Honda Vehicles Under Investigation For Braking Randomly

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a problem that prompts Honda Accord and CR-V SUVs to abruptly brake without driver input, after many complaints.

These models have Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems developed to apply the brakes autonomously if the driver is unable to do so in particular situations, like when a vehicle stops in front of them or when a pedestrian appears in front of the vehicle. The technology is primarily supposed to avoid, or at least minimize the intensity of rear-end collisions.

Honda vehicles under investigation include Accord from the 2018 and 2019 model year, as well as CR-V from the 2017 to 2019 model year. According to the NHTSA, around 1.7 million of these vehicles are currently on the roads in the United States.

NHTSA received 278 reports of unexpected braking in Accords and CR-Vs, According to their documents, six of these complaints included crashes, some of which resulted in slight injury. Several people who filed complaints revealed that this malfunction had occurred several times in their vehicles.

In a statement, Honda stated,

Honda will cooperate with the NHTSA through the investigation process, and we will continue our own internal review of the available information.

A number of US-based car manufacturers have agreed to make AEB technology (also known as Collision Mitigation System) standard for all vehicles being sold in the US. According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, this mechanism has been credited for minimizing read-end collisions by about 50 percent.

According to the industry agreement, all upcoming passenger vehicles and pickups sold in the US are scheduled to have the system by September 2022.

However, when these automatic braking systems fail, causing vehicles to abruptly stop or slow down for no apparent reason, it can lead to the exact type of collisions that the AEB was built to avoid.

Via CNN