AutoUtility currently tracks 389 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Honda CR-V. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 77 complaints (19.8% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 40 filings cite a crash, 4 cite a fire, 28 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 389 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (77 reports • 19.8% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Fuel & Propulsion System (72), Electrical System (63)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 40 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 4 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 28 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
389
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
40
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
4
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
28
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2016 Honda CR-V

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 19.8% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

77 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 6 crash reports 🔥 3 fire reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 18.5% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

72 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
🩹 2 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 16.2% of complaints

Electrical System

63 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 5 crash reports 🔥 2 fire reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 11.6% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

45 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🩹 3 injury report entries
#5 Problem Area 9.3% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

36 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 16 crash reports 🩹 18 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Honda CR-V

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11753953
Filed: 07/31/2026

"Last night I was stopped at a light with my foot on the brake waiting for the light to turn green. The car suddenly wanted to move forward and was fighting the brake. I'm not a two-footed driver, so only my right foot was on the brake. I took my foot off the brake for a second and the car lurched..."

Incident Date: 07/30/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Other / Miscellaneous NHTSA ODI ID: #11746254
Filed: 06/24/2026

"Spontaneously shattered sunroof. I was driving on the freeway going 50mph and I heard an extremely loud 'bang' and then glass was falling down on me and my passenger. The sunroof had completely shattered with no explanation or prior indication of cracks, etc. No extreme temperatures fluxes - this..."

Incident Date: 06/23/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11745196
Filed: 06/19/2026

"Front passenger airbag light is on and I have been told it is the sensor. This has been recalled on other 2016 CRVs. I think more cars may be affected than those that are recalled."

Incident Date: 06/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11727756
Filed: 03/29/2026

"November 2024 I had a new battery and tires put on my 2016 Honda CRV. 14 months later my car would not start. I had to have a jump start. I had to have it jump started a few times more than took it to have it checked out. They put in a new battery February 2026. A month later my car would not..."

Incident Date: 02/06/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA ODI ID: #11710977
Filed: 01/14/2026

"My daughter left her house to go to an appointment in statesboro, an hour away. When she proceeded onto HWY 196, the dashboard lit up with: check engine light, TMPS light, Traction Control light, Power steering control light. The speed limit on this road is 40MPH she was unable to accelerate over..."

Incident Date: 01/14/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Honda CR-V

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Honda CR-V 669 38 3 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Honda CR-V Current Page 389 40 3 Current
2017 Honda CR-V 1757 42 7 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Honda CR-V 2124 46 5 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Honda CR-V 1083 30 8 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Honda CR-V 421 25 9 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Honda CR-V 422 19 5 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Honda CR-V 326 12 6 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Honda CR-V 622 22 7 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Honda CR-V 464 29 4 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Honda CR-V 268 34 4 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Honda CR-V 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Honda CR-V

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 87 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 48 0 0 1 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 37 3 1 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 37 2 2 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 32 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 20 10 0 11 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 19 1 0 2 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 15 0 0 2 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 13 8 0 2 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 9 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 8 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 8 2 0 2 0
Fuel System NHTSA category: FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 7 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 7 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 7 0 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 6 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 6 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 5 0 0 1 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 5 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 4 0 1 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 4 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 2 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE 2 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 1 0 1 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 1 0 1 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 1 0 5 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,WHEELS 1 1 0 1 0
AIR BAGS,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 2 0
STEERING,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
TIRES,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,AIR BAGS 1 1 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,INTERIOR LIGHTING,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 1 0 1 0
WHEELS,SEATS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (389). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)

1 CLOSED

Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Official Federal Inquiries: NHTSA opens a defect investigation when safety screening or consumer defect trends indicate a potential unreasonable safety risk. An open investigation is a formal inquiry and does not by itself confirm a defect or result in a mandatory recall.
CLOSED Engineering Analysis (EA) ODI Action #EA19001
Opened: 2019-04-19 • Closed: 2024-09-19

Electrical overstress

Affected Component: AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation to determine if the failure of airbags to deploy during severe crashes, in certain vehicles, was the result of a safety related defect.  During the investigation a complex failure was studied that can result in non-deployment of subject vehicle air bags and other restraint system devices in severe crash events. The subject vehicles may be equipped with an airbag control unit (AC...

✓ Resulted in Safety Recall Campaign: 20V024 Official NHTSA File →
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.