Honda Civic automatic emergency braking problems, 2016–2026
286 of the 4,836 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the Honda Civic 2016–2026 name the automatic emergency braking (NHTSA’s “Forward Collision Avoidance” heading — forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking, including phantom braking). The loudest years: 2022 (94), 2021 (43), 2019 (39). Filed under the same heading across these years: no document yet. Every figure is a linked federal record; none is a failure rate, none a repair cost, and none a verdict on one car.
Honda Civic automatic emergency braking problems by model year
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsOne row per model year on file, newest first. A year marked in depth has its own page: the complaints, the owners’ words and every document under this heading for that year.
| Model year | Complaints naming the automatic emergency braking | Share of the year’s | Typically at | On file under the heading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11 | 38% | — | — | the year → |
| 2025 | 20 | 20% | — | — | the year → |
| 2024 | 26 | 18% | — | — | the year → |
| 2023 | 23 | 7% | — | — | the year → |
| 2022 in depth | 94 | 10% | — | 8 TSBs | the record → |
| 2021 | 43 | 27% | — | — | the year → |
| 2020 | 30 | 13% | — | — | the year → |
| 2019 | 39 | 9% | — | — | the year → |
| 2018 | 0 | — | — | — | the year → |
| 2017 | 0 | — | — | — | the year → |
| 2016 | 0 | — | — | — | the year → |
Two things the counts carry that are not the car: how many of each year were sold, and how long each has been on the road — an older year out-counts a newer one before anything is wrong with it. The share column is the honest comparison across years: what part of that year’s complaints named the automatic emergency braking. Nothing here is a rate.
When the automatic emergency braking complaints were filed, and at what mileage
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled per calendar year, every model year together: 2019: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 10 · 2022: 67 · 2023: 57 · 2024: 67 · 2025: 48 · 2026: 34
Across the model years, half of the 21 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the automatic emergency braking problem between 10,000 and 20,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
In owners’ own words
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseFiled with NHTSA by the people who own these cars, about the automatic emergency braking, from the model years with the most to say. Quoted as written, with anything identifying removed; unverified reports — what was said, not a finding that it was true.
Car has braked multiple times randomly when using ACC when nothing was in front of the vehicle. Emergency braking has activated once randomly and another time for a pedestrian on the sidewalk.
The contact owns a 2022 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced phantom braking while driving at various speeds with the cruise control activated. The contact stated that an unknown sensor obstruction warning light was illuminated.
Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system alerted and engaged emergency braking on a clear road when there was no obstacle in the vehicle path
The front windshield camera that utilizes Honda Sense safety tech keeps misreading certain traffic signals and inadvertently activates the phantom braking. Sometimes it blinks ultimate times to even cause the vehicle to apply it’s emergency brakes despite no objects present on or near the intersection(s) of major traffic light routes and…
Blackstone Lab reports fuel in my oil (acceptable for city driving} however all my driving is highway driving. Car has 22,500 miles, that oil had 4,000 miles on it and had 1.3% fuel ALL highway! Back and forth between Columbus, Ohio and Wyandotte, Michigan.
What is on file about the automatic emergency braking, across the years
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNothing filed under this heading on these model years.
Other systems with a record on the Honda Civic
Source: the same files- steering problems
- fuel system problems
- electrical problems
- engine problems
- visibility and wiper problems
Every system, every model year: Honda Civic problems by year →
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsWhich Honda Civic years have the most automatic emergency braking complaints?
2022, 94; 2021, 43; 2019, 39. Raw counts, and an older year has had longer to collect them; by share of each year's own complaints the loudest is the 2026 (38%).
Is there a recall for the automatic emergency braking on the Honda Civic?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading on any of these model years. 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 Honda Civic?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 14,000 miles across the model years; half of them between 10,000 and 20,000. 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.