Automatic Emergency Braking problems of the 2017 Honda CR-V - part 1

While driving on a clear day, I went under a bridge on a downhill slope and the car flashed the brake warning and applied the breaks automatically almost causing the car behind me to hit me. Dealer has not been able to reproduce the issue. This has happened a few times. Once on the highway and another time slowly going through a construction site where there was a dip in the road. The last issue happened on 9/27/2025. The first issue was in March of 2024.

Occasionally, for no reason, automatically brakes and issues the brake warning notification despite no traffic in front of the vehicle. When a vehicle brakes for no reason in traffic, the risk is that you will be hit from behind.

Date of incident: [xxx] location: nyc, [xxx]. Mileage: 95,000 description of incident: on [xxx] while driving my 2017 Honda Cr-v at approximately [xxx] at 20 mph I experienced a sudden brake system failure. When I pressed the brake pedal fully to stop the vehicle, the pedal felt extremely hard and resistant, and the vehicle continued moving, failing to slow or stop as expected and hitting the vehicle in front. While no major accident happened due to how slow I was going, this occurred as I was approaching a traffic light. I did not apply the electronic parking brake (epb) during the incident. No warning lights were illuminated on the dashboard at the time of the failure. Immediately after the incident, the brakes began functioning normally again, suggesting an intermittent issue. I am concerned about the reliability of the brake system, especially given reports of brake issues in 2017–2019 Cr-vs. I have not yet had the vehicle inspected but plan to tow it to a Honda dealership or mechanic for diagnosis. I am reporting this to ensure the NHTSA is aware of this potential safety defect, which may be related to the ongoing investigation into 2017–2019 Honda Cr-v brake systems. Please contact me for additional information if needed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

While I’m driving the car suddenly breakes.

Driving 25 mph on a straight road, the automatic braking system engaged with beep sound only but not on the dash display as it should. The car was suddenly braked to a stop. Nothing was near or in front of the car.

The aeb system is falsely being triggered, causing a sudden stop or drastic slow down of my crv when there's nothing present to trigger the system. My car would drastically slow down, nearly causing a rear end collision from another vehicle. I've experience the problem on multiple occasions, in different locations, while going different speeds. The car has not experienced any other electronic or mechanical issue. The warning message did show on the dash as the car came to a halt.

While driving down a main road, with no other vehicles or obstacles around/in front of me, the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) beeped/flashed and my car came to almost a dead stop in the middle of the road. This happened without warning, or any previous warning/issues. Luckily no accident happened, as I don't believe a vehicle was behind me (but this could've gone horribly wrong had there been). It was a very windy day. I took it to a Honda dealership the same week, they found no issues and also could not reproduce this. I called Honda customer service, who was apologetic, but really no help, and only filed a complaint for me. I see this as being a high potential safety hazard for accidents, etc. , and it makes me nervous now driving my vehicle, especially since this is something I cannot turn off. I wanted to file a report here as well, in hopes that investigations are happening for this issue.

We have had this problem more than once but this morning it nearly caused an accident. My husband was driving to work and all of a sudden the car's automatic breaking system caused the car to stop dead, causing the car behind him to have to swerve up on the sidewalk to avoid hitting him. He was not going over a metal plate, there wadss no car stopped in front of him. This has happened at least ten times in the time we have owned the car and we have been incredibly lucky that it has not caused an accident, but it's still clearly a problem. We have complained about this to the dealership when we bring it in but they just shrug since they can't reproduce it and it seems to happen randomly. Just all of a sudden driving along brake will flash on the dashboard and the car will stop abruptly.

Multiple times when driving the vehicle will slam on the brakes without warning when there is nothing in front of the vehicle. I have taken it to Honda multiple times and they cannot fix it due to being unable to recreate the spontaneous issue. Also, they did try to recalibrate the sensor, and it still did not work. I don't feel safe driving this car and can't sell it knowing it is dangerous.

Fuel injector malfunction in 2017 Honda crv ex. Getting all the warning lights. Mostly it shows emission system problems.

