Automatic Emergency Braking problems of the 2019 Honda CR-V - part 1

The car just comes to a screeching halt because it detects a collision, even when there is no threat. Happens most often at night when passing a road signage above you.

Today: the vehicle flashed the brake warning light and suddenly decelerated/braked. There were no vehicles in front of the car for as far as the eye could see, it is a sunny day with dry conditions, and it was on an open highway that was flat, middle of the day, and the car was traveling 50 mph. Fortunately, no vehicles were behind me. The brake warning light has flashed on multiple occasions prior, without any trigger whatsoever, but it has only decelerated/braked a couple of times, and today’s was the worst and most jarring.

Driving under speed limit crossing through a green light at intersection automatic breaking system engaged. This caused rapid slowing throwing driver and things on passenger seat forward. No obstacles, cars or anything were visible or causing any possible accident or problem. The abs system engaged flashing break warning on dash. This happened a year and a half earlier and on 7/23/2025.

The contact owned a 2019 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated while driving approximately 48-50 mph, the collision mitigation braking system engaged while there was no other vehicles nearby and the contact sustained whiplash. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the failure could be related to a crack on the passenger's side of the windshield. The vehicle was not repaired and was traded in. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

Automatic emergency braking system suddenly activated without any objects or vehicles in front of me. I was going 40 mph. The system beeped and the car decelerated with no braking by me.

I’m writing to report a recurring and increasingly dangerous issue with the cmbs (collision mitigation braking system) in my vehicle. The problem began shortly after I purchased the car. The system would intermittently flash the word “brake” and apply the brakes without any apparent reason. Initially, this was more of an annoyance, but it has since escalated into a serious safety concern. Most recently, while driving through an intersection with no vehicles in front or behind me, the system suddenly applied the brakes with significant force. This caused everything in the front seat to be thrown to the floor and forced me into the steering wheel. The weather was clear—no rain or sun glare—and there were no visible obstructions. Had there been a vehicle behind me, I believe a rear-end collision would have been likely due to the abrupt deceleration. I have brought the car to the dealership where I purchased it multiple times, but they were unable to replicate the issue and eventually asked me to stop bringing the vehicle in. I then tried a different dealership, but they also refused to investigate further since they couldn’t duplicate the problem. Even after disabling the cmbs system about a year after purchase, the issue has persisted. I’ve since learned that this issue is under investigation, and I want to formally express that I no longer feel safe driving this vehicle. I am requesting a resolution to this matter as soon as possible. Please let me know the next steps or if any additional information is needed. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

2019 Honda crv brake system problem. Cannot start my car.

Last week, the collision avoidance braking system activated without being triggered by an actual hazard. I was traveling btw 30 and 40 mph on a straight road, overcast conditions, no pedestrian or oncoming traffic or vehicle in front of me, nor any shadows, or roadworks that could be perceived as a problem. My car flashed the brake sign and immediately braked very hard, car coming to a full stop. Luckily no one was behind me, or I'm sure I would have been rear-ended. I was able to continue driving normally right away, but it was very alarming and unsettling to happen with no provocation. This has been reported by others. I disabled the avoidance braking system for the next few days until I could get the car into my local dealer which happened today, 4/29/25. They ran complete diagnostics, could not replicate the problem, confirming the camera and forward radar sensor were working properly. I have never had any warning lights or messages come on prior or since, and the car has otherwise performed very well. Needless to say, I have less confidence in this car now. I was advised to not disable the warning/braking system as without it, I could not be protected by it should it be truly needed. This makes me very uncomfortable, but I don't feel there is another choice at this time.

Driving in downtown area, decelerating for stop sign, maybe going 20 mph, when "brake!" illuminated on dash and vehicle abruptly came to a complete stop. It seems the automatic emergency braking system engaged and stopped the vehicle. Seat belt locked and items on seats were thrown to floor. Nothing was in the roadway other than driving over a flat metal road construction plate that was placed in the lane, covering trench work done to the road. Fortunately car behind me had enough room to stop before hitting me. Have driven this route many times including driving over this plate for the last several weeks with no issues until today. I have a sore shoulder and neck from seat belt and jerking motion when car stopped unexpectedly.

