometer fraud. the contact owns a 2016 honda hr-v. it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. the vehicle was a dealer sale. at the time of purchase, the vehicle advertised mileage was 92,340. however, after the purchase, the contact noticed that the mileage was approximately 83,000. while driving at a later date, the contact noti…”
2026-10-12 · Power Train“vehicle: 2016 honda hr-v approximate mileage: 114,400 miles incident description: while driving at highway speeds on the freeway, the vehicle suffered a sudden, catastrophic loss of motive power and dropped into an emergency "limp mode." the vehicle suddenly refused to accelerate and could not maintain highway speeds, forcing me to navigate across…”
2026-10-06 · Engine“description of safety defect: this vehicle represents an immediate public safety hazard and total safety certification invalidation due to an unauthorized, mismatched engine model swap executed by camelback toyota collision center under workfile id: xxx. the facility utilized official manufacturer network credentials under a certified status to sec…”
2026-09-01 · Unknown Or Other“the factory white paint on my 2016 honda hr-v is severely peeling, and delaminating from the vehicle body panels. the paint failure has exposed bare metal beneath, resulting in rapid corrosion and rust formation. large flakes of paint have detached while driving at highway speeds, creating a dangerous flying debris hazard for vehicles behind me and…”
2026-07-17 · Power Train“cvt has gone into safety/limp mode. june 7 2026 first sign was the epb not releasing. became drivable after warm up period. replaced epb switch and vehicle drove normally. there was still a parking brake caution light. on july 12, 2026 the issue repeated. this time the check engine light and transmission light have come on. had it d…”
2026-06-10 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 64,612 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owned a 2016 honda hr-v. the contact stated that while driving at 12 mph, the vehicle experienced a brake failure, resulting in a frontal collision with a utility vehicle. the airbag deployed. there was no warning light illuminated. the vehicle was towed to a private salvage auto auction yard. the contact stated that the vehicle was d…”
2026-05-28 · Unknown Or Other“my vehicle paint is peeling and it is the nh788p. ( orchid pearl white). i am the second owner of this car as of 2021. it started on the roof and has continued to doors etc. no recalls were shown on the carfax at the time of purchase. …”
2026-05-21 · Power Train“car went into limp mode far from home. lots of lights on the dash lit up. i scanned the obd and it came back with code p271e to replace the automatic transmission assembly. this was confirmed by a transmission repair shop. this is a known issue by honda and they have issued service bulletins 21-046 and 21-047. however, my vehicle is outside of th…”
2026-05-08 · Power Train · 133,000 mi“the contact owns a 2016 honda hr-v. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the vehicle would not accelerate past approximately 35mph while the accelerator pedal was depressed. the vehicle was towed to the same local dealer on several occasions, where it was diagnosed as needing a bat…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.