There have been several occasions that this vehicle has decided to "downshift" which causes the over-revving of the engine. Each time the engine surged to approximately 4,000RPM. It seemed like, if this was a geared transmission, it shifted two gears down ( like from Third to FIRST! ) No normal driver would do this while on any downgrade and feel it was safe for the vehicle or the passengers.

In my past life as a Certified ASE technician I would consider this a serious matter and hope the Automotive Manufacturer would feel the same. There are a lot of these vehicles on the road, I can't believe there are not more complaints about this event.

HONDA - we know the engine and transmission are controlled by a computer. How about an upgrade to the firmware/software to correct this issue?

The hesitation/vibration problem is noticeable (intermittent shuddering as if a wheel is out of alignment and/or the vehicle has just hit a patch of black ice, but related to the newly designed CRV transmission, a problem common to all CRV 2015 that does not yet have a fix). But what really stunned me was a sudden EXTREMELY HIGH REV when going down a small hill. I was braking lightly at the time. (Service told me that the transmission downshifts on hills, so, using the brake caused this??!!) It didn't last long, but the engine raced so completely out of control that the vehicle did not feel safe. The noise was incredible. It didn't happen again for over a week, and I assumed it was due to using the brake on a hill (huh!!??). (I stopped using the brake on hills and noticed that the transmission didn't always downshift, sometimes it shifted UP as the vehicle gained speed! What to do...)

I brought the vehicle in to service about the vibration issue, and was told that all CRV 2015 have this vibration issue and there's no fix yet. I left cheerfully enough, and driving home, the surge/rev happened AGAIN, going UP a hill, with no use of the brake. I called my salesman, and the next morning returned the vehicle to the dealership and asked for my money back, because the car is not safe to drive. He wouldn't give my money back until this problem is proven by a Honda Canada engineer on this OR ON ANOTHER CRV 2015 VEHICLE. I left the car there. So CANADIANS-- I NEED YOUR HELP IF YOU HAVE THIS PROBLEM! See the CRV forum and find me there. I owned it for 20 days, a little over 1000K (500 miles). The surge/rev problem only occurred twice, on WINDING HILLY ROADS. The vibration/hesitation problem happens anywhere, but is more pronounced on winding hilly roads.

Update from Feb 21, 2015: Had a chance to test-drive my vehicle with the engineer from Honda Canada. The over-rev was just the new CVT transmission downshifting at low speeds on hilly roads. We clocked it at 3000 rpm (it had seemed 4000 when I drove alone). But any high rev is quickly calmed by a touch of brake. And the sound of high rev that would have come close to cooking a new engine 20 years ago, when engines redlined at 5000 rpm, was no big deal with the Honda race car engine, which redlines at 7000 rpm. Unnerving, sure, to anyone unfamiliar with the phenomenon of a race car engine in an SUV. Also, a new vehicle's software over responds to a new owner at first.