3 times now the automatic breaks have activated for no reason. The last time (last thurdsay) was a severe brake and thank god no one was near us cause it would have been a severe accident. We took our car to local Honda dealership today and they said they could find nothing wrong). We are very nervous to drive the car as this is a real saftey issue, the car only started doing this recently and we have owned car since 2020.

On 3/25/2025, at 2:45 pm, my car stopped itself completely while driving at 35 mph on transit rd. Near sheridan dr. , under clear, dry conditions. No obstacles, no brake input—items on passenger seat flew off, my head jerked forward. Suspect automatic emergency braking (aeb) malfunction, per NHTSA ea22-003 (2017-2022 Cr-vs, 278 complaints, 47 crashes, 112 injuries). Vehicle is at lia Honda for $285 diagnostic, completed 3/26/2025; they found no issues, recommend radar sensor recalibration (~$300 more) but say it ‘cannot guarantee the issue won’t recur’—I told them to wait. Available for inspection. Safety risk: sudden stop risked rear-end collision and jerked my head —matches ea22-003 crashes. Not reproduced. Prior inspection with oil change at lia Honda on 3/21/25—no issues. No manufacturer, police, or insurance inspections. No warning lamps before failure—sudden onset. Honda corporate assigned a case manager on 3/26/2025, contacting me in 24-48 hrs. Request: investigate—dealer’s inaction and costs are unacceptable.

As I pulled from a stop, into an intersection, the car slammed on the brakes with no warning. Did not see the normal "brake" message as usually appears if you follow to closely for example and there was no car in front of me. It was a quick slam of the brakes, which threw my head forward and down suddenly, then released. I continued driving and saw no warning lights or indication of a problem on the dashboard. However, when I parked the car and turned the engine off, it would not restart. Only clicked and displayed a continuous series of error messages on the dash including "electronic break system failure" and others. The car would not start. I tried to start it multiple times until the battery eventually ran down. Called tow service and they jump started the car. All error messages reset and did not reappear. I only drove it short distance home and have not driven it since.

I was traveling on highway going posted speed of 70mph. There were no cars anywhere close to front of vehicle. Car automatically braked hard, locking the seatbelt and throwing everything in car forward. It was not a "warning" brake it was a ridiculously hard brake to attempt to stop car. I am shocked and amazed it did not cause accident or flip. As a result of this sudden hard stop, I have having back and neck pain as well as chest and shoulder pain. There was no reason for this to occur, there was nothing in front of the vehicle at all. There were however cars behind that nearly hit me. I may seek medical if back, neck and shoulder continue to hurt.

This is regarding an incident with my 2019 Honda crv, on 2/12/2025. Conditions were dry, clean and dark with street lighting at approximately 6:15 pm pacific time. I was driving northward uphill on a paved street and approximately half way up the hill, my car came to an abrupt stop and shut down. My body was jolted forward and I felt an immediate discomfort in my lower back. There was a car behind me with lights on that did not hit me, but had veered left mid-street, possibly to avoid hitting my car, or may have been in the process of making a parking maneuver. I saw nothing in the roadway that would cause my car to stop. There was no occurrence of a warning light or audible notification of a hazard to me. There were two cars stopped at a stop sign ahead at the top of the street, one was in the right turn lane and the one next to it was headed straight south. My car would not proceed. I had to press the start button to restart the car. I drove up to the top of the hill to the limit line of the stop sign. Both of the cars ahead at the top of the hill across the intersection were still stopped, but proceeded once my car came up the hill to the limit line of the stop sign.

Multiple times the vehicle slammed stopped for no reason nothing around to warrant a stop or anything no real warning before it automatically brakes.

Driving downtown seattle going through an intersection - green light - no pedestrians in walks - no oncoming or opposing traffic at the time. Uphill orientation. Doing about 25 mph. The system did a sudden and hard brake! this is the second time this has happened. First time was in a parking lot at low speed going over a speed bump and the passenger hurt their knee on the dash. It is clearly a problem and a serious hazard to all.

