Diagsheet

2021 Honda CR-V · symptom sheet

Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking)

  • 49owner reports
  • 19,000median miles
  • 2involved a crash

Newest report Jun 26, 2026 · checked Sep 9, 2026

104 of the 327 complaints on this car are about collision avoidance. 49 of those describe phantom braking. Only sticky steering is reported more often on this car.

Tick what matches of 49 reports

24
20
3
21
6

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the radar or camera sensor (7 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on collision avoidance covers the 2021 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

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 11,000 and 40,000 miles, from the 10 reports that gave a mileage.

221
1222
823
1024
925
826

What owners wrote

“Driving down Piedmont Road in Atlanta on an overcast morning with no pedestrians, obstructions or vehicles in front of the car, the collision avoidance and braking system engaged for no reason and almost caused the car behind mine to run into me.”

Filed Feb 10, 2026

“Phantom emergency braking. Vehicle slamming on brakes at intermediate times when there is no emergency.”

Filed Dec 18, 2025

“A few times (4-5 times) the car activated the automatic emergency braking feature while I was driving. There were no obstacles, vehicles, or people in my path. The system simply activated. The cars behind me nearly crashed into me.”

Filed Apr 17, 2024

“Â The contact owns a 2021 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the forward collision avoidance sensor failed to brake causing the contact to crash into another vehicle. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.”

Filed Aug 15, 2023 · 19,000 miles

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 2 of 49 reports involved a crash. 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.

Other problems on this car