The contact owns a 2023 Honda HR-V. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the rear defroster was activated, and the rear window exploded. The vehicle was not diagnosed but was repaired by a mobile window repair company. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.
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.
What owners actually said
686 reportsRear window exploded after turning on rear defrost about 5 minutes into drive time.
Was driving from one restaurant to another tea shop after dinner around 7:30 PM. After parking in the lot, we heard a minor crack sound but did not thought of something major. However, after getting the tea and trying to place it in the trunk, we realized that there was a hole on the rear windshield, with edges all broken up. Th…
Read full complaint
Was driving from one restaurant to another tea shop after dinner around 7:30 PM. After parking in the lot, we heard a minor crack sound but did not thought of something major. However, after getting the tea and trying to place it in the trunk, we realized that there was a hole on the rear windshield, with edges all broken up. Thought of it as an unsuccessful break-in, but there was other cars in the parking lot without this kind of shattering, which doesn’t make sense that it was a intended intrusion. Honda definitely needs to recall this issue and have the rear window replaced!
I was driving on an open road at aporox 8pm no wind rain or snow and my REAR WINDOW spontaneously combusted. Nothing hit the window and there was no apparent object thrown through the window. The temp outside was approx 32 degrees and the rear defogger was engaged
The rear windshield exploded and shattered into pieces when I turned on rear defroster. No warning, no impact or other vehicles involved. This is a safety issue, I have my 3 year old son at the backseat, and the pieces of shattered glass flew pretty far out, and luckily I wasn't driving fast in the highway. I took my car to th…
Read full complaint
The rear windshield exploded and shattered into pieces when I turned on rear defroster. No warning, no impact or other vehicles involved. This is a safety issue, I have my 3 year old son at the backseat, and the pieces of shattered glass flew pretty far out, and luckily I wasn't driving fast in the highway. I took my car to the dealer and they are ordering part to fix my rear windshield and my rear wiper.
While at the gym one evening on 1/3, I came back to my car and noticed a shattered rear windshield. Initially my thoughts were 'did my car get broken into?' however, nothing was missing and my gym is located in a fairly safe part of town. Also, this occurred early evening, one of the busiest times at the gym and an unlikely time…
Read full complaint
While at the gym one evening on 1/3, I came back to my car and noticed a shattered rear windshield. Initially my thoughts were 'did my car get broken into?' however, nothing was missing and my gym is located in a fairly safe part of town. Also, this occurred early evening, one of the busiest times at the gym and an unlikely time for a break in. I notified the police, my insurance company, and the gym. The police reviewed footage of the parking lot and didn't see anything that suggested a break it. Shortly thereafter, I became aware of many HRV owners experiencing 'spontaneous' shattering of the rear windshield. The situation was beginning to make more sense. I believe that I am a victim of this defect.
I was operating my vehicle under normal operations when I parked in my driveway. I got out of the car, closed my door and then heard a crack….to see that my rear windshield had completely shattered.
My rear shield window shattered after I used the defroster. It was a normal cold morning in Germantown, NY. I turned on the defroster for 2 min. and a little bit later the rear window shattered everywhere.
After getting in my car and shortly after turning it on, my rear windshield exploded and caused for pieces of glass to fly everywhere. One piece of glass hit my face but what worries me most is that my dogs are in the back seat when this shattered and they had glass all over them. They are shaking from fear because that sound wa…
Read full complaint
After getting in my car and shortly after turning it on, my rear windshield exploded and caused for pieces of glass to fly everywhere. One piece of glass hit my face but what worries me most is that my dogs are in the back seat when this shattered and they had glass all over them. They are shaking from fear because that sound was very loud and happened out of nowhere. No one hit me and I was not moving the car. After some online research, it looks like this is a common issue in this make/model car.
The rear windshield shattered while the car was parked and warming up. The hatch was closed. There was no impact to the rear windshield. There were no warning signs or lamps. The dealer has not yet been contacted, but will be once the dealer is open.
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