Car Model Guide/ Honda/ CR-V/ RE/ 2.2 i-DTEC N22B/ Issues

2.2 i-DTEC N22B, known issues

RE · 2010–2012 · R4 High risk

Recorded issues4
Walk-away1
Over €1,0003
Checkable at viewing1/4
Likely spend€1,500

Likely spend is the mid cost of every issue rated common or universal, added together, what an unmaintained example owes over the next few years, not a prediction for any one car. Worst case if everything here failed at once is €8,700, which isn't a realistic scenario but is a useful ceiling.

All issues, by system

Engine

Piston cracking from fuel dilutionN22B 2.2 i-DTEC€2,500–€5,000
Rising oil level with a diesel smell, rough running, and at worst a knock and loss of compression. Repeated incomplete particulate-filter regenerations wash unburnt fuel past the rings and dilute the oil. On short-trip cars this eventually damages a piston. Cars used for longer journeys largely escape it, so how the car was driven matters more than the mileage.
Check: Check the oil level and smell it for diesel, ask directly what journeys the car did, and read the service record for short intervals or repeated top-ups.
EngineoccasionalPartly detectablewalk away without proofevidence: documented100–200k km

Emissions

DPF clogging and forced regenerationDPF€250–€1,800
Warning light, limp mode, oil level rising above the maximum mark from fuel dilution. The filter needs sustained hot running to regenerate. A car used for short urban trips never completes a regeneration cycle.
Check: Read the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.
EmissionscommonPartly detectableevidence: documented120–250k km
EGR cooler leakEGR cooler€400–€1,000
Coolant loss with no visible external leak, white smoke, sweet smell. The EGR cooler cracks internally and leaks coolant into the intake. BMW recalled affected diesels over a fire risk from glycol deposits igniting.
Check: Check coolant level and look for unexplained top-ups in the service history. Verify the recall was carried out. It's free and searchable by VIN.
EmissionsoccasionalPartly detectableevidence: manufacturer120–250k km

Drivetrain

Rear differential fluid neglectRE body€80–€900
A groan, shudder or judder from the rear on tight low-speed turns, most noticeable in car parks and on cold mornings. Honda's four-wheel-drive system uses a dual-pump rear differential with its own specific fluid. The fluid degrades and the clutches inside begin to judder, and the change is often skipped because it isn't on every service schedule.
Check: Drive slowly around a tight car park turn in both directions and listen for groaning or feel for shudder from the rear. Ask when the differential fluid was last changed.
DrivetraincommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented60–150k km

How to read this

Every issue is authored once against the part that actually carries it: the engine, the gearbox, the chassis or a shared component, and inherited by every variant that has that part. The badge next to each issue says where it comes from, so you can tell an N22B problem from an E9x problem.

Evidence tiers. Manufacturer means a recall, technical bulletin or revised part number. Documented means workshop data or multiple independent sources. Reported means owner consensus with no hard confirmation, and never sets a risk level on its own.

← Back to the 2.2 i-DTEC N22B