I am incredibly disappointed with my 2017 Honda CR-V's heating system. I live in a northern community where temperatures can be below -40 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, due to my CR-V's inadequate and unacceptable heating system, I spent 90% of my drives to work chattering my teeth! How is this possible? Fogged windows, Iced windshield. Frozen toes.

To make the situation even worse, the command start is pathetic! Why bother have a factory installed command start? Absolutely pointless! My 2005 Equinox, with a Canadian Tire installed command start, is superior to the CR-V. Unacceptable. Frustrating. Disappointing.

I've really tried to love my CR-V since I purchase it in October; however, it's not happening.

This is the coldest car I have ever owned. It literally runs in the driveway for 20 minutes and generates little to no heat. Then 10 minutes into driving it, it finally starts to warm up but if you stop at a railroad crossing, you can expect to be cold again.

I let 2 friends drive the car during the winter and both have called me to ask how to turn the heat on. This is pretty embarrassing and makes me feel very angry considering that I just financed close to $30,000 to buy it.

I am really disappointed in Honda for acting like they've never even heard of the problem. At the time of writing this post it's listed as the #1 complaint on this website and they haven't even started admitting that it's a problem, not to mention a safety hazard. People have been complaining that in really cold weather, their windshield freezes from the inside due to no heat generation, I could only imagine what would happen if your windshield froze while driving on the highway.

Last thing I want to add is that I will also never be buying another Honda again.

I am living in Waterloo, ON and as you all knows, it can be really cold here in southern Ontario. I bought my CRV 2017 on October 2017 and in the first winter I found that the heating system is not working properly. Every morning I have to use the remote start engine but it does not help at all. It takes a lot of time to warm the engine and the heating is awful. You MUST go to highway for a fairly long time to make your engine warm and heating start. I don’t know but I am really disappointed with my purchase since I could buy a different SUV with 40K.

This is also my first brand new vehicle. I purchased it because my wife was pregnant with our baby boy at the time and I wanted a safe AWD SUV. I honestly wish I didn't, I would gladly return this car right now if I could.

This vehicle has a major heating issue, if you start the car and do not drive it, just sit in it, you might as well have the car turned off because it does not generate heat when the vehicle is stationary. Now that we have a baby, we make frequent trips to the doctor to get check ups, vaccines, etc. I start my CRV via remote in the morning, let it run for about 10 min, then start it again. I put my son in his car seat and when I get in the car it's still really cold. I drive the vehicle mostly in the city and it takes sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes longer to finally heat up. I've searched many forums and websites for a solution to the problem and almost everybody is having the same issue. This is my 3rd Honda and I wouldn't keep buying them if I didn't like them but unfortunately this will be the last one.

Honda has done nothing to address this problem and everybody is complaining about it. If Honda does not issue a recall and fix this problem, I promise that I will never buy another Honda again, and I will try to prevent everybody I know from buying a Honda.

Purchased CRV in April 2017. No complaints until temps dropped below 15deg in November. Would not warm up even after 10 min. I drive city speeds to work, it is never more than a third of the way to normal on gauge. Going down hill and idling the gauge will drop to nothing.

Returned to dealer with issue. They checked and said everything was normal. They kept car overnight so they could go from cold start. They found same problem and said it needed a new thermostat. It was replaced, but unfortunately the temp didn't get low enough to see if the problem as been corrected.

I live in Central New York and we have cold winters from November til March or so. The car operated well in the warmer months, but as soon as the cold days came it was awful. The car's thermostat for engine heat can take a long time to warm up or even display even after 10 minutes of driving around. The car's HVAC system doesn't blow out warm air unless the car has been running for a long period of time. For a car of this value and integrity, I wouldn't expect such a poor performing heating system. This is very unfortunate especially with small children who get placed into a cold car and the car doesn't warm up to a comfortable temp for the safety and comfort of it's passengers. For this reason alone I would be glad to get rid of this car or have never bought it.

Not in a million years would I have believed that I'd buy a new Honda and not have sufficient heat during the cold Chicagoland winter. I mean it's like I don't even want to ride in my car. I called Honda and while they were somewhat understanding I still feel they know it's a problem and they cannot/will not do anything about it. Unbelievable, a new car and the heat barely keeps you warm enough to operate the vehicle. I hope this issue is resolved if possible, I'm thinking class action lawsuit, anyone agree? Also I wonder if the 2018 is any better, the one thing I cannot do without is HEAT!

Purchased 2017 CRV in October 2017. This is the 5th Honda I have owned. I have brought it in twice to Honda Service because of the extremely poor heat. I am located in Winnipeg and it gets cold here in the Winter.Even with the remote start and idling the vehicle for extended amounts of time, it does not heat up.It heats up slightly in city driving until I come to a red light and the temperature gauge drops right down to nothing.For short trips it never really warms up while my 2013 Civic warms up very quickly. Family members do not want to sit in the back seat as it is much too cold. On cold days we use the Civic.What a waste of $37,000!!!

The first time in for service, I was told to turn temp all the way to high and keep the fan speed at the lowest setting. Never had to do this with any vehicle in the last 40 years. The second time, I was told to set temperature at 24 degrees and fan speed at 4 and not use Eco feature. My Sales Rep mentioned that he had numerous complaints from customers regarding this issue.

Called Honda Canada and did not hear back as they indicated.I called again and then did hear back. They said that the engines are smaller for better fuel economy and what I am experiencing is normal. I said it was not acceptable and was told that they are sorry I felt that way, but nothing could be done. No plans are in the works to address this issue. I have heard that the 2018s do not have this issue.

I have recommended Honda to many in the past, but no more. I recently talked a friend out of buying a CRV. Very disappointed in Honda's support especially for a long time customer.

Update from Dec 4, 2018: Just had vehicle serviced as part of the Product Update campaign due to gas dilution in oil. Heat much better now and warms up much faster even at idle. Remote start actually warms vehicle up now! I wish that Honda would have addressed this issue last year after repeated attempts to do so. Happy that it appears to be fixed.

Update from Jan 23, 2019: Had oil dilution fix done in November. Just returned it to dealership as oil level is very high ans still smells of gas. Service advised that high levels are normal for this engine and no further fixes are required. he said to go watch Honda youtube video. What a joke. Honda's solution to a problem is to simply have a video done to say that there is no problem!

Have read the dozen or more complaints regarding this problem from other owners. So, I am experiencing the same problem, with the temperature gauge staying buried on Cold and no matter how long you run the car there is no heat. Let me add another perspective. We have had this vehicle since March 2017 and until this problem started, the car always heated up quickly and within 7 minutes or less, the temperature gauge always cam up to about half-way. Heat was great and often we had to turn it down because it was too warm, even in minus 30 Edmonton in late January.

Taken it in to Calgary Honda twice - they tell me everything checks out, but agree the problem is still there when they road test it. They agree, off the record, that the problem is likely a defective thermostat, but Honda Canada will not let them replace it.

Escalated to Honda CANADA they tried to convince me this is normal. I asked them not to insult my intelligence, so complaint has been escalated to e mediator. Still waiting for a call back.

Suggest each person with this problem escalate to mediation with Honda Canada, so they can do the right thing and issue a recall.

Update from Dec 9, 2020: After all recalls were completed, problem did not improve substantially, at least on short trips, as this vehicle needs a good 10 minutes in cold weather to warm up. The heated front and rear seats and steering wheel make it tolerable.

Dealer we leased vehicle from offered to install a free DEFA system, which replaces the factory block heater (which they admitted is useless) It also includes and in-car heater and is Bluetooth enabled so can be turned on and off and programmed from a smartphone. Apparently this is a $1,200 system that the dealer installed for free. Squeeky wheel gets the grease.

Overall at just over 65K kilometers, the vehicle is brillaint overall, except for this issue and a chronic squeek coming from the dashboard, which drives me mental. Overall, it is such an easy vehicle to live with and gets astoundingly good gas mileage, so am planning to buy it out and keep it at the end of the lease next year.

One tip is that the 10K oil change interval is way too long, so I am getting it done every 6000K. as such, never experienced any of the rumoured oil dillution issues.

I first noticed that I had a problem with windows frosting up inside and defrost being unable to clear the windows about mid January. My husband drove it and found that the windows fogged up on him too, and AC came on at times. We took it to the dealership, who found nothing wrong and said the AC is supposed to come on in winter to prevent fogging. They never mentioned on the invoice that the heat is nonexistent at very cold temps. They said the vehicle worked as it was supposed to.