In 2 separate incidents, the vehicle has applied the brakes on its own, with no obstacle in sight ahead of it. One time the braking brought the vehicle to a complete stop, the other time it started hard braking, then the braking stopped. Both times were in daylight with no animals or any other object ahead of the vehicle. One of the incidents nearly caused a collision with a vehicle following from the rear that would not have been expecting the sudden stop.

I was driving on a major highway at 60mph when all of a sudden the car started to automatically brake intermittently with warnings flashing. I slowed down to below 30mph in the right lane and put my flashers on traveling to the next off ramp, while the car continued to brake intermittently and not respond appropriately to applying the gas. Several warnings flashed, including: emergency braking system problems; crash mitigation problem; transmission system problem; adaptive cruise control problem. I was lucky to get to a safe spot without being rear-ended. I am having the car towed to a dealer tomorrow.

I was driving my dogs to their grooming appt and they were sitting in the front passenger seat around 10am. I was driving a little under the speed limit of 40. There were no cars in front of me but there was behind and to the left of me driving. I was not approaching a stop sign or stop light, just driving down the boulevard, when out of the blue the emergency automatic breaking system applied the brakes very hard. I had my seat belt on, but my dogs flew to the floor of the front passenger seat. I was so concerned about my dogs I didn’t even look to see if someone almost rear ended me, but there was not a collision luckily. I pulled into a parking lot and checked on my dogs. Obviously our safety was at risk because the brakes applied themselves right out on the busy road with no warning at all and for no reason. There was nobody in front of me and no obstructions when the brakes applied themselves. I have not reported this problem to the dealer but I plan to after this incident. It has actually happened a few other times, but I was by myself the other times. Noone has inspected the vehicle and component for this problem, namely because it has not been the cause of an accident or crash so far luckily. There were no warning lamps, messages or symptoms prior to the car activating the emergency braking system, although once the brake was applied the flashing “brake” sign came on the screen. There was no warning for any previous occurence either, as I mentioned this has happened a few times before.

Traveling on open road, collision mitigation braking system errantly engaged putting vehicle in a hard, emergency stop condition. Nothing in front of us but empty road. Both driver and passenger were thrown forward. Driver sustained neck whiplash injury. The problem will be reported to dealer on Monday. This is a very know issue with this vehicle. The internet is full of complaints and you have already received hundreds of complaints. Add mine to the list. Please address this.

Emergency braking system activated twice in a period of about 5 minutes without any objects/ cars in pathway. Speed approx 40 mph in bright daylight it has never done that before and I deactivated it until I can have mechanic check it out.

Several times the braking system has engaged thinking there was something in the path of the car when there was not. My daughter & I were almost rear ended. It has happened on numerous occasions. Has not been taken in for service for this issue. There was no warning prior to each occurance.

I was driving about 25mph past a school and the car automatically braked for no reason. Nothing was in the road, no cars near me. I’ve driven that road hundreds of times in the past 4 years without incident.

My 2017 Honda crv has been diagnosed as needing replacement of its fuel injectors. When this problem is detected by its onboard computer system, all warning lights illuminate on dashboard display (even though they are unrelated), and all the adas safety features are disabled until the system can be reset - these include blind spot detection, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, etc. Because the car was otherwise driving fine, I explored other possible reasons for what seemed to be an issue with the electronics, such as a faulty battery. Eventually, it became apparent there was a fuel injection problem when the car went into what others have referred to as 'limp mode,' which means that it struggles to accelerate to even 5-10 mph at best. Thankfully, the two times this happened before I was able to take it to the dealership were both on residential streets without traffic. If this had occurred on an interstate or while turning left, the results could have been tragic. After some basic internet searches, it became readily apparent that hundreds of others across the country are dealing with the same identical issues I've described. Some individuals are encountering this issue when the car is only at 50-60k miles, which indicates it is not a matter of typical wear and tear. Yet, for some reason, Honda is not acknowledging this problem. This is especially disappointing and confusing seeing that Honda has either recalled or extended warranties on fuel injectors for multiple other models built during the mid-to-late 2010s (pilot, odyssey, ridgeline, and fit). I would greatly appreciate the NHTSA's assistance in ensuring that people like me do not have to pay for a very costly repair that is clearly due to a systemically faulty part, but more importantly hope that no one is involved in an accident when their safety features are disabled and/or the car goes into 'limp mode' while in an vulnerable highway or intersection situation.

