There are 50 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2015 Honda CR-Vin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
While driving at normal speed, the vehicle suddenly began to shudder and produce unusual mechanical noise. Within seconds, the car lost all ability to accelerate despite pressing the gas pedal. The vehicle lost power in live traffic and had to be coasted to the side of the road. There were no warning lights, no error codes, and no fluid leaks. This was a sudden, dangerous failure. A family member who is a new driver was operating the vehicle at the time, with passengers on board. This created a serious safety risk to both my family and surrounding drivers. The situation could have resulted in a serious accident if it had occurred on a highway instead of a city street. The problem was diagnosed by a trusted independent repair shop as a complete internal failure of the CVT transmission. They confirmed the component failure occurred without any external damage or signs of neglect. The transmission had to be replaced at significant cost. The component has not been inspected by Honda. However, I have dashcam video showing the moment of failure, including the vehicle shuddering, power loss, and driver reaction. The video clearly shows the dangerous nature of the incident and is available for inspection upon request. To my knowledge, this is a known issue affecting this generation of Honda CR-Vs with CVT transmissions. Honda refused reimbursement assistance despite full documentation, citing the vehicle being out of warranty — even though this is the type of premature mechanical failure their Goodwill Assistance policy is supposed to address. No warning lamps, messages, or prior symptoms appeared before the failure.
The contact owns a 2015 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to respond while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that while making a turn from a complete stop, the vehicle temporarily stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to contact the local dealer several times, but the dealer was unreachable. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.
While driving on highway at 70 mph on cruise control, the transmission went out of gear causing the engine to rev and the vehicle to slow. Pulled over to side of road, turned off engine, turned it back on and could not get transmission to go into any gear. Had to be towed
I was driving 55 miles an hour on a country road and a transmission completely disengage from the engine. There were no warning signs or messages on dashboard at all about any kind of transmission issue
Differential problem, converter torque locked up transmission and froze engine. No engine light or warnings were given, this happened in the middle of rush hour traffic where I could have been rear ended from sudden engine failure and was very dangerous for me to exit my vehicle for help. I had the vehicle repaired at Lithia Honda Medford oregon.
Vehicle stalls when in reverse and backing up after it has sat for a period of time, sometimes as little as 16 hours. While backing up, the vehicle stalls and shuts off.
While traveling approximately 65 mph on a heavily traveled, two-laned interstate portion with minimal emergency lane access, my vehicle suddenly lost all power: first slowing down and struggling for power around 40 mph, then, completely shutting down and losing all power leaving the vehicle completely without any power and minimal control to exit the roadway or move to a safer location. I managed to coast and pull my vehicle over to the side of the interstate just after a busy cloverleaf on-ramp and on an overpass and call for assistance from the State Highway Patrol who in turn called for a tow truck. On-ramp traffic was unable to move over to the left lane as they were on-coming and merging with existing interstate traffic, coming dangerously close to myself and the State Trooper at times. So much so, I truly feared for my safety and the safety of the trooper. Also, because of the location, I was unable to get out of my car and stand to the side out of harm's way. The vehicle was diagnosed at the Honda Dealership in Tucson as a "complete transmission failure" and would have to be replaced with a new transmission for approximately $6,000.
I was driving on an expressway on July 25, 2022 and my car stopped accelerating at a speed of 70mph. The RPMs would move but there was no acceleration and the speedometer wouldn’t go above zero. After pulling over I had to have the car towed. The dealer indicated that the transmission was damaged due to lack of transmission fluid. My safety and the safety of my son were compromised as I was driving on a busy expressway and the transmission just stopped working with no warning. There were no warnings that transmission fluid was low (yet I get warnings for things like tire pressure and oil?). I regularly have this vehicle serviced so I feel like this is some defect and do not understand how this could happen with no warning. The car is still being repaired so I do not know if the parts are still available.
no engine light, honda dealer misdiagnosed the issue and told me the car was safe to drive. I broke down and then was told I needed a new transmission, there is only 87k miles on it
Purchased used at 64,000 miles. Second day of ownership/operation vehicle began stalling while in operation on the road. This happened when coming to a stop, when accelerating from a stop and while at high speeds on the highway. I am not sure if th problem is caused by drivetrain, fuel delivery, engine, or electrical issues.
