Service Brakes Problems of Honda CR-V - part 2

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.

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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).

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Stiff brake pedal when trying to start the vehicle, happens intermittently. Purchased 6-4-25, repeatedly complained to darcars of bowie soon after the purchase of the vehicle. The issue is still happening to this present day. Each time the issue was raised, the situation was completely ignored. No inspection was performed before the purchase of this vehicle. On 6-25-25 after repeated attempts to have the vehicle looked at, the vehicle was taken in for service and nothing was done, brake pedal still stiffens on and off. On 6-30-25, made one more attempt to have the vehicle looked at. Vehicle is currently in the shop.

June 2, 2025 –started slowing for stoplight and left turn. Car again was not slowing down as expected when braking so I pressed harder on the brake pedal. It slowed down then but I didn’t go to a complete stop because traffic was moving. Instead, I let the car creep a bit while waiting for an opening to turn left. I then drove a couple of blocks to a 4-way stop where the revving started again when the car came to a full stop. I put it into park, and it went to 8000 rpm. I turned it off and back on—again back to 8000 rpm. Wouldn’t come out of park. Turned off again and back on—same thing. Turned off and took my foot off of the brake. The car lurched forward quite a bit before stopping—guess the parking gear took hold then. I started the car again, and the rpm was normal. This is the second occurrence. Occurred first time in late June, 2024. - braking and speed control affected - car trying to accelerate when applying brake can lead to accident harming me and potentially others - problem has occurred three times over the past year - vehicle was checked and diagnostics run by dealership in July, 2024. Nothing found, was not able to recreate the scenario. No diagnostics available. - no warnings, messages, or other symptoms other than car not slowing as expected. Took car back to dealership on 6/6/2025 who reminded me that they didn't find anything last time. Am taking it to different dealer for a check this time.

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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.

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.

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

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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.

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.

The contact owns a 2022 Honda Cr-v. While the contact's husband was driving at 10 mph, the brakes independently engaged. There were no warning lights illuminated. In addition, the seat belts tightened up. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. In addition, the contact stated that the failure had previously occurred while the contact was driving. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 17,735.

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The brake system on my 2025 Honda Cr-v hybrid produces a pronounced creaking and groaning noise when releasing the brake pedal from a stop, especially on steep slopes. The issue becomes significantly louder when the vehicle is carrying more passengers/full luggage. This noise is distracting to the driver, particularly in stop-and-go traffic and on inclines and reduces confidence in safe braking performance. The condition creates a risk of delayed reaction or loss of focus while driving. The dealership was able to reproduce the noise during testing [only flat road/parking] but dismissed it as “characteristic. ” however, the noise in my vehicle is noticeably louder than other Cr-v hybrids. The issue was not tested under the full conditions I described (steep slope and full load). I have driven another 2025 Cr-v hybrid (owned by a friend), and it does not exhibit any such issue. The problem has been present since shortly after purchase and continues to worsen. There are no warning lamps or diagnostic messages associated with the condition. I have all documented noise in video format - available to share on request. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated that approximately four times while driving approximately 35 mph, the brake warning light flashed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle unexpectedly came to a complete stop for several seconds before unintendedly accelerating. The contact expressed concerns about driving the vehicle with his grandchildren inside the vehicle due to the failures. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer who also failed to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000.

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While stopped at a red light I thought a car was rolling back into me. I took my brain a hot second to realize maybe I was rolling forward into him? but no, I told myself, my foot was on the brake and was pushing as hard as I could once I thought it was me (yep, should have hit the parking brake, but it all happened super-fast). I rolled into him, the light turned green and he pulled ahead, I got aside him rolled window down to ask if his vehicle was standard as I was still convinced he rolled back into me. Needless to say he said no and pretty much ripped me a new asshole for tapping him - I apologized and said "I thought you rolled into me". Brake hold is always on but I was not using the hold, my foot was on the pedal (pushing like a madwoman at one point).

