NHTSA Complaints · Active Recalls · California Lemon Law Data
The NHTSA tracks consumer complaints, manufacturer recalls, and safety investigations for every vehicle sold in the United States. These publicly available records are a critical resource for California lemon law cases because they establish patterns of recurring defects.
As of July 2026, the NHTSA has logged 29 complaints against the 2025 Honda HR-V. Each complaint is filed by a vehicle owner or lessee through the NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline or online portal at SaferCar.gov. You can review all 2025 Honda HR-V complaints directly on the NHTSA complaint database.
The 2025 Honda HR-V has generated 60 NHTSA complaints and has 1 active recall. If your 2025 Honda HR-V has experienced a defect that the dealer has been unable to repair after multiple visits, you may qualify for a full repurchase or replacement under California lemon law. Honda pays all attorney fees when we prevail. You pay nothing.
Steering defects can create unpredictable vehicle behavior and qualify as safety-related under California lemon law. Reported issues on the 2025 Honda HR-V include pulling, vibration, loss of power steering, and electronic steering warnings. 16 NHTSA complaints have been filed in this category. Owner reports include: “Multiple times in the last year, I would be driving and it felt like my steering wheel would stick when navigating turns on the road, enough so that I would be turning my hands to turn the wheel and I would feel resistance like the car was slightly trying to fight me on the direction I wanted to go. Enough so that myself and others who have driven my vehicle have also noticed the random slight resistance. I can see that there is a recall for this exact problem with the same year make and model for my car, but for some reason my VIN does not come up under recall when I search it, even though I have experienced the problem that is being recalled. I’m worried that it is going to happen at a crucial moment and I would just like to know if my car should in fact be part of the recall list and for some reason is not.” (NHTSA Complaint #11718028)
The 2025 Honda HR-V has generated 10 NHTSA complaints for this defect category. If your vehicle has experienced recurring issues in this area that the dealer has been unable to repair after multiple attempts, you may have a qualifying lemon law claim under California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act. Owner reports include: “Driving on freeway interchange ramp and sunroof exploded. Left a rectangular section broken in center of sunroof. NOT following a truck, NO rocks flew up, NO land on either side of ramp, NO overpass above.” (NHTSA Complaint #11711147)
Electrical system failures are notoriously difficult to diagnose and repair, which often results in multiple unsuccessful repair attempts — a key element of a lemon law claim. Reported issues for the 2025 Honda HR-V include infotainment malfunctions, battery drain, warning lights, power window failures, and intermittent starting problems. 2 NHTSA complaints have been filed for this category. Owner reports include: “Honda hrv 2025 malfunctioning when brake hold system is activated. Brake hold system lets individuals use the brake whenever needed without your foot having to be on the pedal the entire time. You can come to a red light, step on the pedal and take your foot off the pedal and the car will remain stopped until you press on the gas. Over the course of leasing this vehicle sometimes the brake system problem message would show but it would disappear right away. I let the dealership know of this issue when I got my first oil change but since the message wasn’t currently displayed on the dashboard they did not attend to it. Earlier this week the car suddenly glitches when brake hold is activated and deactivates itself followed by All kinds of messages on the dash. I will upload them here to see. From brake system,TPMS, hill start assist all malfunction and when you turn the car off it doesn’t start back up automatically. This is a serious safety concern as the brake system malfunction and car not turning on can happen suddenly when driving causing injury to myself and those around me. A simple google search shows that this is common for this vehicle make, model and year however no recall has been filled.” (NHTSA Complaint #11725267)
Brake defects affecting safety may qualify for California’s two-repair threshold under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, which applies to defects likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. The 2025 Honda HR-V has generated 2 NHTSA complaints related to braking, including ABS failures, grinding, reduced stopping power, and warning lights. Owner reports include: “The contact owns a 2025 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that after activating the “BRAKE Hold” system and removing the foot off the brake pedal, the BRAKE Hold system deactivated, causing the vehicle to move forward. During the failure, several messages were displayed, including “Brake Hold System Failure” and “Hill Descent” failures. The vehicle was parked, and the BRAKE Hold system was manually reset; however, the failure later reoccurred. The contact stated that on one occasion, the vehicle failed to immediately restart. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,931.” (NHTSA Complaint #11724853)
