Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Honda CR-V owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
On June 23, 2017, at about 8:10 a.m., I turned in to a dry cleaners store at 5702 everhard road, corpus christi, texas. As I was slowly turning into a parking space and applying my brakes, my 2008 Honda dr-v accelerated on it's own, at a speed so fast I could not stop it, even though I was applying the brakes as hard as I could. The CR-v traveled about 20-25 feet and hit a pillar of the building head on. The CR-v hit the pillar with such force that it rebounded back approximately 5 feet from the point of impact. The front of the car was crushed in and the driver's air bag inflated. The sudden, unexplained acceleration of the CR-v on it's own caused the damage to the front end of the car. My foot was on the brakes the entire time and the CR-v would not stop.
Takata recall I was driving my car on 4/19/2017 when the car in front of mine stopped, I depresseed the brake pedal however it failed to stop, I struck the car in front of me which caused my airbag to inflate. It ruptured at that time releasing dirty smoke slike materials and burned the skin on my left wrist. I melted my coat and blouse sleeve singing my wrist.. At the time of the brake failure and ruptured airbag inflation I was in motion on a city street.
I was in an accident where the car slid off the road in a snow storm. When the car hit the ditch I pushed on the brakes and the car kept moving. The vehicle continued to move about 50 feet before striking a tree. It never slowed down, no matter how hard I pressed the brake pedal. The vehicle is equipped with all wheel drive (AWD). It appeared to me that the AWD took over and continued to try to get the vehicle under control from the slide on the ice. I was driving about 20 to 25 MPH at the time when I started to slide on ice. The passenger side wheels went into the ditch line, which was about 12 inches deep. I stepped on the brakes immediately after the wheels hit the ditch thinking it would slow the vehicle since the wheels were no longer on the icy road. As I said earlier, at that point I was pressing the brakes as hard as I could but the vehicle did not slow down. …
Vehicle was in motion, brakes started to vibrate & upon taking it to the dealership was informed that the problem with the brakes is is a faulty ABS module. This was after new brakes had been installed, new rotors, paid to have the brake system bled twice (about $700). To install a new ABS module, the cost is $2,100 just for the part from Honda. The car is now dangerous to drive without the part. Honda dealership service shop foreman informed me this is a common occurrence on these cars. In addition, I received a letter that there is a Takata airbag recall for this car in March, now it is April and those new parts have not been received by the dealer yet. …
On March 23, 2011, I was involved in an mva in northern ca. I was traveling west on hwy. 80 on a downgrade. Traffic had come to a stop due to an accident. It had been snowing and I was traveling at 25 MPH in second gear. My vehicle is a Honda 2008 crv with auto 4wd. I tapped my brake and there was no response. I tapped it again with no response. I applied steady pressure to the brake pedal with no response. The brakes were not working. They were not slowing or stopping the vehicle. I had to drive into the concrete divider to stop my car. There was major damage to the vehicle but fortunately, my passenger and I were able to walk away with minor injuries. I have already notified Honda and they have agreed to conduct an inspection of the vehicle when it is released from the body shop. They said there were no brake issues in their data base for my model of vehicle. …
I have a 2008 Honda crv with 18,000 mls still under warranty I might add. Here is the kicker I had to pay for resurfacing rotors and sanding down pads for $ 152 , blaming me that the brakes have overheated and that is why it needed the work. My question is how? The company could not give me an answer or proof me of that situation , I find it hard to believe this is the case! I told them that rotors had to be defective from the purchase of the car because the only time I realized it, I felt this problem only when I was going on a downgrade going at 80 MPH . In the city can not be verified no symptom occur what's so ever. I feel this rotors are to small or the quality are of poor quality! I also found on edmounds.com a review, literally pointing out the brakes not at of high standards! …
Our 2008 Honda crv have a prematurely worn out rear brake pads. While the front pads are still 80% left, the rear ones were totally gone and damaged the rotor. The dealer where I fixed the brakes immediately connected this to the accord settlement Honda has (http://accordsettlement.com/). After reading the details of the settlement, I believe this applies to my case as well. But unfortunately Honda's customer service denied it. But what else could have caused the premature wear out of the rear break with 23000 miles? How can they explain that the front pads (all original) still have 80% left? I believe Honda used the same defective materials that they used in the accord. Hopefully more complaints will be logged from crv drivers to bring this to their attention. But no matter what, after having three defective hondas, this will be the last Honda vehicles in our family!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Honda CR-v. The contact stated that there were several failures that the dealer was notified of for months, but was unable to provide a permanent repair solution. The dealer completed a recall repair for the door actuator and, shortly after the repair, the alarm randomly sounded and locked the contact inside the vehicle. The dealer replaced the door actuator a second, time but the contact was uncertain if the part was actually replaced. The suspension was also unstable and caused the vehicle to wobble. In addition, the brake pedal felt spongy and was difficult to engage. The vehicle was taken to more than two dealers for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was unknown.
Having vibrations when applying brake , especially on a downgrade going 60 plus MPH! Took it to dealer twice, the first I had to pay for resurfacing rotors and reusing my old pads, big mistake! Now dealer for the second time suggests for me to pay rotors and brake pads, just crazy! I only have 22,000 miles and I'm still under my three year or 35,000 miles warranty! Big [redacted]! Sorry! A 30,000 car and not wiling to pay a 400.00 bill , cheap !
At about 5mph, I turned into the curb to park my car, upon applying my brakes to stop, the car accelerated, that is when I realized I was on a sheet of ice. I was unable to stop the car. There was a parked car approximately 60-80 feet ahead of me, because I had no brakes, I swerved to the left to avoid hitting the parked car, and collided with an oncoming car headed in the same direction. My car then fishtailed and swiped the bumper of the parked car. There was no warning on the dashboard regarding the loss of the brakes, at anytime.
Brake complaints in other CR-V years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2008 Honda CR-V?
NHTSA has 21 complaints about the brakes of the 2008 Honda CR-V, 2% of the model year's 962 complaints. The component named most often is foundation components › disc › pads (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Honda CR-V brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2008 Honda CR-V, though it has 11 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Honda CR-V brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 33,000 miles, and 44% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 5 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.