A reasonable buy — after you verify the steering recall took.

Service brakes is #2: phantom automatic-braking events and brake-feel reports carry into the new generation. Include highway driver-assist behavior in the test drive.

Two distinct fuel issues on the hybrid. First, the recalled one: improperly produced high-pressure fuel pumps (Hitachi Astemo) can crack and leak — campaign 24V-763, about 720,000 Hondas including 2023–25 CR-V Hybrids; dealers inspect free and replace pumps that show the defect (letters mailed from December 2024). A fuel smell while idling or parked means go in now, not at your convenience. Second, the not-recalled one: owners report fuel injector failures on low-mileage hybrids — sudden power loss at highway speed with a cascade of warning lights. Honda has addressed it through service bulletins only, so ask specifically whether injectors were ever replaced under warranty.

'Unknown or other' ranks high in the complaint data — typical first-model-year scatter: rattles, infotainment glitches, trim issues. The two most-reported specifics: backup cameras that flicker or drop to black-and-white (for some owners, persisting even after a camera replacement) and navigation complaints — maps not orienting to the direction of travel, unresponsive touchscreens. Individually minor, collectively the tax you pay for a new platform. Later-build 2023s (check the door-jamb build date) benefit from running production fixes.

Early-build 2023s had improperly welded passenger seat frames (recall 23V-092); replaced free. Letters went out long ago — just verify by VIN.

A master Honda technician's teardown-level review of the 2023 hybrid expects reliability 'among the highest': the 2.0L hybrid engine has no turbo, and the drivetrain has no belt, no alternator, and no starter — three wear items that simply don't exist. Two things to know instead: the eCVT achieves its smoothness with real clutches, solenoids, and hydraulic fluid, which makes transmission fluid changes a genuine on-time service item (not the 'sealed forever' assumption hybrids invite); and an occasional one-to-two-second delay before a clutch engages under sudden acceleration is normal character for this design, not a fault. Scattered drivability reports aside, treat the hybrid drivetrain as promising-but-young.

The 6th-gen redesign cut the theft problem roughly in half: HLDI puts the 2023–24 CR-V AWD at **188** against an all-vehicle average of 100, down from 409 on the 2020–22 car, and the front-drive version at **77** is now better than average. But the **hybrid AWD is the exception at 340** — still four times the average, still on the industry's top-20 most-stolen list. That inverts the usual advice on this car: on a 2023, the powertrain you pick changes your insurance exposure more than it changes your fuel bill. Price comprehensive coverage on the exact variant you're buying, not on 'a CR-V'.