2019 Honda CR-V · symptom sheet

Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking)

185owner reports
18,000median miles
$400median quote
4involved a crash

Newest report Aug 29, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

349 of the 1,089 complaints on this car are about collision avoidance. 185 of those describe phantom braking, which makes it the most reported problem on the 2019 CR-V.

Tick what matches of 185 reports

nothing was in front of me

on the highway

near an overpass, shadow or truck

nearly rear-ended

the dealer found no fault

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the radar or camera sensor (21 reports), the software (8 reports) and the windshield (5 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on collision avoidance covers the 2019 model year as of Sep 9, 2026.

NHTSA investigations into collision avoidance on the CR-V

EA24-002opened Apr 15, 2024

Collision avoidance · model years 2017 to 2022

Inadvertent automatic emergency braking. Open.

NHTSA summary

On February 21, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE22003) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, in model year 2017-2019 Honda CR-V and 2018-2019 Honda Accord vehicles. The reports allege that activation of the AEB system occurs while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that they were aware of a total of X,XXX reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and alleges that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of the CMBS and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints allege that Honda dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or state that they were informed that this is considered normal CMBS operation. To date, ODI has received a total of 1,294 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of CMBS in 2017-2022 Honda CR-V and 2018-2022 Honda Accord vehicles. A total of 31 complaints alleged a crash and 50 alleged an injury. The Total column in the Failure Report Summary removes duplicate reports and shows the total number of reports with unique VINs from all Manufacturer, ODI, and EWR data sources. In some cases, there were multiple reports associated with a particular vehicle in which recurring failures were alleged. In total, there were X,XXX reports

PE22-003opened Feb 21, 2022

Collision avoidance · model years 2017 to 2019

Inadvertent automatic emergency braking. Closed apr 18, 2024.

NHTSA summary

On February 21, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation (PE22003) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, in model year 2017-2019 Honda CR-V and 2018-2019 Honda Accord vehicles. The reports allege that activation of the AEB system occurs while driving with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's forward path, resulting in sudden vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that they were aware of a total of X,XXX reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and alleges that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of the CMBS and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints allege that Honda dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or state that they were informed that this is considered normal CMBS operation. To date, ODI has received a total of 1,081 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of CMBS in the subject vehicles. A total of 24 complaints alleged a crash and 42 alleged an injury. The Total column in the Failure Report Summary removes duplicate reports and shows the total number of reports with unique VINs from all Manufacturer, ODI, and EWR data sources. In some cases, there were multiple reports associated with a particular vehicle in which recurring failures were alleged. In total, there were X,XXX reports, 84 injury incidents and 40 crash

What owners paid

5 of the 185 reports quote a price. Each dot is one quote. The middle half runs $300 to $1,730.

$300$400$1,730

$0k$2k$4k$6k$8k

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 9,500 and 35,000 miles, from the 49 reports that gave a mileage.

819

920

821

7822

3423

2224

1725

926

What owners wrote

“The vehicleâs automatic braking system flashes the warning and slams on the brakes when there is nothing in front of the car. It is an intermittent problem that happens mostly when the weather is clear and dry. This has nearly caused an accident on occasion since itâs happened when traveling at both lower and higher speeds.”
Filed Feb 25, 2022

“The Automatic Emergency Braking System engaged while I was driving, causing my vehicle to slow down with a jolt. I felt my safety was put at risk. I have not yet confirmed this with my dealer, nor has it been inspected by anyone else. There were no warning lights or messages. indicating there was a problem.”
Filed Feb 24, 2022

“On three occasions the emergency automatic braking system activated. The first time it was hard braking; but, not to a full stop. The other two were minor. Only the first was a safety issue as it resulted in a quick slow down in traffic. I have not reported this to dealer and it has not been inspected. The word "BRAKE" illuminated on the instrument panel but not prior to the action.”
Filed Feb 24, 2022

“I was exiting I-490 east to I-390 north at 45 mph and suddenly my Honda CRV forcefully applied the brakes. There was no vehicle in front of me and fortunately there was no vehicle in back of me. But I remember this because it really scared me. This is the only time this has happened. I am reporting this now because of an article I read on AOL titled "Over 1.7M Hondas probed for unexpected automatic braking".”
Filed Feb 24, 2022

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 4 of 185 reports involved a crash and 8 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.