I have owned Honda vehicles for the last 25 years. I have always found them very reliable. I am hoping that this has not changed...

In late October 2014 the battery died unexpectedly one morning before work. Since this car (CRV-LX 2012) is only two years old, I had it towed to the dealer (Clinton Honda, NJ). They said it was a bad battery cell and replaced the battery for free under the warranty.

On December 12, 2014 the battery died again! As I waited for the AAA tow truck, I looked up an article on CarComplaints.com that mentioned this software patch

HONDA SERVICE BULLETIN sb 12-041 (tell your dealer this number at the service desk) and it is titled The Battery is dead and needs multiple Jump-starts. CRV 2012

The dealership agreed that the problem applied to my VIN number, applied the software fix and replaced the battery again.

I am not confident that the problem is fixed. Has anyone else had this software patch applied and is still experiencing dead batteries? Will I have to get a lawyer and start suing Honda for a lemon? if the car can't reliably get me to work in the morning, it is truly worthless...

Thank you for your comments & shared experience! Mike P

Update from Sep 2, 2015: It has been nine months since the Honda dealer found the stuck door switch and I am happy to report that the battery has not died since then.

When your Honda battery dies, have the mechanic perform a "parasitic draw" test. The fuse for the stuck switch will become apparent. Don't jump start the car first because the stuck switch will reset itself and problem only occurs sporadically.

Hope this helps....

After having to jump the car for the fifth time since we owned it, I decided to look online before spending money on a new battery. The dealership in Turnersville, NJ told me I would have to have the vehicle inspected to see what the problem is. I asked if there were any Service Recalls and the girl on the phone repeated that I would have to make an appointment to have the car inspected to know.

Bullsh*t. I asked for the manager of service and they gave me a service guy that checks you in and brings you the bad news when they are trying to sell you more services. He quickly looked up and told me that they JUST came out with a service bulletin for the car and that I could make an appointment for that and one other for the door handles. I made the appointment and actually found the PDF of the service bulletin which was released for the 2012 CRV in late 2012. In other words, they have known of the problem and the software update which was needed, but chose never to inform me. They are the only dealer to work on the CRV, with the exception of me changing my oil twice (Documented). I thought Honda would be different, but clearly they are not... at least the Honda in Turnersville, NJ.

I could list at least 10 times I have been stranded by my CRV because of a dead battery. At first Honda said it was happening because a recall for the door lock. 2nd time it was because of a software update. After a few more times of being stranded, they charged the battery & said to let them know if it happens again. Well, it happened again!

They have been giving me excuses about having to talk to the regional person. I am still being stranded and Honda drug their feet until now they are saying they can't do anything about it because I have too many miles so the warranty does not cover. I expect this type of problem from a $3,000 dollar car but not a $30,000 car. This was my first Honda & my last Honda! Worst customer service ever.

I waited a long time to get a Honda because they were known for being dependable & I wanted something that would last long after it was paid for. This car has been a MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT! A week after I got it I parked & approx 30 minutes later it wouldn't start. Since then it has left me stranded numerous times & I actually had to get a portable battery charger so I wouldn't have to keep calling people to come jump my car late at night!

Both, called & took it to dealership w/this dead battery problem several times & they told me -I'm not driving my car long enough for the battery to charge!!! Seriously! I don't drive any different then I did when I had all my Fords & my Subaru & they didn't have the same problem! I used to love my car now I HATE IT with a passion & so sorry I ever bought a Honda as the car's been a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT & it really makes me angry. I'm tired of never knowing if I'm going to come out of work at night & have a dead battery. I can't stop anywhere on my way home from work at night for fear it will leave me stranded. Since the dealer told me at one point perhaps I had a light I was leaving on & not realizing I turned all the lights off so I get in & out of the car in the dark & keep a flashlight on the floor to use to find my purse, groceries, etc at night.

I've also had problems w/the seat belt not working or coming undone as I drive down the road; the vanity lights going out, my headlights going out (for which I was pulled over & got a ticket for just as I pulled out of the parking lot-thanks Honda). If your thinking of buying a Honda CRV may I suggest you get a AAA membership, a portable battery charger, a long list of friends that can come jump you, flashlights, start dating a tow truck driver,or better yet, FORGET IT!!!

When I brought the CRV home it had 6K miles on it from previous owner. The first day the battery died after I had the doors open while installing my Sirius radio kit. Dealer came and charged it. All good. Two years later car no start. Luckily in the garage. Towed to dealer and they said battery failed - two year old battery. And they changed it. I can't believe that's the only thing wrong. I also had intermittent screechy noise when starting in the AM. Couldn't leave it at the dealer to try and get it as I never could figure out what caused it. Told them about it so it was noted for warranty.

After the tow incident I just don't trust the thing not to strand me somewhere so I just traded it in and leased a Prius.

It has happened several times to my wife. The CRV is OK and after she parks for some minutes to run some errands, the CRV won't start, battery is dead. I tested with a multimeter, the voltage being delivered by the alternator looks like it is not charging the battery, it is a meager 12.6, barely to keep the vehicle running, but not to charge. I had the previous version of the CRV and was a fabulous vehicle. This generation looks like it has a piece of junk for an alternator. Very, very dissatisfied about Honda quality. If they expect me to buy another Honda car, good luck. I bought also a Civic 2012 from them so they will be losing a customer who expended 50k in cars from them. Maybe Toyota next time or Subaru, mmmm.......

Was at the gas station putting gas, when I went to re-start the car, it wouldn't start, the light for electrical steering problem and malfunction came on. The car is a 2012, and on 2013 the dealer replaced the battery on one of the regular maintenance visits supposedly because it had a low charge level, going forward to 2014 this happens.

