I bought this car, brand new in 2012. It has low mileage as I’m a now retired woman who only drove 10 miles to/from work and occasional trips North. And my husband has a car, not a Honda!

Now that I’m retired, and because of Covid-19, I don’t drive as much.

My car battery has been replaced 5 times!! Twice the auto store replaced the battery for free because it was under warranty. And there's been many, many calls to AAA for assistance, as well as my husband jumping from his car. We’ve had the car checked from end to end and there is nothing wrong with the car. It’s in perfect condition, really nice inside and out.

It’s sitting in the driveway now. Dead battery after not using it for 2 days. We’ve been taking it for a 15-20 minute drive every other day, because we were told the car needs to be driven in order to keep the battery charged. Well, that’s not working either.

My husband and I are both elderly and this issue has really caused us distress. We don’t want to get rid of the car, it’s paid for, it’s otherwise in perfect condition and we like it. We didn’t realize it was an ongoing problem before now, because when I was working, it was run every day. And in the winter/weekends it sometimes wouldn’t start, but we blamed it on the cold weather. Now that I’m not working, the car sits for a couple of days, and it won’t start. That’s a problem.

Should we ever be in a situation where we need to leave quickly, we’d be worried about taking this car. My husband’s car is older, has many more miles (and I don’t like driving it).

After reading about all these other people having the same problem with their CRV, I will never buy another. Honda needs to address this and fix the problem. They tout about reliability and how long the car lasts, but looking at it closely, tells another story.

I didn’t know about this complaint website, I’m so glad I found it. Thank you.

05-June-2020: I have to replace another battery. This is the 6th battery my car has had and killed! It averages a new battery every 15-18 months. This time it killed a brand new 5-yr warranty battery in less than 18 months.

Just a huge annoyance and inconvenience! Honda dealer said I should have used a Honda battery. Uh WHY? I have a fantastic mechanic who’s worked on my car for 6 years (I.e., regularly scheduled oil changes, new tires, AC Relay switch replacement). Honda refuses to acknowledge the issue since it’s out of warranty. If and when I ever get another Honda CR-V, the dealer WILL have to reimburse the hundreds of dollars I’ve been put out!

Honda use to make a quality vehicle with good customer service, but no more!

I think my next car will be a KIA TELLURIDE. I’ve heard they are truly a huge improvement over Honda vehicles now!

2012 Honda CRV has been having issues for four years. Started around 60 to 80 thousand miles. The car kept killing the battery. Replaced battery 4 times in four years. Honda dealership service said it was the alternator and convinced me to replace alternator and battery at around 100,000 miles. Within a year back to dead battery.

I argued with the dealership last year that the issue was electrical and something was draining the battery, they wouldn't listen. Now trying to get a free replacement battery as guaranteed last year. There is something electrically wrong that is causing parasitic draining of the battery.

We purchased a 2012 Honda CRV for our son going to college. As it turns out, it's very unreliable. There is an electrical drain in the electrical system and Honda has been unable to find it. Software updates, new alternator and pulling the AC relay has not resolve it. Hopefully Honda will recognize the problem and address it with their customers.

Another issue is that you are unable to gain access to the locked car, even with a manual key. The manual key requires electric (dead battery) to open the door locks (solenoid), there is no manual linkage to the locking mechanism. With a dead battery, you are stranded and locked out. You can not open the engine hood to jump start the engine or charge the battery to open the door (towing service needed). Awful design by Honda. What were the Honda Engineers thinking? Too much alcohol drank that day apparently.

6 months after I bought brand new I was left stranded at a car wash with my 2 young kids. I shut off the car as I went through to save on gas and wouldn't start. People had to push me out of the stall. Oy vey! Called road side assistance and wrecker came to give me a jump but wouldn't start. It was towed to the dealer. The battery was so dead that it couldn't be jumped. They said this sometimes happens because the batteries sit a long time. They gave me a new battery under warranty and I thought that was it. 2 years later 2014 battery dead again! Reluctantly they put in a new battery again, no charge and I was on my merry way. It was at this point I bought jumper cables for the car. A little bit later there was a recall on battery drain issue and they updated this and I thought, Oh that's why! and I would be fine from there forward. 3 years later 2017 the battery was dead again!!!!!! This time I was done with the Honda batteries and went and purchased a battery at the local car part store and thought I was OK, no more Honda batteries. It's winter 2021 and my battery was dead this morning. My husband jumped it and it's fine for now but I know I need another battery. I've had the car for 9 years and have gone through 3 batteries and onto my 4th. Just bought a newer car and it wasn't a Honda. Such a shame that the batteries are unreliable. Haven't had a lot of problems other than it going through oil.

Again, this is the 2nd time I've had to replace my battery in my 2012 Honda CR-V. It has 77,416 miles on it and this time it died in my driveway before heading out to work! SUCH A PAIN IN THE BUTT ... why isn't HONDA recognizing this as a possible RECALL! I've read online where several folks have had issues with this and Honda refuses to acknowledge it. Otherwise, the car is fantastic and I love it...but Honda's lack of interest is concerning in that I don't feel like once the warranty is out they could care less. I called Honda Customer Service and they literally said once it is out of warranty any issues become those for the owner to resolve.

This is our second battery fail. Having AAA jump the car again so we can put in a new battery. Hopefully larger and better. Honda says there is nothing wrong with the other battery. It's still under warranty for two more years. I see so many complaints regarding battery failure on this CR-V and it covers a number of years; With Honda not helping anyone. Sounds like they are jumping around getting money out of people so they are not responsible and the consumer ends up eating it in the long run. Does anyone have any solutions? Our engine size is 185h, 2.4L, 4cylinder. Will let you know if there are more problems in the future. Not sure a larger, stronger battery will fit. Will find out later today. 04/09/2018 And we are going to another mechanic as we no longer trust Honda to fix the problem.

Since I purchased my 2012 CRV I've replaced the battery 3 times. Today the third battery was installed and the dealer insists that all systems are operating within acceptable limits. The second battery was replaced under warranty but I had to pay for this one and the diagnostics. In 2015 I reported it to a class action lawsuit website that all other 2012 CRV owners should report on too. Here is the site to report your issue: http://www.consumerclassactionlawyers.com/2012-honda-crv-battery-class-action-investigation.html

Bought brand new. First time it happened a month after buying and died while pumping gas, all of four minutes. Honda refused to do anything. After taking it back the third time they said Honda released a SR to update the computer. Ok, fine. It was free. This has happened at least 10 times over four years. After the third time and a planned trip to the beach, I went to Interstate to get a new battery. After buying the battery and having it installed the morning of our trip, the interstate guys finally decides to tell me that Honda uses interstate batteries and he has replaced numerous NEW CRV batteries for the EXACT SAME ISSUE. This is my first and last Honda. If Honda won't fix a SIMPLE that could result in a BAD SITUATION, then I don't trust Honda. I would NEVER let my daughters drive this CRV or ANY Honda. Shame on you Honda. First-time and last-time Honda buyer here......

Ever since I bought my CR-V the battery has been an issue. It would hesitate in starting. I replaced the battery when the car was just a couple of years old hoping a better battery would solve the problem. Less than 2 years later I had to replace it again. Our 2011 Ford still has it's original battery. I think there's something in Honda's system that's causing the batteries to die early. If this happens again in the next couple of years I'll likely have to replace the car and it won't be with a Honda. Too bad. I like everything else about the car, but I can't stand to have car trouble and not know when my car is going to run or not.