Honda’s updated response to consumer reported 2015 Honda CR-V vibration

We just traded in our 2015 CRV for a RAV 4 after six months of ownership because of excessive vibrations in all seats, steering wheel and floor pan at idle and in city and highway driving. The Honda field engineer who drove our CRV said all 2015s have some degree of vibration and that the amount can vary greatly from vehicle to vehicle. Our CRV was recently given a CVT reflash designed to reduce highway-speed steering wheel vibrations only. It reduced but didn't eliminate them. The field engineer said Honda is working on the reflash, a revised hatch seal to reduce a harmonic effect that amplifies vibrations, and revised composite material motor mounts for potential replacement of all three motor mounts at dealerships. However, an early trial of new motor mounts failed because in cold weather they increased, rather than reduced, vibrations. The engineer also said: 1), there will be no idle speed adjustment provided for 2015s to reduce vibrations; 2) the best vibration control is provided by hydraulic engine mounts as in the Accord but that no such engine mounts are planned for current CRVs. The Accord and the CRV have the same very complicated, high tech, buzzy engine. I'm guessing the 2017 CRVs will have hydraulic engine mounts. Buyers beware: some owners (like me) didn't start experiencing the vibrations until after driving the vehicle for a few days. A regular test drive is not a foolproof way to check for the problem.

I've had my 2015 CR-V AWD EX since January, and it does not have any vibration issues while driving or idling. The vehicle has been a pleasure to own. I have 6,000 miles on it now.

I own a 2015 CRV. Purchased @ 12/2014. The vibration gets worse as you drive it. I have @8,000. My dealership denied there was a problem until Honda began releasing their "social media" postings.

The vibrations for me range from idle to driving @70 mph. Steering wheel, floorboards. I suggest you find an older one to test drive rather than one off the dealership lot.

There is a website "crvownersclub.com" that has a lot of info on this. How Honda has treated customers, possible fixes, etc. Search 2015 vibrations.

IMO, stay away from HONDA.. There's too many problems with this company to be putting down $25K+ on a vehicle.

Our 3 month old 2015 CR-V Touring just returned from a 1000 mile round trip in 100+ temperatures. With just over 5500 miles on the car, we experience no unusual vibration or noise. I've been in the aftermarket and OEM auto industry for close to 40 years and am an extremely knowledgeable and very picky vehicle driver and owner. I can assure you that I would be one of the first to notice and complain if our vehicle experienced the symptoms described in this thread. In fact, I noticed a vibration at idle yesterday on the way to the gas station after returning from our trip. The MFID showed 9 miles of range remaining, but the vibration disappeared after filling the tank and restarting the CR-V.

I'm in no position to discount John or Alicia or Arthur's experience with their CR-Vs, but I will definitely take issue with the blanket statement that ALL 2015 CR-Vs experience this perceived "defect" and that ALL dealers now admit to the defect. Does a problem exist? Well, yes, there most likely is an issue with certain vehicles, perhaps attributed to variation in quality or performance of certain parts and/or to vehicle build tolerances. However, do all vehicles exhibit the problem? Well, no....

Our neighbor purchased a 2015 CR-V late last year and they love it. I met two 2015 CR-V owners at a conference I attended in April and specifically asked them about the vibration issue as we had just taken delivery of our vehicle - neither had anything bad to say about the CR-V's drive train. . .although one did hate the voice recognition system! Finally, we met another owner of an identical (right down to the color) CR-V Touring in a visitor center parking lot outside of Las Vegas. Their only complaint was that the AC struggled to keep the 104 degree heat at bay, the same complaint that my wife voiced (and likely due, in part, to the CR-Vs dark blue exterior)!

However, at the end of the day, these four anecdotes are no more indicative of a lack of problems than are the social media reports of an endemic vibration problem. There is simply no way to know how pervasive the vibration issue is looking solely at social media reports, owner anecdotes or even Honda's consumer complaint logs.

(BTW, I'm not a Honda apologist by any means. I had a number of problems with a 2008 Accord V6 that I documented on social media blogs starting in 2008 and will not hesitate to do the same should the CR-V begin to exhibit the vibration issues described here.)

