2023 Honda HR-V
Complaints about this year name shattered far more often than the other years of this generation — 61% of them, about 10× the usual rate of 6.2%.
First year of a new generation. The Honda HR-V was redesigned for 2023. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 681 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 82 |
| Involving a crash | 7 |
| Recalls | 3 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 27.5 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- shattered — 61.4% of this year's complaints, against 0.9% across the other years of this generation (68.1×).
- rear windshield — 29.8% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the other years of this generation (149×). Owners wrote it as: rear windshield, became aware.
- rear window — 25.6% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the other years of this generation (127.8×). Owners wrote it as: rear window, window just, window defroster.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- rear window — 25% of complaints, 62× usual
- window — 42% of complaints, 7× usual
- rear windshield — 30% of complaints, 12× usual
What owners wrote
Rear windshield shattered while stationary upon activating the rear defroster for less than 5 minutes. The initial hole was in the upper left side of the rear window.
I was stopped at the stoplight and my rear windshield spontaneously shattered. I heard a pop, similar to a balloon sound, and the rear window had been completely shattered all the way through.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 23V782000 SEAT BELTS Fixed free of charge.
- 23V858000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE Fixed free of charge.
- 24V744000 STEERING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Honda HR-V was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2023 Honda HR-V? What happened to yours?
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