Automatic Emergency Braking problems of the 2020 Honda CR-V - part 1

Facing the sun, driving through an intersection with a green light. No cars ahead or behind me, and no pedestrians in sight. As I passed under the light, the car slammed on the brakes once, let up a little, and then slammed on the brakes again. It flashed the brake indicator on the dash. Then driving resumed as normal. If there had been a vehicle behind me, it would have rear ended me, no question.

6/14/25 - automatic emergency braking system engaged twice without any impediments in road while driving 40 miles of non-freeway driving. Mileage of vehicle is 30460 miles. Aebs engaged at 45 mph and 50 mph. Scary incidents but no accident or injury today. Concerned about continued driving and future incidents. Will contact Honda dealership. Need to issue a recall.

While driving on the road and passing through an intersection, my car suddenly applied the brakes automatically, attempting to stop the vehicle. During this time, there were no obstacles in front of the car, and I did not step on the brakes.

Car suddenly breaks without my control, and wheels do not recognize new paved roads. Traction light stays on. Car pulls me outside of lane and I have to force the wheel to drive straight and stay in the lane.

1) “collision mitigation braking system” (cmbs); cmbs still exists on this car. 2) potential for getting rear-ended. 3) my brother with similar Cr-v reports random cmbs braking. 4) no 5) cmbs first brake warning only after I started letting up off the brake pedal. Cmbs produced 2nd brake warning just as it slammed on the brakes - after distance between my car and car in front was already increasing (ie - no chance for collision). First appearance: I've been getting false cmbs brake alarms since purchase of car - this was the first time cmbs slammed on the brakes. I've heard other stories about cmbs type systems causing wrecks, etc. . . - I believe cmbs type systems need to be removed from all cars.

Brakes stopped working suddenly. All of the brake system started flashing warnings. Electric parking brake light is on when parking brake is not engaged. Warning lights all flashed: electric parking brake problem, brake system problem, brake hold system problem, adaptive cruise control problem, collision mitigation system problem, and road departure mitigation system problem. This car has 50k miles and just out of warranty. It was a $6k repair!!!!! Honda said faulty parts.

Yesterday (xxx) while starting my car the warning lights came on notifying me of a potential issue with multiple safety systems including the brake system.   my parking brake would not show that it was released and when put in gear the brakes were very mushy and the vehicle did not feel that it could be driven safely.   I requested triple aaa to tow the car to the Honda dealership in lumberton north carolina this morning (xxx) as I did not feel that it was safe to drive.   a diagnostic test was performed that indicated that the electric servo brake system / electric brake booster system malfunction was found and that the vehicle needs an electric servo pedal simulator unit replaced. This component functions cooperatively with the regenerative brakes together with a structure in which pedal force is not influenced by braking pressure control. I have researched this issue and found that this particular problem and the associated part has been recognized as an ongoing problem with some Honda hybrid models and that it has recently been recalled in japan, and many Honda owners in the uk have also been experiencing the same malfunction to this part.   this appears to be a systemic issue with a part involving select Honda hybrid models that appears to occur as early as after 20,000 miles and oftentimes shortly after the vehicle involved is out of warranty.   american Honda has not officially recognized this problem as a safety issue. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

On August 15, 2024, around noon, I was stopped at a red light waiting for the light to turn green. When it finally did, I released my foot from the brake pedal and proceeded to accelerate. Not even 2 seconds later, I heard a beeping sound (from collision mitigation system) and my car abruptly stopped. There was no car in front of me and the car behind me was 2 car distances away. My car abruptly stopped on its own with no obstruction in sight in front or behind. I am very concerned to say the least and now feel unsafe driving my car especially since I drive my children around all the time. The automatic braking system/collision mitigation braking system on my 2020 Honda crv, although meant to increase safety seems to do the exact opposite. I did some research and learned how to turned the collision mitigation braking system off. I trust my fight or flight response more than this automatic braking system. It seems this is more likely to cause an accident. My vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer for this matter, however, I do plan on scheduling a service appointment to ensure the abs system is working properly. The vehicle only has 38000 miles and has been driving smoothly, no warning messages or vehicle problems that I am aware of. As a public health professional, I feel it is my duty to report this safety concern. This system seems so faulty and dangerous. Please please please investigate this matter, it's so scary. Sincerely, a public health advocate, wife, and mom of 2. Thank you.

2020 Honda Cr-v hybrid servo brake electrical malfunction has led to braking inconsistencies, unprompted emergency brake application, and numerous dashboard errors. Electric servo brake component needed to be replaced entirely for the vehicle, roughly $2,200 for parts and labor.

