More Honda Vehicles Under Investigation for Phantom Braking

If you own a 2019-2022 Honda Passport or 2019-2021 Honda Insight and have experienced unintentional intervention of the automatic emergency braking system, you’re not alone.

On Monday, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a preliminary investigation covering more than 250,000 units of these two models. The governmental agency’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has so far received 46 complaints from drivers, including reports of three crashes or fires and two injuries.

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Honda has not yet offered a public statement or explanation.

The NHTSA will take a detailed look at the complaints and either continue its investigation or put an end to it. Depending on what it finds, a recall may follow.

This is not the first time Honda vehicles are probed for so-called phantom braking. In February 2022, a similar NHTSA investigation involved more than 1.7 million 2018-2019 Accord sedans and 2017-2019 CR-V crossovers equipped with the automaker’s collision mitigation braking system. As it turned out, however, no recall was deemed necessary.

Drivers of vehicles from other makes, including Mazda, have also reported incidents where the auto braking system stepped in for no apparent reason. The technology, which relies on various sensors and oftentimes a camera, is far from perfect. As a matter of fact, recent studies by the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have shown its limited effectiveness at night as well as with motorcycles and large trucks.