Model Year Index

Which Honda HR-V years to avoid

Across 6 scored model years, the 2016 model year carries the highest severity-weighted complaint rates.

Ownership label · Honda HR-V Full report
D
Grade 2016–2021
2016 vs model median 1.7×
Model median3× median
Drivetrain 21
Electrical 18
Brakes 12
Avoid

2016

Best

2018 · 2020

What the record shows

Written from this model’s own complaint and recall history.

The HR-V has one of the quietest records of any model on this site. Its six scored years record between 39 and 130 complaints, and only one of them is flagged. For a vehicle sold in these numbers, that is the meaningful finding.

The 2016 car is the exception, at 1.73 times the model’s own median on 130 complaints — its first model year in the United States. Drivetrain leads at 21 reports, electrical follows at 18, and no category reaches numbers that would identify a single fault. Its median odometer reading is 43,000 miles, the highest in this file by a wide margin, so these are complaints from long service rather than from delivery.

From 2017 the volumes fall and stay down. 2018, 2020 and 2021 all grade B, at 59, 39 and 55 complaints, and the leading category changes every year — brakes, then fuel system, then airbags — which is what a record with no particular problem looks like.

Thirteen distinct recall campaigns across the model, and the 2017 car carries no weighted campaign at all.

Read the grades here knowing the counts behind them are small: a difference of twenty complaints moves a year a full band on this model.

Reviewed Claude, 11 August 2026, against the model's own record and NHTSA campaign filings

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2016
1.73× 130 D
2017
1.40× 91 C
2018
0.81× 59 B
2019
1.19× 86 C
2020
0.62× 39 B
2021
0.76× 55 B
2022 P
2.14× 152 F
2023 P
7.75× 815 F
2024 P
1.77× 160 D
2025 P
0.68× 64 B

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What owners report

The component groups most often named, with one representative report. These are unverified — allegations, not findings.

2016 D 130 reports · median 43,000 mi

  1. Drivetrain 21

    The seats and seating position in the hr-v are very dangerous. The seat is so uncomfortable and due to this, I AM sitting so close to the awkwardly placed steering wheel that in the event of an accident, the airbag… owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Electrical 18

    I purchased my hr-v (ex-l with navigation) in may 2015 and have had this problem since the first week of driving. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Brakes 12

    The contact owns a 2016 honda hr-v. The contact stated that there was an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The contact discovered that there was a deep line on the rotors. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

12 crash · 1 fire · 9 injuries

2019 C 86 reports · median 8,323 mi

  1. Electrical 16

    Since the purchase of the vehicle, three indicator lights have gone on and off approximately 20 times and the vehicle is in the dealer's service department now for the third time to try and remedy the issue. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  2. Fuel System 14

    Fuel tank location, directly underneath front passenger compartment, with bars on both sides of gas tank. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

  3. Brakes 12

    My brake assist safety alerts do not work as specified. I have had my car to the dealer 3 times for this; communicated to honda corporate ([xxx]) w/o resolution. owner complaint filed with NHTSA

16 crash · 1 injuries

The best year for the HR-V

Ranked by overall score among years with a full 60 months on the road.

2018 is the best-scoring HR-V model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 72.4 out of 100 — a score that combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations. On complaint rate alone the lowest is 2020 at 0.62× this model’s median, against 0.81× for 2018.

Yearvs medianReportsGrade
2018 0.81× 59 B
2020 0.62× 39 B
2021 0.76× 55 B

Recalls

13 campaigns on record.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
23V858000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP 2018–2023 2,490,460
24V744000 STEERING 2023–2025 1,693,199
24V064000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER 2020–2022 750,114
21V215000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP 2019 624,552
23V782000 SEAT BELTS:FRONT 2023, 2024 303,770
20V314000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP 2018, 2019 135,995
23V046000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION 2019–2022 114,686
24V384000 BACK OVER PREVENTION:DISPLAY FUNCTION 2019–2022 114,686
26V332000 AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER 2019–2021 98,892
18V777000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER 2016–2019 64,785
15V472000 EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS 2016 11,511
24V859000 SEATS:CRITICAL FASTENERS 2024 121

+ 1 further campaigns

How long do they last?

Complaint records show when problems get reported, not how long a car survives. Where owners gave an odometer reading, faults on the 2016 were reported at a median of 43,000 miles. Treat that as the point problems start being noticed, not a lifespan.

Common questions

Answered directly from this model’s record.

Which Honda HR-V years should you avoid?
2016 carry the highest severity-weighted complaint rates of any Honda HR-V model year measured over an identical 60-month window.
What is the best year for the Honda HR-V?
2018 is the best-scoring Honda HR-V model year with a full 60 months on the road, at 72.4 out of 100. The score combines complaint rate, recall campaigns and open investigations.
How many recalls does the Honda HR-V have?
13 distinct recall campaigns are on record across all scored Honda HR-V model years. A recall is a matter of record: the manufacturer filed a defect report with NHTSA.

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2016 HR-V
Complaints in window
130
Severity-weighted
200.5
Model median (weighted)
116
vs model median
1.73×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
2
Open investigations
0
Score 51.8 D