Reliability report · 2021 Honda CR-V · Updated July 2026 · ~$2,100/yr fuel · what it costs to keep →
The 2021 CR-V is one of the quietest years in our data — low complaint volume, a short recall list, and the early-generation engine drama largely resolved.
The one thing to watch is the same generation-wide steering complaint, which is now the top category. A strong used pick.
Evidence: 305 NHTSA complaints · 4 recall campaigns · 5 mechanic & forum sources
Canary status
Chirping
What that means: One of the quietest years in our data — low complaints, short recall list, early-generation engine drama resolved. Watch the generation-wide steering complaint; it's now the top category.
305
Federal complaints
4
Recalls
$1,000–$5,700
Out-of-warranty repair if affected
Tested variant: 2021 Honda CR-V SUV FWD (NHTSA VehicleId 15733)
Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) →Ranked by the cost of ignoring them. Every claim carries its source.
Steering is the #1 complaint component: brief resistance turning off-center, most noticeable on the highway. Honda's sticky-steering service bulletin activity targets this symptom family, but the 2021 has no steering recall — test drive with attention and get any stickiness diagnosed before purchase. Recent owner-reported dealer quotes for the full electric-power-steering gearbox assembly run $5,500–$5,700 (2026) — treat $1,000 as the floor, not the estimate.
Out-of-warranty repair if affected
$1,000–$5,700
Sources: NHTSA complaint and recall databases, 2021 CR-V · Mechanic channel and owner signal (5th-gen CR-V)
Engine is #2 in the data at low absolute volume. The 1.5L turbo's early-generation problem — gasoline diluting the engine oil, worst on cold-climate short trips — is far rarer by 2021 after Honda's software updates. The 30-second check still applies: pull the dipstick and look for oil above the full mark or a gasoline smell.
This problem spans 2017–2022 — the full 1.5L turbo engine (oil dilution) story →
Honda Sensing phantom-braking complaints continue at reduced volume. Include highway driver-assist behavior in the test drive.
The passenger seat weight sensor defect covers 2020–21 (recall 24V-064) and was expanded in 2026 (26V-332). Free fix — verify it's done, and watch for airbag warning lights.
$0
Recall remedy
Scattered drain complaints; cheap to check, annoying to live with. Ask about battery history.
HLDI — the insurance industry's loss-data institute — scores whole-vehicle theft against an all-vehicle average of 100. The 2020–22 CR-V AWD comes in at **409**: stolen at roughly four times the average rate, which puts it on the industry's top-20 most-stolen list, in company it does not otherwise keep — Chargers, Challengers, Range Rovers. Front-drive cars are better but not good (270); the hybrid AWD sits at 226. Worth knowing how new this is: the 2017–18 CR-V ran at **55**, barely half the average. This generation didn't get less secure — it got popular with thieves. That's not a defect and not a reason to walk away, but it is a real cost, and it's one you can only act on before you buy.
Sources: HLDI whole vehicle theft losses, 2020–22 models (report WT-22, April 2023)
The early-generation drama is over — what's left fits in one test drive.
Free fixes at any Honda dealer. Run the VIN — “completed” isn’t always completed.
The purchase price is what you negotiate. These are the numbers you live with afterward — each one sourced, none of them blended into a fake total.
Fuel
30 MPG combined (28 city / 34 highway) for the FWD, 1.5L turbo on the EPA federal fuel-economy test.
Source: FuelEconomy.gov (EPA) — EPA’s federal fuel-economy test, recomputed with current gas prices. EPA record 43472 (CR-V FWD).
Other builds EPA lists: AWD, 1.5L turbo 29 MPG · Hybrid AWD, 2.0L 38 MPG.
$2,100/yr
at $4.15/gal · 15,000 mi/yr · 55/45 city/hwy · pulled Jul 12, 2026
Crash losses
Insurers lose about 34% less on this vehicle than on the average car. Lower collision losses tend to show up in what you pay for coverage.
Source: HLDI — the insurance industry’s loss-data institute — HLDI collision losses, 2020–22 models, published April 2023 (report R-23). 100 = the all-vehicle average. Series read: Honda CR-V 4dr 4WD.
Other series: Honda CR-V 4dr 64 · Honda CR-V hybrid 4dr 4WD 70, where 100 = average.
66 vs 100
34% below average
Theft
Stolen roughly 4× as often as the average vehicle. Worth pricing comprehensive coverage before you buy, not after.
Source: HLDI — HLDI whole vehicle theft losses, 2020–22 models, published April 2023 (report WT-22). 100 = the all-vehicle average. Series read: Honda CR-V 4dr 4WD.
Other series: Honda CR-V 4dr 270 · Honda CR-V hybrid 4dr 4WD 226, where 100 = average.
409 vs 100
4× average — off this chart
Repair risk
What this specific year is known to need. Pulled from the issues above — the repairs owners actually report, at the costs they report them. Averages from other sites blend every year together; these are this year’s own numbers.
Source: this report — 01 Known issues.
The canary watches your VIN — new recalls and the mileage where known issues start.
Watch my VIN — freevincanary.com/honda/cr-v/2021