About 5 pm yesterday, August 2, 2024, the emergency braking system activated and brought my Cr-v to a complete and sudden stop. The braking warning lite for a brief moment prior to the braking. There was no time for me to brake myself nor did I apply the brake petal. There were no vehicles, bicycles, or pedestrians on the road in front of me. Following the stop, the brakes released and we were able to continue forward normally. My and my wife's safety was put at risk first, if we had had another vehicle to our rear, and to the risk of neck sprain due to the sudden stop. I have not notified my Honda dealer as of today, Aug 3, 2024. . The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone as of today Aug 3, 2024.

On 6 separate occasions (2 in 2018, 4 in July 2024) my automatic braking system has kicked in when there is no apparent obstruction, vehicle, etc. In front of me. I have not taken the car to the dealer or filed any inspection as no accident occurred and I saw an article online about this happening to the same model and year car and thought I should add my examples to the list.

Every signal sensor in my car went off after 100k miles. Brake hold system, power steering, hill start assist, adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation, road departure, electric parking brake, tpm, emission system problem, all wheel drive system. Car stopped working and came to a complete stop on highway with my child in it which was not only terrifying but put us obviously in a life threatening situation. Brought it to Honda dealership-they cleared codes and said they could figure out what was wrong because their software was down. Made an appointment with Honda in a different city to check my rear brake actuator sensor as I had had my brakes replaced prior to these codes showing up. Had to have the car towed to the dealership as it would not drive at this point. The dealership put a vt sylenoid in and said it was good to go. I asked about the brakes, they said they showed no issue. 30 days later while on the highway again with my child, all the same sensors came on and the car notified me to pull over to safety. I brought my car back to the dealership, they said they changed the left wheel sensor and all codes were cleared and the car was ready to be picked up. I go to the dealership and turn on my car, two seconds not even off the lot and all the same sensors are back on. Now Honda is telling me that I need a brand new computer installed for $1400. 00 to fix the issue, after I already spent $1500 at this point. Obviously I have called american Honda, but this has been an absolute nightmare.

On June 30, 2024 and again July 13, 2024, the brake dash light and sound alarm engaged on clear sunny days (~ 11 am (6/30) and 1pm (7/13). The brake did not engage and so I was able to maintain control of the car, but in both cases I was on a major highway at 50-60 mph. I have previously reported an incident about a year ago (nhsta issue number: 11530134 reported 7/3/2023). Weather conditions were the same (sunny and dry) and about the same time of the day (midday), however I was on a regular city road traveling about 25-30 mph and the brakes light, sound and the physical brakes brought the car to such a hard stop that I moved forward fast enough to engage the seatbelt restraint mechanism.

I was driving about 25 miles per hour, there were no cars in front of me (in either direction). The car suddenly slammed on the brakes for no reason. My passenger and I were both thrown towards the steering wheel and dashboard, things came flying from the back seat to the front, falling down by the pedals. I was very nearly rear ended, the car behind me was able to swerve to the left but was extremely angry. The car went into neutral, but possibly because something came from the back seat and hit the gearshift, I'm not sure about that. I was stuck in neutral with traffic horns blaring at me. If I'd have been pulling out into traffic when this happened I would easily have been hit broadside. I brought my car to the dealer, they said there was nothing wrong and that perhaps I didn't understand how the system works. I'm certain that it is not meant to bring the car to a screeching halt when there is literally nothing in front of you anywhere.

My car’s automatic emergency braking system engaged at about 35 mph without cause. It was a very hard, abrupt almost full stop. I will report to my Honda dealer on Monday when they open. The car behind me was able to stop but was very angry. Thankfully he was not tailgating or we would have had an accident the car has done this before but not as severely and didn’t brake as hard, more of a slow down.

Again this happened, driving at 38 mph the braking system activated without warning and slammed us into the seat belts. This is happening way to often and now my wife refuses to drive the car.