I was looking at CR-V's as a replacement for my 10 year old Honda Accord,
I've been recommending the CR-V to many friends for the past several years
and they've all been delighted with them. I started hearing about the vibration
issue when I looked into picking up a new 2015 and researched the problem as
thoroughly as I could, to coin the old saying, I went in with my eyes wide open.
I took many test drives of a variety of CR-V's and drove them at all speeds and
on varying road surfaces intently trying to make them display any vibration.
The only way I could detect any vibration was in situations where I was stopped at a light
and the motor dropped into a lower rpm level while idling. I experimented with this by
turning off all accessories to see if it made any difference, and it does. I keep my AC or
ventilation fan on all the time and if I turn it off at a light the motor does idle at a lower
RPM level that induces a vibration.

As I said, I literally searched for and tried to make the vehicles I tested vibrate and
could not find anything that was out of the ordinary when compared to any similar
4 cylinder powered vehicle. I bought a brand new one the beginning of March and have
put over 5000 on the odometer, I do a lot of road trips so I accumulate mileage faster than
most drivers. Mine was built in February of 2015 so maybe its possible they've "fixed"
some of the bugs that can occur on the newest factory releases. As some have pointed out,
you can't paint all 2015 CR-V's with the same broad brush, from my own testing and personal
experience there are many that are just fine. My own 2005 Honda Accord was from a lineage
that many owners accused of being noisy rattletraps and said their cars were frought with issues.
My experience was very different, my car was and still is extremely well built and very reliable,
I sold it to the daughter in law of my best friend and she is thrilled with it.

Are there things on the 2015 CR-V that I don't like? Yes, I don't like the way the main display
screen makes you wait, not the biggest fan of the drivers side view mirror with the "extended
view past the line on the mirror, don't really like the way the CVT sounds on full acceleration
but you do get used to it after a while, and yes, it could cool off or warm up a bit quicker if its a hot
or cold day.

I really think that some drivers are just extra sensitive and after noticing a vibration its like the
princess and the pea, every time they get in their vehicle they feel the "dreaded vibration".
For those owners, I'd advise they definitely sell their CR-V as nothing is going to please them and
they're not going to be happy unless Honda gives them a 100% refund, which I doubt will happen,
and I wish them well with whatever they find as an alternative. Its been my own observation
that people like that aren't content with whatever they're driving, they always find something wrong.
My honest experience with my CR-V indicates that it is like my Accord, a well built car that should
last me another 10 years of happy ownership, and this is my 4th Honda product.

This information is really a bummer. I have been researching SUV's/Crossovers extensively. I finally came to a decision for my wife and I to buy the new CR-V. The car just seemed to meet all of our needs outside of the strange fact that the EX-L does not come with Sirius radio. The car won us over anyway as I can have a Sirius radio installed in the ballpark of $100 at Best Buy. I had planned to test-drive the purchase first, but now it is apparent that the vibrations may not come into play until after owning the car for a while, the weather change, whether or not I use the AC, lights, etc. Long story short, it is too much of a risk for $30,000. I also know a vibration will drive me nuts. I had one in my Audi, but it turned out my car didn't have two supports underneath the back speakers which easily remedied it. I don't see that easy of a fix on this. Usually, I don't give too much credibility to customer reviews as they usually represent the jaded 1%, but these reviews are too consistent, too similar, and have resulted in a propaganda video being released by Honda which just adds additional credibility to the problem.

Thank you all for the feedback. I'm disappointed that I must decide on a different car, but am thankful I won't spend the next few years getting agitated at every red light or traffic jam.

As it has been asked often, I live in a suburb of Atlanta, planned on finalizing my purchase tomorrow, and am absolutely ill over having to go back and start the car buying process over again. Maybe I'd buy one with no issues, but no way I'm taking the chance. Good luck to all who have made the purchase and best of luck to Honda on repairing the PR damage. I'm only one consumer, but if it has stopped me from buying one, then there are certainly others who have as well.

I too have the vibrations with my 2015 CRV. I purchased in March and 5 months later I am having other issues as well. I took my car in again today for a loud chirping noise that Honda believes is coming from the Fuel Pump. The Honda Tech line advised to replace all the Fuel Pump parts but a week later the car is making the same noise but louder. Vibrations and Chirps..I think I may have a lemon. Hopefully Honda can get rid of the Chirps.

