Are Hondas no longer reliable?

I was going to buy a Honda CR-V but I've read that it's been recalled due to airbags exploding and the gas leaking in to the oil.

Should I buy a Toyota RAV-4 or Kia Soul instead?

I have a Honda lawnmower and it is very reliable.

There's recalls on nearly every car out there on some level. Some of the recalls are more cautionary than others not that you shouldn't get it done. Honda's are of average reliability with mostly small problems that knock it's ratings but not going to leave you at the side of the road. Toyota is more reliable on average. KIA while slightly better than Honda isn't anything remarkable in reliability. Personally I don't think KIA has quite the fit and finish Toyota or Honda has, but they have gotten better over the years. The Soul is a different kind of compact car for sure and not for everyone, it's significantly smaller than a CRV. At the end of the day get what you like. I think you would be happy with a RAV-4 or the CRV.

Recalls are good, it means the manufacturer is committed to the car they sold you long term.

In the early 2000's Hondas certainly weren't reliable when it came to Automatic Transmissions!

The RAV probably 4 looks more modern. The model is built in three different plants in Japan, one in China and one in Ontario.

If you want a Kia Soul then don't buy one made 2013-2016 as there were too many engine failures at only 60-70K miles.

Look at a Nissan rogue. Just as nice and reliable, but cheaper.

People are maddeningly reactionary and far too general when it comes to "reliability" in cars and car brands if you ask me.

Yes, some recent turbocharged 1.5L turbocharged Honda engines have had troubles. I personally probably wouldn't purchase a new Honda equipped with that specific 1.5L turbo engine right now if I planned on keeping the car for 10+ years before replacing it (including the current CR-V equipped with that engine).

That said, does Honda having troubles with 1 engine design over the last 30+ years automatically mean that all Hondas now, before, and forever forward are "unreliable". Of course it doesn't.

As for the airbag issue - that's a well known problem with a supplier, Takata, who supplied airbags to a large number of manufacturers (not just Honda) dating back many years. If a person's plan is to avoid all car brands that have ever used Takata as an airbag supplier, then good luck to that person in shopping for a new car in the future because their choices will be drastically limited. Honda (and other brands that used them) didn't design those faulty airbags - they all purchased the airbags pre-made from Takata and installed them in their cars without having any reason to believe that they were faulty or dangerous.

Subaru Crosstrek.

I have owned 4 Honda Accords and they have been extremely reliable except for the 2003 I owned. The transmission went out at 75,000 miles. It was out of warranty but Honda supplied me with a brand new transmission free of charge. I only paid the labor to have it installed. I would not recommend any 2003-04 Honda Accord but I can highly recommend all the others. My 2013 has been trouble free. I have not had one single problem since I bought it new.

A recall has nothing whatsoever to do with reliability.

Rav4's don't have the CVT transmissions that fail a lot. I'd buy the Rav4