2018 Honda Accord FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Upwards of a dozen times my Honda Accord will suddenly brake as it believes I am about to have a collision whereas it is typically a shadow. This happens when going under bridges or overpasses, or depending on the glare from the sun. This has happened several times on the highway causing multiple near collisions at high speeds. This is extremely dangerous and requires an adjustment or recall. I have had this part stolen and replaced through a Honda approved repair shop yet the issue persists.
Vehicle will sometimes automatically emergency brake with nothing in front of it
I was driving on a four-lane highway using adaptive cruise control, gaining on a vehicle ahead. When the cruise control picked up the vehicle, I accelerated slightly, used left turn signal and began changing lanes, the warning for collision mitigation came on and the cruise control disengaged. Continued driving home and the warning continued, and cruise control would not function. Next time used the car the warning light was off, and system functioned properly.
UNKNOWN. I will be driving and automatically it will lock the brakes and nobody will be in front of me. I tried turning it off but somehow it still ends up on. This has been doing it now for some but it’s getting worse and worse. Before it would just blink on the dash “ BRAKE” but wouldn’t apply the brakes but recently it has been applying the brakes and going from 45mph to 60mph it has done it and giving bad whiplash. Now it’s starting to scare me because someone is going to end up rear - ending me and cause an accident. I tried talking to a dealership about it but they said they will look into it and never hear anything about it. I really am starting to be worried Everytime I drive my car that something bad is going to happen. This needs to be fixed and diagnosed
On August 7, 2025, the automatic braking system alerted with the sign break and then proceeded to stop the car when there was no object or vehicle in front of me. This would have been extremely dangerous. If there was someone behind me this is not the first time this has occurred it has happened several times.
Emergency Braking System engaged for no apparent reason with no other vehicles on the road. Potential for rear-end collision. This was the first event. Personally inspected forward looking sensors / camera for blockage, none found. Did not notice any messages or warning during the event. Wasn't looking at the dash during the event.
I was behind another vehicle with the adaptive cruise control on and been following the for some distance at a speed below the cruise control setting. Warning came on for the braking mitigation, cruise control disengaged, vehicle began coasting but did not brake. I continued home driving without any other changes, but warning stayed on. After arriving turned vehicle off and restarted, Warning did not come back on. I have not driven vehicle since. I checked and found other reports of similar problems and am filing this report. Will continue driving with extra caution and report any other occurrences.
The warning lights for many areas has come on without warning. The car runs and drives fine. Took it to Honda. They want between 500 - 2500 to resolve the issue and replace the front radar. This appears to be a consistent problem for these 2018 Hondas. I already had to have the fuel injectors replaced at 48k miles. Another common Honda problem. Please help us as consumers
Failure in road monitoring camera prematurely, 70,000 ish miles
Vehicle emergency braking system randomly triggered, causing me to completely stop from 40mph to 0mph in the middle of a intersection. Almost got rear-ended. NO vehicles were infront of me to trigger the emergency braking system. Vehicle has not been taken to dealership yet.
Getting a dash warning that all mitigation systems are not working and to see my dealership
Automatic emergency braking occurred three different times for no apparent reason. The car slowed down on a major road. I never reported it. No. A large orange message "BRAKE" on the dashboard while it occurred.
Collision Mitigation automatically engaged causing vehicle to brake when unnecessary. Once after excelling from a redlight and again when entering a highway on ramp. After occurring twice in a 6 month period it's now become permanently disabled with dash warnings. Braking System Error. Collision Mitigation Breaking System Error. TPMS Error.
To the highway safety I would like to inform that I purchased a 2018 honda accord and it has been nothing but a nightmare and safety issue for me and my family. What happens is the car at random times will turn on the cmbs system basically when that happens it is hard to brake or even control the car all lights on the dashboard panel light up honda says it’s just bc we the people don’t understand the function and how it works but that is not the case on social media places like websites and ticktock you can see videos of the issues and no one cares how is it okay for honda to sell a car that brakes randomly or tells you to brake when no cars in front or even when there is but it’s a decent speed where you have space please I have read and read news and every time I see a honda I think bet it was a cmbs issue please please have them fix it it’s dangerous . This happens at random times sometimes no cars even on the road when I take it to Honda each time basically all they do is reset it by turning battery of what !!!! That’s dangerous please help
yes it is available for inspection. car all of a sudden puts on its brakes could have caused a rear end accident not on my car no they come on and go off randomly it started acting up and then the lights came on
My collision mitigation braking system is automatically braking on me with nothing in front of me going high rated speeds on the interstate. I have chronic migraines and neck issues that also have been being treated on a very consistent basis. I brought it in numerous times. I have appointment documents from dealership stating these issues, with no solution. Today it happened again severely and it was harsher than normal, scaring my 3 kids. I have had enough. Winter is coming and I am not gonna challenge black ice again. I have ongoing medical conditions being treated due to the repetitive whiplash.
Unintended activation of CMBS braking and warning system causing rapid vehicle deceleration. Deactivation of active cruise control due to CMBS errors.
My car will suddenly brake hard on its own with nothing in front of it at random times. The dash may or may not say BRAKE when this happens. This did not start until I had my windshield replaced. I have had the windshield camera recalibrated twice and it's still randomly stopping on its own.
On this day at approximately 1:20 p.m. the weather was clear and dry and there was very light traffic with no cars nearby and no debris in the roadway. I was driving approximately 45 mph when my vehicle suddenly flashed and beeped the warning to brake and I felt the car brake hard as it swerved to the left entirely on it's own. I was able to take over the vehicle and thankfully there was no collision or injuries. This was the first time this has happened. My vehicle will be available for inspection upon request. If there had been heavy traffic at the time or had I been on the freeway, the outcome could have been very serious. I looked up what I experienced and there are verified accounts of "Phantom Braking" for 2018-2019 Honda Accords. I did not have the vehicle inspected. There were no warnings prior to the incident.
While driving with nothing surrounding me my car applied a hard brake out of nowhere.
As I was driving in a 25 mph zone (thank goodness) and I drove over the metal construction paver on the road my car brake alert started beeping then made my car come to an abrupt stop! Thank goodness I wasn’t going that fast and no one behind me was close enough to hit me! This sensor needs to be corrected! Someone could have died or been seriously hurt! That should never happen what if I were on the highway going over 50 mph
My car will randomly brake. This has happened multiple times while driving on the interstate. I will be driving 76 mph and the emergency braking system will brake when there is nothing in front of me. It’s scary going from 75mph to slamming on the brakes. Happened probably 10 times since I bought the car 2 years ago. Several times almost caused the people in back of me to hit me
2018 Honda Accord Twice last week my car suddenly braked with no obstruction in front of the vehicle. I was on a straight section of the roadway. Thankfully no one was directly behiind me. It appears there have been other incidences reported.
Driving on expressway going around ramp car started braking at speed of 65mph with no cars in front of me only cars behind cars behind had to hard brake to keep from hitting me . Got off expressway sit at stop light then all of sudden got warning lights on engine system problem , tire pressure monitor system, electric power steering problem, combs problems, adaptive cruise control problem, CMBS problem all stated to take to dealer I just purchased this car
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Accord. While the contact's wife was driving at a moderate rate of speed, the Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking system engaged erroneously with the "Brake" warning light illuminated. The failure recurred soon after the initial failure and the contact's wife was able to drive the vehicle to the residence. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was scheduled for an appointment for a vehicle inspection. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2018 Honda Accord has 146 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.