P271E
4 owner reports and 35 manufacturer filings across 5 model years from Honda.
Where P271E shows up
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaints| Model year | Filed under | Bulletins | Owner reports | Parts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Honda HR-V | Engine | 7 | 3 | |
| 2017 Honda HR-V | Power Train | 7 | 1 | |
| 2020 Honda HR-V | Engine | 7 | — | |
| 2019 Honda HR-V | Engine | 7 | — | |
| 2018 Honda HR-V | Engine | 7 | — |
A model year appears here because the code is named in its record, not because every one of these vehicles sets it. Counts are mentions in the federal files, not failure rates — nobody publishes the denominator.
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P271E by make
The same record, one make at a time: the model years, bulletins and owner reports that name P271E on that maker’s vehicles.
What it gets filed under
What owners said
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners’ own words, one per nameplate, scrubbed of anything identifying. These are unverified reports filed with NHTSA — they are what was said, not a finding that it was true.
A diagnostic scan of the vehicle's OBD-II system revealed error code P271E, which indicates Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) steel belt deterioration

35 manufacturer filings name P271E. Start with what the maker wrote down.
A code names the test that failed, not the part. A bulletin that names it is often a diagnosis someone has already written down — quote its number at the service desk.
Manufacturer filings that name it
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsService bulletins and campaigns whose filed summary names P271E.
- A21-046 Service bulletin2021-06-01 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Service Bulletin - An incorrect value in the PCM may cause a pressure problem in the CVT under certain driving conditions, causing increased surface pressure on the belt leading to a partial or complete breakage as well as possible ring breakage. New PCM software will increase the overall durability of the CVT primary belt within the transmission. This is accomplished by revising operational loads
- A21-047 Service bulletin2021-04-27 · Power Train
- Service Bulletin - Due to the possibility of early deterioration of the Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) drive belt, American Honda is extending the warranty coverage on these CVT models to 7 years from the original date of purchase or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first. If the PCM software was previously updated in service bulletin 21-046, Product Update: 2016-20 HR-V Software Update and
- A21-046 Service bulletin2021-04-27 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Service Bulletin - An incorrect value in the PCM may cause a pressure problem in the CVT under certain driving conditions, causing increased surface pressure on the belt leading to a partial or complete breakage as well as possible ring breakage. New PCM software will increase the overall durability of the CVT primary belt within the transmission. This is accomplished by revising operational loads
What P271E means
Source: SAE J2012 / OBD-IIP271E sits in the generic range of the OBD-II standard, so it means the same thing on every vehicle sold in the United States — but WhichTrim does not carry a definition for it and will not invent one. What is on this page is the record: who named it and on what.
A stored code names the test that failed, never the part that caused it. It is the starting point of a diagnosis, not its conclusion — the same code has several possible causes and the cheap one is not always right.
Common questions about P271E
Source: NHTSA files and the OBD-II standardCan I keep driving with P271E stored?
Nobody can answer that from the code alone, and a site that does is guessing. A steady light means a fault was logged and the car should be checked soon; a flashing light means a severe misfire — slow down and get it seen as soon as possible, because severe misfire can quickly damage the catalytic converter. The safe read of this page is the mileage and the components, not permission.
Does a code mean the car is recalled?
No. Recalls are filed by campaign and matched by VIN, and none of them are triggered by a scan tool. If you want to know whether an open recall applies to one specific vehicle, check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — that is the only source that settles it.
Why do the counts here differ from other sites?
Because these are not estimates. Every number on this page is a count of documents in NHTSA's own files: manufacturer communications that name the code in their filed summary, and owner complaints that name it in the narrative. We do not model, weight or extrapolate them.
Will clearing the code fix it?
Clearing turns the light off and erases the freeze-frame data a technician would have used to work out what happened. If the condition is still there the code returns, usually within a few drive cycles, and the diagnosis now starts from less information than before.