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
I was sitting in my car after just driving from a destination. I had used the rear defroster previously to the back windshield exploded. I had just turned the car on was about to put it in drive when I hard a loud pop then the spidering sound of glass. After that the glass proceeded to start falling into the back hatch. There was nothing around me I was in a parking lot at 6:45ish am. I looked for an object in and around my car there was nothing. I discovered burn marks on the glass. I searched for a recall for this issue but there is not one. After research I am not the only one with this problem. If I was driving when this happen or someone was in the back seat someone could have been seriously hurt. I visited the local Honda dealership to see what they could do.They told me they couldn’t help me because there is not a recall for this issue and that I couldn’t prove it was the rear defroster was the problem.
Rear windshield exploded randomly while driving. Nothing hit the windshield, no sign of impact, completely shattered. The noise it made was loud and distracted me while driving while also impaired part of my vision which is necessary for safety driving. It's an inconvenience where I have no responsibility in the cause and has now affected my commute to work, I will have to wait until a shop is able to fix this and can't drive anywhere since it's illegal to not have a windshield in CA.
Rear windshield shattered with out any damage or impact
I was pulling into my parking spot after a 25 minutes long drive with the back windshield defroster on due to fogging. The back windshield popped and then completely shattered. The pop was startling and the shattering completely prevents the driver from seeing out of the back window l. There are several reports of the problem occurring to other drivers online. The car will be inspected by the dealer soon.
The back window in my HRV popped and shattered on September 14, 2023. I was driving down the highway when it happened. It took until October 13, 2023 to get it replaced. I drove home from work and parked my car. October 14, 2023, I went out to my car and it had popped and shattered. It started in the same spot each time. The dealer is telling me there’s nothing they can do about it. Which leaves me without a car to drive. The first time this happened, I knew nothing about the windows in the HRV’s shattering, so I had it fixed through my insurance company.
Back windshield shattered after using defrost. Sounded like a gunshot and it shattered into a thousand pieces.
The back windshield spontaneously combusted while the car was parked. There was no prior damage to the back windshield that would have compromised the glass.
I was parked in a parking lot when the rear windshield exploded and the glass would fall apart with a single touch. There was no crash and no other damage, just the rear windshield cracking.
I drove the vehicle in the rain with the front and rear wipers on and the rear defrost on. After pulling into a parking space and turning off the car, I unloaded items from the car and closed all of the doors. Upon returning to the parking lot, others in the lot informed me that there had been a cracking sound and glass in the upper left-hand corner of the rear windshield had fallen into the trunk. They confirmed that there had not been an impact which caused the crack and there was nothing in the trunk to suggest an impact. While attempting to cover the rear windshield in the rain, more of the glass fell into the trunk. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer for evaluation. Had this occurred while the vehicle was operating, it could have posed a safety risk for individuals in the back seat and a distraction risk for the driver.
Within 10 minutes of turning on the rear defroster, the rear window shattered. Glass fell into the car, but no object was found inside the car. It was about 60F outside, and the sun had set ~5 hours prior. This specific vehicle has not been inspected for this issue prior to the incident, and the dealership was unable/unwilling to look at the rear defroster without first replacing the rear window. We still have the rear window, which could be made available upon request.
Car was sitting in a parking lot and back windshield just shattered. Nothing hit it
I was driving at night with my rear defogger on, then when I got home and the vehicle was parked, I heard the rear window shattering, nothing at all hit it, it was spontaneous, I looked online because I was confused and found that other 2023 Honda HR-V owners had this happen to them. I called my local dealership and they told me that this is a known issue by Honda but that they did not make an public announcement regarding this. If somebody had been in the rear seat, near the trunk, or actively unloading the trunk they could have been injured.
My back windshield exploded while sitting in my car. There was no impact to the window. It shattered from the inside out.
