2011 Honda Cr-z
The Verdict
The 2011 Honda Cr-z has 38 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (18 complaints) and body (12 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 91/100, it earns a "Smooth Ride" rating. If you're shopping for a Honda Cr-z, consider the 2016 model year which has 94% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2016 has 94% fewer complaints
View the 2016 Honda Cr-z dashboard →
Klunk Score: Smooth Ride
This vehicle year has significantly fewer complaints than average. A reliable choice.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
Recalls 1
Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.
HONDA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 CR-Z PASSENGER CARS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS, MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 8, 2010, THROUGH JUNE 27, 2011. SHOULD THE ENGINE STALL WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL IS...
Risk
UNEXPECTED VEHICLE MOVEMENT COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR PERSONAL INJURY TO THE PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THE MOVING VEHICLE.
Remedy
HONDA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL UPDATE THE ECU SOFTWARE, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AUTOMOBILE CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-99...
Reported Jul 9, 2011
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
By Category
By Severity
Worst Problems
Complaints
I STARTED HEARING A KNOCKING NOISE AT THE REAR OF MY CAR. I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THEY SAID THAT THE TIE ROD OR END AND THE SUSPENSION SHOCK OR STRUT NEED TO BE REPLACE. CAN YOU CHECK THIS OUT FOR ME SO I WILL BE SAFE DRIVING IT. THANK YOU
The contact owns a 2011 Honda CR-Z. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the trunk was opened and the windshield unexpectedly shattered. There was no impact to the windshield to cause the failure. The vehicle was not taken to be inspected or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 155,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Honda CR-Z. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who repaired the front axle. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V256000 (Power Train) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000. The VIN was not available.
Air bag light and speed gage are unreliable.
On February 15 I took a short drive into Woodstock, Vt. My trip into Woodstock was without incident, except for the fact that I got a "check tire pressure" alert, probably due to the very cold weather. When I finished my business and restarted the car, there was an additional alert: "check power steering". The car previously had no issues with steering. I drove the car to another nearby parking spot. There was no power assist at all. I wrestled the car into the parking space and called AAA for a tow. The tow truck driver arrived in about an hour. He asked for the keys and started the car. The problem had disappeared. With a friend tailing me I drove to a nearby auto repair shop, asked them to investigate and told them I would pick the car up the next day. They called me the next day and informed me that they had connected the car to the computer analyzer and found no problem. They had also driven the car on the day I dropped it off and again the next day and were unable to reproduce the problem. I went online and discovered others have had similar issues: https://www.crzforum.com/threads/scary-power-steering-eps-issue.87738/ and https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/CR-Z/2011/steering/steering.shtml. I contacted my nearest Honda dealership as well as Honda USA. I received no substantive help from either party, although Honda USA did suggest I bring it to the dealer for repair, which I will attempt to do tomorrow. I don't know what the threshold is for generating a recall, but the possible consequences of this problem are so serious that I wanted to share my experience. My car has less than 30,000 miles.
As I was pulling away from a stop sign, the right-hand CV shaft snapped in the middle. Fortunately, I had just enough speed to coast into a parking lot, so I was not a traffic obstacle. On closer inspection, the failure occurred underneath the rubber/metal dynamic damper clamped to the center of the CV shaft. It looks like the dynamic damper was not adequately sealed and trapped salt and water until enough corrosion happened, causing the failure of the CV shaft.
2011 CR-Z PASSENGER CARS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS THE ENGINE STALL WHILE THE BRAKE PEDAL IS NOT PRESSED, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE ENGINE CONTROL UNIT (ECU) SOFTWARE MAY CAUSE THE ELECTRIC MOTOR OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM TO MOVE THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF THE SELECTED GEAR. ADDITIONALLY THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING IS DRAINING NEW 12V BATTERIES WITH LESS THAN A 6 MONTHS USE (SEE ATTACHMENT). VEHICLE MOVEMENT CAUSED BY ENGINE STALL AND LACK OF POWER STEERING COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR PERSONAL INJURY TO THE PERSONS IN THE PATH OF THE MOVING VEHICLE. THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A RECALL ON 2011 HONDA CRZ MANUAL TRANS FOR THE ISSUE MENTIONED ABOVE.
