The 2020 Honda CR-V is easily one of the top crossovers in the market and has been the brand’s top seller for years. If you read almost any article about it, including the ones that you can find on Motor Biscuit, you will likely be treated to a barrage of praise and adoration of Honda’s faithful five-seater and I can definitely say that they are not wrong. However, no car is 100 percent perfect, and the Honda CR-V is no exception as I found that there is one specific feature that could really use an update.

The Honda CR-V was updated for the 2020 model year

For the 2020 model year, Honda put the CR-V through the refresh cycle and it came out with slightly updated front and rear fascias and a new hybrid trim, as well as standard safety tech and a wireless phone charger. Those changes were important, however, I wish they could have updated the infotainment system. Yes, I’m complaining about the infotainment system in yet another loaner car, just like I did with the Mazda6. It’s trivial, I know, but it’s important when it comes to everyday driving. Let me explain.

First of all, I feel that the system itself is outdated. It was somewhat innovative when the CR-V was redone for the 2017 model year, however, it’s now getting long in the tooth. While the menus are clearly laid out, it’s very slow to respond and there’s no way to quickly flip through satellite or radio stations without having to push the “channel” button in rapid-fire succession, which can be very annoying while you’re driving. Secondly, I realize that Honda thankfully installed a volume knob, but they could have put in a tuning knob as well. Call me “old school.”

Apparently, I’m not the only one to complain about this

I wouldn’t complain about such a small feature if it weren’t a known issue among car reviewers and consumers alike. The folks over at Car and Driver even posted in their review that the CR-V’s “excellent presentation is offset by Honda’s frustrating infotainment system” and that the system is “slow” and “lacks other controls.” I’m not entirely sure what they mean by “other controls,” but I’ll just fill that in with “tuning knob” in my mind.

Also, various 2017-2019 Honda CR-V owners have complained about the infotainment system on Carcomplaints.com. Although, their complaints are much more warranted, citing issues like the infotainment system freezing up and constant phantom beeping while driving. There are also reports of the system randomly rebooting. Those, of course, sound like much bigger issues, which goes to show that the infotainment system is in dire need of a refresh.

It will probably be a while before Honda does anything about it

Just as a note, this infotainment system isn’t just on the CR-V, it’s on all of Hondas products. And despite any complaints from the automotive press or even the consumers that buy its cars, it’s likely that it will be a while before Honda updates the infotainment system that it uses in its cars. It costs a lot of time and effort for an automaker to make changes like that, but Honda, in particular, likes to drag infotainment systems out for a long time. It took them over a decade to change the system in the CR-V to the one they have now.

Let’s be clear, this feature is not a deal-breaker and I would wholeheartedly recommend the Honda CR-V to anyone. But just know that when it comes to the infotainment system, its operation, and it’s impending update, you’ll be waiting a while.