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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2020 Honda HR-V Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
14about this part
Share
16%of 86 total for the year
Median mileage
115,850miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 14 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2020 Honda HR-V, 16% of the 86 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 115,850 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“On 3/15/26 the CVT transmission on my 2020 HRV EX-L failed while driving on I-95 near Fairfield, CT. My dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and the car decelerated and would not go past 20 miles per hour. My safety was put at risk because this happened suddenly doing 60 mph highway. There was no indication of an issue with the transmission when I visited the Honda Service center on Friday, 3/13 to repair a lose panel. They saw no issues. …”

NHTSA complaint #11727834, filed 2026-03

“Sometimes when I am driving on any road flat, incline, up a hill/mountain trying to merge into traffic/pass a vehicle. I think I covered all of the situations. There is a DRAMATIC LOSS OF POWER or a PLAY or SOMETHING where I have to push the accelerator all the way to the FLOOR in order for it to get gas or gain speed to pass or to accomplish the task at hand. My 2020 HR-V only has a little over 17,500 miles. I also only put in gas from QT which is a TOP TIER GASOLINE. …”

NHTSA complaint #11506321, filed 2023-02

“Driving 65 on freeway, power loss and all the lights came on. pulled over and put it in park, dash said i was still in N and i took my foot off brake and it was rolling. I shut car off and waited so i could get to safer place. was able to start up - with all lights flashing. Poor power, limped to the closest parking lot - about 1/2 mile. dealer said it was the battery and there were shavings in the transmission fluid. said they would check it again at my next oil change, but it was fine. 5 days later it happened again - same scenario. …”

NHTSA complaint #11571518, filed 2024-02

“The transmission on my 2020 HRV Honda failed at 63,000 miles. We were at risk because we were driving on a freeway with speed limit of 70 mph and we could only go 30 mph. The problem has been identified by American Honda but they would not extend the warranty to 2020 cars. The transmission had to be replaced and the new one is working. They were no warning signs of the failure. American Honda is saying that the NHTSB is responsible for issuing all recalls. Please help. This was a huge expense that Honda knows full and well that it was a CVT failure on their HRVs. …”

NHTSA complaint #11623999, filed 2024-11

“This vehicle has some serious acceleration problems. Not only has this vehicle gone into limp mode on me on a very busy city road when it was only a couple of weeks old, but it also takes FOREVER for it to accelerate when pulling into traffic or while going up a hill. I have to press the gas pedal all the way down to the floor and still get nothing until I let up and press the gas again. I have had problems where the car will spudder and almost die as I'm exiting the highway coming to a stop and today it actually did completely die as I exited the highway and came to a stop at a red light. …”

NHTSA complaint #11556508, filed 2023-11

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2026210%
202512%
202433%
202310%
20221921%
202158%
20201416%
2019167%
20181610%
20173226%
20167631%

Other parts of the 2020 Honda HR-V

Fuel system
26 complaintsElectrical system
21 complaintsEngine
10 complaintsOther or unknown
8 complaintsAir bags
7 complaintsForward collision avoidance
6 complaintsLane departure
6 complaintsBrakes
5 complaintsVehicle speed control
5 complaintsSteering
2 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
1 complaintsExterior lighting
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2020 Honda HR-V

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology