2014 Honda CR-V · symptom sheet

Engine rattles or ticks

55owner reports
50,000median miles
$2,000median quote
0involved a crash

Newest report Jun 3, 2026 · checked Sep 19, 2026

187 of the 497 complaints on this car are about the engine. 55 of those describe engine rattle, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2014 CR-V.

Tick what matches of 55 reports

a ticking or tapping at idle

worse on a cold start

a rattle that comes and goes

the check engine light followed

the dealer named a specific part

it got worse over weeks

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the timing chain (18 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the engine covers the 2014 model year as of Sep 19, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into the engine on the CR-V

EA04-027opened Sep 9, 2004

Engine And Engine Cooling · model years 2003 to 2005

Underhood fires. Closed jan 19, 2005.

NHTSA summary

IN DOCUMENTS PROVIDED DURING EA04-027, HONDA IDENTIFIED A MECHANISM WHICH CAUSES THE RUBBER SEAL (GASKET) OF THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT (OE) OIL FILTER TO ADHERE TO THE ENGINE BLOCK OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.IF AN ADHERED SEAL REMAINS WHEN THE OE FILTER IS REMOVED AND A NEW FILTER IS INSTALLED, A DOUBLE GASKET CONDITION RESULTS.A SUBSEQUENT RUPTURE OF THE EXTRANEOUS SEAL CAN RESULT IN OIL CONTACTING NEARBY EXHAUST SYSTEM SURFACES AND A FIRE MAY OCCUR.THROUGHOUT ITS DISCUSSIONS WITH ODI, HONDA HAS MAINTAINED THAT IT IS THE SERVICING TECHNICIAN?S RESPONSIBILITY TO INSPECT FOR AND REMOVE THE SEAL PRIOR TO INSTALLING A NEW FILTER.ODI?S ANALYSIS FOUND THAT SEAL ADHESION, IN CONJUNCTION WITH TECHNICIAN ERROR AND EXHAUST COMPONENT LOCATION, RESULTED IN A HIGH RATE OF SUBJECT VEHICLE OIL FILTER FIRES COMPARED TO EARLIER MODELS AND PEERS.VEHICLES THAT HAVE NOT HAD THE OE FILTER DISTURBED ARE NOT AT RISK.SERVICE REPLACEMENT FILTER SEALS, WHICH ARE MANUFACTURED BY A DIFFERENT SUPPLIER, DO NOT EXHIBIT THE SEAL ADHESION CONDITION.THEREFORE, IF THE INITIAL OIL CHANGE IS DONE PROPERLY, THE ELEVATED FIRE RISK IS ELIMINATED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE VEHICLE?S LIFE.BASED ON AVERAGE MILEAGE ACCUMULATION AND OIL SERVICE INTERVAL, ODI ESTIMATES THAT MORE THAN TWO THIRDS OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLES HAVE RECEIVED THEIR INITIAL OIL CHANGE AND ARE NO LONGER AT AN ELEVATED RISK.HONDA CHANGED THE DESIGN OF THE FILTER SEAL TO PREVENT THE ADHESION CONDITION AND INTRODUCED THE NEW SEAL AT BOTH CR-V ASSEMBLY PLANTS I

PE04-018opened Feb 19, 2004

Engine And Engine Cooling · model years 2003

Oil filter fires. Closed jul 1, 2004.

NHTSA summary

THIS INVESTIGATION IDENTIFIED 32 INCIDENTS OF OIL FILTER LEAKAGE IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLE POPULATION, WITH 22 RESULTING IN VEHICLE FIRES.ALL OF THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED FOLLOWING OIL CHANGES.HONDA'S INVESTIGATION OF 14 OF THE FIRE INCIDENTS DETERMINED THAT FIVE OIL FILTERS HAD STACKED SEALS (DOUBLE-GASKETING), AND NINE OIL FILTERS HAD DISTORTED OR PINCHED SEALS.ACCORDING TO HONDA, BOTH CONDITIONS RESULT FROM FAILURE TO FOLLOW NECESSARY REPAIR PROCEDURES. STACKED SEALS RESULT FROM FAILURE OF THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN TO REMOVE THE OLD SEAL PRIOR TO INSTALLING THE NEW FILTER AND SEAL.DISTORTED OR PINCHED SEALS RESULT FROM FAILURE TO PROPERLY LUBRICATE THE NEW SEAL PRIOR TO INSTALLATION. OIL LEAKAGE FROM A STACKED, DISTORTED, OR PINCHED SEAL CAN BE IGNITED BY HEAT FROM THE EXHAUST SYSTEM, WHICH IS LOCATED NEAR THE OIL FILTER IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.HONDA WILL ISSUE COMMUNICATIONS TO ITS DEALERS WARNING OF THE NECESSITY TO FOLLOW CORRECT PROCEDURES WHEN REPLACING OIL FILTERS IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES AND OF THE POTENTIAL FOR VEHICLE FIRES TO RESULT FROM IMPROPER REPAIRS.ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE ALLEGED DEFECT IN MY 2003 AND LATER CR-V VEHICLES.THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT EXISTS.THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.

None of these investigations covers the 2014 model year.

What owners paid

13 of the 55 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $1,000 to $2,600.

$1,000$2,000$2,600

$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 28,000 and 70,000 miles, from the 42 reports that gave a mileage.

415

516

417

318

1219

820

721

322

423

324

125

126

What owners wrote

“Rattles and shakes between 25 and 40 mph, bad actuator will cause timing failure. It only has 71,000 miles. Honda is well aware of this defect in this vehicle. When will they be held accountable to fix this issue? At 33k I was definitely taken for a ride! No engine warning light either!”
Filed Jul 15, 2024 · 71,000 miles

“A VTC actuator rattles and is damaging the timing chain that will fail and cause catastrophic engine failure on road that can cause life threatening event”
Filed Feb 22, 2024

“The engine has rattled noises when starting, I look online and a lot of people have the same problem, they said the VTC actuatorâs problem, even after they changed it, the noise is back 1-2 years. Honda needs to recall and replace this part for Hondaâs customers.”
Filed Feb 17, 2023

“VTC Actuator making rattling noise during start up in the morning and every five hours of sitting”
Filed Aug 8, 2022

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 0 of 55 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation.