2016 Honda CR-Z
The 2016 Honda CR-Z is sold in the U.S. as a hybrid hatchback with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the CR-Z, is EPA-rated at 36 mpg combined. NHTSA lists no recall campaigns for this model year so far (Safety Signal A). Owners have filed 2 complaints, most often about the structure. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy
Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CR-Z | Hybrid | FWD | 1.5L 4-cyl + 144V Li-Ion | 35 | 38 | 36 | $1,850 |
| CR-Z | Hybrid | FWD | 1.5L 4-cyl + 144V Li-Ion | 31 | 37 | 33 | $2,050 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 37094, 37093.
Emissions & certification
Source: EPA emission certificates| Configuration | Smog rating | Emission standard | Where it can be sold new | SmartWay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CR-Z | 8–9 / 10 | Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 / California LEV-III SULEV30/PZEV | All 50 states (federal, all altitudes); California and states following California standards | SmartWay |
Certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S.
The smog rating scores tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, 1 (worst) to 10 (best), and is comparable only within a model year. The standard is the federal bin or California tier the configuration was certified to. Both come from the EPA certificate behind the window sticker.
Specifications filed with NHTSA
Source: NHTSA vPICDimensions Exterior
| Body style | Hatchback/Liftback/Notchback |
| Doors | 3 |
| GVWR class | Class 1B: 3,001 - 4,000 lb (1,360 - 1,814 kg) |
Engine Basics
| Cylinders | 4 |
| Displacement | 1.5 L |
| Engine configuration | In-Line |
Engine Output
| Horsepower | 130 hp |
Fuel Economy
| Fuel | Gasoline |
Transmission
| Transmission | Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) |
Filed by the manufacturer with NHTSA under the federal vehicle-identification rule and decoded from the VIN pattern — not a manufacturer press kit, so it describes one configuration rather than every trim (seen: EX, EX-N). Figures for the trim you are looking at may differ.
Dimensions & weight
Source: Transport Canada| Length | 160.6 in |
| Width (body, without mirrors) | 68.5 in |
| Height | 54.7 in |
| Wheelbase | 96.1 in |
| Track, front | 59.8 in |
| Track, rear | 59.1 in |
| Curb weight | 2,657 lb |
| Weight distribution, front/rear | 59/41 |
Measured by Transport Canada for its Canadian Vehicle Specifications database, which covers the North American versions of each model — here one configuration: 2 Dr Hatchback. Where a range is shown, those versions differ. Width is the body without mirrors, which is why it can read narrower than a brochure figure. Before we used it we checked it against the US manufacturer press kits we hold (27 Sep 2026): wheelbase agreed within 1% on every vehicle we could compare, length on 98%, and the curb weight fell inside the manufacturer's range on 96%. Source dataset. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Licence.
Factory warranty running out?
The 2016 Honda CR-Z is in the years where transmission, electronics and drivetrain repairs land on the owner. What an extended plan does and does not cover is worth reading before a dealer quotes you one.
What to check before you buy →Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Recalls (0)
Source: NHTSA recall databaseNo NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2016 Honda CR-Z. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them.
These are vehicle campaigns — the ones the automaker filed against this model. NHTSA also records equipment recalls, filed by a parts maker against a component (a tyre, a child seat, an aftermarket part), and those are not listed here or counted above. nhtsa.gov/recalls shows both for a VIN.
NHTSA defect investigations
Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021. On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject mat
Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005 · the investigation’s page →
Hear about a recall before the letter does
The manufacturer’s letter is the last step of a recall: it has up to 60 days after filing to mail owners, at the address on the registration. We email you the day NHTSA posts a recall on the 2016 Honda CR-Z, with what to do next. Nothing else, ever — no newsletter, no marketing, one-click unsubscribe in every message.
Parts & accessories for the 2016 Honda CR-Z
Search by fitment on eBay Motors — OEM take-offs, aftermarket, and the trim pieces dealers no longer stock. The listing and the price are the seller's.
Find parts for this CR-Z →Owner complaints
Source: NHTSA complaint database0 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 0 injuries · 0 deaths reported
Filed per year: 2024: 1 · 2026: 1
Most-cited components
In owners' own words
Filed with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, one per problem area. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed.
My driver’s side door handle has broken. I have the broken handle if you need it. It’s a safety issue because it delays entering the car from the driver’s side, which could endanger an owner or a passenger who needs to get inside the vehicle.