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Recently ([xxx]) my wife was left stranded away from home when our 2020 Cr-v started but would not go into any gear and had multiple warning messages about system failures including brake system problem (no working brakes), electric parking brake problem, tire pressure monitor problem, transmission system problem and auto engine idle stop system problem. If she had removed the [xxx] that cut the wires while driving the brakes would have stopped working. She had to call for a tow truck to take her to the Honda dealer. The Honda technician found that wires running under the rear view mirror had been cut by the [xxx] she uses causing a short and a malfunction of the computer system. The repair cost was $2451. This is an obvious design flaw by Honda. My wife is a [xxx] and all [xxx] are designed to hang over the rear view mirror. Honda should not have left exposed wires there under the rearview mirror, they should have been enclosed and protected. Anyone using a [xxx] is at risk of cutting these wires which makes the vehicle undriveable. [xxx] people are most at risk of being stranded. Anyone with a 2020 Honda Cr-v and using a [xxx] should be warned about this problem immediately. Our vehicle was repaired at Honda of stevens creek in san jose CA and the repair bill was $2451. The technician even did a video showing how the [xxx] cut the wire. We request that Honda reimburse us for our repair cost of $2451 and for Honda to fix this issue before more [xxx] people are left stranded.

As I was driving about 20 mph on a two lane road through a neighborhood, I went through an area with cones on either side of the road where the road narrowed some because of construction. There were large metal or steel plates covering the road for about 4 feet or so over the asphalt, but nothing that impeded driving forward. As I approached that area, my car’s brake message flashed a few times and beeped before my car abruptly slammed to a stop in the middle of the road, shortly before the metal plates. This happened so quickly that I was unable to react when I first saw the flashing “brake” message and heard the beeping. No one was behind me so I didn’t get hit, but I would have if someone had been following.

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.

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.

Today was the fourth time that the automatic breaking system engaged when there was no other car present to trigger it. I was going under 5 miles an hour. The car next to me was making a left-hand turn, and there was no car in front of me to cause the breaking system to engage with such a force that I thought I was rear-ended by a truck.

New 3 month old vehicle with less than 5000 miles without warning had full failure of brake pedal simulator control unit while on road. Immediately lost use of brakes and parking brake. Luckily driver was on a back road going uphill and was able to bring vehicle to a standstill. Honda will not provide answers regarding reason/cause for unit failure. They also cannot provide advice on how to respond if replacement brake pedal simulator control unit was to fail in the future.

Engine rpm surged while nose- in parking with foot on brake, causing vehicle to unexpectedly jump the parking barrier and hit a steel sign post, incurring $3,300 cosmetic damage to left front of vehicle. Pressed harder on brake to stop. Cost estimate obtained, complaint filed with american Honda.

I applied my brake pedal to slow for traffic just before entering a roundabout. I came nearly to a full stop, but then with my foot still on the brake pedal, the car surged forward as if I had floored the gas pedal. I kept pressing very hard on the brake pedal, but the car kept speeding forward. I was able to steer in between 2 oncoming cars without hitting them. My left front tire then hit the curb and the car bounced off a metal traffic sign post. I then went down a steep dirt embankment and crashed into a swale with some large rocks. My car finally came to a stop, rim deep in soft dirt just off the shoulder of the road. I did not notice any warning lights come on. I don't know what system malfunctioned, but it had something to do with fuel delivery and possibly the cruise control and automatic braking functions. I was very lucky I was not injured. This malfunction could have caused a serious and possibly a fatal crash. This malfunction put me and nearby motorists at risk of being hit by an out of control vehicle. I checked the floor mat and it was not displaced. There were no loose objects that could have affected the gas or brake pedals. The police officer accused me of stepping on the gas instead of the brake, but that was definitely not the case, regardless of what he may write in his report. The car is currently at a local collision repair shop. They will be checking with the code reader to see if any codes come up involving the fuel and braking systems. My insurance adjuster has inspected the car through photos taken by the repair shop. The shop is currently taking the car apart to assess further damage underneath. I am expecting a progress report tomorrow or Tuesday, March 25. This malfunction exactly fits the description of "sudden unexpected acceleration". I have found 62 similar cases after a cursory internet search, so this is nothing new.

