A probe had been launched back in February over issues with the autonomous emergency braking system of Honda vehicles
The 2018-2019 CR-V and Accord can brake for no reason
7 million vehicles are affected in the United States
Back in February, the NHTSA launched a probe into Honda’s autonomous braking system and it is now requesting more information from the automaker.
This probe was justified by a large number of complaints from drivers of the 2018 and 2019 CR-V and Accord who claim their vehicle performed an emergency stop for no apparent reason, sometimes causing damage and injuries.
The government agency wants to know more specific details about the system and its operation, including the exact number of vehicles equipped with Honda Sensing or AcuraWatch on American roads and any differences in the performance of the system that have been observed between the models that are equipped with it.
In addition, the NHTSA will take a closer look at the system’s operation, namely the reaction time of its sensors and its interaction with the other driver assistance technologies.
Honda will also have to disclose any information it has about any crash that caused injuries or death in vehicles equipped with autonomous braking, as well as all of the factors that can impair the proper function of the system, such as glare or snow.
The automaker will have until August 12 to forward the required information to the NHTSA in order to avoid fines that could reach $122 million.
Honda is not the only company to be investigated due to reports of phantom braking since Tesla is in the same boat, the NHTSA having received 354 complaints about its Autopilot system.
This has also led the agency to investigate driver assistance systems more broadly and it has uncovered close to 400 collisions involving them.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tesla and Honda were the two companies with the most crashes, with 273 for Tesla and 90 for Honda.
The information it will receive from Honda will help the NHTSA to build its proposed legislation that would make autonomous emergency braking mandatory on every new light-duty vehicle in the US.
This legislation would include a standard that the systems have to meet in order to prevent automakers from using a cheaper system that is less effective on their more affordable models.