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Reported by Honda itself: 1 death-or-injury claim on this model year in its quarterly Early Warning reports to NHTSA (49 CFR 579.21): 1 injured, as claimed, not verified. Every CR-Z model year, by year and system → Dated and by system, they are exhibit F of the defect dossier.
Crash ratings
Source: NHTSA NCAP| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 HB FWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Service bulletins & campaigns
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communicationsMost often about: Equipment, Service Brakes, Air Bags, Electrical System, Steering.
- A22-040 Service bulletin2022-09-21 · Engine And Engine Cooling
- Service Bulletin - The MIL is on with P0420 (Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold). Sensors on the vehicle may misinterpret the catalyst as deteriorated or it may have deteriorated.
- APaS02262021902 Service bulletin2021-02-26 · Service Brakes
- Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.
- APaS02102021902 Service bulletin2021-02-10 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
- Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.
- A07-030 Service bulletin2021-01-23 · Equipment — Appliance — Air Conditioner
- "Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"
- APaS01222021909 Service bulletin2021-01-22 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic
- Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.
- APaS01062021907 Service bulletin2021-01-06 · Equipment
- Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.
- APaS12102020902 Service bulletin2020-12-10 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic — Pedals And Linkages
- Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for certain 2011-2016 CR-Zs, 2010-2014 Insights, & 2011-2017 Odysseys with a customer complaint of the brake pedal feeling soft or spongy when depressed, almost reaching the floor. To better understand the cause of this condition, AHM would like to collect specific parts from the vehicle prior to any repair attempts.
- A15060D Service bulletin2017-08-03 · Steering — Steering Wheel/Handle Bar
- Service news article - To prevent damage during shipping, leather-wrapped steering wheels come with a protective plastic covering. The easiest way to remove it during PDI is to grab the covering with both hands near the top of the steering wheel and pull it toward you, like you see here. The covering comes right off.
A service bulletin is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a known condition. It is not a recall, not a finding that the vehicle is defective, and the work is not automatically free — though a bulletin is often what a dealer works from when you describe a symptom, so quoting the document number can save a diagnosis. The count is every communication filed; the list shows the most recent, one entry per campaign, because a single campaign is usually filed as several documents on the same day. The summaries are NHTSA's; the full documents come from the manufacturer.
Diagnostic trouble codes on file
Source: NHTSA manufacturer communications and complaintsCodes documented against this model year in the federal record. A code appearing here does not mean this vehicle will set it — it means the code is part of this nameplate-year's documented history.
| Code | What it means | Most often filed under | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0420 P0420 on Honda → | The catalytic converter on bank 1 is not cleaning up the exhaust as well as it should. | Engine · Catalytic converter → | 1 bulletin |
Generic codes (the second character is 0 or 2) mean the same thing on every vehicle sold in the United States. Manufacturer-specific codes (1 or 3) mean whatever the automaker assigned, and no honest source can define them for you — which is why the ones here carry the evidence instead of a definition. A code is a link when enough separate federal documents name it across the catalogue to be worth a page of its own; the rest are listed here, where the vehicle is the context that makes them mean something.
Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you request a quote or buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page changes because of it.
Common questions about the 2016 CR-Z
Source: EPA, NHTSA and manufacturer press kitsDoes the 2016 Honda CR-Z have any recalls?
No NHTSA recall campaigns are on file for the 2016 Honda CR-Z. New campaigns appear here within a week of NHTSA posting them, and a clean sheet on a recent model year often just means the vehicle is new.
How safe is the 2016 Honda CR-Z?
NHTSA gave the 2016 Honda CR-Z 4 stars overall in its New Car Assessment Program tests — 4-star frontal crash, 3-star side crash, 5-star rollover. WhichTrim also grades it A (100/100) on its recall record, which is a different question from crash protection.
What is the fuel economy of the 2016 Honda CR-Z?
Across the 2 EPA-rated configurations of the 2016 Honda CR-Z, the best EPA combined figure is 36 mpg. Figures are the EPA's own, per configuration, and every one is listed above.
What are the dimensions of the 2016 Honda CR-Z?
Transport Canada measured it at 160.6 in long, 68.5 in wide (body, without mirrors), 54.7 in tall, on a 96.1 in wheelbase. Curb weight: 2,657 lb. Those are its measurements of the North American versions; every figure is in the table above.
