2023 Honda HR-V VISIBILITY/WIPER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Had my car parked in my house garage. Drove out of garage to go to work. While waiting on garage to close, heard an explosion and realized my back windshield shattered. When I got out to inspect and take pictures, it shattered even more. Took to dealership. Waiting to hear back from Honda corporate. Tired of issues with this car.
Drove to work on Friday morning 12/12/25. Parked my car in my work parking lot. At 5pm when I returned to my car, when I entered my car and closed the door, I heard a shattering noise, I looked around and in my rearview mirror I saw a hole right through the middle of my rear window. I exited my car and when I closed the door, the rest of the window finished shattering and fell in. I found out there was a soft recall regarding the rear window and the adhesive used. I went to the Yonkers service center on 50 Yonkers Ave here in Westchester County on Saturday 12/13/25,spoke with a rep who was very courteous, explained the recall I found on-line regarding rear window recall and set up an appointment for that Monday 12/15/25. Dropped off car to service center, received a call the next day from the rep saying they cannot do anything about it because the Technician found nothing wrong. I explained it was a manufacturers defect and it should be covered. Then called the dealer and I explained the situation, called me back and gave me the same explanation. I then reached out to the corporate offices and they said I would have to pay out of pocket. I find this very unacceptable.
The rear window glass suddenly broke with a huge sound. The glass brokes to pieces completely. No warning light was activated. It happened 10 minutes ago. I haven't reported to my insurance or dealer. I used defrost function. Before this accident happened, I smelled a burning flavor a little. Also, the range dropped almost 10 miles over a 2 mile distance. I am not sure if those phenomena relate or not.
The back rearview windshield shattered. I got into my parked car in the morning, turned it on and heard a pop sound. I looked back and saw a hole in the windshield, the glass fell inside the truck in pieces. I looked around to see if something dropped to crack it, but there was nothing. The pieces of the windshield kept falling in the trunk and the hole got bigger as time went on.
The rear windshield exploded while driving. I briefly turned on our defrosters and then the air before that. It is available for inspection upon request. Our safety was put at risk as the glass exploded into the car. The problem is one of the first things that pops up if you search honda hrv windshield explode. My vehicle was last inspected on June 14,2025. There were no warning signs.
I was driving my [XXX] son to daycare and my back window of the hatch shattered. I was completely shocked and had no idea what happened, so I googled to see if there have been issues with my specific car and found the following: "The rear windows of some 2023 Honda HR-Vs are shattering due to a manufacturing defect with the rear defroster. Honda is replacing the windows through a voluntary product update campaign, but has not issued a safety recall. Honda says the problem is due to a manufacturing defect that allows the sealer used to secure the rear glass on some HR-Vs to come in contact with the defroster’s heating elements. Over time, this weakens the glass as the defroster creates a “hot spot.” But the automaker advises owners to continue using the rear defroster as needed." This is a major issue to mine and my sons risk. My son was in his car seat facing the window as it shattered. There was glass everywhere. I called Honda at Honda Costa Mesa in Costa Mesa, CA and they said that my VIN does not have that recall and that I could come in "to receive a quote for the repair" and that it typically takes 2-3 weeks for the window to come in and they will not provide a rental car. They were extremely unhappy and not sympathetic to the situation. I called my insurance (Geico) and filed a claim for Safelite to make the repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The rear window of my Honda HRV exploded/shattered all on its own into a thousand small pieces of glass while the car was parked outside in cold weather while I was visiting my son.
Severe windshield cracking (without a clear impact). I have had my windshield replaced 2x and it continues to crack. Glass seems to be thinner and cracks.
My rearview window just exploded and broke while parked.
While driving on the highway, the rear windshield shattered with no warning. There was no lights, no sound, no crack, nothing that would indicate a problem. The car has been in use for 2 years with no problems. Once the car had been turned on, the rear defroster was turned on for about 3 minutes. Once the window was clear, it was turned off and about 10 minutes later, it shattered. No injuries but it was startling and could have caused additional accidents on the road, especially a highway that has such high traffic as this one. For once, it's a good thing that traffic was going so slow at 7am so there was more control to stop any potential collisions. It has been taken to the dealership for an inspection and to replace the window. They said that it has happened to several people, they have seen it at least 10 times in our area. I've always looked out for my car and take it to the dealership for oil changes or any recalls in a timely manner and never heard of this beforehand. Thankfully, no one else was in the car with me. But this should be more well known if it's such a common problem.
