The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced an upgrade to an investigatory probe its offices are conducting on close to three million Honda Accord and CR-V models. The probe's focus is on numerous reports of unexpected automated emergency braking system activation, which may have caused numerous crashes and injuries.
What's the Problem with the Affected Vehicles?
Honda calls the technology in question its Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), which is basically a combination of cameras and sensors that trigger emergency brakes when they detect an obstacle in front of the vehicle. According to NHTSA information, the probe started in early 2022 following reports of the CMBS system activating even with no evident obstruction in the vehicle's path, leading to "rapid vehicle deceleration which increases the risk of a collision."
Corporate communications often try to put a fancy spin on something that would benefit from plain language. I'm sure most folks get the gist of "rapid vehicle deceleration," but all the same, picture that in practical terms: Someone is simply driving at traffic speeds when their car decides out of nowhere to slam its own brakes. Just about everyone can see how that creates high risk of crashes on any street or highway with decent traffic.
How is a Probe Different from a Recall?
Since we mostly write about situations where either a manufacturer or the NHTSA have already issued a recall, it seems like a good idea to quickly differentiate between those and probes.
Basically, when the NHTSA says it's "probing" an issue that means it's still under investigation and unconfirmed. Recalls are the action taken when a probe turns up information that warrants a response to protect the public. Many probes eventually result in recalls once a safety defect is clearly identified and confirmed as a mass-scale concern.
So to be clear, the Honda brake issue is at this point just a probe by NHTSA standards, albeit one upgraded within their system to "engineering analysis." That may have something to do with the agency receiving over a thousand complaints of Honda vehicles braking unexpectedly, but even with almost 3 million of them on the line more testing is needed before a recall might be issued.
Which Vehicles are Affected by the Potential Defect?
The current probe is being handled by the NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), just one of many sub-acronyms within the agency's oversight.
According to ODI documents, the probe currently covers an estimated 2,997,604 Honda Accords and Honda CR-Vs. Since this has not yet reached the level of a recall, the specific numbers of each vehicle aren't available, but here are the models and year ranges being studied:
- 2018–2022 Honda Accord
- 2018–2022 Accord Hybrid
- 2017–2022 Honda CR-V
- 2020–2022 CR-V Hybrid
There may only be a few affected models, but as you can judge by the sheer numbers involved they are quite popular. Honda has spent decades making a name for itself in affordable and reliable transportation, which may in part explain why it's taking so long to acknowledge this fault and release a recall. Acknowledging an error that may have endangered their customers is always a bitter pill for a company to swallow.
What Could this Alleged Defect Do?
An automatic braking system like the CMBS, while designed to enhance safety, can sometimes lead to unintended consequences. For instance, if the system mistakenly identifies an obstacle due to sensor malfunction or misinterpretation of the environment, it can trigger abrupt braking. That may surprise the driver and other motorists, potentially causing rear-end collisions or other accidents.
Additionally, overreliance on such systems might lead to complacency, reducing driver attentiveness and situational awareness. In scenarios requiring careful judgment—such as driving on icy roads, where sudden braking could cause skidding—automated intervention might actually worsen the situation, underscoring the importance of maintaining driver control in critical moments.
I Have One of Those Vehicles. What Should I Do?
For now at least it doesn't seem that specific consumer actions are required or recommended. Unless Honda or the NHTSA release an official recall, it's most likely that the company has no strategy for recalibrating or replacing the automatic brakes at a dealership—the most common remedy for defective vehicles.
It's not my place to tell anyone what to do with respect to their vehicle, but I encourage any Honda owners whose cars or SUVs fall within the scope of this probe to keep an eye on any developments through the NHTSA website. If matters progress to a recall, Honda should release customer notices about a proposed remedy and the time in which to get it. Since the issue seems to be electronic, it could be as simple as a software update; however, anyone who has been to a dealership for repairs knows not to schedule a lot that day.
Why Does This Probe Matter?
As we understand things, this potential defect in Honda Accords and CR-Vs may have caused as many as 58 distinct injuries in 50 or more reported incidents, all of which fall within the 1,294 complaints of unintended CMBS activation. While the NHTSA documents don't clarify those injuries, it seems fair to think that many or all were caused by that inadvertent braking.
It's good that the NHTSA and Honda are investigating this matter, but I also can't help but wonder why they're dragging their feet on a recall. I'm sure the company would prefer not to issue one if at all possible, but dozens of people hurt and a potential pool of millions of affected vehicles seem like more than enough reason to hurry the process up a little—especially if both the company and the agency have been dancing around this matter since 2022.
Some of the foot-dragging may come from Honda's hope that a portion of these incidents were a matter of user error; documents they sent the ODI for investigation mention they feel some customers may have had "an inadequate understanding of the CMBS and its limitations." It's unclear what misunderstandings people might harbor about a brake system that seemingly invents obstacles out of nowhere and brakes accordingly, but it's not uncommon for a company to try and pass the buck instead of fessing up to its (often costly) mistakes.
While the process lags, almost three million people may be driving cars and SUVs that could unexpectedly brake at any time. If that happens and Honda has had three years to examine this problem from many angles, no amount of research and investigation may save it from having to own up to its mistakes.