Automatic Emergency Braking Problems of Honda CR-V - part 2

While traveling northwest at 37 mph, the automatic brake system engaged jolting the driver. The camera shows no objects in front of but there were two vehicles traveling southeast in the opposite lane prior to the brakes applying. There were shadows from trees. If there was a vehicle behind, and the driver did not react fast enough, this would have been a rearend collision. This is the third time that the automatic brake system engaged for no reason since we have owned this vehicle (Dec 2021) and each time it has been reported to the ntsb. In the past two cases, there were no vehicles or shadows from trees, since we were in the desert. The previous two times, the vehicle was inspected by the dealership with no defect noted (under warranty). There were no dashboard warning notices indicating an issue. The vehicle will be resubmitted to a dealership for inspection for this third incident (not under warranty).

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On [xxx] around 5 pm, when driving below 30 miles per hour within a residential community, automatic braking was activated without any obstruction in front of the vehicle, leading to sudden decrease in speed. Vehicle is in baton rouge, la and all service/maintenance were done according to recommended schedule by Honda at the authorized dealership where the vehicle was purchased. Through online search, I found NHTSA opened an investigation for the same problem. If possible, I would appreciate an update about the status of NHTSA investigation and what action I should take. Thank you [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2022 Honda CR-V 🔎.

I had 2 occasions in one day where my car did a phantom brake. It was unexpected and got me concerned and nervous. No orher car in front of me to cause this issue.

Back in July, my car started having the lights come on; it lit up the whole dashboard. The brake system, tire pressure, brake hold system, hill start, adaptive cruise control, etc. It affected the power of the vehicle. There was no acceleration at all. It was like it went in limp mode. This has happened numerous times. The other problem is starting it was making a hesitation to start. It would also start rough as in almost like a shake. We noticed that it was using antifreeze more often than it should and would get hot sitting still. That's when we took car to be inspected by a certified mechanic and that's when we found out that we needed a new engine due to antifreeze seeping into the engine.

See all problems of the 2017 Honda CR-V 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2019 Honda CR-V 🔎.

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.

Was driving on a main road in the afternoon. There was a car ahead of us, but not directly ahead, and did not have its break lights go on. My car suddenly flashed the "break now" sign and put on the breaks without warning. Fortunately, there was no one behind us, and I was able to continue without incident. This has never happened before, but it really shook me, as it could have been a very dangerous situation. Had there been another car right behind us, we would have been rear ended. It makes me nervous to drive my car, as I don't know if this could happen again.

See all problems of the 2018 Honda CR-V 🔎.

• during the short time I have owned this vehicle the automatic emergency braking system has engaged 3-4 times when there was no object in front of the vehicle. The vehicle can be made available upon request. • all incidents happened when driving on the freeway. Fortunately no one was following me which could have resulted in my being rear ended for a sudden stop. • I took the vehicle into the dealership service center today (8/8/25) where they told me it is normal and I should just be a good driver, keeping my distance from vehicle to the front of me. They stated that if they were to replace it the same thing would occur. The problem has not been reproduced by the service center. • when these issues have occurred on one occasion the braking alert sounded ( beeping noise) and then the car started braking. On the other occurrences I do not recall the alert. The car just started braking. Other than that there were no warnings it was going to happen.

This braking issue happened on 4 occasions. While in stop and go traffic I would be braking, nursing the brakes the car would take over and slam me to a complete stop. It would not go again until I hit the gas. On two of those occasions the car behind me had to move into the nxt lane or over to the shoulder. The last time the seatbelt caught me so hard I had shoulder and neck pain for about 3 weeks (I work in rehab so my CO workers worked on my neck and shoulders)I did take it to Honda after the first two incidences and they said there was nothing wrong, that’s just how the sensors are. I asked if the sensors could be turned off and they replied no. After the last incident where my shoulder and neck got hurt and the poor guy behind me almost hit the wall on the shoulder, I went the next day and traded it in. I lost my 5k that I put down and the car depreciated by several thousand in 4mos but it was not worth driving it and ending up in a major accident with major injuries to myself or another driver.

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.

While driving on the freeway the brake light flashed and slowed down when nothing was on the road but cars, luckily there was no traffic behind me , I don’t like that the car did this itself in the middle of traffic, could of caused an accident.

On 4 seperate occasions I have had my collision avoidance system activate suddenly, with no warning. Immediately initiating braking with no danger, no car, nothing in front of me. Twice going thru an intersection, twice crossing a security barrier at work. My dash gives the brake warning and within 5 seconds immediately brakes for nothing in front of me. It almost caused an accident with the car behind me twice. It has not been troubleshot by the dealer or mechanic. The dealer hasn't been responsive to past concerns about other problems with the infotainment system/display so im not expecting them to take this seriously. It also doesnt duplicate easily.