Brake defects affecting safety may qualify for California’s two-repair threshold under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, which applies to defects likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. The 2025 Honda HR-V has generated 2 NHTSA complaints related to braking, including ABS failures, grinding, reduced stopping power, and warning lights. Owner reports include: “While driving on highway under 40mph, the brakes and steering wheel locked simultaneously. I was unable to control the car—pressing the foot brake and emergency brake did not stop the car and I could not steer as the wheel was locked. I ended up on the side of the road alongside a wall of snow. The dashboard was lighting up throughout this time with rotating emergency messaging—TPMS, transmission, brake system, flat tire, etc. There were no warning messages displayed and complete control of the car was taken away without warning. It was 530am so I was lucky there was no one else on the road or else this could have led to a fatal accident. The car was towed to the dealer and they said it was an electronic brake booster that went bad, but are unsure if this caused both the brake and steering failure. The dealer has not been transparent or helpful. They initially said there was nothing wrong with the car and that it was safe to drive. I reported it to Honda corporate and they have not gotten back—triaged as level 1 incident due to severity.” (NHTSA Complaint #11719550)
The following 1 recall has been issued for the 2025 Honda HR-V by the NHTSA or Honda. If your vehicle is affected, the manufacturer is required to provide a free remedy. Check your VIN at NHTSA.gov/recalls.
Component: STEERING
Defect: See NHTSA database for details.
Risk: Difficulty steering can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the worm gear spring and redistribute or add grease as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 18, 2024. Owners may contact Honda Customer Service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda’s numbers for this recall are SJS, MJU, QJT and VJV.
California’s Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1790–1795.8) is one of the strongest lemon laws in the United States. It protects buyers and lessees of new and certified pre-owned vehicles that develop substantial defects the manufacturer cannot repair after a reasonable number of attempts.
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, a lemon law presumption is triggered when any of the following apply to your 2025 Honda HR-V:
Once the presumption is triggered, the burden shifts to Honda to prove the vehicle is not a lemon. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1794(d), Honda must pay your attorney’s fees if you prevail — meaning qualified representation costs you nothing out of pocket.
If your 2025 Honda HR-V qualifies as a lemon under California law, Honda may be legally required to:
Step 1: Document every repair visit. Keep all repair orders, work orders, and dealer invoices. Each visit counts as a repair attempt, even if the dealer says nothing is wrong.
Step 2: Keep returning for repairs. You must give Honda a reasonable opportunity to fix the defect. Visit different authorized Honda dealers if needed and ask for written documentation of each visit.
Step 3: Contact a California lemon law attorney. Once you believe the threshold has been met — 4 attempts for non-safety defects, 2 for safety defects, or 30 days out of service — contact an attorney for a free case evaluation. Under § 1794(d), Honda pays your fees if you win.
Step 4: Send a demand letter. Your attorney will send Honda a formal demand letter. Most California lemon law cases resolve through negotiation without going to trial.
Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1793.22, four or more repair attempts for the same non-safety defect, or two attempts for a safety-related defect, triggers the lemon law presumption. Additionally, 30 or more cumulative days out of service qualifies regardless of the number of repair attempts.
Yes. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1794(d), Honda is required to pay your reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs if you prevail in a lemon law claim. This means qualified lemon law representation is free to you if your case succeeds.
Yes. A recall is not required to file a lemon law claim. The Song-Beverly Act covers any substantial defect that impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle that the manufacturer cannot repair after a reasonable number of attempts. NHTSA complaints support the claim by establishing a pattern, but are not a prerequisite.
California lemon law claims are generally subject to a four-year statute of limitations from the date you discovered or should have discovered the defect. However, you must still be within the manufacturer’s original warranty period when the defect first appears. Contact an attorney promptly to preserve your rights.
If your 2025 Honda Hr V has a recurring defect, California’s Lemon Law may entitle you to a full refund, replacement vehicle, or cash settlement — at no cost to you.
Our attorneys answer the questions we hear most from California vehicle owners — fully updated for 2026.
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