2001 Honda CR-V: engine stalls while driving

Filed May 9, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · FL

Engine shuts off while driving. Speeds can be low or high. 20-65 mph. While driving, engine will cut off. Sometimes the electrics remain on and I can use power steering to pull to the side of the road, other times everything shuts down. It can happen while turning or regular straight driving. Sometimes it will restart right after, other times, it won't start for many minutes. We have gotten stuck in turn lanes, middle of intersections, and busy 3 lane city roads. Mechanic says it is not showing any codes and can't find anything wrong with the car.

Filed Aug 25, 2018 · Engine · 100,000 miles · NY

Our car had a burnt valve last year at about 90000 miles. We brought it to a napa machine shop and had it re-machined. About a month ago we had it repaired at our local honda dealer. They readjusted the valves which they said were way too tight. The car is stalling again and is difficult to restart. They referenced honda technical bulletin 03-038. In researching this via google, it appears honda failed to advise american-but not european-customers of a valve adjustment need that results in valves receding into the cylinder heads.

Filed Aug 7, 2017 · Electrical · 158,580 miles · CT

The car stalls all of a sudden. If you turn the ignition switch to start, it starts right back up with no problems. It happened 3 times already. Good thing I wasnt driving on the highway. Last time it happened was july 31 2017.

Filed Nov 22, 2013 · Engine · 103,000 miles · IL

Car stalls without warning.

Filed Jan 14, 2008 · Engine · 82,976 miles · IL

2001 honda cr-v se check engine light went on, idle became extremely rough and stalling while driving. Nothing unusual preceded this incident. Took the car into to be diagnosed and was told the 4th cylinder was only holding 15-20% of required pressure, it had gone soft. Researched issue and found honda has issued a technical service bulletin #03038 regarding this problem. It is a known defect in the honda cr-v as the honda maintenance guide does not recommend any valve maintenance until 105,000 miles. However, it has been found that the engine's high compression rate causes the valves to warp and become soft unless they are adjusted every 30,000-35,000 miles. Have been in contact with honda and all they are willing to do is split the cost 50/50 of this major repair, over $3,000. They are many documented cases of this occurring with the 1999-2001 honda cr-vs that use the b210z engine.

Filed May 16, 2007 · Engine · 96,000 miles · NJ

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 honda cr-v. The contact attempted to start the vehicle and it stalled. She depressed the accelerator pedal all the way down to the floor to restart the vehicle. The vehicle restarted after two to three attempts. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who adjusted the heads in the engine. The contact stated that she was not notified of the technical service bulletin regarding the engine. The engine size was unknown. The current mileage is 109,000 and failure mileage was 96,000.

Filed Nov 27, 2005 · Engine · 50,000 miles · CA

My vehicle stalls out, has rough idle, and misfires. It first started to happen only when the engine was cold. Once it warmed up it was fine. It progressively got worse. Dealer advised me to get a complete tune-up and said it would fix the problem. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary fix. It started again when the engine was cold and then at all times. The dealer seemed to be perplexed by the whole thing and advised me again to do a tune-up. Once again, problem was fixed for awhile. This last time it went downhill quickly. When engine was cold and then stalling and dying at anytime no matter what the conditions were. The mil light came on everytime I had this problem. Honda now tells me I have low compression in cylinder #3 and my car misfires. They advised me to have the head sent to their machine shop to inspect it. Nothing was done to correct the failure as of yet. I have found many other complaints. Honda corp. Knows about the head problem. My own research found valves need to be adjusted/inspected regularly because they have a tendency to tighten which leads and/or results in the valve receding into the cylinder/burnt valve. I am very upset due to the fact that honda has known about this and they have never told me anything about the valves. The dealer still never disclosed this known problem while having me paying over $1000.00 just to start on the repair. In the car manual it states you only need to inspect the valves every 105,000 miles or if you hear a noise. There was absolutely no noise from my valves. They should be checked more like every 25,000-30,000 miles. This is a huge safety issue to have your car die or stall. I asked honda about the valve. Now the same people seem to know a lot. At this moment, american honda corp. Is offering me a goodwill warranty repair of 25% to repair it, but the case is not settled. I have been lied to, deceived, ripped off, and most of all my safety was put into danger willingly.

Filed Jun 5, 2005 · Engine · 50,000 miles · CA

2001 honda cr-v. Car stalls while idling. Risk of being rear-ended when it occurs at a signal and the light turns green, or if I am in the #1 lane waiting to make a left-turn. Honda corp. Is aware that their 99-01 cr-v models have cylinder head problems that cause this, but they are not offering to cover the $3000 needed to replace the cylinder head.

Filed May 15, 2002 · Brakes, Transmission · VA

My problem is that when you prepare to come to a stop, press the clutch and brake, the car will die. No warning at all. The RPM's will just dive to 0 and it dies. When it first began, I kept a detail log of weather, length of trip, everything I could think of and each time it died, it blew another idea out of the water. Nothing seemed to coordinate from time to time. I have had it in about 4 times total into two different honda dealers and niether of them have been able to duplicate the stall. Therefore, they can't find nor fix the problem.

Filed Feb 23, 2001 · Electrical · CA

The major negative ground wire located close to the battery was not securely bolted to the body causing the vehicle not to start on several occasions and on one occasion the vehicle died while driving. Nlm