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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 morning, March 5, 2025, while driving to work, my 2018 Cr-v abruptly stopped in the middle of an intersection with no need and little warning. Thank god nobody was behind me at the time. Everything not bolted or belted down came forward immediately. After the incident I pulled into a convenience store to regroup, calm down and turn off my automatic braking system which I no longer trust. I have a short, 15 second video (mp4) from my dash cam but was unable to attach it for this report.

The contact owns a 2022 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was started, and the brake warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact stated the brake pedal felt spongy. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 68,500.

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.

Driving on a regular paved road following the speed limit (35 miles per hour) when the automatic emergency braking system engaged randomly; the car speed went from 35 miles to a near and sudden stop and almost caused a rear-end collision. Phantom braking. This is the second time this has happened with no visible reason in terms of road conditions or flying birds, blowing trash, etc. That could explain this. I am afraid to drive the car out of fear that phantom braking will cause an accident/potential injuries. I cannot imagine this happening on a freeway at higher speed—distater. I was driving on a viaduct (on the top level with car traffic below and on the first occasion, with a river running below). Could it be that the safety features such as camera sensors are misfiring and putting people in real danger. It makes no sense for safety features such as are making driving more dangerous than without them. I am going to have to spend $250 for Honda mechanic to diagnose and who knows how much to repair it, but it is clearly an engineering/mechanical problem created by Honda. This vehicle also fewer than 40k miles on it despite being a 2018 model. Please, please require Honda to issue a recall before something tragic happens.

I was driving the vehicle on route i287 and all of a sudden the break system got activated without touching any button and the car speed was damped down and as a result the car was pulled aside to see what had happened. The break system completely collapsed with a break sign on the dashboard appearing persistently which could not be deactivated or was not able to remove from the dashboard with several attempts made in restarting the engine. Due to the involuntary break activation on highway driving, my life as well others would have been in extreme danger and jeopardized the whole situation in continuing driving further. The car was towed on a flat bed to the the dealer the Honda princenton, new jersey for further investigation and got analyzed for the root cause and they suggested a fix of head gasket replacement, a major repair, asking us to fix the vehicle at the cost of 6000 dollars. Previously, I had driven several Hondas and never experienced break issues on the cars and we had invested in buying this time the Honda Cr-v and what we went through this vehicle something like this is not fair for the customer has to go through a major repair on the vehicle at such a low milage of 127,000 put on the car which never was involved in an accident and driving the car on high way every day to the work place. We want a complete restoration of the vehicle at free of cost and get it certified and drivable safely on the road.

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Cr-v. The contact stated while stationary and attempting to start the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle jerked back and forth. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated including the brake system lights. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with vsa modulator failure and brake booster failure. The vehicle was at the dealer awaiting the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,486.

I was driving on an empty two lane road going 35-40 mph. The car braked suddenly and the brake warning light came on but no sound. On the way to the service department at the dealership it happened again, only this time I was going 20 mph and in traffic. There was a car in front of me at least 3 car lengths but was moving. I heard the brakes of the car behind me squeal as he avoided hitting me. No sound from my car, the brake light came on, I also put my foot on the brake thinking maybe the car sensed an encroachment I didn’t notice. But there was none, so I released the brake before coming to a complete stop. The service department inspected the system and could not reproduce or confirm any issues. There was no warning sound, the brake came on at the same time as the light. There was no warning, the light came on at the same time as the brake.

The contact owned a 2023 Honda Cr-v hybrid. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 50 mph, the vehicle in front slowed down, the brake pedal was depressed but traveled down to the floorboard, but the vehicle failed to respond and rear-ended the vehicle in front. The contact stated that the vehicle bounced and spun around, facing incoming traffic. The contact was unsure whether there was a warning light illuminated. The contact was unsure if any other vehicle had crashed into his vehicle. The driver-side air bag did not deploy; only the driver-side curtain air bag and the passenger-side air bags deployed. The contact was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The doctor diagnosed that the patient had sustained injury to the lower back; the l4 was severely damaged. The contact's chest and head hit the steering wheel. The contact underwent surgery and was scheduled for physical therapy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown towing yard. The insurance company was notified and deemed the vehicle a total loss. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.