My 2018 Honda CR-V began experiencing repeated battery drain and would not reliably start. Multiple warning lights illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle also would not shut off after the ignition was turned off, continuing to run/stay powered on. The vehicle was taken to an authorized repair facility for diagnosis, where it was determined that the Body Control Module (BCM) had failed and needed to be replaced. The repair shop indicated that BCM failure is a common and recurring issue on this model and model year, which is consistent with numerous other owner complaints I have since found describing the same failure pattern (battery drain, warning lights, no-start condition, vehicle failing to shut off, and in some cases stalling while driving) on 2017-2019 Honda CR-V vehicles. I am filing this report to document the failure and make the federal safety agency aware of what appears to be a widespread defect trend affecting this component across multiple model years of this vehicle. I am requesting that the federal safety agency investigate this issue as a potential safety defect, given that BCM failure can result in sudden loss of electrical function, the vehicle failing to power off, and in some reported cases, stalling while driving.
2018 Honda CR-V: battery drain or dead battery
20 of the 2,169 complaints about the 2018 Honda CR-V describe battery drain or dead battery.
- owner complaints
- 20
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- typical mileage
- 16,400
- recalls
- 0
Battery drain or dead battery by model year
What owners say
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the vehicle had failed to start. Triple A was contacted and replaced the battery. Additionally, the contact stated that the infotainment system screen had turned off intermittently while driving. The contact stated upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the infotainment system became operable. The contact stated that upon inspecting the battery, Triple A informed the contact that the battery was significantly corroded, and the battery was replaced. The contact stated while driving at 55 MPH to the dealer, the infotainment system screen turned off. The contact pulled into the dealer's parking lot. The contact stated upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle failed to shift into gears and was undrivable. The dealer diagnosed that the battery terminals were faulty, causing a system communication failure and battery drainage. The dealer replaced the battery. The vehicle was temporarily repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 48,419.
In January 2023 our vehicle began having numerous issues with sensors, alarms, door locks, the car would turn itself on and drain the battery overnight and at times would not shut off without pulling the main fuse. Through research online it was clear that the problem was the Body Control Module (BCM). There are many, many reports online of the 2018 CRV having this problem, so I took it to the dealer and they had never heard of the issue. They tried to do diagnostics but had no way to determine if it was the BCM. Finally, I asked them to just replace the BCM even without a diagnosis, and after 2 months (there were significant back orders of this part) we were able to get it installed in the car and all was fine. Fast forward to last week (April 2025) and it’s starting up again - electronics turning on randomly, battery drain, windows going down in the garage, warning lights all illuminated, dead battery every day - so the BCM that was installed in 2023 has failed AGAIN. Honda absolutely knows about this issue as they have a recall for Accords. However, I paid $1000 to fix it in 2023 and will no doubt pay at least that much now to do it again. Meanwhile, the car is effectively inoperable and can’t be safely operated on the road. Honda needs to RECALL this issue and fix it for good.
Keyless start system problem. The car turns on accessory mode without the key being inside. The battery drains which triggers the anti theft alarm. The car is not able to be opened with the keyless remote. You have to use a manual key. During the day the car won't unlock or the trunk won't open unless you use the manual key to open the car and then start the engine.
While away from home on vacation, the car alarm randomly went off for several minutes. Upon returning the battery was dead and would not start. Over the next several days this happened multiple times with the battery dying, car not starting, and the dash would light up and doors would not lock or unlock properly. Replaced the battery and again the same issue with alarm going off in the middle of the night after battery drain. I saw on the forums that the BCM is a common issue with the Honda vehicles. the car recognizes that "the start switch has been pushed, when it has not." This poses a safety risk for the car and the individual. Remedy from the dealer is the body/keyless module replacement at nearly 800.00. This seems to be something that Honda is aware of, but has not yet addressed.
The following has happened several times before a repair was made: [Car Alarm / Unable to turn on/off car.] Questions: *BCM failure. My car is available for inspection. *Unable to turn off/on vehicle, children inside. *Problem reproduced months earlier, and at dealership (Goodyear(920‑458‑8306) and Honda International(920‑208‑0200), both in Sheboygan, WI) *Warning lights and messages only appeared during the issue happening, not prior. Started [XXX] Car alarm goes off during inconsistent times. Then if I try to turn it on, I am unable to turn the car back off: dash lights flicker, relay is clicking several times. IF I am eventually able to turn it off, I can not turn it back on, though it does try to (engine). Same symptoms as above. Eventually it seems to possibly drain the battery, and all the dash lights and relay again flicker, But then the brake pedal pushes back at me when trying to turn it back on (with no engine sound). Battery, On/Off switch, and BCM were replaced to resolve(?) this issue. We will see if this continues. I am seeing MANY others online having the exact same problem. Side note: Touch Screen Infotainment screen went black months prior. pulling fuse and inserting it fixed that issue. Also, I have video, but am unable to upload here. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the battery had been replaced four times. The contact stated that the dealer replaced the battery two times after the vehicle was purchased in January 2019. The contact stated that the battery had to be recharged daily to prevent battery drainage failure. The contact stated that while researching the failure, the contact discovered information regarding electrical system failure within the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.
