2018 Honda CR-V · symptom sheet
Brakes grind, pulse or wear early
- 196owner reports
- 15,715median miles
- 13involved a crash
Newest report Aug 31, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
196 of the 2,145 complaints on this car describe brake wear.
Narrower sheets: Brake warning light stays on (41 reports)
Tick what matches of 196 reports
Brake wear on other CR-V years
Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2014, 2016, 2022, 2024, 2026.
What this problem usually is
Brake reports cover a wide spread of symptoms. Grinding or squealing is common, and so is a pulsing pedal or a shake through the car when stopping. Others describe pads and rotors worn out long before they expected, a brake warning light, or a pedal that goes soft or sinks toward the floor. The most serious ones say the car didn't stop in time.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the ABS module (13 reports) and the pads and rotors (3 reports).
Recalls and investigations
No recall on the brakes covers the 2018 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 7,000 and 30,000 miles, from the 109 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 5 service bulletins or notices for the 2018 Honda CR-V that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2021 Accords, 2019-2017 Civics, 2017-2021 CR-Vs, 2018-2021 Odysseys & 2018-2021 Pilots with a customer complaint of an unexpected CMBS operation or a brake application.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2017-2020 CR-Vs with a customer complaint of a brake fluid leak.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2018-2020 Accords, 2017-2020 CR-Vs & 2018-2020 Odysseys with a customer complaint of an unexpected CMBS operation or a brake application.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is investigating certain 2017-2020 CR-Vs with a customer complaint of a brake fluid leak.
1 more on the 2018 Honda CR-V page.
What owners wrote
“I was proceeding through a green light and the âBRAKEâ warning engaged when I was going through the intersection - there was nothing in front of me. I had no control of the braking system. Thankfully, there were no other cars on the road. This has happened about 4 other times, including a couple of times on the freeway.”
Filed Jul 21, 2026
“Emergency automatic breaking YES YOU MAY COME ANY TIME TO LOOK AT IT fOR NO REASON THE CAR BRAKES LOCKED UP WHILE i WAS DRIVING. the car behind me almost hit me. this could have caused damage to cars and injury to people in the cars. This has happened twice, my wife refuses to drive the car. I took it into the dealer and was told there was nothing wrong. The brake light went on then it stopped.”
Filed Feb 27, 2022
“The Collision Mitigation Braking System is malfunctioning when driving over metal plates. It has happened when I get close to drive straight over the metal plate (at probably 20-25 MPH), my car slams onto the brakes and comes to a complete stop. If anybody were behind me, they would rear-end me. This is very dangerous and needs to be corrected to save lives and property.”
Filed Feb 26, 2022
“Driving down a street at about 30 miles per hour just after a rain event and the sun was now shining. Approached a railroad crossing that had a dip in the road before going over the crossing, when I went through the dip the car auto braked and brought us to a dead stop. Fortunately no one was behind us.”
Filed Feb 25, 2022
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 13 of 196 reports involved a crash and 10 people were hurt. 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. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found
Other problems on this car
- Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking) 244 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 219 reports
- Steering sticks, feels notchy or jerks 212 reports
- Burns oil or oil level rises 130 reports
- Check engine light or misfire 128 reports
- Engine rattles or ticks 126 reports
- Multiple warning lights come on at once 109 reports
- Forward collision warning goes off or the camera drops out 96 reports
- Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 94 reports
- Fuel pump failure 89 reports
- Adaptive cruise or lane keeping misbehaves 84 reports
- Power steering cuts out or goes heavy 80 reports
- Fuel smells, leaks, or the gauge reads wrong 77 reports
- Turbo failure or loss of boost 73 reports
- Battery dies or the car will not start 70 reports
- A/C blows warm or the compressor fails 58 reports
- Engine overheats or leaks coolant 51 reports
- Engine failure, knocking or rod bearing 46 reports
- Steering wheel clicks, clunks or grinds when I turn 44 reports
- Seat belt or seat problems 32 reports
- Traction control or StabiliTrak light comes on 30 reports
- Windshield cracks or distorts 29 reports