It became very cold -28C on Feb 6 and the same thing happened when the windows fogged up inside and got a coating of ice outside as well. The heat coming from the defrost vents was too cold to heat the windows up to thaw them. That's when I took the video. I investigated to see if other people had the same problem and many do! Plus I have discovered that if you drive city, rather than the highway I usually drive, or if you idle, there is no heat being produced to warm you up. The remote start also produces no heat. The car must be driven at higher speeds for heat to be produced inside the vehicle or to defrost windows.

We have been given conflicting information about a solution. I called service at my Honda dealership to ask if other people are having the same problem, and was told they were. My service advisor said they are looking for a fix. Meanwhile, other people have been told there is no fix and Honda isn't looking for one.

This vehicle is absolutely unsuitable to be driven in cold temps and climates. It's a definite safety hazard to drive with your windows fogged up and the vehicle can't create enough heat to defrost them. I am now carrying an adapter plug and a hair dryer in case of emergency. Who spends over $40 000 to do this?

If anyone else has this problem I urge you to contact Honda Canada to file a claim at the very least, which puts you on record. Document your complaints on carcomplaints.com. Check out a Facebook page where many people are posting regarding this problem: 2017-2018 5th.Generation Honda CR-V Owners Group North America. Maybe file complaints with Transport Canada.

The heat is a HUGE problem in this vehicle. The remote start is completely useless as you would only use it to warm up the vehicle which it does not. Picture a freezing morning and you've remote started this car the allotted ten mins max that is factory set. Heck, even start it over for another ten mins once it turns itself off. There will be ZERO heat inside and in fact the engine temperature will stay buried in the cold setting. Forget deicing and warming the cab. So you scrape away as if this thing was a twenty year old beater with no thermostat. Now drive for a while through the little spot you can see through and eventually you feel some warmth. HALLELULYA! But, no, you are heading down a hill and lo and behold there goes the engine gauge again, bottomed out along with the heat you had. But now you're on the level ground and the heat is great... What? You need to sit and idle for a while and wait for a child from school? Hahaha, put your gloves back on, you're gonna need em! five minutes in, there goes the engine gauge... buried so deep into the Cold setting you can't even see it. You turn down the blower because now, even at High heat, it's a tad bit chilly on your face. On a side note, thank God for the heated seats. Great job HONDA!!

Live in North Pole AK where vehicle heat is a necessity. Vehicle will not come up to normal mid range coolant temperature until driven at highway speeds which produces good heat but at idle coolant temperature drops to cold after several minutes (5-10 minutes). I've owned several hondas over 20 years and never had a heating problem. Dealer says its a known honda engineering problem. Dealer system checks on the vehicle shows everything meets specifications. Filed a complaint with Honda and was told there is nothing they can do because dealer found nothing wrong.

Because I was a long time honda customer and very unsatisfied with this vehicle problem Honda mailed me a $300.00 gift card to shut me up. But I want people to be aware of this total disregard to resolve this heating issue. Buyer beware! Honda doesn't care if you have sufficient heat in the new CRV.

Update from Feb 26, 2018: Honda customer service says engineers are working on a solution. Not holding my breath.

Bought at 2017 CRV in the summer and loved it, until the cold weather hit in Atlantic Canada. Using the remote start the engine will not heat up, even after the full 10 minutes of running. The only way to heat the engine or the cabin interior is to drive the CRV usually about 10-15 kms before it even starts to show on the gauge.

I've had it into the local Honda Dealer in Dartmouth NS several times now, they are very professional and polite in telling me that there is nothing they can do expect send the information to the Honda Engineers again. Each time responding with foolish solutions like run your vehicle with the heater on low fan and not on HI temperature, or make sure your ECO button is off. The latest solution was to select auto on my heat dial. Genius I tell you, 25 years and 100,000's driving kilometres and still I can't figure out these strange devices in the cars called a heater. Come on!

I have taken the time to take videos, pictures and even bought a temperature gun at Canadian Tire to prove my case. Still no love from Honda!

Aside from the heater not working properly the heated steering wheel and seats turn on but are pathetic at best. My second vehicle in our household, a 2015 Hyundai Elantra, after 5 minutes you need to turn the heater/ seats down or off cause there toasty warm.

If your live and climate that drops below 5 degrees Celsius you might want to re-consider a CRV, at the very least make sure the heater works as it should.