My daughter's 2020 Honda HR-V experienced a serious transmission malfunction at approximately 117,000 miles. While traveling approximately 64 mph on Highway 378 in South Carolina, where the posted speed limit is 60 mph, the vehicle suddenly stopped accelerating, and ALL dashboard warning lights illuminated. This unexpected loss of acceleration at highway speed created a dangerous situation, placing her safety and the safety of surrounding motorists at risk of a serious collision. The vehicle was subsequently towed to an authorized Honda dealership. The dealership confirmed diagnostic trouble code P0793 (Intermediate Shaft Speed Sensor "A"). During inspection, the technician drained the transmission fluid through a filter and discovered metal flakes. Additional metallic material was detected using a magnet, indicating internal transmission damage. The dealership determined that the entire transmission required replacement at an estimated cost of $7,942.57. Honda previously acknowledged premature CVT belt deterioration affecting certain 2016–2020 Honda HR-V vehicles through Service Bulletins 21-046 and 21-047. However, Honda advised that my daughter's VIN was excluded from the extended warranty coverage. Honda subsequently denied goodwill assistance, citing the vehicle's age, mileage, and an asserted absence of similar complaints. I am concerned that this sudden loss of acceleration may be related to premature CVT deterioration previously documented by Honda. I request that the federal safety agency investigate whether this failure is related to a known transmission defect and whether other 2020 Honda HR-V owners face similar safety risks. The dealership's diagnostic findings and repair estimate are available. Availability of the failed transmission for inspection must be confirmed with the dealership.
2020 Honda HR-V: CVT failure
5 of the 88 complaints about the 2020 Honda HR-V describe CVT failure.
- owner complaints
- 5
- of this car's complaints
- 6%
- recalls
- 0
CVT failure by model year
What owners say
The CVT is defective and failed while driving, causing immediate loss of motive power. This has been diagnosed and confirmed by the dealer. Honda has a voluntary extended warranty in place for this exact issue for certain VIN's, but because this particular VIN was assembled at a location where less VIN's were assembled with the faulty CTV it is not covered. This should be a mandatory safety recall as losing motive power while driving can easily cause an accident. There were no warning signs, just a loud sound and immediate loss of motive power while driving. For us this happened in a busy intersection, but could easily have happened on the highway causing a serious safety hazard. Honda is not denying that the CVT is defective, but this particular VIN is not covered in the extended warranty due to the location the vehicle was assembled.
On 3/15/26 the CVT transmission on my 2020 HRV EX-L failed while driving on I-95 near Fairfield, CT. My dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and the car decelerated and would not go past 20 miles per hour. My safety was put at risk because this happened suddenly doing 60 mph highway. There was no indication of an issue with the transmission when I visited the Honda Service center on Friday, 3/13 to repair a lose panel. They saw no issues. There were two Service Bulletins 21-046 dated 4/27/21 and o6/1/21, respectively that listed certain HRV VIN numbers that had the warranty extended to cover the full replacement cost of the CVT transmission. My VIN is not included. Many of the steps taken by the dealer to determine the transmission failure came from those service bulletins. I would like the federal safety agency to look into this issue and contact Honda in order to extend the warranty in order to have the full replacement cost of the transmission covered.
The contact owns a 2020 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the vehicle bucked, and several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with CVT failure. The contact was informed that the CVT needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not under recall. The contact was advised to contact the federal safety agency Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 122,700.
The transmission on my 2020 HRV Honda failed at 63,000 miles. We were at risk because we were driving on a freeway with speed limit of 70 mph and we could only go 30 mph. The problem has been identified by American Honda but they would not extend the warranty to 2020 cars. The transmission had to be replaced and the new one is working. They were no warning signs of the failure. American Honda is saying that the NHTSB is responsible for issuing all recalls. Please help. This was a huge expense that Honda knows full and well that it was a CVT failure on their HRVs. The case number with American Honda is 14909647.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2020 Honda HR-V cvt failure
Is CVT failure a common problem on the 2020 Honda HR-V?
5 of 88 owner complaints about the 2020 Honda HR-V (6%) mention CVT failure. The model year with the most reports is 2016.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2020 Honda HR-V?
There are 0 recalls and 7 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2020 Honda HR-V
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