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Honda HR-V fire or smoke problems

13 of the 1,890 owner complaints about the Honda HR-V describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 2016 model year.

owner complaints
13
worst model year
2016
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.

By model year

  • 2026
    1
  • 2024
    1
  • 2023
    3
  • 2022
    1
  • 2019
    2
  • 2018
    1
  • 2017
    1
  • 2016
    3

What owners say

Filed Aug 20, 2026 · 8,000 miles · CT · fire

The contact owned a 2026 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that the vehicle was driven for forty minutes without a failure; however, while the vehicle was parked outside, the contact heard a loud explosion. The contact discovered that the vehicle had caught on fire. The firefighters arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. A Fire Department report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

Filed Jun 18, 2026 · Fuel system · VA

It started as all the dashboard lights came on, and the car smelled like gasoline. Then when I would fill up my gas tank, it would only go to 3/4 of a tank and the gas fumes increased. I was parked at the VCU campus parking lot when the gas started to leak out of the bottom of the car. The fire department came and said I could not drive the car until it was serviced. I was told at the mechanic that there is a hairline crack at the top of the fuel pump housing. The transfer tube was hung up on the float, causing false fuel tank readings. Had I been driving the car it could have caught fire which would have been disastrous and possibly fatal to myself and others around me. I bought this car in 2019. The white paint is starting to flake off. The car is starting to rust. This is the worst vehicle I have ever owned.

Filed May 19, 2026 · Transmission · IN

•What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? CVT, yes this is a known issue •How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? On Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 our Honda HRV catastrophically and dangerously failed. Our Honda HRV Navi is the all-wheel-drive (AWD) and we are the original owners. It shuddered and dropped speed from almost 70 mph, to about 20 mph, putting us and others at risk for a rear end collision. My wife is traumatized by these events and for being stranded on the side of the road. •Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, it was repaired at a high cost. •Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Honda dealership •Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No. This was the first time there was any indication of a problem. The transmission was serviced on March 6th, 2026 at Honda a Honda Dealership. There were NO warnings of problems (i.e. NO slipping or hesitation during acceleration, NO engine revving without speed gain, NO sudden jerking or shuddering when driving, NO delayed engagement unusual noises (whining, grinding, clunking), NO fluid leaks of transmission fluid, and NO overheating or burning smell. When I queried the servicing dealership, I was told the March 6th, 2026 routine maintenance CVT service found no metal shavings or other issues in the transmission fluid. It was a routine scheduled and dealer suggested maintenance. On Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 our Honda HRV catastrophically and dangerously failed. Our Honda HRV Navi is the all-wheel-drive (AWD) and we are the original owners. It shuddered and dropped speed from almost 70 mph, to about 20 mph, putting us at risk for a rear end collision. My wife (the registered owner) is traumatized by these events and for be

Filed Apr 8, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · AR

Dear American Honda Motor Co., Inc. ,I am writing to formally document my experience with a premature failure of the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) in my Honda HR-V. The vehicle was covered under the extended warranty program Honda implemented specifically for the known CVT issues affecting 2016–2020 model years.In On 3/10/26 the CVT failed at approximately 96,000 miles. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Honda dealership, where technicians confirmed premature belt deterioration and breakage. Prior to the failure, I had the vehicle serviced at the dealership for the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) software update outlined in Honda Service Bulletin 21-047. During that visit, I reported a noticeable burning smell, which I now believe originated from the failing transmission belt. The dealership assured me there were no issues and stated that the software update had adjusted the gear ratio to reduce strain on the transmission. The vehicle was returned to me with no further action recommended. Subsequent communication with American Honda revealed that the company had been aware of widespread CVT belt issues in these model years. Rather than issue a full recall, Honda extended the powertrain warranty to 7 years or 150,000 miles (whichever occurs first). My repeated attempts to escalate the matter with Honda Customer Service, including multiple requests for contact information for a regional manager, were unsuccessful. After several weeks of delays—during which my vehicle remained at the dealership for over 20 +days—Honda Corporate initially offered to cover a remanufactured CVT replacement at a cost of $4,500 to me. The dealership ultimately assisted by reducing my out-of-pocket expense to $2,900.I find it unacceptable that a vehicle with only 96,000 miles required a major transmission replacement costing nearly $3,000, especially after Honda had already acknowledged the defect through a technical service bulletin and an extended warranty. The dealership’s

Filed Jul 9, 2025 · Engine · TX · fire

Not sure of the cause, but my vehicle burst in the flames unexpectedly. Prior to fire, the vehicle was running very well and up to date on maintenance. We were driving and smoke started coming from the hood. Suddenly the screens/monitors turned off on the vehicle. We pulled over, off the street as quickly as possible. Heard popping sounds, exited the vehicle. Then it burst into flames. Police showed to the scene first. Fire department arrived shortly after to put out the fire.