This vehicle shakes pretty badly at idle. We took it to Honda for repairs, there is no recall for this but they did have a service bulletin for the issue. They replaced the headrest and two mounts, one was for the transmission and the other I think was for the condenser unit and recalibrated the idle. The car did improve although the shaking was still there at idle. This was done in October and in the last two weeks the problem has gotten worse then when we first took it to Honda. The car shakes very badly and doesn't feel safe for my kids. I have resorted to putting the vehicle in Neutral at stop lights which helps.
The contact owns a 2015 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while driving 35 mph, the vehicle lost motive power but did not shut-off. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal were depressed but failed to respond. The contact veered to the side of the road where she attempted to drive the vehicle again but was unsuccessful. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.
THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN MY 2015 HONDA CR-V AWD TOURING EDITION AUTOMATICALLY DOWNSHIFTS INTO A LOWER GEAR WHEN I START DRIVING DOWN A HILL. THIS CAUSES THE ENGINE TO REV HIGH AND WHINE LOUDLY UNTIL I REACH THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL WHEN IT FINALLY UPSHIFTS AND WORKS CORRECTLY. THE ENGINE IS WORKING TOO HARD TO MAINTAIN A SLOW SPEED DURING THE DESCENT. CAN THE TRANSMISSION BE ADJUSTED SO IT DOESN'T DOWNSHIFT AND HOLD THE VEHICLE BACK? OR IS THIS A DEFECT WITH THIS TRANSMISSION THAT WILL BE COVERED UNDER MY EXTENDED WARRANTY? IF SO, HOW CAN I GET A REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION INSTALLED?
DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON STRAIGHT STRETCH OF THE FREEWAY AT ABOUT 60MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AND I COASTED TO THE SIDE OF FREEWAY. PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND THEN TURNED OFF VEHICLE. STARTED RIGHT UP BUT WHEN I SHIFTED THE ENGINE WOULD REV BUT NOT ENGAGE THE TRANSMISSION. NONE OF THE GEARS WOULD ENGAGE. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO GOODYEAR TIRE AND AUTO IN DAVIS, CA AND ASSESSED FOR PROBLEM. THEY CONTACTED THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD FAILED AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AT A COST OF ABOUT $4600. THE VEHICLE HAD 87,000 MILES ON IT AND THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY EXPIRED AT 80,000. WE CONTACTED HONDA BUT THEY SAID THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY WOULD DO. IT SEEMS THAT THIS YEAR HONDA HAD A SOFTWARE RECALL WHICH WAS COMPLETED ON THIS VEHICLE AFTER SEVERAL THOUSAND MILES OF USE IN 2016. THE SOFTWARE RECALL FIXED A PROBLEM THAT WOULD LEAD TO THIS EXACT FAILURE IN THE TRANSMISSION. IF DAMAGE HAD OCCURRED PRIOR TO THE SOFTWARE FIX THEN IT SEEMS LIKELY IT COULD SHORTEN THE EXPECTED LIFE OF THE TRANSMISSION AND CONTRIBUTED TO THIS TRANSMISSION FAILURE.
WHEN I PULLED THE CAR OUT FROM GARAGE, THE CAR STOPPED. IT HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE IN TWO WEEKS.
LOUD RATTLE NOISE ON COLD START AND LASTS FOR 1-2 SECONDS. MY LOCAL HONDA DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT IT'S THE VTC ACTUATOR AND CURRENTLY THERE'S NO FIX FOR IT. IF REPLACED, IT WILL EVENTUALLY COMES BACK AGAIN.