I was the first and only car waiting at a stop light, when the light turned green I began to accelerate and as I aproached the crosswalk line the car auto-braked hard. There were no other cars near by, nor pedestrians anywhere. The auto-braking only lasted a second, did not quite come to a full stop and has not repeated. If there had been a car behind me, I could have easily been rear ended. I notified the service department at the dealership and told them of the NHTSA investigation, he said this was the first he has heard of the problem and if it happens again to document it and bring it in for inspection. I will do so. There were no warning lamps or messages before or after the incident.

In 2 opportunities when I am going over a speed bump my SUV senses the bump as a possible hazard and stopped the car from 25 to 0 in a fraction of a second. Both times I have had passengers with me. Almost got rear ended this last time. I went to the dealer the first time this happened and they did not give it enough importance and denied to disable it.

I was pulling into a parking space and to stop but suddenly the vehicle just accelerated forward jumped the curve, straight through some bushes and crashed into a tree. The airbag deployed caused injuries to my right arm, head, chest contusion. Mostly passenger side front and front damages on the vehicle. Police, ambulance, and firefighter came to investigate and to help with my injuries.

Driving at 35-40 mph the automatic brakes "panic" stopped. No car, person or animal in front of car. This happened once before but I thought a construction crew on the roadside may have caused it the firs time.

On 4/14/24, while driving ~45mph with no cars or other obstacles anywhere in sight, automatic braking engaged. It was out of the blue, and alarming. Fortunately, no car was behind me, so no accident occurred. I had no indication of any problem prior to this incident. This problem has not occurred again. The Honda dealer offered to run a diagnostic for $100, but seemed disbelieving that they would find anything, so I did not pursue, still thought it was dangerous enough that I should report this.

Brakes being applied with apparent no reason. It gets applied automatically even when there is no obstruction in front.

This 2020 Honda Cr-v has experienced 5 uncommanded automatic braking events so far. All 5 events were in wet conditions, with no apparent obstacle in front of the vehicle. One of these events occurred on I-35 at 70mph, and resulted in a full stop with the car facing oncoming traffic. The collision mitigation braking system frequently provides false warnings in this vehicle.

The vehicle seems to get a mind of its own and around turns on the highway or by curved roads with a barrier, the vehicle slows down. This has happened quite a few times in different scenarios.

The orange flashing rectangular "brake" warning light on the dashboard display comes on intermittently and randomly while I am driving when there is nothing on the road or in front of the car warning me that the car will be braking itself. This has happened while driving 70 mph on the interstate as well as on local roads going 30-40 mph and in all of these instances there has been nothing in the way of the car! no vehicles. No objects. Nothing. If I had not seen the warning light display on the dashboard and the automatic braking system would have stopped my car while driving 70 mph I could have been killed by a driver behind me on the road running into my car or by severe whiplash from stopping so fast unknowingly. I have reported this to my local Honda dealership where I bought the car (twice now in the last 10 months; once on 8/1/23 and again on 5/9/24). They said they have no knowledge of a potential recall even though I have told them I have read multiple articles in the past several months about a possible recall. I am taking my car to a local body shop to have it scanned to see if they can find anything wrong but the dealership refuses to check the codes as a courtesy free of charge. Honda has suggested I wash my car to clean the sensors of debris which I do very often and the issue just keeps happening. Thank you.

Vehicle activated emergency braking system for no apparent reason. If a vehicle would have been behind us, it may have collided with us. The brake released at around 10 mph.

I was driving 55 mph on north long lake road approaching the north long lake/west long lake intersection. A car was in the turn lane and almost turned to lake ann. Another car was approaching going east. The automatic braking suddenly came on for no reason almost stopping the car in the middle of the road. The crv slowed very quickly from 55 mph to 5 mph for no reason. Then it went off and I was able to speed back up. This is the second time the braking system has stopped the car for no reason. Luckily there was no one behind me. This is the second complaint I have filed to nhsta for the same reason.

Car came to an emergency stop with no cars or other objects in it's path.

At a 4 way stop intersection, when it was my turn, I drove through the intersection and suddenly the automatic braking system stopped the car in the middle of the intersection but there was not anything I was going to collide with. The "brake" warning came on but as soon as I stopped very abruptly, it went off and I was able to drive away. I am terrified that the crv will brake again without warning and a car will hit me.

