95 of the
1,536 complaints about the 2019 Honda Cr-V are about the
braking system — 6% of everything
reported for this model year.
Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before
6,000 miles.
While driving at about the speed of 45 miles/hr. the car abruptly braked in the middle of the road without any vehicle or object in front of me. It was a scary situation because if there had been a car behind me, my car would have been rear-ended. This problem has neither been reproduced nor investigated by anyone. I have, in the past, noticed that occasionally the brake light on the dashboard would flash for a second and go off but did not affect motion or speed. I have not received any warning messages regarding the vehicle's brakes.
NHTSA complaint #11749216 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Wareham, MA
SERVICE BRAKES
While driving on a straight, flat road with no other vehicles close in the front or to my rear the brakes came on without warning. I pulled over to the side of the road because it was really scary. Once I calmed down I continued driving without further incident. When I got to my grandsons school parking lot I called the Honda dealership that I purchased the car from and asked the service person if they had any issues like this. She stated that "the phantom breaking happened at times" and that it "was not a big deal". After looking on line one suggestion was to clean around the sensor in the Honda emblem and the windshield around the rear view mirror. I've owned the car since 2019 (original owner) and have 72K miles on the vehicle. The only recent problem was I had to replace the original battery on 05/31/26 which was done by a AAA representative. I've had no other issues to date, but this breaking issue if it persists seems like it could be very dangerous.
NHTSA complaint #11744783 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Canton, OH
SERVICE BRAKES
I was driving at 33 mph on 5/17 at 11:33 and the cars automatic brakes suddenly when on full blast out of no where with nothing around me on a clear day!
NHTSA complaint #11738621 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Winter Garden, FL
SERVICE BRAKES
3rd time I experienced this, I took ownership of this car after my dad passed away and since that time this has happened 3 times...When required to brake hard the engine rev's and pulls the car forward, it almost like the ABS system is kicking in as things vibrate and the engine accelerates and pulls the car forward, THis last time it happened it actually pulled me into the intersection and almost caused a collision with the on coming car...Major Safety issue....When normal driving and braking things seem to be normal...Very scary and quite honestly nervous to have my wife drive this car...
NHTSA complaint #11730959 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Baldwin, MD
SERVICE BRAKES
The automatic braking system will momentarily engage. This has happened during daytime in a high contrast environment - light painting on road surface or dark shadows on road surface. Vehicle will suddenly deaccellerate then resume normal operation. This randomly happens, even at same locations. Safety is a concern since this sudden and unexpected. This sudden braking has not been reproduce by dealer or independent service provider nor has it been reported to said service providers. It is unknown if parts have been inspected by dealer. No service lights or warnings have been observed.
NHTSA complaint #11725487 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Houston, TX
SERVICE BRAKES
My Honda CRV EX-L traveling roughly 40 mph along a straight and clear road did a sudden hard break once it reached an intersection that had a green signal light. I noticed there was a car stopped on the right side of the intersection. I saw in my console “Braking” pop up message then it disappeared. My foot wasn’t on the brake pedal at all. I felt I was closed to being rear ended because I didn’t engage any braking at all. Time happened around 10:30 am.
NHTSA complaint #11724484 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
St Helens, OR
SERVICE BRAKES
My father's Honda CRV, which I was driving, suffered a computer reset due to a low voltage drop. This was, in turn, due to a failing fuel injector. The computer reset disabled many safety systems and core systems, including the parking brake (which is electronic), as well as adaptive cruise control, the tire monitoring system and blind spot sensors, tire inflation warning, hill start feature, and many others. There were no warning signs prior to the reset. After calling the dealership and reporting these issues, they still advised me to drive into the dealership for service. Upon doing so, they diagnosed the failing fuel injector. At this point, I had done research on the issue and found hundreds of similar reports concerning Honda CRVs and models with the 1.5L Turbo engine. Despite warranty extensions for some vehicles, the dealership claims that our VIN is not covered under the warranty extension. This is obviously a manufacturing fault and a safety issue. Please investigate Honda and require them to, at a minimum, extend their warranties to all affected vehicles with this defect. We have detailed maintenance records at the same dealership we bought the car from. The vehicle is available for inspection, and I am including the dealership's diagnostic.
NHTSA complaint #11710501 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Blue Bell, PA
SERVICE BRAKES
While driving my 2019 Honda CR‑V at about 35 mph during night on a local road with no cars or obstacles in front of me, the vehicle suddenly applied the brakes hard by itself. There were no warning lights or messages other than the collision warning, and I did not touch the brake pedal. The sudden braking almost caused the car behind me to rear‑end me. This has happened several times in similar conditions when the Collision Mitigation Braking System / Honda Sensing was on.
NHTSA complaint #11706934 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
New York, NY
SERVICE BRAKES
The car slammed to a complete stop when there was no reason to. I was approaching an intersection slowly and already was applying the brakes. A pedestrian was on my left but not in front of the car. There was a large metal plate on the road. There was construction happening on the road. This is the second time in six months that the car slammed to a stop because of a metal plate on the road.
NHTSA complaint #11699589 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Westminster, MD
SERVICE BRAKES
All the dashboard warning lights came on. The car became shaky, wouldn’t go above 10mph. All safety features were turned off. I couldn’t go up a hill. Eventually I just parked it and had it towed. I tried a hard reset thinking maybe a glitch. Didn’t help.
NHTSA complaint #11697798 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Canton, OH
SERVICE BRAKES
We were driving on the freeway in nice weather when the cars automatic emergency brake engaged at 75mph. No warning light came on the dash it was without any warning very scary thankfully no other cars where around us.
