2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid: misfire or rough idle

Filed Jun 25, 2025 · Engine, Fuel system · WA

Been dealing with an intermittent flashing engine light issue for the past 1.5 to 2 years. We bought this car brand new in 2021 and the first time this happened the car was barely 3 years old. Whenever this issue occurs, the check engine light would flash and the car would lose engine power (pressing down on the accelerator does nothing). Once stopped, we can hear loud knocking noises from the engine. Usually turning the car off and then back on resets the behavior and the car operates normally. However, this is a very dangerous issue as it sometimes happen on the highway. It took us almost 2 years to successfully pull the error codes because, for reasons we can't understand, Honda designed this error code to clear itself after 3 uneventful drive cycles (as told to us by two separate dealers). We took the car to the various shops multiple time and they were never able to reproduce or diagnose the issue. Finally we were able to get the codes pulled at an O'Reilly's right after it happened, and the codes they found were: - Cylinder 1 misfire - Cylinder 2 misfire - Random misfires We took it to a dealer afterward and they ran a fuel/air ratio test and said everything looked fine; then they examined the fuel valves and noticed they were all overly tight. They believed that was the root cause and adjusted them to spec; we had to pay $1000 for the adjustment because for some reason this was considered a "maintenance item" even though we have never touched the fuel valves and the car was not due for this particular maintenance item until 100K miles, so I don't understand why this shouldn't be covered under warranty. In any case, it turned out the fuel valve adjustments didn't fix the issue and it happened again, so the car's back in the dealership now. I found a bunch of similar complaints pertaining to this vehicle model, and it really deserves more. attention.

Filed Jun 24, 2025 · Engine · PA

My 2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid has experienced three identical and dangerous incidents over a one month period beginning around 60,000 miles. Each time, while driving at highway speeds (60-70 mph) climbing hills or grades, the vehicle suddenly loses all acceleration power accompanied by a rapidly flashing check engine light. This creates an extremely hazardous situation as the vehicle cannot maintain highway speeds with fast-moving traffic approaching from behind, forcing emergency stops on busy highway shoulders where rear-end collisions become a serious risk. After each incident, turning off the vehicle and waiting 10+ minutes allows normal operation to resume, with the flashing check engine light disappearing. The malfunction involves the engine ignition system, specifically cylinder 4 misfiring as confirmed by diagnostic trouble code P0304 that I captured during the most recent incident. The suspected failing components include the ignition coil, spark plug, or fuel injector for cylinder 4. What makes this particularly dangerous is the complete unpredictability - no warning symptoms appear before each incident, and the failure occurs suddenly under specific conditions that are common in highway driving. Despite three documented occurrences, two separate Honda dealerships have been unable to reproduce the issue or confirm the problem. Both claim they find "no stored codes" even though I have evidence of the P0304 code. The codes appear to be cleared after turning the vehicle off and on. The intermittent nature and specific conditions required (sustained highway speeds while climbing grades) prevent typical shop diagnosis, yet this appears to be a widespread pattern affecting multiple 2021 CR-V Hybrids based on similar owner reports online. The recurring nature combined with the inability of dealers to address the root cause, creates an ongoing safety hazard. The vehicle remains available for inspection.

Filed Feb 1, 2025 · Driver assistance, Electrical · OH

On highway, engaged cruise control at 70 mph. Engine light came on, simultaneously with loss of power (pressing on gas pedal did nothing) and Apple CarPlay disconnect. We were near an exit and managed to drift off, at lower off-ramp speed engine again could respond to accelerator however was chugging very badly. Went to nearby oil change place. Mechanic there advised going straight to dealer a short distance further. Drove on to the Honda dealer, car still chugging and stopped the car until I could talk to the service person. When the car restarted it was no longer chugging. Service person diagnosed the following and said i basically needed a new engine: TECH SCANNED VEHICLE AND FOUND CODES P0300 RANDOM CYL MISFIRE, P0302 CYL 2 MISFIRE. TECH CHECKED LIVE DATA AND HAD VERY LITTLE MISFIRE COMING FROM CYL 3, PULLED ALL COILS AND PLUGS AND FOUND CYL 2 AND 4 HAD THE INJECTORS STILL SPRAYING WITH THE VEHICLE OFF INDICATING FAILURE OF THE INJECTORS IN THOSE 2 CYLINDERS, IN CYLINDER 3 TECH FOUND EXCESSIVE OIL BURNING ON THE PISTON, INDICATING OIL LEAKING INTO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER OF THE MOTOR.