Whenever it snows, the radar placement on the front grill of the vehicle gets covered in snow/ice, etc. And all advanced safety features are shut off while driving. This has been reported to Honda before over the last 2 years to no avail. This is a safety hazard and also very dangerous while driving in inclement weather.

The contact stated that his granddaughter owned a 2020 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated that while his granddaughter was driving approximately 40 mph, the automatic braking system activated on the instrument panel and the vehicle stopped immediately after the failure. The driver had to wait several minutes before being able to continue driving. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000.

Phantom braking incident. This has changed continually happened since I took delivery of the vehicle. The brakes are autonomously applied for no apparent reason.

On multiple occasions, the car initiated the automated emergency braking, bringing the car to a full and sudden stop in the middle of traffic, despite there being no obstacle, and without first giving a forward collision warning. This easily could have resulted in a catastrophic crash, or at the very least whiplash, at higher speeds. I can provide dashcam footage of one of these events.

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated while driving 40 mph, the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) engaged inadvertently while there were no vehicles or objects nearby the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that they could not duplicate the failure as there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

Several months ago, I was driving on the interstate with cruise control on. I passed a disabled vehicle parked on the shoulder of the highway. My car started to brake like crazy on its own when I passed this vehicle. Fortunately there were no other vehicles next to me or behind me or I could have had a very serious wreck. Last weekend, I was driving in town and already slowing down on my own for a vehicle in front of me. I was barely touching the brakes but the automatic braking slammed on the brakes for no apparent reason and almost caused the car behind me to rear end my vehicle.

The auto brake feature engaged on the beltway by itself and caused the car to come to a complete stop while cars behind us were forced to swerve out of the way to avoid a serious accident. My wife is afraid to keep driving the car and we are now figuring out a way to get rid of it. Reported to local dealer but did not get any response.

I was driving and the automatic emergency breaking activated without warning. I was driving 40 miles per hour with no car near me and the car abruptly stopped without warning. This is the second time this has happened with a similar situation occurring.

Phantom braking incident. As I was driving at approximately 35 mph, the vehicle applied brakes for no apparent reason. Luckily, the vehicle traveling behind me didn't crash into the rear of my vehicle but had this happened when traveling at higher speeds, there would have been a serious accident. This has happened numerous times since owning the vehicle, but only the 2nd time I've reported it here.

When driving at high speed on the highway, I have had instances of both fcw and/or aeb activating when there was no vehicle in front of me. This tends to happen without known cause and while I take the same route every day on my commute, the issue does not always occur. When fcw initiates with a large flashing brake warning on the dash and loud beeping while at highway speeds, I am startled and second guess myself that I am not seeing something I am about to impact with. This creates confusion and can lead to making a maneuver or my braking in error which can cause a crash. This issue has occured numerous times and in speaking with other owners of the same vehicle, they have witnessed the same issue. I have also had aeb initiate at least twice while at highway speeds when there was no vehicle in front of me. This is the most frightening and dangerous issue that I've experienced in any vehicle I have driven. As with the above issue with fcw, there seems to be no way to reproduce the issue and it happens at random. While at highway speeds after receiving the fcw brake warning, my vehicle instantaneously began emergency braking with no vehicle in front of me. This issue is unacceptable and can cause a serious crash on the highway. I speculate that these issues both may be caused by overhead highway signs or bridges but does not seem to occur in error consistently, even when driving the same route. I worry that these issues will cause myself or my family to be seriously injured due to failing safety technology and I have considered disabling these features in my vehicle. These issues have not been inspected nor verified independently as I have felt the issue is unresolvable based on feedback I have heard. At this point I consider myself lucky for not having been in a crash due to these systems failing.

Automatic braking system engaging when no cars or objects are present. Has happened while on highway at relatively high speeds and on regular neighborhood streets.

Too frequently the car automatically hard brakes & flashes "brake" on the dash with no collision imminent but has almost caused accidents in doing so. This has happened turning slowly thru a busy intersection, driving moderate speed straight on a dappled sunlit road with no car around, driving in light traffic on a multi-lane highway at higher speeds. I have had the local Honda techs look at it last year and all they could do is ask if I want the sensitivity turned down. What good is the system if one thwarts what it is supposed to actually do?? also there is no way to clean the front cameras which might have debris causing this. As it is happening more frequently, perhaps a debris collection is precisely the issue. Honda needs to take ownership of this faulty system & fix it!.

Driving north toward lebanon, ohio on route 48. One passenger and one dog in backseat. No one in front passenger seat. Car beeped and alerted to brake then suddenly braked very hard with no cars around or in front.