On 09/29/2023 evening at Trenton NJ it was drizzling. I see water droplets on side mirrors and back glass, so turned on rear defogger and drove just 2 minutes, with no reason by back glass shattered with blow sound. I immediately stopped car and saw glass particals fallen inside and few on road. Luckily no one injured. We are traveling with infant and elders. Honda is responsible for this cheap quality glass . Please help us to cover the cost and recall this defect in the car for future people safety
My rear window shattered on September 29th, 2023 on my 2023 Honda HRV Sport. My car had some frost on the windows early that morning, so I used the remote start to start my vehicle and let it run for about 5 minutes before leaving for work. I left the defrost on during my short 10 minute drive to work. When I came out to my car at lunch, the entire back window was completely shattered and had a large hole approximately 3 inches in diameter on the left side. The glass completely fell into my car once the driver door was shut gently. The company ran back the cameras to see if there was an incident that caused my rear window to shatter. The camera footage catches the rear window shattering about 4 minutes after I turned the car off. Nobody was near the car when it happened and it appeared that the window just shattered on its own.
At 4:30 pm on 9/25/2023, I was driving my car on a paved road leading out of Jacksonville,Or. to a nearby town. The weather was mild, no wind and slight mist. I was not using the wipers. Without any warning, the rear window exploded, shattering all of the window and leaving a very small open rectangle on the bottom of the window. There was no sign of a projectile either in the car or in the shards of glass.Had a passenger or my dogs been in the back seat, they would have been subject to flying glass particles. I was shocked and thought someone had fired gun at my car. I was able to do a u- turn and return home where I called my insurance. They immediately called Safelite and made an appointment for window replacement. The job was done 9/28/2023.
A few days ago I was driving to when my rear windshield suddenly blew up and shattered after using my defroster. If my dog was in the back he would have been injured by the glass. I am still waiting to hear back from Honda and the dealership.
I was driving down road and back windshield shattered with no impact.
I'm one of the many individuals who experienced the rear windshield imploding or shattering. Its been a few days, so far Honda and Los Angeles(downtown) Honda have not been helpful.
Rear windshield shattered without impact from rock or other foreign object. Car was parked in a lot for 1 hour in the shade after driving for 20 minutes. Rear defroster was used 3.5 hours before incident for approximately 10 minutes. Glass shattered inside trunk and onto pavement of parking lot, which is used by a daycare [XXXXXXXXXX]; daycare providers were extremely concerned for children's safety following incident. No warning messages or symptoms were seen prior to incident. Vehicle to be brought to dealer for inspection; initial call to dealer was unsuccessful in acquiring answers regarding the problem. Problem has been reported multiple times on [XXX] over the last few months, with varying responses from dealers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I came back to my car from class and my entire back windshield was shattered. There were cameras and nothing made impact with my car, it just happened by itself.
Car was parked in a parking lot. Nothing hit it, it wasn’t on and the rear window shattered completely.
I had the rear window windshield or glass (at the trunk or above the license plate) of my 2023 Honda HRV SPORT shattering and exploding today while I stopped at a stop sign. There was no impact or an object hitting it. It just exploded. I strongly believe it’s a manufacturing defect which needs a recall or warranty coverage. I believe an inferior glass was used. I had this car for a few months and less than a year. I had a newborn in the back seat in her car seat as soon as this happened. Doesn't make me feel safe.
Rear windshield exploded and shattered into pieces mostly on the middle part of the windshield.
The back window blew out. I had the rear defrost on while I was driving home. When I got home, I backed into the driveway up to the garage. I went in to change, and we left a few minutes later. When we got into the car and closed the doors, we heard a loud sound from the back. We looked back and the window was shattered. There was nothing around that could have hit the window. No sign of anything that could have flown into the window, especially since it was backed up to the closed garage door. It seems to be some sort of factory defect in the window itself. I'm grateful we were parked and not driving down the road when it happened.
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Quick Summary
The 2023 Honda HR-V has 254 VISIBILITY/WIPER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.