There is definitely something going on that Honda is trying to ignore! My husband travels a lot, and we bought this vehicle for our family because of the suppose reliability, so much for that! Now I don't know when it'll happen again.

Late night dinner with friends, after, went to start car....no go. Had to call a friend for a late night jump start. Sucks because Honda knows they have a issue with their software. Bad data being fed to alternator for charging battery.

Brought to dealership and the techs exchanged a smile when I said I had a battery issue. They tested the battery And brought out a letter they said they just received saying it was a known problem. Their story seemed fake after watching them exchange the know grin about the issue. Left the car and they replaced the battery at no charge and updated the bad software.

Pissed because it was a known issue, why didn't Honda mail out a letter instead of letting me get stuck with a bad battery .......so much for Honda doing the right thing.

Repair paperwork states my CRV fell within the effected Vin numbers and to perform software upgrade 12-041 Looks like this did not fix all problems on this board....wondering if this is it or if I will have more issues?

Not happy with the fact that upper management at Honda feels it's OK to let it customers get stranded with dead batteries at night. Was feeling pretty good about my first Honda...but am now a jaded customers...again what are the suits at Honda thinking? It is better not to tell the customers about a known issue? Pretty poor customer service.... Honesty is a better currency then some suit trying to save his job by not doing the right thing. I would like to find out who the blockhead is at Honda who thinks more about his job then his customers.

I bought my fourth Honda vehicle from T&T Honda in Calgary during the Spring of 2013. This one was six months old with only 15K, but the previous three had been brand new. I drove it for each of the four following days, including on the third day a 100 km run to the airport to pick up visitors. On the fourth day I drove to the car wash, washed the car and then it wouldn't start (No, I did not wash under the hood!). I had to push it outside. It wouldn't take a boost from either a battery booster or from another vehicle. I called a tow truck and had it taken to the dealer. They replaced the battery.

A couple of months later the car was parked at home. I had not used it for three or four days. It wouldn't start. I put it on a trickle charger, and after a few hours it did start. I drove it to the dealer and they checked it out and installed a new alternator. I spoke to the salesman and he stated that because the car had a remote starter (installed by them) it was probably that that was draining the battery as "they are a hog", he said. I decided to sell the car. I'd only owned it for four months and advertised for $5,000 less than I bought it for. After some time a prospect called. He was out with his family looking for a CR-V and saw my ad. I explained that I'd had problems but Honda assured me it was now fixed. We settled on a price. He said they were going for lunch and would then come and get the car. I thought it looked a little dusty so I ran to the car wash, washed it, then went to start it and it was dead. Again, it wouldn't take a boost, and again, I had to push it outside and call a tow truck as well as the buyer who then went elsewhere. T&T replaced the battery again.

This time I asked for the Used Car Sales Manager. He was pleasant and business like, but wouldn't take the car back. We discussed the issue with the Service Manager and his best recommendation was to install a larger battery, but also suggested they install a battery tender which would mean that if I was not going to drive the car for a few days I would have to plug it in and this would keep the battery charged. Two days after I got the car back I got a recall notice from Honda Canada stating there is something wrong with the charging system of my car and it was being recalled to reprogram the computer. I was relieved that it seemed they had, after all, found a common problem and had the fix. I booked in my car right away and had the upgrade done. A few days later I went to start the car but it was dead yet again. This time I called Honda Canada and left a message with their Customer Service department. They called back and spoke to my wife. They argued quite strongly that we are not driving the car enough. It needs to be driven regularly to keep the battery fully charged and because we are not, they argue, that we are damaging the battery by letting it drain, hence the reason it required new batteries. Anytime, in the discussion, that my wife brought up something that did not fit with the ladies argument, such as 'why it wouldn't take a boost', or 'what happens if we leave the car at the airport and go away for a few days?', the lady would not answer and quickly changed the subject.

I called the dealership and left three messages for the Sales Manager to call me and have been totally ignored. I called the lady at Honda Canada and spoke to her. I got the same argument, the problem with the car is not the car but the owner for not driving it all the time. I have asked to escalate the problem with the Customer Service lady's manager and will await that call, but if his/her attitude is the same as this lady, well.... where do we go from here?

Bought my CR-V in April 2012, liked it a lot. I live in Minnesota, once winter came around I was really mad at myself and dealership for not thinking of remote auto-start. (April 2012 was unseasonably nice). Last winter (2012-2013) I thought the engine start pretty hard but assumed that was just the nature of the car and as long as it worked I didn't have complaints. This year same thing, Jan 6, 2014 my car was completely DEAD! I used it the two days prior without problem, it was extremely cold (something like -20F) but still, my husband's 2004 Civic started without problem! Yesterday, not that cold, 15F, we drove to the store, got our groceries, back in the car, drove to the gas station, fueled up, went to restart the car and NOTHING! Not even a turn over! Lights, radio, heat, etc. did work, not like the last time. I have even been turning EVERYTHING off in hopes of "saving" the battery. I didn't pay $30k for a new car to have this crap! I left a nasty message at the dealership last night and already wrote Honda on Twitter and plan to be at the dealership tomorrow AM at 6:30 when they open to try to get this started before going to work. My husband and I both have Honda's, my Dad and brother both have Honda's and plenty of my friends and extended family do. This is enough to make me give up on Honda and SHOUT from the rooftops...Twitter and Facebook...to make sure no one else has to go through this. When I got home last night I looked up this issue online and was enraged to see that I am not the only one with this problem, nor is it limited to the 2012 model! I can't believe Honda and my dealership know about this and have not communicated anything and from what I'm reading doesn't seem to have a legitimate fix! I have since started researching new vehicles, none of which are Honda.