2020 Honda Accord automatic emergency braking problems
150 of the 401 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2020 Honda Accord name the automatic emergency braking (NHTSA’s “Forward Collision Avoidance” heading — forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, including phantom braking). Filed under the same heading: 1 NHTSA investigation. Every figure below is a document in a federal file, linked; none is a failure rate, and none is a verdict on any one car.
What owners filed about the automatic emergency braking
Source: NHTSA complaint database4 of the 150 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 4 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2020: 2 · 2021: 7 · 2022: 29 · 2023: 9 · 2024: 29 · 2025: 50 · 2026: 24
Half of the 17 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the automatic emergency braking problem between 7,000 and 55,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
401 complaints in all about the 2020 Honda Accord, 24 filed in 2026. The whole picture, every system →
Counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many of these were sold; nothing here is a rate. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so “Forward Collision Avoidance” means the same area of the vehicle, not one fault.
Across model years: Honda Accord automatic emergency braking problems, every year on file →
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the automatic emergency braking. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
The Collision Avoidance system activated twice for no reason. Inspection is available. I and my passenger were jerked by the rapid stop & could have been rear ended if anyone was behind me. The second event was in an intersection when I and the driver behind me were driving slowly.
On several occasions and almost never under similar circumstances, my entire Brake System suddenly shows there is a problem and flashes warnings on my dashboard - parking brake, power steering, vehicle stability assist, hill start assist, adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation, road departure systems - each systems shows there is…
On 2 incidents, I've had the collision mitigation braking system (CMBS) issue driver warnings/alerts and automatically hit the brakes without warning when there are no obstacles in front of the vehicle and it has not deviated from its lane. Both incidents occurred during highway speeds.
If I have the lane keeping assistance on and go through an intersection the car beeps BREAK!!
I was driving at a slow speed (10-15mph) when my brakes automatically engaged. After the car stopped I began to accelerate and the brakes engaged again. There wasn’t any reason for the brakes to engage
What is on file about the automatic emergency braking
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigation
- EA24002 Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Brakingopened Apr 15, 2024 · open
- 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 a…
Trouble codes named on this system
Codes a bulletin or an owner’s complaint about the 2020 Honda Accord names on this model year; a code with a record of its own links it.
Other systems with a record on the 2020 Honda Accord
Source: the same files- engine problems 79 complaints
- fuel system problems 66 complaints
- brake problems 62 complaints
- electrical problems 62 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre automatic emergency braking problems common on the 2020 Honda Accord?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 150 owner complaints naming the automatic emergency braking on this model year (37% of everything owners filed about it), and 1 NHTSA investigation is filed under the same heading. Whether it is a problem on one particular car is a diagnosis, not a count, and a count says nothing about how many were sold.
Is there a recall for the automatic emergency braking on the 2020 Honda Accord?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 6 filed under other headings). A bulletin is not a recall: it carries no federal duty to repair for free.
When do automatic emergency braking problems show up on the 2020 Honda Accord?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 30,000 miles; half of them between 7,000 and 55,000. That is when reports cluster, not the life of a part.
What does NHTSA's "Forward Collision Avoidance" heading cover?
Forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, including phantom braking. Owners choose the heading when they file, so it says which area of the vehicle the complaint is about, not which part failed.