2019 Honda Civic · symptom sheet
Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking)
- 26owner reports
- 10,000median miles
- 5involved a crash
Newest report Jul 17, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
63 of the 433 complaints on this car are about the brakes. 26 of those describe phantom braking.
Tick what matches of 26 reports
Phantom braking on other Civic years
No other Civic model year has enough reports of phantom braking for a sheet of its own. See every Civic year.
What this problem usually is
Phantom braking is a car that brakes hard on its own, often at highway speed, with nothing in the road ahead. About one owner in five mentions a near miss with the car behind.
What got replaced
Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the radar or camera sensor (3 reports).
Recalls and investigations
No recall on the brakes covers the 2019 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.
NHTSA investigations into the brakes on the Civic
Throttle cable sticking. Closed jun 3, 1999, led to recall 99E-015.
Fuel system venting. Closed nov 30, 1989.
None of these investigations covers the 2019 model year.
When it happens
The middle half of failures fell between 6,627 and 29,000 miles, from the 11 reports that gave a mileage.
Is this a known problem?
The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 1 service bulletin or notice for the 2019 Honda Civic that deal with this problem. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
ServiceNews Article - Resting your foot on the brake pedal while driving can cause the ACC, Collision Mitigation Braking System, and Road Departure Mitigation indicators to come on. It also sets DTC C0041-14 (brake switch signal circuit error).
What owners wrote
“The Honda Sensing automated system suffered a phantom activation. It threw a visual brake warning, violently applied the brakes, and jerked the steering wheel causing a collision impact to other vehicles. This collision led to a major accident with an 18 wheeler and 6 additional cars. The car automated system has done this prior when there were no objects in front of the vehicle.”
Filed Jul 17, 2026
“Several times, while driving, my car would randomly slam on the brakes when there were no other cars around. I feel this is a safety issue that could cause an accident to the tear end of the car.”
Filed Aug 18, 2023
“The emergency braking system auto brakes when to close etc mines done it multiple times with car ahead of me by 2/3 car lengths and even while switching lanes itâs auto brakes for no reason”
Filed Jul 6, 2022
Should you keep driving it?
This page can't tell you that. 5 of 26 reports involved a crash and 2 people were hurt. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.
File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.
Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found
Other problems on this car
- Steering sticks, feels notchy or jerks 81 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 45 reports
- Fuel pump failure 43 reports
- A/C blows warm or the compressor fails 36 reports
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 31 reports
- Power steering cuts out or goes heavy 25 reports