Used Honda CR-V (Mk4, 2012-2017) review - What should you look out for?
Excellent build quality and confidence-inspiring reliability means the Honda is a hassle-free SUV to own
Honda is famed for its reliability, with the result the brand’s cars always star in our Driver Power satisfaction surveys. They’re also robustly built and more than up to the task of performing hard-working family car duties.
Common used Honda CR-V Mk4 problems
Towing
The 2.0-litre petrol can haul 1,700kg and the 2.2-litre diesel 2,000kg, but in auto form both can only pull 1,500kg. All 1.6-litre diesels are rated at 1,700kg.
Motors
CR-V diesel engines can be somewhat rough on start-up, but an engine control unit (ECU) update can fix things by increasing the revs at idle.
Headlamps
The halogen headlights aren’t that great due to the reflector design; the xenon lights are much better, so seek these out.
Electrics
The tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) can behave erratically. This is usually caused by a fault with one of the sensors.
Recalls
Most of the problems centred on the Takata airbag scandal that has affected hundreds of thousands of Hondas (along with other manufacturers’ cars) globally, going back to 2000.
The Takata recall accounted for four of the five airbag recalls, but there was also another one, this time in October 2020, because some CR-Vs suffered from slow airbag deployment resulting from faulty inflators.
As well as this there was an action in July 2015, because the Automatic Emergency Braking could activate incorrectly; a software update fixed this.
Excessive exhaust emissions prompted a seventh recall in January 2020, then in August 2020 Honda launched its eighth CR-V campaign because of faulty fuel pumps, which needed to be replaced.