What do owners complain about on the 2016 Honda CR-Z?
Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Honda CR-Z, most often about structure, unspecified. Complaints are unverified owner reports, so treat the pattern as a signal and the individual report as an anecdote.
How clean is the 2016 Honda CR-Z?
The EPA smog rating for the 2016 Honda CR-Z runs 8 to 9 out of 10 across its configurations. That score covers tailpipe pollutants other than greenhouse gases, and it only compares vehicles within the same model year. It is certified for all fifty states, so it can be registered new anywhere in the U.S. Its configurations were certified to different standards — California LEV-III SULEV30/PZEV, Federal Tier 3 Bin 30 — which the table above lists per configuration.
Are there service bulletins for the 2016 Honda CR-Z?
The manufacturer has filed 23 service bulletins and related communications with NHTSA for the 2016 Honda CR-Z, most often covering equipment, service brakes, air bags. The most recent is dated 2022-09-21. A bulletin is not a recall: it is the repair procedure a manufacturer sends its dealers for a condition it knows about, and the work is not automatically paid for. It is still worth knowing — if the symptom matches, quoting the bulletin number at the service desk can save a diagnosis. The document numbers and summaries are listed above.
What we hold, and what an empty row means
Paid vehicle-history reports will not tell you the difference between “nothing happened to this car” and “we never received that record” — both of the big two say as much in their own help pages. Most of what is on this page comes from complete federal registers, so we can tell you which is which, row by row.
| Data | Held | Source | What it covers — or what empty means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel economy & configurations | 2 configurations | EPA certification records | Every configuration the EPA certified for sale, with its own test figures. |
| Emission certificates | 2 configurations | EPA emission certificates | Smog rating, standard and the sales area that decides where the car can be sold new. |
| Recalls | none | NHTSA recall campaigns | No campaign has been filed. Because the register is complete, an empty row here means there is nothing to find — not that we are missing it. |
| Owner complaints | 2 | NHTSA complaint database | Also complete, but unverified: these are reports owners filed, not findings. Counts scale with how many were sold. |
| Crash ratings | 1 tested | NHTSA NCAP | Only the configurations NHTSA chose to crash-test, which is never all of them. |
| Service bulletins | 23 | NHTSA manufacturer communications | Everything the manufacturer told its dealers about a defect or malfunction, short of a recall. |
| Investigations | 1 | NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation | Open and closed defect investigations, with the agency's own narrative. |
| Driver-assist crash reports | none | NHTSA Standing General Order 2021-01 | No report has been filed. Only entities named in the order report, and only crashes they hear of — so this is also what an unequipped car, or a manufacturer without telematics, looks like. |
| Specifications filed with NHTSA | 9 fields | NHTSA vPIC, decoded from VIN patterns | What the manufacturer filed under the federal VIN rule — a configuration, not the full trim ladder. |
| Measured dimensions | 7 fields | Transport Canada, Canadian Vehicle Specifications | Length, width, height, wheelbase, track and curb weight, measured on the North American versions. |
| Trims, pricing & equipment | none | Manufacturer press kit | We have not transcribed a press kit for this model year yet. This is our gap, not the manufacturer's — the one row here where an empty cell means we are behind. |
Rebuilt nightly; this page was generated 2026-10-26. Every figure above is traceable to the source named beside it, and the JSON for this page carries the same values with their identifiers.
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). The most serious recall counts in full and each further one counts 85% of the one before, because a vehicle sold in millions is recalled more often than a rare one without being more dangerous — and because a flat subtraction bottomed the scale out, scoring a vehicle with 22 recalls within a point of one with six. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Read it as what it counts: recall campaigns on the federal record, weighted by severity. The damping reduces the sales bias by roughly 40% but does not remove it: like our complaint counts, this is not normalized by how many were sold, so a best-seller still scores somewhat worse than an obscure model with the same real risk. NHTSA crash ratings, do-not-drive and park-outside advisories, and the crash, fire, injury and death counts in owner complaints are reported separately on every page and never blended into the letter — a vehicle can hold five stars and a poor letter at once, and where that happens we say so rather than leave you to notice. Because the scale subtracts from a clean sheet, a model year too new to have been recalled, complained about or bulletined scores full marks on an empty record; we label those grades provisional rather than present them as earned.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed nightly.