Cool morning had my defrosters on and my rear trunk window spontaneously blew up as the car was parked very scary and unfortunate in a new car it just spontaneously happened I have no words what happened why the glass shattered
I was driving in light rain and had used the rear defroster. As I neared my home I heard a very loud noise that was very startling. Fortunately i was slowing down to make the turn into my cul-de-sac. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that my rear windshield had shattered. As soon as I closed my car door all of the shattered glass fell into the rear cargo area.
On November 27th at 7:30 am I used the remote start feature on my car for the first time and when I walked out to my car and went to open my door, my entire back windshield exploded. For reference I had not use the rear defroster before so when I used the auto start feature on my car this was the very first time the rear defroster had been used.
Was driving off from drive thru window and o hear a loud bang, pop and shatter. I look into rear view mirror to find my rear mirror busted! It was one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me. I called dealership and they didn’t even want anything to do with me. I got it fixed on my own.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The rear window. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The glass exploded after the rear defroster was turned off. This happened while I was on the highway. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The dealership said it was the first they have heard of this. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Not yet. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No.
The rear windshield spontaneously shattered while the vehicle was parked
Remote started car, parked in the garage, in cold weather which enables defrost on front and rear windshields. After only a few minutes I began driving when my rear windshield exploded/shattered out of the blue.
I was driving normally in traffic when my rear windshield exploded. I did have the rear windshield defroster on as I needed to reduce frost from the windshield.
I was driving normally in traffic when my rear windshield exploded. I did have the rear windshield defroster on as I needed to reduce frost from the windshield.
Was driving and turned on my defroster to the back windshield and while I was on the freeway the back window shattered there was no cars near me and no objects that hit my vehicle.
My Honda HRV 2023 rear window shattered itself without impact while driving on the highway I-94 on Saturday 6/9/2024 evening with heavy rain. Defroster was used and kids are in the rear seat. The spontaneous shattering was so loud that caused a sudden panic but very luckily with my long years of driving experience, I was able to maintain the control of the vehicle. Kids are shocked and were afraid until we got home. Called the dealership and the service department has no knowledge about the rear window defect cases. Waiting for the manager to call back.
I was sitting in traffic today and suddenly heard an explosion sound and when I looked back my rear windshield was all shattered. It spontaneously shattered out of nowhere with no warnings. I was lucky that I was not moving and in traffic when that happened, because that scared me tremendously and if I was driving I could have crashed or something.
I was driving on the highway and heard a thump at the back of my car. My rear window had spiderwebbed, with no warning and nothing hitting it. I had turned on my rear defrost shortly before that. By the time I got where I was headed, almost my entire price of glass had fallen into ky car, in tiny pieces.
The rear window shattered on March 8, 2024. The defroster had been used briefly to clear fog. It was parked and when I returned to the car later, the window was shattered. There was a hole in part of it where it had broken with glass on the inside and some shards on the outside on the ground. It was is also broken around the edges where it would be sealed to the rest of the car. I had to drive home in the rain for approximately 40 minutes with glass continuing to break with any minimal and normal bumps from driving on the road. Had anything happened, like a wreck, while we were driving, this defect likely would have affected our safety in addition to simply having glass falling at random. Because we initially thought the car might have been broken into, the police were called and did inspect it. Nothing was stolen and the hole was not big enough for anyone to get into the vehicle. I found this has been a known issue with the HR-V after having it checked on. When I called the dealership this morning (3/9/2024) they stated they didn’t know anything about this issue and did not have any information on it. They gave me Honda’s customer service number, which I called, but since it’s Saturday, no one was there to answer. There was no warning or any symptoms prior to this happening. It’s like it spontaneously shattered.
I arrived home and had just turned off my vehicle. I was sitting in the car talking on the phone when I heard a loud noise, like a bomb explosion. When I got out the car to inspect my vehicle and the area around, I saw that my rear windshield had exploded & was shattered. Even the area around the window frame was broken was shattered. My car was in park, there were no objects around or above my car as I was in the parking lot & there were no other cars parked there at the time. I went to the dealership who stated they spoke with Honda and apparently there are other people who have experienced the same thing & that it may be a defroster issue. I was instructed to contact my insurance at this time since no active recalls have been issued. I was able to schedule an appointment for 1/10/24 through my insurance to have it repaired. Before this incident, I have had no issues with my car.
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The 2023 Honda HR-V has 254 VISIBILITY/WIPER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.