While driving along in a normal manner the anti collision braking system applies the brakes causing a violent DE acceleration of the vehicle, throwing the occupants in the car forward in a very disconcerting manner along with throwing articles in the car forward violently towards the occupants and windshield. There was no discernible reason why the vehicle should have done this as there was nothing in front of the car that was subject to an uncontrollable collision. This has happened to me and my wife a total of three time and we haven’t owned the vehicle for even a year yet. The first time this happened the problem was brought to the attention of the selling dealer who in their dealership shop said their technicians had gone over the car electronics and sensors and found nothing wrong. They moved our “easy pass” transponder and said it may have caused the mishap. I don’t think so as it was not within the “eyesight “ of the forward looking camera.

The vehicle has occasionally hard decelerated (braked) for no apparent reason. The term seems to be "phantom braking". This has been going on for a while for my wife and me when either of us is driving. My wife doesn't usually use cruise control and I use it most of the time.

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The contact owns a 2021 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) independently activated, causing the vehicle to suddenly come to a stop, and the front driver’s and front passenger’s side seat belts to independently lock. The contact stated that the brake warning light was illuminated. An appointment was scheduled with the dealer to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA action number: ea24002 (forward collision avoidance). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

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.

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This is to report an activation of the collision mitigation braking system on my Honda 2018 crv despite there being no collision danger. While driving approximately 30 mph on a 2 lane suburban residential street, my car suddenly slowed when the cmbs system engaged despite my car being at an ample following distance from the car ahead. There were no pedestrians or any obstructions in the road. I believe my safety was at risk because there was no reason for my car to reduce speed and luckily the car behind me did not hit me. My car slowed considerably but did not stop. I have not had the car inspected or serviced with regard to this problem. There were no other warning lamps or messages prior to the system engaging.

I am reporting a serious safety issue with my 2021 Honda Cr-v involving the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs). On multiple occasions, the vehicle has applied the brakes suddenly and forcefully without any obstacle or vehicle in front of me. This had happened over 20 times since I bought the car on March 10 2024. The most recent incident occurred while I was driving at highway speed on a clear, dry day. The cmbs system engaged abruptly, causing the car to decelerate rapidly and slamed breaks automatically. There were no vehicles, pedestrians, or obstructions ahead. This unexpected braking could have easily resulted in a rear-end collision, endangering me and other drivers. I have kids in the back sit and the car behind us almost hit my car. I am afraid the result might have been much worse if there was truck behind my car. I took the vehicle to the Honda dealership, but they were unable to replicate the issue and did not offer a fix. They also mentioned that unless the problem could be duplicated, any diagnostic or repair fees would not be covered, despite this being a known issue under investigation by the NHTSA. I am aware that the NHTSA has an open engineering analysis (ea24-002) into this very issue affecting millions of Honda vehicles. I’m deeply concerned that this problem continues to put drivers and passengers at risk and believe a formal recall is necessary. I request that this issue be escalated and that Honda be held accountable for a fix before someone gets seriously injured or killed. Please contact me if additional details or documentation are needed.

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.

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.

I was parking in our apartment's parking lot when I attempted a left turn to pull in front-facing toward the wall. Within seconds, and without understanding how or why, the car continued forward and hit the wall. Initially, I reported to the insurance company that I either didn’t brake or found the brake too late. However, the truth is—I do not clearly remember what happened. My mph had to be low. When the car hit the wall, several emergency systems were triggered: an automatic emergency call was made, collision alerts sounded, and the brakes activated. During the collision, my left arm was burned by the steering wheel where the Honda logo is located. The burn left a visible imprint of the Honda logo on my skin. Only some of the airbags deployed: the steering wheel and right-side window airbags were activated. However, the driver's side window airbags did not deploy. My concerns and complaints include: 1. The failure of the driver’s window airbag to deploy 2. The burn on my arm caused by the steering wheel’s Honda emblem 3. The inconsistent performance of the emergency braking system, which only works sometimes.

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).

My 2021 Honda Cr-v has experienced incidents where it suddenly and unexpectedly applied the brakes while I was driving, despite: - no vehicle, pedestrian, or object is present in front of me - no driver input on the brake pedal - not using cruise control at the time my car occasionally jerks or shows warning lights before stopping, sometimes without any warning. I suspect an issue with the collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) or related driver-assistance components. These braking incidents occurred under normal driving conditions and pose a high risk of being rear-ended. My car's issues remain unresolved, and I feel unsafe while driving my vehicle. Two dealerships conducted four diagnostic tests (on 18, 19, 21, and 24 may 2025) to evaluate the Honda collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) and the associated driver-assistance components. But no issues were identified during these evaluations. - 23 may 2025, I discussed my car’s issues with a Honda case manager (in California). He did not accept any responsibility for the reported Honda braking issues. - 27 may 2025, I filed a formal complaint with Honda customer service. Honda has not taken any action to address my car’s issues.

