One transmission for the whole range — a CVT — and a split engine line-up underneath it. The base grade keeps a 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four rated 184 hp at 6,400 rpm and 180 lb-ft at 3,900 rpm; every grade above it uses a 1.5-litre turbo rated 190 hp at 5,600 rpm with 179 lb-ft held from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm. A 2.0-litre hybrid was added later in the run. The turbo engine carries this generation's documented fuel-dilution history, and the 2.4-litre does not, so which engine a car has is the first thing to establish about it.
This generation record is published without source verification yet. The year range, body styles and engine list have not been confirmed against the manufacturer’s own catalogue. Verify with the VIN and manufacturer data before you buy. How we source data
Complaint and recall counts from NHTSA, retrieved 2026-08-13. A complaint count is not a failure rate — it scales with how many were sold and how much attention a problem drew.
Community and source review
Problems reported on this generation
Wear item
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.
Moderate repair
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.
Wear item
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.
Major repair
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.
Major repair
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.
Moderate repair
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.
Safety recall
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.
Warranty extension
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.
Manufacturer documents for the year range, body styles, engines and transmissions above. Complaint and recall counts are separate: they come from NHTSA per model year and carry their own retrieval date on the vehicle files.