Forward Collision Avoidance owner reports: Honda CR-V years in the records

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“Driving 35 mph in my 2019 CRV EX, and all of a sudden, the brake started braking on its own. There was no warning, and the brake warning light came on several times with the brake braking on and off several times. There were not any objects, cars, or obstructions around. We (friend as passenger) came to a sudden stop when the braking first started up. It felt like major whiplash with jerking like motions. This lasted about 5 seconds and was just shocking. Our chests hurt afterwards, and it felt like the life was taken out of us. I was not using the cruise control/CMBS on at the time, but it was on to use if needed. I called Stirling Honda the next day about the problem and scheduled an appt. to bring the SUV in 6/22/2023. The lady did not seem to be too worried in my opinion. I actually have not been using the cruise control and CMBS at all, and actually have disabled it (turned off). This is a big safety concern, and thank God there was not a car in front of me or in back of me. I cannot imagine being at a higher speed and this happening.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“On June 17, 2022 I had front end collision. I was stopped at a traffic light and went to move up closer to the car in front of me. When I touched the accelerator my accelerated very quickly in and removed my foot from the pedal. The engine continued to rev even though my foot was on the break. I was not seriously injured. The car that I hit had 2 people in it and they looked ok at the scene. I think they are being evaluated for injuries. I am waiting to take it to Progressive Insurance Network collision center. But they don’t seem to be interested in anything but body work.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“On October 7, 2025, I was driving to work. There was a steel metal plate of approximately 1 inch height lying flat on the roadway, presumably to cover up a pothole or other utility work. The steel metal plate was near an intersection where I was to be turning left. I was driving relatively slow as it was almost time to make the left turn, about 15-20 mph. When I was almost upon the steel metal plate my car braked to a complete stop because of the Collision Mitigation Braking System. The intense deceleration has had my back in pain all day, and my neck is slowly starting to hurt as well. I feel like I was in a car accident from how quickly my car came to a stop over what appeared to be the steel plate tripping the CMBS. My vehicle is available for inspection upon request. My safety was at risk due to the back and neck pain I am currently experiencing. If a car had been driving behind me, I would have almost certainly been rear ended which could have created further injury. This feature cannot be permanently disabled and needs to be able to be. It's an undue burden on the driver of the car to have to turn it off every time the car starts. I am concerned someone else will drive my car and not know to turn off that feature and they will be injured or in an accident.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“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.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“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.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“The CMBS suddenly engaged the brakes when there was no other vehicle on the road no less in front of the vehicle. The brakes very forcefully engaged causing the vehicle to slam to a stop. The light has come on previously on occasion with no cause but the brakes have never been engaged till now.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“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.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“I was driving my 2019 Honda CRV yesterday and it slammed on the brakes to a complete stop all by itself. It shocked me and jerked my head so badly. If I wasn't wearing my seat belt I would have gone through the windshield. If someone was driving behind me, they would have hit me. Please advise on what I should do. There is not a recall but online I saw there were other occurrences like this. This is the first time this has happened since I bought the car new. I have not taken it to the dealer yet. The brake warning light came on as it was braking.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“Vehicle has had phantom braking and accelerations, occurrences of "Christmas tree dashboard" with all system alerts going off - have been intermittent, far between and unsure how to go about presenting to dealership or auto repair due to this - however THIS OCCURRED TODAY AND CAUSED A COLLISION/ ACCIDENT! My looking into the issue online has shown that this is a problem that many others have also had and that NHTSA has opened an investigation into it with honda! AGAIN - MY VEHICLE IS NOW DAMAGED AND I AM INJURED DUE TO THIS SYSTEM MALFUNCTION/ERROR! Today while in slow moving traffic to turn onto interstate, car started having the phantom breaking and jolting forwards out of my control. All of the system failure alerts started going off (I've been able to clear in the past by turning off and turning on car multiple times in a row and on the 5-7th restart they go away) - while slowing moving forward across railroad tracks - the railroad lights and barriers then also started to decend (unexpectedly, as they had just been down shortly before - less than 2 minutes) - I attempted to accelerate forward to clear my vehicle from the tracks and my vehicle jolted forward - despite my own braking, the vehicle's forward collision mitigation also failed and the brakes did not/would not apply hard enough (or as hard as I was applying) in order to prevent collision with vehicle in front of me. I attempted to veer to the left at the last second to avoid any collision - which limited damage to truck in front of me to very minimal, but my car's front right is moderately damaged. ADDITIONALLY - driver airbag deployed despite speed being under 35mph and collision not at a level that warranted airbag deployment - thus ALSO INJURING ME AND CAUSING ADDITIONAL CAR DAMAGE. NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY DUE TO PERSON INJURIES AND VEHICLE IMPAIRMENT!”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“On December 30, 2022 I was driving my vehicle between the speed of 40-45 MPH through an intersection on a overcast day mid afternoon around 11:30 AM there were no vehicles in front, behind, or either side of me. I was the only vehicle in the intersection. All of a sudden the car did an automatic hard brake. So hard I was lifted off my seat and my head almost hit the steering wheel. The mid of my back from the force back into to my seat has hurt me for a few days after the incident. Luckily there was no one behind me or I'm sure I would have been rear ended due to the hard sudden stop for no reason at all. A few days later after the holidays on January 4, 2023 I called my local Honda Service Department told them about the incident and asked if they needed to inspect my vehicle or anything they could do to fix the system. I was told there is nothing they can do at this time Honda Corporation as a whole has not done any kind of update to the programing or summited any kind of service requirement to correct. He advised for me to turn the function off every time I turn on my vehicle. At this time Honda or no one else has inspected the vehicle and I have continued to turn the function off so it has not reoccurred at this time and I sure hope to never experience it again. There were no warning lamps or messages the day of the incident. Since I have owed the vehicle on multiple occasions I have gotten a "Brake" message pop up on the dash when nothing is in front of me but never has the vehicle did an auto brake like it did on December 30th.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“In the past month, or so, my automatic emergency braking system has initiated, for no apparent reason. Last night's incident was the most severe. I was driving about 25-30 miles per hour, accelerating (to get to the speed limit of 35 mph), when the car's automatic braking system slammed on the brakes, causing my car to lunge forward. It was not a slight brake slowdown; it was a strong, immediate, brief stop. I am grateful that nobody was traveling close behind me, otherwise I would have been rear-ended. The very strong motion jerked me so that both of my wrists and my neck are now hurting. I am now very nervous about driving my vehicle; and, especially having passengers with me. I have left a message for the service manager at my Honda dealer (where I purchased my new vehicle in 2019), and am awaiting a return call.”

The records describe a problem worth checking before purchase.

“When entering an interstate at rush hour, I was the first car in the line of those entering, and there were no cars ahead of me in the remaining length of lane. At the top of the ramp, with nothing in front of me, my car suddenly came to a complete stop with the screen flashing BREAK, telling me the automatic breaking engaged. The force of the break while driving 55 mph caused my body to fly forward (to the extent allowed by the seatbelt) and later a bruise across my chest. Everything loose in my car became a projectile. The car immediately behind me had to swerve to avoid hitting me, avoiding an accident. Problem is not reproducible as the system otherwise "works fine" and the car passes inspections. The car was under a year old at that point, and there were no other issues, warning lights, etc.”