234 complaints reported

2018 Honda CR-V FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
234
Crashes
3
Fires
0
Injuries
8

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Feb 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while making a turn, the vehicle independently stopped. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the "BRAKE" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle functioned as intended. The contact stated that the phantom braking failure persisted. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving over a bridge, the vehicle independently stopped suddenly with warning lights illuminated, and the "BRAKE" message was displayed. The vehicle resumed normal driving operation. Most recently, while driving over a speed bump, the vehicle independently stopped suddenly and then operated as intended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 2024
Sep 2025

I was driving on the highway, 65 mph using cruise control, in the right lane. There was one car in my relative vicinity, already halfway through it's exit off the freeway, with my car still about 6 or 7 car lengths away. The automatic braking system suddenly engaged hard. I quickly disengaged cruise control, which mitigated the problem. In the moment of unexpected braking, I was thankful there was no one around me, because my hard, sharp braking could have caused me a rear end accident and someone else, a front end accident. No one has confirmed my experience. The car is currently being inspected by my local mechanic. There were no warning messages or lamps prior to the 'short stop'. UNKNOWN if warning message came on in the midst of the short stop.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2025
Aug 2025

Driving along a city road, and the CMBS (Collision Mitigation Braking System) engaged. The brakes were slammed on, out of nowhere for no good reason. The closest car in front was several car lengths away, but there was a car closely following behind. That car (and the car behind it) had to brake hard to avoid collision. No injuries occurred in our vehicle. We were, however, pretty fucking scared and pissed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2025
Jul 2025

Was driving on a main road in the afternoon. There was a car ahead of us, but not directly ahead, and did not have its break lights go on. My car suddenly flashed the "break now" sign and put on the breaks without warning. Fortunately, there was no one behind us, and I was able to continue without incident. This has never happened before, but it really shook me, as it could have been a very dangerous situation. Had there been another car right behind us, we would have been rear ended. It makes me nervous to drive my car, as I don't know if this could happen again.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jul 2025
Jul 2025

Vehicle has suddenly severely braked twice for no reason. Rear end collisions are a big risk factor. No warnings, both incidents occurred in dry, clear road conditions. It has not been inspected. Now when starting the car, I always turn the system off.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Oct 2022
Jun 2025

This is to report an activation of the Collision Mitigation Braking System on my Honda 2018 CRV despite there being no collision danger. While driving approximately 30 mph on a 2 lane suburban residential street, my car suddenly slowed when the CMBS system engaged despite my car being at an ample following distance from the car ahead. There were no pedestrians or any obstructions in the road. I believe my safety was at risk because there was no reason for my car to reduce speed and luckily the car behind me did not hit me. My car slowed considerably but did not stop. I have not had the car inspected or serviced with regard to this problem. There were no other warning lamps or messages prior to the system engaging.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jun 2025
May 2025

Phantom braking problem. On a sunny day, I was driving 25:mph on a street that was being repaired. A steel plate was covering a hole. The system activated emergency braking, slamming on the brakes and flashing "brake" and beeping.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2025
Apr 2025

multipurpose (windshield) camera has failed on 5 occasions making adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, forward collision warning and lane departure warning inoperable. Camera has been completely replaced twice at considerable expense. Dealer is scheduled to investigate again

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2025
Apr 2025

Vehicle emergency braked with nothing in the path while driving 80mph on the highway. Car behind me had to swerve into the shoulder to avoid rear ending my vehicle.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2025
Apr 2025

Driving west on [xxx]. approaching [XXX] , at approximately [XXX] on [XXX], the collision mitigation braking system slammed on the car brakes without warning. There were zero objects in front of us and fortunately no one behind us. If we had been on the freeway, or if another vehicle had been following us, the incident could have resulted in accident and/or injury. Our safety continues to be at-risk. This occurred randomly and therefore could happen again at any time in any circumstance, and apparently has for other drivers of this make, model and year vehicle. The vehicle is scheduled for inspection 4/16/25 at 9:00 a.m. at Stockton Honda in Sandy, Utah. That said, after researching this issue, we found that NHTSA has had an on-going investigation into this issue since February of 2022. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2025
Feb 2025

The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the Forward Collision Avoidance system activated independently, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop in the middle of the roadway. During each failure, there were no other vehicles or structures nearby to cause the system to be activated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the contact that the computer module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2019
Feb 2025

On several occasions, the auto braking system has engaged when not required. When driving / approaching and overhead highway sign, the alert will trigger, warning me to press my brakes. Other past events include occasionally when passing beneath an overpass, the braking system will alert and engage the brakes. This has nearly caused a rearend accident. Braking alerts also occur for some forks in the road, seemingly alerting for the barrier that is in place.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Feb 2025
Feb 2025