Starting late December 2023, the vehicle drained the battery in the car very quickly. I replaced the battery twice, and twice the battery was drained to death very quickly. It was discovered by the local Honda dealer that the Body Control Module (BCM) on the car wakes up by itself while the car is shutdown and parked. BCM drains the battery very quickly and leaving the car in-operable, leaving us stranded. This is a very serious security risk. It caused over $1000 to repair. This is a wide-spread problem for Honda cars. Actually there is a recall for BCM in Honda Accord models.
I was driving down a straight road on Sunday, August 27 going 50 mph in a 55 mph zone with no other cars on the road around me. My foot was on the gas. My car automatically braked with no warning. We went from 50 mph to stopped in the middle of the road and even with our seatbelts on, we almost hit the windshield it stopped so violently. As soon as it happened the car started to go again. We were very lucky no one was behind us or we would have been rear-ended due to the sudden stop. It also hurt our necks and backs from being jerked forward so violently. There were no warning messages or any warning signs before this occurred. This happened one other time about 6 months ago. It was the same scenario except we were going about 25 mph and just had gone through a stop light. The first time we thought it was just a glitch as my battery had died and we had just replaced it and the electronics were not working correctly just before the battery died. We notified the dealership and they were of no help. They said it was probably because we had just had a windshield replaced and it needed recalibrated, but it had just been calibrated a week prior. We took it to our mechanic and there were no codes on the computer except for a software update, which we have scheduled. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.
On multiple occasions, I have turned off my car and exited my car. The car would then turn back on by itself. Initially the dash would light up and an error message would appear saying key not found. I thought it was my key fob battery, so I replaced the battery and still received the message. I was unable to do anything with my car. This happened on several occasions, but each time it would eventually work. I then noticed that the dash kept coming on. When I would get home, I would park the car in the garage and turn the car off and go inside. I came out and noticed the lights were on and the dash lit up. I turned it off again and then sometimes it would stay off and other times it would come back on and I could not get it to turn off right away. Several times I would go to my car in the morning and my car battery was dead and I had to have my son-in-law jump my car or AAA had to come out so I could go to work. This went on for weeks until I realized it was because the car keeps turning back on on its own until the battery dies. After back and forth at the dealership and replacing other parts they thought were the issue, I am now told it is a faulty Body Control Module which caused my car to turn on in accessory mode. The part is on backorder, so I have had to borrow a car for the past couple months. My daughter has been researching the issue and found this to be a common problem with the car. Battery drain, car alarms going off, not able to start the car, etc. all due to the faulty BCM. I see Honda has had issues with this part on their other cars, but has not issued a recall for the CRV yet. The part is expensive, but because I have 41,000 miles on my car it is now out of warranty. This should be investigated further, as I know I am not the only one experiencing this issue.
I have experienced the effects of a parasitic drain on the vehicle's battery which caused a premature failure. It's a known issue as the vehicle stability assist unit runs when the vehicle is off, which caused the premature failure. The dealer just shrugs and HONDA is in denial. https://www.crvownersclub.com/threads/2018-crv-battery-problem.195207/
Online you can see everyone seems to have this problem to the point there's a class action suit going on I think. My battery died several times while still under warranty but the dealer said this is NORMAL for it to die after sitting for a week and some / many die after 3 days!! I feel this is VERY dangerous! What if it dies after say a trip and you're off site parked in a bad area? Or in bad weather? They did not replace and of course as soon as the warranty ran out it died for good and I had to replace it. I feel this should be looked into as a serious problem. Jim PS - I had reported a problem w/ the collision system a year or two ago....it's still fluky. Just this week it auto slammed on the brakes when I truck was on a bend in front of me so it thought I was going to hit him?? Then it happened on an Interstate! A vehicle coming on via the onramp triggered it at 70 MPH! Not a slam though but scary.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2018 Honda CR-V battery drain
Is battery drain or dead battery a common problem on the 2018 Honda CR-V?
20 of 2,169 owner complaints about the 2018 Honda CR-V (1%) mention battery drain or dead battery. The model year with the most reports is 2017.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2018 Honda CR-V?
There are 0 recalls and 38 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2018 Honda CR-V
Fuel smell 218Stalling 146Warning lights 121Collision warning 119Adaptive cruise 104Fuel pump 98Check engine light 84Jerking 84Loss of power 69Lane assist 65Misfire 57Phantom braking 55Engine failure 41Hesitation 35Steering noise 25Sunroof shattered 24Fuel leak 21Won't start 20Brake failure 19Door locks 17Overheating 17ABS 16Fire or smoke 16Power steering loss 16Screen failure 15Headlights 12Key fob 12Pulling 12Seat belt 11Won't shift 11Grinding brakes 10Oil consumption 10Windshield crack 10Harsh shifting 9Knocking 8Sudden acceleration 8No deployment 7Steering lock-up 6Wipers 6Backup camera 5Ball joint 5Premature wear 5
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