I was driving my Honda crv on a 4 lane highway (2 lanes in each direction) on a clear and sunny day (4/22/24) at approximately 45-50 mph. I had no traffic ahead of me, but cars behind me, when my vehicle slammed on its brakes and dropped my speed to approximately 5 mph. I did hear the beep and saw the "brake" warning statement on my dash display. It released the brakes after the decrease in speed (to approximately 5 mph) and I continued to drive home without any further problems. I'm very fortunate that I didn't get rear ended. I phoned my Honda service adviser and made her aware of the problem (west herr Honda of lockport, NY). My vehicle is in excellent condition and has never been in any accidents.

3 times this has happened now the latest incident today 4-19-2024. I’m driving along and then all of a sudden the car goes into hard braking mode and the emergency braking light comes on the dashboard. Twice I have almost been rear ended because of this problem. No cars are in front of me at the time. I feel the automatic braking system was not designed correctly. I hope no one gets into an accident because of this defect. This is the last Honda I will ever own.

There have been a few instances in which the emergency breaking system activated based on false positives. Examples include certain overhead highway signs (one in particular is a regular trigger in a certain lane of a certain road in my area) as well as dips in the road or construction areas or the bottom of hills, in which the sensor presumably reads the upcoming hill as an actual instruction. In one of these instances a car behind me locked up the brakes to avoid hitting me as my car applied the brakes unnecessarily. These issues have occurred repeatedly and are often able to be reproduced.

While driving at about 35 miles per hour, with no traffic or obstructions ahead of me, the automatic braking system rapidly decreased my vehicle speed to about 5 miles per hour, then disengaged and the vehicle operated normally.

Since I have purchased this vehicle in 2017, there have been numerous 'random' occasions while I am driving and the car's dashboard will flash "brake"3x or "brake" 3x with the warning beeps. . . These occasions have occurred while driving at speed over 50mph but there was no vehicle or object in front of me. Twice, I have been driving and the car has flashed "brake"3x and beeped and applied the emergency brakes---but there was nothing in front of my car & thank goodness there was no one behind either. I don't know why it does it at random times, maybe it's the way the sun beams on the car, just at the right angle, to alert the brake system. Either way, it's caused me to use extra caution and turn off the automatic break system every time I enter the car ( if I remember) I am available for inspection upon request. I've read articles online about this problem with the Honda crv 2017.

The automatic emergency braking system activated unnecessarily. While pulling up to a light, I was preparing to apply the brakes when my car suddenly came to an immediate stop. The brake light flashed and the car came to a halt. It stopped so abruptly that I was concerned that I had been rear-ended. My passenger in the back seat got out of the car to check with the car behind me. No contact had been made with the car behind me. This event has not occurred previously or since as I have turned off the emergency braking system.

While driving today, 03/05/2024 my 2017 Honda cr-b suddenly began to break while driving. There were no obstacles in front of the vehicle and no nearby cars. My car continued to randomly break while I was driving continuously and the issue has continued throughout the day. My safety and the safety of others is at risk because the random braking can cause an accident. There were no warning or messages prior to this. The vehicle can be inspected at any time. This issue has not been confirmed with a dealer, but I am reporting it as it has happened and it is concerning.

This morning my Honda crv unexpectedly braked while in motion driving 40mph. I didn't have my foot on the brake pedal & there wasn't any cars, objects or pedestrians in front of me. And, luckily there wasn't anyone behind me because there would have definitely been a rear end accident. The brake sign came on during this action. I have a call into the local Honda dealer service dept. , but I haven't heard back from them. My vehicle has not been inspected by anyone as I was on my way to work. This is the only time it has happened. I am extremely concerned with the safety for myself & others.

The car has a warranty that was extended because of camshaft issues. The warranty expired 2023 I bought the car in 2023. The issue started happening in 2024. The car will just stop and not go no matter how much you press the gas. So driving anywhere at any speed the car will just all of a sudden stop. It’s extremely dangerous and obviously it’s a problem that Honda has already recognized.

While driving at highway speeds the electrically controlled parking brake engaged resulting in a hazardous situation requiring my son to pull over off the road. The entire electrical system was acting strangely with hazard lights coming on randomly, alarm system going off randomly, and keys fobs not working. Honda dealership determined the issue to be a bad body control module (bcm).