ON 09/04/2018 MY HONDA CR-Z IMA LIGHT CAME ON, I TOOK IT TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP THEY SAID THEY NEVER HAD AN IMA LIGHT COME ON WITHOUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BE ON. THEY TOOK IT FOR DIAGNOSTICS, AND CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT MY CLUTCH SENSOR IS BAD AND THAT IS WHATS CAUSING THE IMA LIGHT TO BE ON. THE PERSON WHO I SPOKE TO AT HONDA SAID THAT THEY DIAGNOSE ABOUT FORTY CARS A DAY FOR SEVEN YEARS AND NEVER RAN INTO THAT ISSUE. THEY SAID THAT I WOULD BE GOOD DRIVING IT AND WOULD EXPERIENCE MORE PROBLEMS IN ABOUT A YEAR IF I DON'T FIX THE CLUTCH SENSOR ON 9/07/2018 MY CAR HAD A LIGHT COME ON THAT SAID CHECK FUEL CAP WHICH I'M GUESSING MY FUEL SENSOR IS OUT NOW, BUT HONDA IS NO HELP WILL NOT HELP ME OUT CLAIMS THE CAR IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY WHEN IT HAS LESS THAN 100,000 MILES ON IT.THIS CAN BE A BIG SAFETY ISSUE DUE TO THE FACT THAT IF MY IMA BATTERY FAILS ON ME MY LIFE CAN BE IN DANGER ALONG WITH THE OTHERS AROUND ME. ALSO FOR A COMPANY TO CLAIM THEY HAD NEVER RAN INTO THESE ISSUES THEY DO NOT SHOW MUCH INTEREST IN FIXING IT.
DRIVER DOOR WILL NO LONGER OPEN FROM OUTSIDE. PROBLEM STARTED WHEN VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT, THEN GOT WORSE SO THAT THE DOOR WILL NO LONGER OPEN FROM THE OUTSIDE NO MATTER WHAT. USING PASSENGER DOOR NOW TO GET IN, AND IT IS NOW FAILING IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT, AND I EXPECT I WILL SOON NEED TO ENTER THROUGH THE REAR HATCH. ONLINE SEARCH INDICATES THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE ON 2011 HONDA CRZ'S.
DOOR LOCKS ON DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE WILL NOT LOCK OR UNLOCK WHILE USING INTERIOR DOOR LOCK BUTTON OR KEY FOB. PARKING LIGHTS WILL FLASH WHEN KEY FOB BUTTON IS PRESSED. PROBLEM STARTED WITH PASSENGER DOOR FIRST THEN 2 WEEKS LATER DRIVER DOOR STOPPED. DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS FAILED LOCK ACTUATORS.
VEHICLE HAS PERIODICALLY STARTED EXHIBITING STRANGE AND DANGEROUS ISSUES WITH THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING (WHILE STOPPED AND AT VARIOUS SPEEDS) AND, OF GREATER CONCERN, WHEN THE COMPUTER IS DETECTING ISSUES IT IS NOT SHUTTING DOWN THE EPS SYSTEM AS IT SHOULD BUT, INSTEAD, SPORADICALLY TURNS ON AND OFF EVEN WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN. WHEN THIS ISSUE OCCURS IT FIRST STARTS BY A MOMENTARY (OR SOMETIMES LONGER) FLASH OF THE EPS INDICATOR ON THE DASH AND THERE IS A CONSTANT SOUND OF RELAYS CLICKING IN THE DASH TO THE LEFT OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THIS INDICATOR LIGHT WILL RANDOMLY TURN OFF AND ON WITH SEEMINGLY NO REASON AND THE STEERING BECOMES STIFF, THEN LIGHT, AND OFTEN WILL BEGIN AN ASSIST IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN WHICH RESULTS IN THE VEHICLE VEERING DEEPER INTO THE TURN UNLESS THE OPERATOR RESPONDS QUICKLY ENOUGH TO PULL IT BACK TO THE CORRECT POSITION. THESE PERIODIC ISSUES CAN SOMETIMES LAST 5 MINS OR CAN LAST AN ENTIRE TRIP AND OCCASIONALLY THE COMPUTER DISPLAY WILL FLASH A MESSAGE TO CHECK POWER STEERING BUT THEN USUALLY IMMEDIATELY CLEAR THAT MESSAGE ALONG WITH ANY ERRORS. A MECHANIC WAS NOT ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO LOCATE ANY ERRORS FROM THE STANDARD COMPUTER BUT DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE PROPRIETARY HONDA PROTOCOLS AND A DEALER WANTS $120 JUST TO CONNECT THE CAR TO THE COMPUTER. ADDITIONALLY I ASKED IF THERE WAS A WAY TO DISABLE THE POWER STEERING COMPLETELY SO THAT THE VEHICLE DIDN'T OVER OR UNDER STEER ON ME AND THE DEALER SAID THAT THIS WASN'T POSSIBLE AND THAT ONLY THE COMPUTER WAS ABLE TO DISABLE THE POWER STEERING IF IT DETECTED A PROBLEM (WHICH IN MY CASE IT IS ONLY DISABLING MOMENTARILY WHICH IS CREATING AN EVEN GREATER HAZARD). MY DEALERSHIP SEEMED UNCONCERNED WITH THE SAFETY HAZARD THIS CREATES AND OFFERED NO REASONABLE PATH TO INVESTIGATE AND REPAIR.
THERE IS APPARENTLY A DEFECTIVE PART IN THE DOOR HANDLE OPERATION THAT DOES NOT STAND UP UNDER HEAT. OUR DRIVER SIDE DOOR IS NOT OPENING AND THE PASSENGER IS GOING QUICKLY. SHOULD WE BE INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AND UNABLE TO OPEN THE DOORS OURSELVES. RESCUE/EMERGENCY PERSONELL WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO GET TO US. VERY UNSAFE. THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE FOR MANY HONDA OWNERS ACCORDING TO OUR ONLINE RESEARCH.
