American Honda Motor Co. has recently issued a mammoth recall over a rather shocking oversight. As it happens, an estimated 106,030 examples of the CR-V Hybrid have been produced with 12-volt battery cables that do not contain a fuse for the power circuit, thus increasing the risk of an electrical short.
The first instance of a short circuit caused by a missing fuse occurred on May 17, 2021. Two days later, none other than the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requested Honda's assistance in inspecting the vehicle in question. Come August 18, 2021, the Japanese automaker concluded there was no evidence of any high-voltage related issue.
Be that as it may, Honda reevaluated the incident in October 2021, concluding that the vehicle's extreme clash angle was a rare occurrence with marginal probability of being repeated. Once again, it turned out that Honda was completely off the mark. To understand how off the mark, documents filed with the NHTSA reveal that Honda changed the cable design on June 13, 2022 by adding a 100-amp fuse.
Otherwise put, Honda clearly knew that 2020 to 2022 model year CR-V Hybrid vehicles produced between August 8, 2019 and June 9, 2022 are susceptible to short in certain types of crashes. Vehicles produced during said timeframe don't feature said fuse. Adding insult to injury, Honda became aware of a second incident on August 18, 2022, almost two months after introducing the 100-amp fuse in series production.
Truth be told, the automaker should have recalled the aforementioned vehicles immediately after the introduction of the 100-amp fuse for the power circuit of the 12-volt battery cables routed outside of the body frame. A short is most likely if the vehicle is involved in a crash to the left front fender's area.
Photo: Honda
Honda once again dismissed the incident as a rare occurrence. Fast forward to August 29, 2023, and Honda received another warranty claim over a short circuit. The automaker reevaluated its previous conclusions, concluding that the third incident didn't have the same circumstances as the previous two. On December 6, 2023, which is better late than never, Honda admitted that a defect related to motor vehicle safety did exist in the 2020 to 2022 CR-V Hybrid.
On December 14, dealers nationwide were instructed to replace the battery cable with the improved part at no cost to affected owners. Said owners will have to wait until January 29 to receive a Honda-branded envelope via first-class mail, informing them that Honda's electrical engineers didn't really pay attention to the design of the CR-V Hybrid's electrical system. In the meantime, owners can use the NHTSA's VIN look-up tool to determine whether their crossovers are indeed recalled or not.
As you're well aware, the CR-V Hybrid premiered in the US market for the 2020 model year with 212 horsepower and 232 pound-feet (315 Nm) to its name. Back then, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated a combined fuel economy of 38 miles per gallon (6.2 liters per 100 kilometers) compared to 30 (7.8) for the front-wheel-drive 1.5 turbo and 29 (8.1) for the all-wheel-drive version.
Redesigned for 2023, the CR-V Hybrid is currently listed on Honda's configurator with a starting price of $33,700 for the Sport trim level. Slightly less powerful but also torquier than before, the CR-V Hybrid now returns up to 40 miles per gallon (5.9 liters per 100 kilometers) as opposed to 30 and 29 for the combustion-only CR-V with the 1.5-liter turbo.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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