Filed Dec 17, 2024 · Engine, Transmission · 59,831 miles · CA

My car lost power and the engine light came on when on the freeway. I was in the middle of merging from [XXX] to [XXX] on a San Diego freeway. Because of the highway interchange situation, I was in the far left lane and needed to merge about 4-5 lanes to the right to get to the next off ramp. This was so scary!! Though I had my hazard lights on, cars coming up behind me didn't expect a car to be slowing down in the middle of the freeway as the car decelerated down to 20 mph. I was very lucky that my car was not rear-ended. I used the side roads and the electric power to of my hybrid engine to drive about 7 miles to a Honda dealer. They asked me to turn off my car (big mistake). Honda had my car for 3 days and drove it about 70 miles, but could never duplicate the issue. I am [XXX] and frequently from Southern to Northern California alone. I have driven over 700,000 miles in my lifetime and never had a car's combustion engine stop on the freeway. I researched this unique situation and found out other Honda CRV-Hybrid owners have experienced this, but Honda had no solution. They told me they knew it was a cylinder issue and the tech saw "misfire codes" but without more details, there was nothing they could do. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jul 25, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · CT

I was driving my 2021Honda CRV EXL Hybrid on the Interstate in the passing lane. I am the original owner and bought it new in 2021. never had any problem with the car up to that day. I was in passing lane accelerating about 60-65 mph as I rounded a slightly hilly curve in the road when suddenly car started to slow down rapidly. I looked at the dash and could see it was decelerating rapidly, going down and down and slower & I had my foot on gas pedal to the floor ,yet the car kept going slower. I put on hazards& managed to get in slower lane, there was considerable traffic volume at the time luckily had room to move in to slower lane and ultimately into emergency shoulder lane, the car was only going about 10 mph even though I still had gas pedal pressed down as far as it would go. Managed to exit the interstate, still it would go about 10mph ,so drove it to a safe commuter lot about 1/2 mile down the road. Noticed then that the engine light was blinking on and off. Called Honda dealer and told them was having car towed to their business. Next day, went to dealer and told service rep the experience , they scanned the system and found these codes stored: P0300-P0302-P0303 MISFIRES. they then cleared codes and test drove and no lights came back on at that time and stated that the technician performed a visual inspection and found no issues at this time and performed A/F ratio function test and all cylinders passed. Service rep recommended to me that they would take car for a longer drive ,they drove it 28 miles & no lights came back on and no codes set, they state it was "all OK at this time & stated INTERMITTANT CONCERN".I took the car back to my home with great concern ,I don't have trust in the car for myself , family or any other people on the road wherever I would go, I want your agency to investigate .As a [XXX] who trusted the brand and invested lot of retirement treasure in this purchase, I request help for a remedy, Honda had no answer & that doesnt cut it INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF I

Filed Dec 17, 2023 · Acceleration, Engine · NJ

On December 12, 2023 at 6:50 AM my Check Engine light came on while I was driving, the battery gauge went to two bars, and the car powered down on Route 24 (a state highway). I took it to the dealer later in the day and they could not find anything wrong. Unfortunately, this is the third time my car has powered down/gone into limp mode on a highway. On August 8th almost the exact same thing happened at almost the exact same spot on the highway (slightly uphill, a day after refueling). In August, Honda kept my car for a week to try to pinpoint the problem. There were no stored problem codes. The best guess of the dealer was some sort of engine misfire due to a fuel impurity. On October 12, 2022 I had the first power down experience on the NY Thruway. On that occasion, the temperature sensor malfunctioned (at least according to the messages and gauges). The dealer replaced the sensor.

Filed Apr 2, 2023 · Engine · AZ

I was going up foothills. The battery had 2 bars and a warning light came on next to the battery indicator. My car began having trouble accelerating and could not keep up with 55mph traffic. The diagnosis is that one of the cylinders misfired and I needed to replace the ignition coil. The car is in the dealer’s shop awaiting parts for repair. I am delivering the part tomorrow. I was 6mi outside town, 911 had some trouble locating me, my cell phone reception was unreliable, I could have been involved in a high speed accident.

Filed Dec 1, 2022 · Acceleration, Engine · VA

2021 Honda CRV Hybrid. 11/9/22: When accelerating to merge onto a highway, moving at approximately 50 mph, the vehicle rapidly decelerated as driver tried to accelerate (went into limp mode), the check engine light came on and the engine made a continuous clattering sound. The vehicle would not go above 15 mph in 55-60 mph traffic. Driver put flashers on and drove 1/2 a mile to the first exit, lucky he could move to the right lane. Vehicle was driven 1.5 miles home at 15 mph and lower. Didn't drive car on 11/10/22. Car driven to dealership on 11/11/22 because there was no indication of anything wrong -- no sounds or dashboard lights or limp mode. Drove to dealership where a scan indicated engine misfire DTC: P0304 was stored in the system. Dealership cleared the system and could not recreate the incident after swapping spark plugs and coils and driving 163 miles over 3 days. Took car home on 11/15/22. Six days later, on 11/21/22, the same thing happened on the highway: as driver accelerated, the engine light came on and flashed and stayed flashing, the engine made vibrating noise, and lost acceleration (limp mode) down to 6 mph on the busy highway. Going 6 mph with flashers on, he was able to reach the ramp for the next exit and pull over on the shoulder. On the shoulder, driver made a video of the engine making clattering sounds and of the engine light flashing on the dashboard. He turned the car off, waited a few minutes, then turned the car back on. Everything seemed fine. Driver exited the highway and drove to the dealership which has had car since 11/21/22. Having no ability to accelerate, and having the vehicle go into limp mode -- having no control -- on a busy highway is extremely dangerous and frightening.