Honda Accord and CR-V models the subject of investigation
Second NHTSA investigation into phantom braking announced this week
U.S. safety regulators are looking into nearly 2 million Honda vehicles after reports of unintended actuation of the automatic emergency braking feature. The probe affects 2018 and 2019 Honda Accord sedans and 2017-2019 CR-V crossovers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation says (via Automotive News) that it has received a total of 278 complaints alleging “inadvertent activation of the collision mitigation braking system.” That’s 107 Accords and 171 CR-Vs.
“The complaints allege braking incidents, some with large speed changes, occurring with nothing obstructing the vehicle’s path,” said an NHTSA document posted today.
Six of the complaints claim that a collision with minor injuries resulted from the braking events. One complaint said that “twice in the past six months, driving down our rural road to our neighbourhood, the car flashed the ‘brake’ sign on the dash and applied the brakes. After touching the brake pedal, the car returned to its normal speed. The road was clear, with no obstructions, no cars in front or cars [from] coming the other direction.”
The safety probe doesn’t mean a recall. At this point, NHTSA investigators request information from the manufacturer that includes complaints, reported injuries, and even warranty claims involving the affected components. From there, based on NHTSA’s findings, if there is a safety-related defect, then a recall request can be issued to the manufacturer, starting a recall and fix of the issue.
The NHTSA announced earlier this week that it was also investigating 400,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y EVs after receiving 354 complaints from drivers of those vehicles that also involved unexpected operation of automatic emergency braking features.
