Honda CR-V Turbo Problems? You're Not Alone

Owners of the 2017 and 2018 Honda CR-V Turbo are reporting problems with the crossover’s 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

In affected vehicles, fuel can find its way into the vehicle’s lubrication system, causing it to go into limp mode and limiting it to a maximum speed of 20 mph. Honda says it has “been investigating the situation and developing a remedy,” which it hopes to make available through Honda dealers by mid-November 2018. The repair will be covered under warranty and the solution will be implemented on 2019 model year CR-Vs to prevent those vehicles from experiencing the same issue.

Honda issued a recall for the exact same issue in China earlier this year. Roughly 350,000 Civic and CR-Vs with the 1.5-liter engine were affected under that recall. The automaker only acknowledged the problem after many consumers began to complain of the problem on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo. Interestingly, consumers have had to act as their own advocates in the US, too, with Consumer Reports and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration receiving numerous complaints from CR-V owners. Owners have also taken to forums to voice their concerns.

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According to Consumer Reports, Honda has sold more than 500,000 2017 and 2018 CR-Vs in the United States with the 1.5-liter engine. It’s not clear if CR-Vs equipped with the 1.5-liter turbo engine will be recalled, or if Honda will only be making repairs to CR-Vs that have experienced the issue.

Honda didn’t respond to a request for comment from Consumer Reports on why it took so long to acknowledge the situation in the US and identify a solution for those owners. One CR-V owner interviewed by Consumer Reports expressed concern that Honda was still selling the engine knowing it may have a serious design flaw – and rightly so.

An official recall may never be issued for this problem, with Honda reportedly telling NHTSA that it plans to remedy it through a product update for the new model year or by extending the warranty for owners of affected vehicles.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

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