I was going through an intersection on a city street at approximately 35 mph. There were no vehicles or obstacles in front of my car. My emergency braking feature engaged, bringing me to a sudden stop in the middle of the intersection. Had a car been behind me, I certainly would have been rear ended. I have not taken my car in yet. I regularly maintain my car and did not have any error/warning messages prior to or after the incident.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2025
Jan 2025

I am reporting a dangerous malfunction of the CMBS system, and I don't know if the fuel pump recall, which my Honda dealer will repair on 2/3/25, has any affect on the CMBS, causing the car to brake without cause/randomly, when no vehicle or anything else is near. Last year I was almost hit from behind on the Harlem River Drive when it happened, and last week on the Palisades Parkway, an equally dangerous situation, and the car behind had to swerve into the left lane to avoid hitting me. It has happened a few times when I am on local less populated roads. Honda owner websites have several reports of the same thing I experienced, but Honda reports that it can't find the problem and therefore can't fix it. I have tried to document in what conditions it happens, e.g., broad daylight, night time, accelerating, maintaining same speed, or what other activity is happening on dashboard console, but can't detect a pattern, seems random. I use this car for only myself now, and not my family, for fear we could all be wiped out, even though it was purchased to be a family vehicle. What recourse do owners have?

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Jan 2025
Jan 2025

Similar to the open investigation on these CRVs, we have had at least 3 occurrences of the vehicle activating automatic emergency breaking with nothing obstructing the vehicles path. There were, however, metal plates in the roadway to cover utility trenches. These are designed for vehicles to drive over them all day, every day, so the vehicle should not emergency stop. Although there were luckily no rear end collisions as a result of this, it was certainly possible given how abrupt the stop was.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Apr 2025
Dec 2024

While traveling irregular route, the emergency brake prompt displayed on the dashboard. There were no vehicles in front of me within a quarter mile distance and the break began to automatically depress while accelerating. I immediately took my foot off of the gas pedal and tapped the brake. The emergency braking system disengaged and I was able to continue normally. Prior to this incident there had been numerous instances where the dashboard displayed the emergency brake icon, but did not automatically depress the brake. I have not noticed any consistency in the circumstances that causes this to initiate. I have also checked to make sure there any cameras or radar hardware unobstructed.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Dec 2024
Dec 2024

Forward Collision Warning breaking even though nobody is in front of me.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2024
Dec 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) engaged while there was no vehicle or objects nearby, and the vehicle came to a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was being diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. The VIN was not available.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Dec 2023
Dec 2024

I was driving when I came upon a couple of metal plates on the road. I slowed a bit to go slower across them when my car slammed on the brakes, the brake orange light came on and beeped on the dash. There was a truck behind me that was luckily leaving enough space. I was jolted and everything fell off my passenger seat due to the aggressive sudden braking. If it had happened on a highway or the truck had been closer it would've been horrible.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Dec 2024
Oct 2024

As I was driving back from the aquarium with my family going home, the Automatic Emergency Braking System activated and the car suddenly came to a total stop abruptly - this is the third time the car does that since I have it (2020) there was nothing on the way that could have justified the car to stop in such a violent manner. Thankfully there was nobody behind me and we did not get hurt, but we were scared and my little daughter was crying thinking we did crash, of course now I don't feel safe driving my car because if this happens again in traffic someone will hit me in the back for sure.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2024
Oct 2024

