CarComplaints.com Notes: It's rare when a newer vehicle has defect trends. Judging from the identical 2017 model year, the 2018 Honda CR-V is likely to have at least two — overfilled oil levels with a gas smell, & heat not working.

Both problems affecting the Honda CR-V's 1.5L "Earth Dreams" engine appear to be related to cold-climate regions.

CR-V owners report overfilled oil levels due to fuel in the oil, & sometimes a gas smell in the cabin. That problem appears to be related to fuel injection which Honda hopes to fix via a software update. Honda so far has only conducted a recall in China & a "product update" in Canada.

CR-V owners also report no heat even after warming up their CR-Vs for 30 minutes — not even enough to defrost the windshield. So far, there has been no fix from Honda for this issue.

7.3

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
35,650 miles
Total Complaints:
3 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. not sure (2 reports)
  2. replace wire harness (1 reports)
Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
2018 Honda CR-V electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2018 Honda CR-V:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2018 Honda CR-V Owner Comments

problem #3

Jun 012023

CR-V EX 1.5L

  • CVT transmission
  • 86,992 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When starting the CRV, multiple warnings come up on the dashboard and cycle thru with ding alarms (brake system, brake hold, EPS, VSA, hill start, cruise control, collision mitigation, road departure, TPMS). Doesn't happen every time, random and frequent for no reason at all. VERY DISCONCERNING since the owner doesn't know if it's a false alarm or if it's a genuine problem!

Dealership is no help, no idea what the root cause is.

I cannot afford to pay huge repairs when they are just guessing. Tried different things including reboot with no success. This is a common problem with this model CRV and Honda has yet to identify the issue. This needs corrective action NOW as a safety issue, and a recall for repair/replacement should be implemented ASAP.

- James B., Collingwood, ON, Canada

problem #2

Apr 222019

CR-V EX

  • Automatic transmission
  • 19,861 miles

After work I started my car and it would NOT go out of park and every warning light you can think of came on. Car was towed to the dealer. 1st they replaced the electric brake booster, did nothing, so then replaced engine compartment wire harness. Picked up the car on May 4th Saturday. On Monday evening while driving on the expressway all the warning lights stared flashing, drove car to Honda, was closed, backed in and turned car off. Tried to start car and started fine so drove it home. In the morning, same thing. Car would start but could not get it to come ouT of park. TheY replaced D5 fuse and claim that found 2 broken wires at the mirror connection that were recessed into the harness shielding.

- Joni D., Mc Kinney, TX, US

problem #1

Nov 302018

CR-V EXL Turbo

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20 miles

I went in to Honda to trade my 2016 CRV touring for the 2019 EX-L. I liked the larger footprint of the car, and many features were added as standard, so I did not need to get the touring model. I went in on the last day of the month as the manager had insisted he could offer a great deal on the trade. Once I was in the showroom the salesman and the manager pushed the 2018 stating there were no difference in style or features in the 2018 and 2019. Every time I mentioned the 2019, they both hit me with what a great deal the 2018 was and pulled one around for me to drive.

Long and short of it I went against my better instinct and purchased the 2018. Once I drove it for a day or two I immediately had warnings in the dash along with an audible beep for the Adaptive Cruise Control, and brake system. The car beeps all the time and the only reason I have not been to the dealer yet is that they refuse to look at this car on a Saturday, as I work M-F.

I had asked immediately to trade it for the 2019 which is not reported to have these sensing problems but now, the car that he insisted had so many improvements is not worth as much as the 2016. His suggestion to help is to offer a loaner, they refuse to trade my car for the 2019 at minimal cost. Honda returned 280K of these cars in China. They are aware of it, and I think they wanted rid of the 2018's as fast as possible. Now I am dealing with a repair and from the internet reports, will continue to have issues.

Update from Mar 19, 2019: A new camera was installed and the car has had no further issues. However, the 2018's have an additional problem of gas mixing with the oil in the engine. Honda has recalled this car in the northern states as this problem can affect starting the car in cold weather with some of the cars just stalling out on the highway. The only way to know if your car has this problem is to go to the dealer and the vin# will identify if your car has the problem. Ultimately, this will cause wear and tear issues on the engine. The dealership where I purchased the car offers a 10 year of million mile warranty, however I am not sure what other issues this defect may cause that I would be liable for paying. On my first oil change I am going to have them check my car for this issue. I am hoping it is not one of the cars affected.

- rmoonglowac, Fletcher, US

Not what you are looking for?