On 2 occasions in this past year 2024 I have had the emergency brake system completely stop the car suddenly without any cars being in front and behind. Both incidents were at night and both are caused when reflection happens or when I am driving over steel grates. This is a very critical issue as I can get hit from the rear or it can cause harm as the brake system is very fast.

Car automatically brakes when there is no obstacles and sometimes no other vehicles in roadway. Most of the time when approaching a bridge. Usually travelling at speeds above 50. Hasn't been inspected by dealer. This increases risk of rear end collision. The light saying to brake comes on prior to the brakes engaging. This has happened multiple times during ownership of this vehicle (purchased new). Most recent incident was within the last month or so. There is no indication of the cause. There are multiple other issues with this vehicle to include issues with the display screen, door seals, and poor interior, however those do not appear to cause issues of safety at this time.

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the forward collision avoidance emergency automatic braking unexpectedly activated, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop in the middle of the road. The contact stated that during the failure there were no vehicles or objects nearby. There was another vehicle behind and was able to avoid crashing into the rear of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The contact was informed of the NHTSA action number: ea24002 (forward collision avoidance). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 37,000.

A few times, the car has braked suddenly even when there were no cars or people in front of it. The last two instances were particularly dangerous because another car was right behind me, and the car braked hard. My daughter was in the car during these incidents, so I've since turned off the driving assistance feature because I believe it's more dangerous than driving without it. I can say that this has happened more than eight times. ".

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated while driving 65 mph on the freeway while depressing the accelerator pedal, the automatic braking system engaged. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that an independent mechanic was contacted. The contact stated that the failure recurred a second time near the residence. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure of her son. The approximate failure mileage was 34,300.

I was driving 40mph on a two way road, no cars in front of me. I was going straight when all of the sudden my car auto brake activated. Normally I’ll get the warning, where it goes “beep beep” and big orange text that says “brake” pops up but most of the time that happens if there is a car in front of me, and maybe I am coming up on it a little fast. It’s never hit the brakes for me though. And it’s never gave me the brake warning when there is nothing in front of me. So I am driving at 40mph, clear road, nothing in front of me that should set off the sensor when all of the sudden my car hits the brakes and gives me a huge shock. It was almost immediate, I didn’t even hear the beep beep or see the warning until after the brakes were activated. It only lasted a second or so and then I was able to continue driving but now I’m scared.

Cmbs failure kept alerting a problem was braking when nothing in front of car. Making car surge as well. Put me at risk on highway. Have not contacted dealer, has not been inspected, all waring light kept going on for all brake and migration sensors.

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated while driving 20 mph, the forward collision avoidance: automatic emergency braking system engaged with no other vehicles or objects nearby. The contact stated that the sudden braking nearly caused an accident with another vehicle that was following behind the vehicle. The contact called a local dealer, and an appointment was scheduled to inspect the vehicle. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA action number: ea24002 (forward collision avoidance). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 36,700.

The automated emergency braking system has activated twice without any reason and slowing the vehicle rapidly. Once after turning into a parking lot and again while driving at a constant speed of 40 mph on a straight unobstructed road with no traffic in front or oncoming.

Traveling about 45 mph on no weather road. The dmbs system engaged with no warning and hard braked just out of the blue throwing all passengers forward. 3 passengers including an 11 year old child in the backseat fully buckled in thank goodness. There was no reason for the system to engage and the truck behind us thankfully was far enough back that he saw it and went around us carefully. If he had been any closer and not able to go around us due to oncoming traffic he would have hit us. Upon further research after this incident we have found numerous complaints about this issue and feel this warrants immediate attention as this could have caused fatalities. My granddaughter was in the back and it scared all of us to where we were shaking.