Phantom braking problem. On a sunny day, I was driving 25:mph on a street that was being repaired. A steel plate was covering a hole. The system activated emergency braking, slamming on the brakes and flashing "brake" and beeping.

With 700 miles on our 2025 Cr-v ex-l owned for only a month, we had just exited from a 100-mile highway trip onto city streets near our home when the driver display suddenly started flashing warnings of failures for all driver safety systems, one after another, causing us to immediately stop in the middle lane filled with traffic and not knowing what to do or how to proceed. We pulled over at the next stoplight & quickly put the car in park, which stopped the endless warnings. When the stoplight turned green, we proceeded on the half mile trip home without further warnings. We have not moved the vehicle since the incident so have no idea if &/or when this might happen again. I have since found multiple online reports of the same type of event happening to other crv owners, with dealer repair shops "guessing" what is causing the problem & "fixing" everything from fuel injectors & sensors to engine harnesses and battery replacements to vehicle computer updates and cylinder misfires, often with the problem recurring anyway. See: 1. [xxx] 2. [xxx] a number of Cr-v owners reporting this issue say their vehicle immediately slowed to "limp mode" down to 35mph on the freeway, which was very scary and dangerous! since we were driving at city speed we cannot know if our car also experienced limp mode. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I was driving down a main road and with no cars in front of me, my automatic emergency breaking came on, flashed brake and then brought my car to an immediate stop. I made an appointment at my dealership. The dealership said there were no recalls and said they would charge me $50 to try to recreate the issue but they didn't think they would be able to recreate it.

While driving down the road at about 45 mph, my 2024 crv automatically applied the brakes while there was not anything in front of me. I’m [xxx] and honestly it scared me. I’m just wanting to report this because I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I have not taken it to the dealer as this was the first time. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I had 2 unrelated issues in the past 2 days: 1) rear door actuator malfunction. The door won't lock or unlock as part of the central locking system 2) the "break" alert went off without any cars around. Happened once, breaks weren't activated by the car.

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

Similar to the open investigation on these crvs, we have had at least 3 occurrences of the vehicle activating automatic emergency breaking with nothing obstructing the vehicles path. There were, however, metal plates in the roadway to cover utility trenches. These are designed for vehicles to drive over them all day, every day, so the vehicle should not emergency stop. Although there were luckily no rear end collisions as a result of this, it was certainly possible given how abrupt the stop was.

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.

I am filing a formal complaint regarding the safety systems on my 2025 Honda Cr-v ex-l, particularly the overly aggressive collision mitigation braking system (cmbs) and intrusive lane keep assist. While driving my children to school, my Cr-v violently slammed the brakes because a scooter was creeping toward an intersection — clearly not entering traffic. The rider and I made eye contact, fully aware of each other, and there was an open left lane for evasive action if needed (it wasn't). Despite my clear judgment, the cmbs intervened, causing a violent deceleration that launched objects inside the vehicle, scared everyone, and increased the risk of a rear-end collision. I am shocked that Honda eliminated the hardware button to quickly disable cmbs. Now drivers must perform a multi-step procedure every time the vehicle starts — an unreasonable and unsafe burden. I previously owned a 2014 accord and was a loyal, satisfied customer. I love nearly everything else about the Cr-v, but these flawed "safety" systems are a potential deal-breaker. Sudden deceleration can cause concussions and greatly increase the chance of secondary accidents. Lane keep assist has created additional dangers. When I move slightly within my lane to create space from a semi-truck, the system unnecessarily corrects my steering. This is distracting and unsafe. Good drivers adjust dynamically, but these systems undermine good judgment rather than enhancing safety. Technology that overrides competent drivers is reckless, not "intelligent. " I request two changes: (1) reinstate a hardware button to easily disable automatic emergency braking, and (2) allow cmbs and lane keep assist settings to persist across drives. Honda must redesign these systems with real-world driving in mind. Features that destroy driver trust are dangerous, not protective. I am deeply disappointed, frustrated, and have lost trust in my Cr-v — a serious failure for a brand I once admired.

Driving on the highway going 55 mph when the car in front of me in the left lane more than 5 car lengths began to break, recognizing this I put my blinker on and tried to switch to the right lane when suddenly the automatic breaking kicked in and slowed the car down to a near stop. I was unable to deactivate with the break or the gas for a few seconds and by that time I was stuck between the lanes nearly getting t-boned in the right lane before the car swerved to avoid my vehicle. Had there been someone behind me in the left lane I would have surely been in a terrible and fatal accident. I was in complete control of the car and received no more than a one second warning (in the form of a short beep) that the automatic breaks would kick in suddenly. This put myself and my passenger in serious danger. This is not the first time this has happened and has happened as I have approached an exit on the highway as well. Again, fortunately no one was driving behind me that time as well. There is something seriously wrong and I no longer trust the safety of my vehicle. There is also no way for me to turn this feature off until there is a formal recall issued. The dealership says there is no active recall therefore I will need to pay $175 to get the issue checked out.