While traveling at freeway speed, the CVT transmission slipped and the vehicle suddenly lost all propulsion. The engine continued to run and responded to the accelerator, but the vehicle would not move under its own power. Multiple warning lights appeared, including a brake-system warning. The vehicle also rolled backward on an incline and was not safe to drive. It was towed to an authorized honda dealer. The dealer confirmed that the CVT transmission had failed and quoted approximately $9,750 to replace it. The failed vehicle/transmission remains available for inspection. Before the failure, honda dealer inspection records showed the vehicle in green/good condition and did not advise that CVT service was due. American honda reviewed the matter and denied goodwill assistance. The sudden loss of propulsion at freeway speed created a serious risk of a rear-end or high-speed collision.
2022 Honda HR-V: CVT failure
9 of the 90 complaints about the 2022 Honda HR-V describe CVT failure.
- owner complaints
- 9
- of this car's complaints
- 10%
- recalls
- 0
CVT failure by model year
What owners say
In January 2026, at approximately 80,000 miles, the CVT in my 2022 Honda HR-V AWD experienced a major internal failure. The failure presents a safety concern because loss of CVT function can cause loss of acceleration/motive power during highway driving, merging, lane changes, or intersection crossings. The problem was confirmed by an authorized Honda dealer. Honda's HDS diagnostic system initially recorded DTC P0793. The dealer inspected/replaced the CVT drive-pully speed sensor and road-tested the vehicle. The repair did not correct the problem, and the "D" indicator began flashing. The dealer then recorded DTCs P0780 and P1899. The dealer drained the CVT fluid and documented on the repair order: "found metal debris in fluid - needs transmission." The dealer determined that the transmission required replacement. Prior to the failure, I had no warning that a catastrophic internal CVT failure was imminent. To my knowledge, American Honda did not perform a physical teardown or examination of the failed transmission beyond the diagnosis. I am concerned because Honda previously identified premature CVT belt deterioration in 2016 -2020 HR-Vs under Service Bulletins 21-046 and 21-047. Honda stated that the earlier condition could result in partial or complete belt failure and unexpected loss of acceleration and extended CVT coverage for affected vehicles to 7 years/150,000 miles. My 2022 HR-V AWD is not included in that population, and I am not claiming that my CVT necessarily failed from the identical cause. However, the dealer-documented metal debris and complete CVT failure warrant comparison with Honda's previously identified HR-V CVT condition and similar failures in 2021 -2022 HR-Vs.
Sudden loss of motive power while driving due to a complete CVT failure (creating a dangerous traffic hazard), and Honda Corporate's refusal of assistance.
On Thursday, July 30, 2026, while driving my 2022 Honda HR-V at approximately 70 mph in the fast lane of the highway, my vehicle suddenly, without warning lost all power. The speedometer immediately dropped to 0 mph, and the vehicle would not accelerate despite pressing the accelerator. There were no warning lights illuminated before the incident, and the vehicle had shown no previous signs of transmission problems or drivability issues. This created an extremely dangerous situation because I was traveling at highway speed in the passing lane with surrounding traffic. I feared I would be rear-ended or involved in a serious crash. Thankfully, I was able to safely maneuver the vehicle across traffic and into a nearby auto parts store. The auto parts store scanned the vehicle and found a transmission-related safety sensor code. Because the vehicle was no longer drivable, it had to be towed to the Honda dealership where I purchased it. After their inspection, the dealership informed me that the transmission had suffered an internal failure because the transmission belt had broken and that the entire transmission must be replaced. I purchased an extended warranty when I bought the vehicle, but it expired at 110,000 miles. My vehicle currently only has 115,000 miles. As a result, I now have no transportation to get to my full-time job or transport my children. I am submitting this complaint because this was a sudden, catastrophic loss of propulsion at highway speed with no warning, creating a significant risk of a serious or fatal accident. I am also aware that previous model years of the Honda HR-V equipped with the same continuously variable transmission (CVT), including model years 2016 through 2021, have experienced similar failures involving the internal transmission belt. Given the similarity of these failures, I believe this issue warrants investigation to determine whether the 2022 Honda HR-V is affected by the same safety-related defect.
While driving, multiple warning lights suddenly illuminated and the vehicle immediately lost power and became undriveable with no prior warning signs. I had to pull over for safety and the vehicle was towed to the dealership. The dealership diagnosed CVT belt deterioration and advised the transmission requires replacement. This sudden loss of drivability created a safety hazard because the vehicle became disabled while on the road.
