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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,435 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2018 Honda CR-V engine problems

engine 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 (Page 12 of 23)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #225

Feb 052019

CR-V

  • 14,830 miles

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

My 2018 Honda cr -V 1,5 has a issue with gas getting in the oil, I did take to the Honda dealer and they performed the recall at 12913 miles to fix this issue, at 14830 miles I checked the oil in the 1917 miles since recall performed oil became about a quart more so oil is deluded with gas still a issue after Honda recall, I called Honda and they said just take it to the dealer for a oil change, I can not pay $75 plus every 2K miles for a oil change, Honda does not have a solution or acts like they even think this is a big issue

- Fenton, MI, USA

problem #224

Jan 092019

CR-V

  • miles
The engine is diluted with gas. When I check the oil level in a cold morning, the oil level is 2 inches above the max oil level on the dipstick. I called Honda help line, and they refuse to acknowledge the problem. There are known tsbs for our car, and they refuse to apply the tsbs to my car because they are rolling out the fix to other states first.

- Bellevue, WA, USA

problem #223

Jan 042019

CR-V

  • 9,000 miles
Driving in the highway engine light came on. After a few mintues all the warning lights came on and the engine started to slowing down. Got towed and the dealership told me I have a multiple misfire and the engine oil is over the recommended oil in the dipstick, and it smells mixed with fuel. They just change the oil and didnt fix the software

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #222

Dec 272018

CR-V

  • 11,000 miles

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

Have a 2018 Honda CRV with the 2.4L engine, I keep getting a gas/ exhuast smell inside the passenger cab while it is idling (statioary) and fuel smell in engine oil. Took it to the dealer they said they were unable to duplicate customers concern and thos motor does not have a recall on it. Mybe it should. The promblem just happened again, I am going to take it in again. This is my family car, this should not be happening it is supposed to be safe. If my county L live in, had emission testing, it probably wouldn't pass, the tail pipe has black carbon on it.

- Wheatfield, IN, USA

problem #221

Feb 012019

CR-V

  • miles
Problem with gasoline getting into engine oil and turning oil dark brown. Engine 1.5-liter turbo. Research shows that gasoline in the engine oil raises the oil level, and triggers a terrible smell and brings into question the prospect of long-term damage caused by the oil's inability to properly protest the engine. Bought car new Feb 1, 2018. Aug. 8, 2018 first dealer scheduled oil change mileage 6,532 maintenance indicator 15%. at change oil checked out at full and clear. Checked oil in early Nov and found the clear oil was now over the full mark by half inch and had turned dark brown. On internet found other car owners were having the same problem. Had oil changed before normal maintenance schedule because of oil problem. Jan 31, 2019 maintenance indicator was at 30% and dark brown oil was half inch over full on dipstick. Mileage at 12,005 miles. Average driving 1000 miles a month. Mostly open highway driving. Dealer said that Honda had a fix but fix did not apply to the state of North Carolina because it was not a cold weather state. Engine get up and go has gotten worse the last couple of months.

- Sunset Beach, NC, USA

problem #220

Feb 022019

CR-V

  • 2,768 miles
The car began stalling and would not drive over 10 mph. Smelled terribly and all warning lights went off. Only 2,768 miles.

- Northbrook, IL, USA

problem #219

Feb 012019

CR-V

  • 5,017 miles

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

Driving in winter conditions. Car lost power. Engine light came on. Was able to coast about a quarter mile to a safe place on the side of the road. By the time I parked the car smoke was coming out of the front and back of the vehicle. There was a strong smell like something burning. When I restarted the car to get heat while waiting for roadside assistance the dash lights were flashing and multiple system failure messages. Car unable to drive over bout 5 miles per hour. Had to tow to dealership.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

problem #218

Jan 142019

CR-V

  • 2,400 miles
The active safety and driver assist systems randomly switch themselves on and off while in motion and are unreliable. This has happened at both high and low speeds. It has happen in normal driving weather conditions and cold with snow flurries. This vehicle fails to warm to to "normal" operating tempers especial on mn cold days. It may not warm up period on days where the temperature fall to 15 degrees or lower. On days of 50 degrees or less it warms up when driving highway speeds but in low speed situations it may not warm up at all. There is the distinct smell of gasoline in the car at times. Additionally this vehicle appears to have an oil dilution problem as the oil level registers above the max oil level line on a regular basis. In my mind these are all safety issues. I wonder if the safety systems will actually work if and when I need them. I wonder if this car is going to burst into flames as I can small gasoline in the cabin. If I smelled gas in me house they recommend I leave the premises. I can't really do with I am driving down the road. I do have a few pictures of some of the electronic warning and temp gauge but cannot download from this location. I am listing here the first incidence but know there are a few incidences.