I have had the most unusual responses to my questions regarding the CR-V from car dealerships here in So. Cal. Many had never heard of the complaint, yet, when push came to shove, I was told, by those same people that when customers did return the cars for the "warranty" because of the vibrations that the mechanic/s said there was no problem or fixed what they considered to be the problem and the owners still had that same "vibration". If they are the same "mechanics" who said the clicking sound in my car was not a problem after 3X in the dealership shop and then, I have a major breakdown which could have easily caused an accident, a problem that the tow truck guy immediately identified exactly what the problem was before he looked at the car and just from my explanation, not looking at anything... then, I'm not surprised that there is "no problem" w/the vibration. I've owned Hondas for almost as long as I have been driving, and want the CRV, but, am not getting a real understanding as to how they plan to fix the source of the problem, which, they say is the CVT (continuous variable transmission), which seems like a suspension problem (?) as many other brands of cars use the same technology (CVT) w/o the "vibration". I tried to rent a CRV and no rental agency had them in their fleet... except one, which had it in their Canadian fleet, where it is made, as I'm told. I was told by one agency that they do not buy the Hondas because they are not given a fleet price and told by another agency that they don't buy them because they have been recalled too often. So, I called the Customer Service in Torrance Calif. and, more oddness which I won't bore you with, however, extreme lack of knowledge, unable to understand the customer questions, and, insisting that the customer (me) had called a wrong number when I was put on hold and made many offers for free stuff I didn't want and finally ending with a "HANG UP NOW" command, which I didn't do and this was followed by a loud and ever increasing screeching sound, when, all I did was press "redial" each time. And even more with the "Option 6 Supervisor" who siad he was the "Option 7" Supervisor even though I could see all of the number that I dialed right there in front of me. Then, he was unable to tell me who the "Option 6 Supervisor" was did he know any further procedure to follow in this event. Unbelieveable. It was like calling a kids day care in which the kids were in charge. So, I'm now looking at the Subaru Forester. Honda has hit a record low in all areas with me, something I never believed could or would happen...

I've owned Accords for many years and swear by them. I think that they are the greatest. I need an SUV right now and decided on the CRV from the start but I will not budge until the people that bought them this year are satisfied. I don't buy this princess and the pea crap. If an acceptable answer does not come soon I'll be dragged kicking and screaming into a CX5 because I simply do not like what Toyota puts out these days. I buy new cars and drive them until they are done for. Accords are good for that. Vibration problems tend to get worse, not better with age and I'm just not going to gamble. The SUV is for my wife, 'nuff said.

Wow! I bought my CR-V in early June, and was doing a little research on specs and only discovered this issue yesterday! (July 23). My heart sunk when I started reading some of the complaints (on another website), then found this site with intelligent discussion and debate. I can tell you I have driven my car 1,100 miles (I live relatively close to work) and have not experienced the vibration issue others have recounted. With one exception: a few times when backing the car out of the garage in the morning, it vibrates wildly for a few seconds, while in reverse. As soon as I change it to drive, it stops. And it doesn't happen every time, either. I assume it could be triggered by me hitting the gas then the brake pedal as I back out. My point is: if that level of vibration happened every time the car idled, I'd quickly find it un-drivable. (and a note: this issue probably has *nothing* to do with what's causing the vibrations in idle, I mention it only to draw a comparison of what it may be like for others). I am a little concerned after reading the complaints that the vibrations could start as I drive the car more, or when it cools off enough to turn off the A/C, but I am hoping they don't. I was *very* close to getting either the Mazda CX-5 or the Ford Escape, but the CR-V seemed to have a roomier interior for my purposes, and my trim-line also has the blind-spot camera (I got the EX-L with Nav)-- which in a car with limited visibility has already helped me on the very busy interstate that I drive. I agree with Lorne's comments about the driver's-side mirror. It takes some major getting used to and I don't like it, but I can live with it. I do wonder if CR-V's produced later int the model year have fewer vibration problems than those bought earlier. One other thing that Parks might find interesting: after I saw the problem yesterday I went to my dealer's site. They normally stock about 70 2015 CR-V's. Yesterday I think there were 46. There is no way they sold 25 of them in one day. What happened? I checked two other sites of the dealers where I had shopped. One of them also had a sharp drop-off in available stock, but the other actually had more in stock! Very strange.