2018 Honda CR-V automatic emergency braking problems
474 of the 2,148 complaints owners filed with NHTSA about the 2018 Honda CR-V 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: 2 NHTSA investigations. 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 474 reports a crash · 0 a fire · 13 injuries. Self-reported, unverified.
Filed per year: 2019: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2021: 29 · 2022: 179 · 2023: 99 · 2024: 71 · 2025: 51 · 2026: 34
Half of the 60 owners who gave an odometer reading reported the automatic emergency braking problem between 20,000 and 54,000 miles. A median of reports, not the life of a part.
2,148 complaints in all about the 2018 Honda CR-V, 34 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 CR-V 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.
When driving about 25 mph, the dashboard lit up with "Brake", gave a warning sound then the brakes applied automatically very hard. There was nothing in front of me that I needed to brake for. It was frightening for me and the front side passenger that this happened without warning, and we both lurched forward.
Driving on secondary road. Going approx 30 mph. No vehicle in front or behind. No oncoming traffic in other lane. Car on it's own engaged automatic collison braking system almost throwing me through window. Brought car to dealer. They claim they hooked up to computer and said system was good.
The contact called on behalf of his sister who owns a 2018 Honda Cr-V. The contact stated that while his sister was driving 50 MPH, the vehicle stopped inadvertently with the brake warning light illuminated.
The car braked and stopped suddenly and completely in front of a a speedbump on a a bridge. The last one was on october 2, 2020. In all three cases it was either early evening (6:30 PM, no rain or foul weather) or at later at night ( around 10:00 PM, one time was raining, the other case it was clear).
The contact owns a 2018 Honda Cr-V. The contact stated that while driving at speeds above 45 MPH the forward collision avoidance system braking feature activated causing the vehicle to abruptly stop. The failure recurred on multiple occasions. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired.
What is on file about the automatic emergency braking
Source: NHTSA recalls, investigations and manufacturer communicationsNHTSA investigations
- 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…
- PE22003 Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Brakingopened Feb 21, 2022 · closed Apr 18, 2024
- 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…
Other systems with a record on the 2018 Honda CR-V
Source: the same files- fuel system problems 603 complaints
- engine problems 543 complaints
- steering problems 329 complaints
- electrical problems 286 complaints
- brake problems 196 complaints
Common questions
Source: NHTSA complaint database, recalls and manufacturer communicationsAre automatic emergency braking problems common on the 2018 Honda CR-V?
They are documented: NHTSA holds 474 owner complaints naming the automatic emergency braking on this model year (22% of everything owners filed about it), and 2 NHTSA investigations are 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 2018 Honda CR-V?
No recall campaign is filed under this heading for this model year (there are 5 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 2018 Honda CR-V?
Owners who gave an odometer reading reported it at a median of 36,000 miles; half of them between 20,000 and 54,000. 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.