2019 Honda CR-V Complaints

The highly documented sticky steering issue has caused multiple dangerous issues of steering overcorrection on 2 lane highways in rural Arkansas and Missouri where I live. Seems worse on returning to straight ahead from a slight left curve. It makes my very nervous to drive and the dealer ignored it for years saying it was probably a knocked loose sensor. Estimated cost of out of warranty repair for the some issue the latest models have a recall on is about $5000. I cannot afford this and makes me tend to drive this vehicle in a dangerous condition.

Sudden braking. Car in front at a safe distance, car behind me and a car was in other lane (driving opposite direction) maybe 20-30 ft away. Car braked on its own with “brake” flashed on dash. Car fishtailed but I was able to gain control after a second or two. Occurred5:20pm on 6-18-26. Occurred one other time about 15-18 months earlier. Another incident occurred on 6-30-26 around 2:30 pm on clear day on divided highway with no one close in front of me. Flashed “brake” warning but did not brake.

When driving my 2019 Honda CRV it is very difficult to drive at speeds 55 or higher. The steering frequently becomes stiff, jerky and notching feeling requiring both hands be on the steering wheel at all times. It is exhausing and feels unsafe. It will not stay straight. You have to constantly attempt to pull it back in your lane. I have turned off lane assist and it still does it. Other Honda CRVs are included in a recall for this issue but mine is not. It causes severe driver anxiety and fatigue. Passengers even question my driving but when we trade places they see how frustrating it is. Something is definitely not right. The mechanical failure I am experiencing is the same as the 2023-2025 recall. I called the Honda dealership where I bought my vehicle and other Honda dealerships and they confirmed my vehicle is not currently included in the recall.

The steering sticks, i.e. binds, when centered and requires excessive force to move it off center. The force/movement required to "unstick" the steering could inadvertently cause a lane or possibly a roadway departure as well as a crash into another vehicle. This issue, and its cause, have been diagnosed by Honda of San Marcos (Texas): "Verified concern, found internal failure in the power steering rack, Technician found power steering gear binding when turning" by technician Keith Arche.

While driving on a straight, flat road with no other vehicles close in the front or to my rear the brakes came on without warning. I pulled over to the side of the road because it was really scary. Once I calmed down I continued driving without further incident. When I got to my grandsons school parking lot I called the Honda dealership that I purchased the car from and asked the service person if they had any issues like this. She stated that "the phantom breaking happened at times" and that it "was not a big deal". After looking on line one suggestion was to clean around the sensor in the Honda emblem and the windshield around the rear view mirror. I've owned the car since 2019 (original owner) and have 72K miles on the vehicle. The only recent problem was I had to replace the original battery on 05/31/26 which was done by a AAA representative. I've had no other issues to date, but this breaking issue if it persists seems like it could be very dangerous.