Well established in the automobile market, the Honda CR-V is the second best-selling compact SUV on our territory, just behind the Toyota RAV4. A major survey of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was opened earlier this week due to unexpected power losses. The investigation does not affect vehicles sold in Canada at this time.
A sudden loss of power
The problem would only affect the Honda CR-V and Honda HR-V from 2018 to 2022. Several reports claim that the variants under investigation are those equipped with the manufacturer’s 4WD system. The problem would be related to the vehicles rear differential which could lock unexpectedly and cause the driveshaft to break. Once the streak is completed, the SUVs would lose power in potentially dangerous situations. An oil leak from the rear differential is the source of the problem.
Honda claims to have heard of the situation in the United States. The manufacturer provides the NHTSA all the data necessary to enable him to carry out his investigation. At this time, this is a US-only issue, and no recalls have been announced.
Honda Canada also confirms that it has heard of the situation and remains on the lookout for the ongoing investigation in the United States. More than 1.7 million Honda vehicles could be subject to the recall. The new generation unveiled earlier this year would, in theory, not be affected by the NHTSA investigation, just like the first model years of the Honda CR-V (2017) and HR-V (2016-2017). The number of reports and the number of accidents potentially linked to this situation are not yet known at the time of this writing.
Investigation into emergency braking systems still ongoing
February 2022 marked the start of another major NHTSA investigation. The organization’s investigation office analyzed more than 278 complaints from owners of Honda vehicles reporting braking incidents. The models targeted are the OK 2018 and 2019 as well as CR-V from 2017 to 2019. The automatic emergency braking system of the affected vehicles would activate for no apparent reason, causing sometimes sudden speed losses. At the start of the investigation, 6 hard braking situations would have resulted in collisions causing minor injuries.
Findings on issues with the emergency braking system have yet to be announced, so Honda is the subject of a second major investigation by NHTSA in 2022. Although no recalls have yet been announced, Honda could having to perform rather complex mass fixes if NHTSA’s findings indicate that the problem indeed lies with the SUV’s rear differential. A situation to watch in both Canada and the United States over the coming months.