- Edina, MN, USA

problem #217

Dec 122018

CR-V

  • 3,000 miles
Purchased the 2018 Honda CR-V ex-L new from pearson Honda, midlothian va. 23112. Shortly after the purchase I noticed the odor of gas inside the vehicle. During December 2018, I called the dealer complaining that there was a strong odor of gas in the engine oil. I was advised to bring the vehicle in and they offered to change the oil free of charge. I researched on the internet and discovered that Honda knew about this engine defect during 2017 and still installed the defected engines in the 2018 CR-V. Honda has issued a recall to correct the problem, but not for vehicles registered in va. I contacted the dealer and was advised to keep bringing in the vehicle after a short period of time for additional free oil changes. This is not acceptable and any assistance from you will be greatly appreciated. Second issue: While traveling on the interstate at speeds over 50mph without warning the vehicle would brake very hard, usually as a second vehicle is being over taken in the right lane. I reported this situation to the dealer and was advised the sensors are just very sensitive. This is a sporadic problem.

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

problem #216

Jan 012019

CR-V

  • 11,000 miles
Sport Honda confirmed that gasoline is mixed in with oil...the oil stick has very black oil up high on the stick. On several ocsasions in Jan 2019 a strong chemical smell appeared in the car cabin... the gas mileage dropped abruptly at this time by 12% the Honda dealer has know about this problem since early morning Jan 31,2019 and has not returned my 2 phone calls. The strong smell only occured while driving.

- Columbia, MD, USA

problem #215

Jan 302019

CR-V

  • 3,500 miles

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

During cold weather operation on 01/30/2019 after ~10-15 minutes of driving (and after the engine temperature gauge indicated a warmed up engine) I experienced engine sputtering when accelerating from a stop sign in a residential area. The engine "skipped" once below 10mph which felt like a bad shift (but it has a cvt) and then once reaching ~17mph, the engine repeatedly sputtered preventing further acceleration; the check engine light began flashing while the sputtering was occurring. I was able to limp the vehicle an additional ~.1 miles to my driveway. After turning the car off, I was able to restart the engine with no engine light on, but had the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership for further evaluation.

- Rockford, IL, USA

problem #214

Jan 262019

CR-V

  • miles
Takata recall the oil level in my Honda extremely raised higher the max. Bar, and it smells gas. I'm scared to drive my car on highway becaus I don't know what can happen if the oil will leak or the car will just suddenly stope. Please address this issues to Honda. Thank you

- Manchester, NH, USA

problem #213

Oct 012018

CR-V

  • 16,000 miles
I'm having two issues with my CR-V 1) engine oil level is showing more than the higher limit because of engine oil dilution. 2) gasoline smell in the cabin. I contacted Honda on these issues but they said my vehicle doesn't have any recall notice and there is nothing they can do.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #212

Jan 292019

CR-V

  • 9,000 miles
The heat in the 2018 CRV does not operate safely during average winter temperatures (North Dakota). When it is actually cold outside, below zero degrees Fahrenheit, the heat is non existent causing a terrible problem with defrosting windows. I brought the vehicle to the dealer for resolution. They stated that it was a known issue with this model engine and there was no fix in place from Honda. I proceeded with an incident with american Honda which the customer representative stated that this was an unknown issue even though the dealer and many car forums say otherwise. I guess now I wait for resolution, trade the vehicle, or crash as my windshield fogs up driving down the road.

- Reiles Acres, ND, USA

problem #211

Mar 302018

CR-V

  • miles
Problem with gasoline mixing in with the engine oil. Took to dealer for recall and problem is worse. Dealer advised to file a complaint with Honda Corp and the NHTSA.

- Bedford, IN, USA

problem #210

Jan 052019

CR-V

  • 12,341 miles
Gas leaking into the engines oil, causing oil level to rise, strong smell of gas around car concern about the possibility of fire.

- Murphy, NC, USA

problem #209

Jan 252019

CR-V

  • 12,600 miles
On 2019-01-25 at about 12:25pm I experienced a loss of engine power while accelerating to merge with traffic. Coming from a full stop I turned right onto a merge lane and depressed the accelerator. Car sped up then suddenly lost rpms. I made it to 45mph and, fortunately, had enough time to merge. If I had started one or two seconds later, I would've had to panic-brake in the merge lane instead of merging. This was disconcerting. Car had been driven for 10 minutes earlier that morning; I had then done a quick shopping trip and had resumed driving. Outside air temperature was in the 30S. Car is regularly driven short distances in our small town. Oil level, measured at dipstick with car level and engine cold, is well past the high mark.

- Los Alamos, NM, USA

problem #208

Jan 252019

CR-V

  • miles
Engine oil appears to be diluted even after Honda's fix. Heater works poorly even after fix.

- Franklin Park, IL, USA

problem #207

Jan 012019

CR-V

  • miles
Oil dilution. The oil level in the crankcase continually rises due to gas seepage causing premature wear to the engine. Ongoing since purchased vehicle new. The engine also never warms up to operating temperature unless your going highway speeds. This is highly unsatisfactory when around town.

- Winchester, VA, USA

problem #206

Jan 232019

CR-V

  • 9,400 miles
Oil is diluted with gasoline. Oil volume was a quart overfull. It was stationary.

- Charleston, SC, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?