Mystery Engine Problem
I bought a used 2018 Honda CRV from a Subaru dealership 3 hours away from where I live. It had just 32,000 miles on it and seemed to be in great condition minus some big scratches on the side. I picked it up right before the July 4th holiday weekend. As I was driving the 3 hours home, the check engine light came on. The dealership had already closed, and I was closer to my house by then, so I decided to finish the drive and figure things out the next day. I took it to an O’Rileys to get the code scanned and was told it was a bad fuel sensor. I was told it was safe to drive locally but I needed to get it fixed soon. I messaged the salesman I bought it from with the code and waited to hear back. The following week I drove to work and stopped for gas on my way home. While at the gas station the in tank low pressure fuel pump went out and the vehicle became undrivable, just 3 days after purchase.
I still had not heard from the seller so I had it towed to the nearest Honda Dealership.
The seller finally called me back the following day, saying I could bring it back to them for free maintenance work, but since they were 3 hours away, the car was no longer drivable, and it had already been taken elsewhere, they agreed to cover the cost of the new fuel pump and let the Honda Dealership do the repairs.
This was the beginning of what is still an ongoing headache with this car. After the fuel pump was replaced, I tried driving an hour out of town. The engine misfired while merging on the interstate and went into limp mode. I safely pulled over, turned the engine off and back on, everything worked. I took it back to Honda explaining what I experienced. They fixed what the computer said was the issue (fuel injectors) and gave it back, the check engine light came back on a week later and they replaced 2 ignition coils, the spark plugs and the AF sensor. The misfire/limp mode happened again while merging into heavy interstate traffic, I took it back to Honda and they replaced another ignition coil. Throughout the past 6 weeks this vehicle has been in the shop every other week. I’ve spent over $700 on repairs and the warranty company has spent $3,000.
We thought we fixed everything. I’ve gone on a couple 1-2 hour drives out of town in the past 2 weeks with no issue and thought it was finally fixed. Yesterday I was driving home from work and tried merging onto a busy section of interstate when it misfired and went into limp mode yet again. The mechanics at Honda are at a loss for words. They got the Honda tech line involved last time and it is still breaking down on busy roads.
Has anyone else experienced this continued problem with 2018 CR-Vs? What did you do to fix it? I can’t afford to keep throwing money at this car. It already caused me to cancel a road trip and miss a wedding. I drive out of state regularly and need a vehicle I can rely on.