Rear window exploded when using defective rear defroster.
2023 Honda HR-V
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most HR-V years
Owner complaints for the 2023 Honda HR-V are substantially higher than the model-year median of 97.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all HR-V years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 68 of 686 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Visibility/wiper. Review the 319 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 78 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Visibility. Review the 78 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Unknown Or Other complaints
214 reportsI have a 2023 honda hrv sport and last night October 20th my rear window just shattered while I was driving. The temp outside was 50 and it was rainy. I was using my rear defroster and I heard a pop sound and the next I knew the glass shattered.
My back windshield shattered spontaneously. When I got into my car and closed the driver door I heard a huge crash and saw a huge hole in my back window as well as the whole window shattered. The only thing I did differently that morning was I used my rear defrost. I have used that multiple times last winter with no issues
I was at job I’m parking garage waiting for shift to begin when my back windshield exploded for no reason at all. Scared me!!! Just completely shattered! I am very upset I have to miss a day of work to see who is going to fix this problem. I will not pay for something that shouldn’t have happened. I will pursue legal action if I…
Read full complaint
I was at job I’m parking garage waiting for shift to begin when my back windshield exploded for no reason at all. Scared me!!! Just completely shattered! I am very upset I have to miss a day of work to see who is going to fix this problem. I will not pay for something that shouldn’t have happened. I will pursue legal action if I have to.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Rear hatch window shatter spontaneously while driving this morning. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The entire window is in pieces. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independen…
Read full complaint
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Rear hatch window shatter spontaneously while driving this morning. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The entire window is in pieces. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Shop confirmed the problem when they had to replace our window. There’s also online threads showing that this exact situation is not unique. See here: [XXX] Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Insurance reps Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No. No warnings or signs of damage appeared. Honestly happened spontaneously INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Back window of car shattered while driving. No impact from foreign objects. There was no warning- glass will be replaced by safelite in which they explained they had 6 cars with the same issue. As I googled the situation, it seems as if this has been an ongoing problem with Honda and some of the Acura models.
Rear windshield shattered while stationary upon activating the rear defroster for less than 5 minutes. The initial hole was in the upper left side of the rear window.
On 10/9/2023 my back windshield exploded without any type of impact whatsoever. I was driving down a road headed to work driving about 40 mph and without any warning or impact I heard a loud exploding noise and then the entire back glass shattered into thousands of pieces. No back windshield wiper or no back defogger was being …
Read full complaint
On 10/9/2023 my back windshield exploded without any type of impact whatsoever. I was driving down a road headed to work driving about 40 mph and without any warning or impact I heard a loud exploding noise and then the entire back glass shattered into thousands of pieces. No back windshield wiper or no back defogger was being used at the time either. This happened without any type of warning or any type of incident at all. The noise this made would be enough to startle a driver and cause an accident not to mention the shattered glass that was everywhere. I have contacted the dealer where I purchased the car new and at first was told by the head of their service department that they had never heard of anything like this and that my insurance should cover it. After calling back a second time their receptionist acknowledged that yes they were aware of the problem and two other people had brought their HRVs in with the same thing happening to them. She said their sales manager would be giving me a call back. At this time I have not heard back. I have taken numerous photos of the damage and my insurance company has agreed to make the repairs even though this damage is clearly a defect in this Honda product. Numerous other incidents can be found online.
I was driving my Honda hrv on a normal day like any other and had my defroster on and out of no where heard a loud pop and my whole back window shattered
Back windshield shattered out of nowhere. I have not even had this car for a year. I called police and have a report that there was NO impact, no crack or rock. It exploded on its own. MY ONE YEAR OLD WAS IN HIS CARSEAT FACING THE WINDOW. I am paranoid and scared of going into a car. He won’t sit in his car seat. There was NO wa…
Read full complaint
Back windshield shattered out of nowhere. I have not even had this car for a year. I called police and have a report that there was NO impact, no crack or rock. It exploded on its own. MY ONE YEAR OLD WAS IN HIS CARSEAT FACING THE WINDOW. I am paranoid and scared of going into a car. He won’t sit in his car seat. There was NO warning and Honda has my car for a month and NOTHING has been done. I am a single mother with NO car. They won’t give me a loaner. They are doing an investigation without answers or helping me.
Official recalls
324V744000 · Steering
Oct 3, 2024
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Acura Integra, Civic Type R, CR-V Hybrid, CR-V, HR-V, 2022-2025 Civic, Civic Hatchback, 2024-2025 Acura Integra Type S, 2025 CR-V Fuel Cell EV, Civic Hybrid, and Civic Hatchback Hybrid vehicles. The steering gearbox assembly may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can cause excessive internal friction and lead to difficulty steering the vehicle.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
23V858000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump
Dec 18, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.
