Honda5 independent sources
2018 · SUV
2018 Honda CR-V Problems, recalls and specs
The second year of the fifth-generation CR-V, which Honda describes as returning unchanged in its powertrains after the 2017 redesign. The LX keeps a 2.4-litre rated 184 hp at 6,400 rpm and 180 lb-ft; EX and above use a 1.5-litre turbo rated 190 hp at 5,600 rpm with 179 lb-ft held from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm, and both run a CVT. This model year holds 2,111 NHTSA complaints, the largest count in this catalogue outside the pickups, and engine is the largest category in them.
Photo coming
Power184–190 hpTorque179–180 lb-ftEPA comb.28–30 mpg
Against 2017
What changed for 2018
- Year two of the fifth generation. Honda describes the 2018 as returning with the same 1.5-litre turbo and 2.4-litre engines introduced for 2017.
- Honda Sensing is standard equipment on EX trims and above.
- Available connectivity features include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
Before you hand over money
Check before you buy
- Check the title status first - clean, salvage, rebuilt, flood or lemon buyback.
- Identify the engine from the VIN. Honda's fuel-dilution warranty extension covers 2017-2018 CR-Vs with the 1.5-litre turbo and takes the powertrain warranty to six years with no mileage limit; the 2.4-litre LX is outside it. The CR-V's turbo carries the code L15BE, which is not the Civic's L15B7.
- Read the oil on a cold engine: level above full, and a petrol smell. That is the pattern the bulletins describe, and a car that has been driven to the viewing hides it.
- Look up open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov. Five campaigns cover this model year, including 18V-663 on the electric power steering torque sensor for 2017-2018 Civic and CR-V, and 23V-858, the Denso low-pressure fuel pump. Dealers close open recalls free.
Two engines offered that year
Engines
Which engine a listing has is the first thing that changes the answer.
| Engine | Power | Torque | Transmission | Drive | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K24W92.4L I4 | 184 hp | 180 lb-ft | CVT | FWD or AWD | 26 city / 32 hwy / 28 combinedFWD |
| L15BE1.5L I4 turbo | 190 hp | 179 lb-ft | CVT | FWD or AWD | 28 city / 34 hwy / 30 combinedFWD |
EPA city / highway / combined, from fueleconomy.gov.
NHTSA public records
Complaints and recalls
Where the complaints land · top 6
ENGINE380
STEERING317
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE251
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM249
FUEL SYSTEM227
UNKNOWN OR OTHER156
All other categories531
A complaint count is not a failure rate. It tracks how many of these were sold and how much attention a problem drew, so a popular car will always show more complaints than a rare one. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, retrieved 2026-08-13.
Documented mechanisms
Known problems
Charging system: battery and alternator
The alternator charges the battery while the engine runs and powers everything electrical. Both are consumable parts with a service life, and on a used car at least one of them has usually been replaced already — or is due.
Air conditioning compressor failure
The compressor is the pump in the air conditioning loop. When it seizes it can send metal debris through the whole system, which turns a component replacement into a system job.
Suspension and steering noise
Bushings, ball joints, link rods and strut mounts are rubber and grease components that wear continuously. They rarely fail suddenly; they get gradually noisier and vaguer, which is why a test drive on a rough road tells you more than one on smooth pavement.
Turbocharger wear and failure
A turbocharger runs at very high speed on an oil-fed bearing, driven by exhaust gas. Its condition is tied directly to the engine's oil history, which makes service records more informative here than on most components.
CVT judder, slip and failure
A continuously variable transmission transmits torque through a steel belt or chain running between two variable-diameter pulleys. It depends on a specific fluid and on the clamping pressure between belt and pulley, which makes fluid condition central to its condition.
Carbon buildup on intake valves
In a direct-injection engine the fuel is sprayed into the cylinder rather than at the intake valve. Nothing washes the back of that valve, so deposits from crankcase ventilation and exhaust gas recirculation accumulate there over time.
Low-pressure fuel pump impeller failure
A fuel pump supplied to several manufacturers has an impeller that can crack and deform, stopping the pump from delivering fuel. Because the part was bought in rather than designed by any one carmaker, the same failure was recalled by Toyota, Honda and others in the same period — the vehicles have nothing else in common.
Petrol in the oil on the 1.5 turbo
Fuel works its way past the rings into the sump, the oil level rises, and the oil stops being oil. Honda extended the powertrain warranty on affected cars to 6 years with no mileage limit and pushed a software update — a bigger response than a bulletin usually gets. Two model years for the CR-V, three for the Civic, and both ranges are narrower than the story's reputation.
What it is good at
Strengths
Running it
Ownership and maintenance
Drivetrain
FWD or AWDReal Time AWD was available on every trim. The economy figures quoted are EPA's front-wheel-drive rows; an all-wheel-drive car is rated separately.
Parts
Common — parts and independent shops are easy to findThe best-selling SUV in the country over this period, so parts supply is deep and independent shops are familiar with both engines. Turbo ancillaries and the CVT are the parts most often sourced through a dealer.
Transmission note
CVTOne transmission across the range: every 2018 CR-V has a CVT, whichever engine it carries. Honda's fuel-dilution response for this car was a powertrain warranty extension and a software update, which means the transmission behind an affected engine may have been opened as part of that work - ask what was done rather than assuming a CVT service history is unrelated.
Service intervals
Engine oil and filterPer the Maintenance MinderOn the turbo engine, read the level as well as the interval - a rising level is the thing the bulletins are about.
CVT fluidPer the manufacturer's stated intervalOne transmission across the whole range, so this applies to every car.
Spark plugsPer the manufacturer's stated interval
Engine and cabin air filtersPer the manufacturer's stated interval, shorter in dusty use
All-wheel-drive rear differential fluidPer the manufacturer's stated intervalAll-wheel-drive cars only.
Cost items
Relative bands only. What a job costs depends on your region, the shop and where the parts come from, so a dollar figure written here would be wrong for most readers — and a wrong number costs more trust than a missing one.
HighTurbocharger replacement1.5-litre cars only.
HighCVT replacement
MediumFuel pump moduleThe Denso low-pressure pump recall remedy is free at a dealer; a failure outside the campaign is not.
MediumIntake valve cleaningBoth engines are direct-injected.
MediumAir conditioning compressor
LowBrake and suspension wear items