Filed Jul 11, 2024 · Electrical · TX

After a 20 minute drive back to house, a smell of something burning became present inside the car. Rolled windows down to let smoke filled cabin escape. Upon arrival inside the garage and after parking car. As I was exiting car, the rear window exploded with my daughter a few feet from back of car. It was loud and recorded on video. Back of window was hot to touch. Honda dealer was quick to blame an impact from a foreign object, along with outside smell of fire entering the cabin while driving to explain away the damages. Also, the window being hot was blamed on a hot sun. Reached out to Honda, and I put in complaint. 3 days later, Honda dealer has been approved to fix problem. No warning lights. Just a strong smell of an electrical short that needs to be found. Glass was everywhere.

Filed Apr 3, 2024 · Seat belts, Steering · FL

Car was bought in November/December 2022. Honda was experiencing supply chain issues so had to wait to get a new 2023 model. Around November 2023, the rear windshield glass exploted and shuttered. At first I was told by Honda that they have never heard of that issue; but when I told them that I went to Google and the same situation is happening all over USA, then they said, yes, we know about the problem on this model. They fixed at no cost to me and they provided a rental car as well. I told them that prior to the explosion there was a strong burning smell - later they told me there was probably fumes leaking from the rear windshield glass that was about to explode. In addition, this new car has had a recall (something about the driver's safety belt) and I also mentioned that the steering wheel makes a noise when it goes left or right... the steering wheel feel heavy too. I was then told that that is another issue that certain Honda models are also experiencing. To repair that it will take 6 months for the replacement part to come from Asia so they were not sure if I was able to just keep driving the car (safely) after I made the decision for them to order the part OR I needed to leave my car in their dealer for the length of time until the part arrived. Too many things are happening with the new car... I just want to get a replacement vehicle.

Filed Feb 19, 2024 · Engine · MA · fire

I parked, turned the car off and then my boyfriend, me and my dog went for 30 min walks. When we came back, we started seeing smoke coming out from a front hood, there were also flame on the right front side of the car. I immediately called 911 to describe the situation. While we were waiting for fire department, the car exploded. Insurance report stated no visual sign of tampering and fire department stated same thing.

Filed Aug 19, 2023 · Visibility · MA

I used my rear defogger for a few minutes prior to driving. The defogger wasn't needed for the drive, I turned it off after 5 minutes of usage. After 40 minutes of driving, I smelled a faint burning smell. I arrived home at 7:59p and at 8:16 I heard a loud pop. My neighbor rang my doorbell and told me something had happened to my window. My rear window had a gaping hole in the upper left area. The glass broke from the inside out not from something being thrown at it. I have photos and video documentation. Fortunately, my dealer is working with me on getting it fixed under warranty....but clearly, there is a problem.

Filed Feb 20, 2022 · Brakes, Electrical · CA

Just bought This 2022 HRV AWD EX back in October 2021. I already have one prior issue with the emissions problems and the brake system. When I took it to Honda they said they would take care of it and they did. Something about calibration and getting a part for my car. This morning I tried driving it when out of nowhere I get all the parking lights emissions problems and parking lights flashing and the car won’t even go faster than 10 mph while white smoke coming out of the exhaust and starts pulling and yanking it’s pretty scary when you driving and it happens out of nowhere. Now the I can’t even drive my brand new car that I bought. it shows me on the dash for me to pull over and park. Take to dealer sign on dash.

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the Honda HR-V fire or smoke

Which Honda HR-V years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?

The model years with the most reports are 2016 (3 complaints), 2023 (3 complaints) and 2019 (2 complaints).

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