A catastrophic failure occurred in the continuously variable transmission (CVT) of a 2022 model year vehicle at approximately 81,000 miles. While driving on the highway, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power; the engine revved rapidly without transferring any power to the wheels. The failure was diagnosed by an authorized dealership service center (documented on Repair Order #349133). The diagnosis confirmed that the transmission failed due to an internal component breakdown, stating: "FOUND SEVERAL METAL DEBRIS FOUND WHEN DRAINING AND STRAINING FLUID." The manufacturer (American Honda) has since confirmed in writing that the root cause was a manufacturing defect, effectively acknowledging that the failure was not due to wear, tear, or maintenance neglect. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by the dealer. The component is available for inspection. This premature, total failure of a major powertrain component on a relatively new vehicle poses a safety risk due to the sudden loss of power while operating at highway speeds.
The contact owns a 2022 Honda HR-V. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the CVT transmission suddenly failed after approximately 50 miles of driving. The contact stated that there was an abnormal sound coming from the transmission before the vehicle lost motive power. There were no warning lights. The contact coasted to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed that the CVT transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, Cape Girardeau Honda (385 Siemers Dr, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701); who confirmed the first dealer’s diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired because a replacement transmission was difficult to find. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and opened a case. The failure mileage was 98,982.
Vehicle loses throttle response multiple times a day while traveling on the highway or roads where slowing/stopping isn't frequent. Vehicle will be traveling 50-80mph and will not accelerate even with the pedal on the floor. Vehicle will either maintain speed or start slowing down, occasionally it will rapidly slow down. I will have to fully release the accelerator pedal and lightly slam it all the way to the floor and then the vehicle will decide to respond. A few times while driving in moderate traffic (30-45mph) the throttle will lose all response and will not respond to any pedal input at all for about 5-8 seconds and then will all of a sudden start functioning as intended again. I assume the third issue the vehicle is having with acceleration is related to the first two as well, occasionally it will have very slow acceleration when trying to get up to speed to merge onto the highway. It will take about ¼-⅓ of a mile or about 45-60 seconds to reach 60-70mph. When this occurs I will have the pedal all the way to the floor from the beginning of a fairly long on ramp and by the end of the ramp I will be going no faster than 50mph maybe 55mph. I assume all of this is caused by the CVT transmission or possibly the ECU. I have contacted Honda regarding these issues and they stated that they are aware of these issues and that they are fairly common, and that they also believe that it is a transmission or computer issue, but there is nothing they can nor will do about it because Honda corperate requires them to diagnose every issue through the vehicles computer. So if the vehicle doesn't have a warning light or any DTCs (diagnostic trouble codes) set in the computer they can't (or wont) do anything about it eventhough there is clearly an issue that is entirely able to be diagnosed without a DTC. 90% of the time a bad CVT will never set a DTC. I don't speak on all this because I THINK I know, I speak on this because KNOW I know as I am an ASE certified master technician
**I have made the dealership aware of the ongoing situation as well as Honda Corporate but I am waiting on a call back.* A month ago, I had my car on cruise control going around 76mph on flat land. After a while, while driving on flat land, my RPM's shot up to almost 6000 and the speed got up to 88mph in less than 10 seconds. I pulled over, shut the car off so I could calm down before driving again. Later that day, I was driving around 77mph on the interstate again but this time I was NOT using cruise control and my car dropped to around 50mph almost immediately, even with my foot on the pedal all the way to the floor but the car would not accelerate. During this time the car jerked forward really hard (I was told the CVT is why) but also multiple dash lights came on. I had picture and video proof of this, took it to the dealership but they could not find any reason. Since this day, my car has lost speed multiple times while driving but the steering wheel has started locking up the last few times making it impossible to even steer and get off of the roadway while the car is dropping speed. This is a huge liability for myself with my children in the car as well as other drivers on the road, as I was almost rear-ended by an 18 wheeler yesterday when this happened. It does not do this consistently but over the past month, it has happened about 4-5 times a week, sometimes more.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2022 Honda HR-V cvt failure
Is CVT failure a common problem on the 2022 Honda HR-V?
9 of 90 owner complaints about the 2022 Honda HR-V (10%) mention CVT failure. The model year with the most reports is 2016.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2022 Honda HR-V?
There are 0 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2022 Honda HR-V
Warning lights 11Loss of power 10Check engine light 9Transmission failure 8Won't start 6No deployment 5Collision warning 5
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