BOTH DOOR HANDLES HAVE MALFUNCTIONED AND I HAVE NO WAY OF ENTERING THE CAR!
TAKATA RECALL, I WAS INVOLVED IN TWO DRIVER SIDE COLLISIONS, THE FIRST HAPPENED JULY THE SECOND SEPTEMBER 13TH THIS YEAR. MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY IN EITHER INSTANCES BOTH DIRECT IMPACT WITH DRIVER'S SIDE. THE FIRST INCIDENT MY CAR HAD A POWER SURGE FORWARD OVER A CURB INTO MY PROPERTY DEMAGE TO THE CAR AND HOUSE THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. POLICE ASKED IF MY AIRBAGS DEPLOYED I WAS JUST GRATEFUL THEY HADN'T. ON SEPTEMBER 13 2017 MY CAR WAS STRUCK BY SEMI TRAILER WHICH PUSHED CAR INTO THE INTERSECTION- DEMAGE FROM MY GAS TANK TO HEAD LIGHT ON DRIVER'S SIDE I WAS STOPPED AT RED LIGHT LIGHT TURNED GREEN I TRIED TO GET AWAY FROM THE SEMI BUT THE CAB OF THE SEMI SMASHED INTO THE DRIVER'S SIDE WHY DIDN'T IN BOTH INCIDENTS THE AIRBAGS DEPLOY I WAS HIT BY A SEMI? DID CORRECT THE RECALL ARE THERE AIRBAGS?
TAKITA RECALL I TOOK MY 2011 HONDA TO WALSER HONDA IN BURNSVILLE MN. FOR THE RECALL I WAS TOLD THAT THE CAR WAS ON A SALVAGE TITLE AND THE AIR BAG HAD DEPLOYED SO THAT THEY WOULD MAKE NO REPAIR TO MY CAR THEY TOOK SOME PICTURES AND SHOWED ME THE DOOR
TAKATA RECALL. THE LETTER FROM HONDA CAME EARLY IN THE YEAR. IT SAID CONTACT THE DEALER. DEALERS SAY THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. NEED A REPLACEMENT CAR UNTIL THEY CAN FIX MY CAR. CALL DEALERS MANY TIMES.
TAKATA RECALL TAKING WAY TOO LONG ! I DO HIGHWAY DRIVING 100 MILES A DAY & NEED IT FIXED NOW OR ARRANGE A LONER FREE OF CHARGE ASAP! I HEAR A SQUEEKING NOISE CONING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE AT THE SPEED LIMIT OF 65 - 70 MPH ! *TR
TAKATA RECALL - RECEIVED NOTICE FROM HONDA IN MARCH 2016. WHEN I TRIED TO SET APPOINTMENT TOLD LATE SUMMER. IT IS NOW 8 MONTHS AND STILL NO APPOINTMENT. THE ODDS OF MY HAVING A MAJOR ACCIDENT WITH THE AIRBAG GETS GREATER EACH DAY GOES BY. THIS COULD MAKE FOR ONE BAD LAW SUIT!!!!! NEED YOUR HELP ON THIS MATTER NOW. ENOUGH SAID . THANK YOU R. KENNEDY
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 HONDA CR-Z. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V061000 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE. UPDATED 12/13/16*LJ UPDATED 12/20/16.*JB
TAKATA RECALL I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM HONDA REGARDING THIS RECALL IN MARCH OF 2016. I CONSIDER MYSELF A REASONABLE MAN BUT ITS BEEN MORE THAN 5 MONTHS AND STILL NO PARTS AVAILABLE. THE LETTER STATES THE PARTS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE SUMMER OF 2016. MY DEALER HAS BEEN LESS THAN HELPFUL. HONDA CORPORATE HAS BEEN EVEN LESS HELPFUL. I AM MAKING PAYMENTS AND PAYING INSURANCE ON A VEHICLE I CAN'T DRIVE. NOW THE VEHICLE WON'T START WITHOUT A JUMP AND THE BATTERY DOESN'T HOLD A CHARGE. THIS RECALL IS A HUGE FINANCIAL DRAIN ON MY FAMILY, NOT TO MENTION AN INCONVENIENCE AND NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE. I HAVE A CASE NUMBER FROM HONDA. IT TOOK 44 DAYS TO FINALLY GET [XXX] MY CASE MANAGER ON THE PHONE AND SHE HUNG UP ON ME. IT WOULD BE NICE IF HONDA WOULD COMPENSATE THE OWNERS OF ITS VEHICLES FOR THIS. BUT THAT SEEMS HIGHLY UNLIKELY BASED ON HOW I HAVE BEEN TREATED THUS FAR. IF YOU CAN DO ANYTHING TO EXPEDITE THE COMPLETION OF THE RECALL I WOULD SINCERELY APPRECIATE IT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
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