VEHICLE STALLS WHILE REVERSING IN A PARKING LOT WHILE IN MOTION. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE RELATED TO HONDA/SERVICE BULLETIN 18-072 AS ATTACHED. THIS HAS BEEN OBSERVED 3 TIMES. ON COLD START AFTER ABOUT 5-10 SECONDS THE ENGINE DIES. ADDITIONALLY NO DIAGNOSTIC ERROR CODE OR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATES GIVING NO INDICATION THERE IS A PROBLEM. THE CAR DOES START AFTER THIS HAPPENS ALTHOUGH IT HAS IN THE PAST, NOT THE LAST TIME THIS ISSUE OCCURRED, I DID HEAVE TO CHOKE THE ENGINE TO GET IT TO START. DURING THE LAST INCIDENT THE AMBIENT OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE WAS ~70F. THE CAR WAS STARTED AND PUT INTO REVERSE WITHIN THE FIRST 5 SECONDS OF IGNITION. THE VEHICLE WAS ON A FLAT SURFACE DURING THE INCIDENT. NO ACCESSORIES WERE RUNNING EXCEPT FOR THE HEADLIGHTS. I WAS NOT TURNING BUT BACKING UP STRAIGHT INTO A PARKING SPOT BEFORE LOSS OF POWER AND CONTROL.
ENGINE IS A LEMON I PAID $40000 AND THE 3 RD CYLINDER OF THE MOTOR IS BAD MY MECHANIC SAID I NEED A NEW MOTOR BUT HONDA WILL NOT HELP ME I DON'T RECOMMEND IT TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS
2015 HONDA CR-V SUV WAS TRAVELING HIGHWAY SPEED (55MPH) IN ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL MODE. WEATHER AT THE TIME OF IMPACT WAS 50F. ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL FAILED TO DETECT VEHICLE IN FRONT AND ACCELERATION OCCURRED RESULTING IN IMPACT.
MY SON COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED OR INJURED BECAUSE OF THIS VEHICLE. I BOUGHT THIS 2015 CRV USED WITH APPROXIMATELY 31,400. MILES. CHECKED THE CAR FAX NO PROBLEMS NO ACCIDENTS REPORTED. THE CAR DEALER WHO INSPECTED THE CAR AND SERVICED IT. IT HAD AN OIL JOB, BATTERY, TIRES REPLACED. DROVE IT FOR 4 MONTHS WITH NO PROBLEMS. I AM STILL UNDER THE POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. THEN DECEMBER 17 THE TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE MY 22 YEAR OLD SON WAS DRIVING IT ON THE ROADWAY. JUST LOST POWERS. SOMEONE EVENTUALLY PUSHED HIS CAR OFF TO THE SIDE OF ROAD AND OUT OF TRAFFIC. WE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO JOYCE HONDA. ALTHOUGH UNDER WARRANTY THEY REFUSED TO FIX IT. SAID THE CAR HAD ONLY 1 GALLON OF TRANSMISSION FLUID. NO LEAKS. THERE WAS NO PROBLEMS PRIOR, NO LIGHTS LITE UP ON THE DASHBOARD WARNING US TO SERVICE OR CHECK THE ENGINE. NO FUMES. WE DIDN'T EVEN OWN THE CAR LONG ENOUGH TO NEED AN OIL JOB YET. I SPOKE TO OTHER MECHANICS WHO SAID IT'S DEFECTIVE. IT COULD NOTBHAVE BEEN DRIVEN FOR FOUR MONTHS ON ONE GALLON TRANSMISSION FLUID. I KNOW HONDA HAS HAD MANY COMPLAINTS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. IT'S A DEFECTIVE TORGUE CONVERTER THAT IS BURNING OFF THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. I HAVE A CASE OPEN WITH HONDA BUT THEY REFUSE TO HONOR MY POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. THIS IS A $4800 REPAIR! HONDA NEEDS TO STAND BY ITS WARRANTY.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026