23V782000 · Seat Belts:front
Nov 21, 2023
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Accord and HR-V vehicles. The front seat belt pretensioners may be missing the rivet that secures the quick connector and wire plate. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 208, "Occupant Crash Protection," 209, "Seat Belt Assembles," and 210, "Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A seat belt pretensioner missing a rivet will not properly restrain the occupant, increasing the risk of injury during a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the seat belt pretensioner assemblies as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are MG7 and NG5.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1RQ24006 · Front Seat Belt Assemblies May Be Missing The Rivet That Secures The Quick Connector And Wire Plate
Opened Apr 4, 2024 · Closed Mar 26, 2025
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Seat Belts; Seat Belts:front
On April 4, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ24006 to investigate American Honda Motor Co.’s (Honda’s) proposed remedy for recall 23V-782 as well as scope of the vehicles involved. Honda issued recall 23V-782 on November 21, 2023, which concerns certain model year (MY) 2023-2024 Honda Accord, Honda Accord Hybrid, and Honda HR-V vehicles. Recall 23V-782 states that the driver and front passenger seat belt pretensioner assemblies may have been manufactured without a rivet that secures the pretensioner quick connector and wire plate. Recall documentation states that seat belt pretensioner assemblies that are missing the rivet will not properly restrain the occupant in the event of a collision, increasing the risk of injury.Subject defective seat belt assemblies are installed as original equipment for both the driver and front passenger positions for the HR-V, but only for the driver position for the Accord and Accord Hybrid. The recall remedy for 23V-782 instructs the technician to inspect both front seat belt pretensioner assemblies and, if necessary, replace them. The inspection procedure requires the technician to utilize a pull force gauge to determine whether the subject component is missing the subject rivet and requires replacement. Parts requiring replacement are determined by whether the pretensioner quick connector separates from the pretensioner assembly while the technician is pulling on the seat belt. If no separation occurs, then the part is determined to be not defective and not require replacement. There have been no reports alleging a failure of seat belt pretensioner assemblies after the inspect and replace remedy for recall 23V-782 was performed. Additionally, no comparable failures have been observed in field data for similar vehicles outside of the scope of the recall. As of the 4th quarter of 2024, the recall completion rate is at approximately 84% of the total recalled population. In view of the lack of failures after the remedy for recall 23V-782 was performed, and the lack of failures in similar vehicles outside of the scope of the recall, ODI is closing this Recall Query (RQ). The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Seat Belts:front
On April 4, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ24006 to investigate American Honda Motor Co.’s (Honda’s) proposed remedy for recall 23V-782 as well as scope of the vehicles involved. Honda issued recall 23V-782 on November 21, 2023, which concerns certain model year (MY) 2023-2024 Honda Accord, Honda Accord Hybrid, and Honda HR-V vehicles. Recall 23V-782 states that the driver and front passenger seat belt pretensioner assemblies may have been manufactured without a rivet that secures the pretensioner quick connector and wire plate. Recall documentation states that seat belt pretensioner assemblies that are missing the rivet will not properly restrain the occupant in the event of a collision, increasing the risk of injury.Subject defective seat belt assemblies are installed as original equipment for both the driver and front passenger positions for the HR-V, but only for the driver position for the Accord and Accord Hybrid. The recall remedy for 23V-782 instructs the technician to inspect both front seat belt pretensioner assemblies and, if necessary, replace them. The inspection procedure requires the technician to utilize a pull force gauge to determine whether the subject component is missing the subject rivet and requires replacement. Parts requiring replacement are determined by whether the pretensioner quick connector separates from the pretensioner assembly while the technician is pulling on the seat belt. If no separation occurs, then the part is determined to be not defective and not require replacement. There have been no reports alleging a failure of seat belt pretensioner assemblies after the inspect and replace remedy for recall 23V-782 was performed. Additionally, no comparable failures have been observed in field data for similar vehicles outside of the scope of the recall. As of the 4th quarter of 2024, the recall completion rate is at approximately 84% of the total recalled population. In view of the lack of failures after the remedy for recall 23V-782 was performed, and the lack of failures in similar vehicles outside of the scope of the recall, ODI is closing this Recall Query (RQ). The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.
Seat Belts
On April 4, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened RQ24006 to investigate American Honda Motor Co.’s (Honda’s) proposed remedy for recall 23V-782 as well as scope of the vehicles involved. Honda issued recall 23V-782 on November 21, 2023, which concerns certain model year (MY) 2023-2024 Honda Accord, Honda Accord Hybrid, and Honda HR-V vehicles. Recall 23V-782 states that the driver and front passenger seat belt pretensioner assemblies may have been manufactured without a rivet that secures the pretensioner quick connector and wire plate. Recall documentation states that seat belt pretensioner assemblies that are missing the rivet will not properly restrain the occupant in the event of a collision, increasing the risk of injury.Subject defective seat belt assemblies are installed as original equipment for both the driver and front passenger positions for the HR-V, but only for the driver position for the Accord and Accord Hybrid. The recall remedy for 23V-782 instructs the technician to inspect both front seat belt pretensioner assemblies and, if necessary, replace them. The inspection procedure requires the technician to utilize a pull force gauge to determine whether the subject component is missing the subject rivet and requires replacement. Parts requiring replacement are determined by whether the pretensioner quick connector separates from the pretensioner assembly while the technician is pulling on the seat belt. If no separation occurs, then the part is determined to be not defective and not require replacement. There have been no reports alleging a failure of seat belt pretensioner assemblies after the inspect and replace remedy for recall 23V-782 was performed. Additionally, no comparable failures have been observed in field data for similar vehicles outside of the scope of the recall. As of the 4th quarter of 2024, the recall completion rate is at approximately 84% of the total recalled population. In view of the lack of failures after the remedy for recall 23V-782 was performed, and the lack of failures in similar vehicles outside of the scope of the recall, ODI is closing this Recall Query (RQ). The Agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.
Illustration