SUDDEN PHANTOM BRAKING WITHOUT WARNING IN MY 2018 HONDA CRV. I WAS DRIVING ~40-45 MPH ON LOCAL RESIDENTIAL STREET I FREQUENTLY TRAVEL ON; SUNNY, DRY DAY, 55 DEGREES, NO ADVERSE WEATHER. NO VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME AND ONE TRUCK TO MY RIGHT SIDE IN HIS LANE. NO OBSTACLES IN LANE. MY CAR SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT ANY WARNING LIGHT AT ALL BRAKED EXTREMELY HARD TO A FULL STOP. EVERYTHING IN MY CAR WENT FLYING FORWARD. HUSBAND AND SMALL DOG WERE IN BACK SEAT; HAD HUSBAND NOT BEEN HOLDING OUR SMALL DOG, OUR DOG WOULD'VE FLOWN FORWARD. I HAD NOT APPLIED ANY BRAKING AT ALL, WAS SIMPLY DRIVING ON A STRAIGHT ROAD. THIS INCIDENT WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. HAD A CAR BEEN BEHIND ME, WE'D HAVE HAD SEVERE REAR-END COLLISION WITH POSSIBLE HARM OR LOSS OF OUR LIVES. I'M NOW READING ONLINE THAT THIS IS A HIGHLY DANGEROUS "GLITCH" THAT WAS INVESTIGATED AS "PHANTOM BRAKING" IN 2022 BY NHTSA, BUT NO RECALL EVER RESULTED -- HOWEVER, MAZDA AND TESLA EXPERIENCED SAME ISSUES IN 2022 AND RECALL WAS DONE WITH MAZDA VEHICLES. NOW I READ THAT AS OF MARCH 2024 A NEW NHTSA INVESTIGATION IS BEING DONE RE: HONDA PASSPORTS AND HONDA INSIGHTS. I DO NOT WANT TO BE DRIVING 70 MPH AND HAVE A HORRIFIC ACCIDENT THAT COULD KILL ME BECAUSE THIS HAS NOT BEEN DEALT WITH BY NHTSA FULLY! I CALLED MY HONDA DEALER WHEN I ARRIVED HOME AND HE GAVE ME HONDA NATIONAL CUSTOMER PHONE # AFTER BRUSHING OFF THE INCIDENT; SAID HE'S NOT HEARD OF THIS BEFORE. I TOLD HIM TO GOOGLE COMPLAINTS OF PHANTOM BRAKING IN 2018-2019 HONDA CRVS AND ACCORD SEDANS. I TAKE EXCELLENT CARE OF MY 2018 HONDA CRV; HAS ONLY 13,530 MILES TO DATE AND IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. I WILL NOT DRIVE IT UNTIL I HAVE RESOLUTION TO THIS HIGHLY DANGEROUS SAFETY DEFECT IN THESE HONDA VEHICLES! I HAVE READ THERE HAVE BEEN CRASHES, FIRES, AND INJURIES FROM PHANTOM BRAKING IN HONDA VEHICLES. HOW MANY DEATHS OR LAWSUITS WILL IT TAKE TO HAVE THIS HONDA DEFECT RECALLED AND FIXED?! 1.7 MILLION CARS AFFECTED AS OF THE 2022 INVESTIGATION! 250000 WITH NEW 2024 INVESTIGATION!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Sep 2024
Sep 2024

I was driving through an intersection and my car said "BRAKE" and started flashing on my dash. I was accelerating, but my car slammed on the brakes without me hitting my brake petal. The car behind me almost hit me. I called Honda Dealership. They stated my Sensor was probably dirty. I checked. It is not dirty. I called Honda Corporate. They told me I would have to take it in to a Honda Dealership, get it diagnosed (I would have to pay for this), then it would be submitted to them. I asked if they would reimburse me for this diagnosis, they said only if it resulted in a recall. I am pregnant. I do not feel safe when my car randomly slams on the brakes while I am driving almost causing an accident!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Sep 2024
Sep 2024

The vehicle has presented this issue twice now: The first: I was driving through a rural area at around 25 mph. As I approached a set of train tracks, I slowed down, knowing that the entrance to the train tracks was pretty rough. As I started across the train tracks, the car suddenly and rapidly applied the brakes. At this point, the audible and visual braking alerts were activated. I tried to use the accelerator to override the random braking and get off of the train tracks, but the car just revved without moving. At this point, I realized that the car had somehow shifted into neutral. Once I shifted it back into Drive, the car resumed normal operation. There were vehicles behind me that had to stop rapidly in order to avoid rear-ending me, and the situation left me temporarily stranded in the middle of the train tracks. The second: I was driving at around 35 mph with the cruise control set. A car from the right lane pulled in front of me, and while it was a quick lane shift, they had plenty of room. Shortly after they switched lanes (but not immediately) the car abruptly applied the brakes, slowing aggressively enough that I was thrown forward in my seat. There were no visual or audible warning signals like are normally used with the automatic braking system. I applied the accelerator, and the car resumed normal operation.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Sep 2024
Aug 2024

My car has regularly over the years I have owned it (brand new) hit the brakes on its own. The braking is so violent that all the contents of my car fly forward. I have had this type of braking occur when there is no obstruction in the road, no indication of a front end collision about to occur, nor lane crossings. This has happened a handful of times, less than 10, since 2018. However, my front crash detection has also triggered the BRAKE visual and audible warning more times that I can count that were unwarranted. It has triggered on light poles on the side of the road and the Centerville Turnpike Bridge regularly (Chesapeake, VA). There has also been one incident where I was braking and I was stopping in time, but the detection system decided to slam on the brakes even further. The brake pedal literally pulled away from my foot when I was already pressing it to the floor. The result of these incidents is my injured shoulder, sitting stalled in the middle of a busy street/highway, and being stunned as a focused driver. The car does not allow the driver to move right away and it can cause even more detrimental accidents.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: Aug 2024
Jul 2024

Without any warning, vehicle will brake with no traffic in sight, or whenever it decides the car needs braking. I'm afraid I am going to be rear ended at some point. This has happened several times since purchasing the vehicle.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2018 HONDA CR-V, Manufacturer: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
Incident: May 2023

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2018 Honda CR-V has 234 FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.