While coming home from a restaurant, all kinds of warnings were displayed on the screen. Then as I got in front of my house, my brakes and transmission locked up preventing the car from moving. I had it towed to the Honda dealer and after inspection I was told the wires in the harness leading to the rear view mirror were loose and caused the electrical system in my vehicle to malfunction. I had no idea why this happened as neither my wife or I ever touched those wires. I was told the repair would cost $3,650 and would not be covered by the extended warranty I had purchased when I bought the car new. I did go ahead and authorize the repair, but was not happy about it. The service advisor said this had happened before on other Honda vehicles. This is a major safety defect that could cause accidents.

Brakes engaged on their own while going 50 mph.

I was driving the Honda crv down a main road. There was no traffic in front of me. I was traveling at a rate of 45 or so miles an hour. Without warning, the emergency breaking system activated briefly. There was nothing in front of the vehicle that should’ve caused the system to deploy. This is the only time I have experienced this issue. Fortunately, there were no cars behind me traveling at a close distance. The brake deployed only briefly but it caused the tires to screech. I was able to maintain control of the vehicle.

The vehicle stopped automatically while driving. The automated braking applied even though there was no vehicle in front. This is scary as it might lead to a fatal incident on highway or when the vehicle on back is close. I reported the incident to american Honda and was expecting to receive courtesy free inspection and repairs needed. But they said as the vehicle is outside of warranty period, I will have to bear the cost of inspection and repair if required which is very disappointing. I believe it's related to abs malfunction. I researched online and found similar issues reported by others. This is a very concerning as the vehicle came into full stop while driving all of a sudden even though there was no vehicle in front. This incident happened today. My vehicle has around 45k mileage as of today.

My car’s brakes fully engaged suddenly and without warning. There was no obstacle of any kind in front of my vehicle. I was traveling approximately 10 miles an hour when the phantom braking occurred.

Multiple times while driving on a highway with no other cars in front of me, the brake light flashes. Yesterday, without warning and no other car in front of me, the automatic brake system engaged and brought my vehicle to a complete stop. I was almost hit from behind by another car.

While driving about 30 mph on a street with no other vehicles nearby, the braking system suddenly stopped violently and started flashing brake on the dashboard. There were no cars nor nothing in the way that would of caused the vehicle to brake. This caused injury to my neck and shoulders.

I experienced a concerning incident while driving recently, and I would like to bring attention to several issues with my vehicle. Firstly, while turning onto a main street at a speed of 35mph, my vehicle's automatic emergency braking system unexpectedly activated, despite there being no obstruction in front, beside, or behind me. This occurred at a green light as I approached the beginning of the intersection. Additionally, I have been facing multiple problems with my stereo, including glitches, turning off unexpectedly, and the brightness becoming engaged and freezing. I had previously reported these issues to the dealership within the first two years of purchasing my vehicle in 2019. However, the technicians only unplugged and replugged the stereo, assuring me it would be "good. " I’m still currently dealing with the problem of the stereo glitches in 2024. Given these concerns, I am worried about the possibility of future issues arising and the potential for a collision due to my vehicle stopping itself randomly while driving. As a responsible driver with a family to consider, I kindly request immediate assistance in resolving these matters. To address the specific questions: 1. The component or system that failed or malfunctioned is the automatic emergency braking system. 2. Yes, the vehicle and its components are available for inspection upon request. 3. The safety of both myself and others was put at risk due to the sudden activation of the automatic emergency braking system. 4. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. 5. The vehicle and its components have not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others. 6. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the failure of the automatic emergency braking system.

Traveling about 30mph on a street, the car activated the automatic breaking for no apparent reason. The screen flashed the orange “break” sign at the same time that the car slammed the brakes on (with no prior warning). There were no cars in front, next to, or around me to the sides. There were no people or animals around and the weather was fully clear. The car behind me honked loudly at the sudden breaking of my vehicle. Everything in my car flew forwards (bags falling off the seat into the foot bed). It was very dangerous and I was lucky to avoid being hit from behind. I believe I injured my back and neck from the short stop as well. And my car just went through a full inspection at firestone two days ago and everything checked out fine. The breaks activated for absolutely no apparent reason.