NHTSA complaint #11694529 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Tucson, AZ
SERVICE BRAKES
Driving under speed limit crossing through a green light at intersection automatic breaking system engaged. This caused rapid slowing throwing driver and things on passenger seat forward. No obstacles, cars or anything were visible or causing any possible accident or problem. The ABS system engaged flashing break warning on dash. This happened a year and a half earlier and on 7/23/2025
NHTSA complaint #11675943 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Olympia, WA
SERVICE BRAKES
Today: The vehicle flashed the BRAKE warning light and suddenly decelerated/braked. There were no vehicles in front of the car for as far as the eye could see, it is a sunny day with dry conditions, and it was on an open highway that was flat, middle of the day, and the car was traveling 50 MPH. Fortunately, no vehicles were behind me. The BRAKE warning light has flashed on multiple occasions prior, without any trigger whatsoever, but it has only decelerated/braked a couple of times, and today’s was the worst and most jarring.
NHTSA complaint #11675663 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Raleigh, NC
SERVICE BRAKES
2019 Honda CRV brake system problem. Cannot start my car.
NHTSA complaint #11660233 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Huntley, IL
SERVICE BRAKES
Driving in downtown area, decelerating for stop sign, maybe going 20 mph, when "brake!" illuminated on dash and vehicle abruptly came to a complete stop. It seems the automatic emergency braking system engaged and stopped the vehicle. Seat belt locked and items on seats were thrown to floor. Nothing was in the roadway other than driving over a flat metal road construction plate that was placed in the lane, covering trench work done to the road. Fortunately car behind me had enough room to stop before hitting me. Have driven this route many times including driving over this plate for the last several weeks with no issues until today. I have a sore shoulder and neck from seat belt and jerking motion when car stopped unexpectedly.
NHTSA complaint #11655974 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Southport, NC
SERVICE BRAKES
3 times now the automatic breaks have activated for no reason. The last time (last thurdsay) was a severe brake and thank god no one was near us cause it would have been a severe accident. We took our car to local honda dealership today and they said they could find nothing wrong). We are very nervous to drive the car as this is a real saftey issue, the car only started doing this recently and we have owned car since 2020.
NHTSA complaint #11655766 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Stanwood, WACrash
SERVICE BRAKES
Engine RPM surged while nose- in parking with foot on brake, causing vehicle to unexpectedly jump the parking barrier and hit a steel sign post, incurring $3,300 cosmetic damage to left front of vehicle. Pressed harder on brake to stop. Cost estimate obtained, complaint filed with American Honda.
NHTSA complaint #11652814 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lancaster, NY
SERVICE BRAKES
On 3/25/2025, at 2:45 PM, my car stopped itself completely while driving at 35 mph on Transit Rd. near Sheridan Dr., under clear, dry conditions. No obstacles, no brake input—items on passenger seat flew off, my head jerked forward. Suspect Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) malfunction, per NHTSA EA22-003 (2017-2022 CR-Vs, 278 complaints, 47 crashes, 112 injuries). Vehicle is at Lia Honda for $285 diagnostic, completed 3/26/2025; they found no issues, recommend radar sensor recalibration (~$300 more) but say it ‘cannot guarantee the issue won’t recur’—I told them to wait. Available for inspection. Safety Risk: Sudden stop risked rear-end collision and jerked my head —matches EA22-003 crashes. Not reproduced. Prior inspection with oil change at Lia Honda on 3/21/25—no issues. No manufacturer, police, or insurance inspections. No warning lamps before failure—sudden onset. Honda corporate assigned a case manager on 3/26/2025, contacting me in 24-48 hrs. Request: Investigate—dealer’s inaction and costs are unacceptable.
NHTSA complaint #11650785 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Overland Park, KS
SERVICE BRAKES
As I pulled from a stop, into an intersection, the car slammed on the brakes with no warning. Did not see the normal "BRAKE" message as usually appears if you follow to closely for example and there was no car in front of me. It was a quick slam of the brakes, which threw my head forward and down suddenly, then released. I Continued driving and saw no warning lights or indication of a problem on the dashboard. However, when I parked the car and turned the engine off, it would not restart. Only clicked and displayed a continuous series of error messages on the dash including "Electronic Break System Failure" and others. The car would not start. I tried to start it multiple times until the battery eventually ran down. Called tow service and they jump started the car. All error messages reset and did not reappear. I only drove it short distance home and have not driven it since.
NHTSA complaint #11648951 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lake Frederick, VA1 injured
SERVICE BRAKES
I was traveling on highway going posted speed of 70mph. There were no cars anywhere close to front of vehicle. Car automatically braked HARD, locking the seatbelt and throwing everything in car forward. It was not a "warning" brake it was a ridiculously HARD brake to attempt to stop car. I am shocked and amazed it did not cause accident or flip. As a result of this sudden hard stop, I have having back and neck pain as well as chest and shoulder pain. There was no reason for this to occur, there was nothing in front of the vehicle at all. There were however cars behind that nearly hit me. I may seek medical if back, neck and shoulder continue to hurt.
NHTSA complaint #11646683 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Barrigada, GU
SERVICE BRAKES
My car has about 35,000 miles on it but while I was driving it, I could hear a loud, deep pumping noise coming from the lower front driver's side area. I noticed that when I accelerated from driving at a low speed (25mph) on a small residential road and then accelerated to a higher mph on a faster highway, the pumping noise would start and would make this constant loud deep pumping noise near the lower front side of my driver's seat. I could still hear the pumping noise even as I pressed the brake pedal to slow down the speed of my car. The deep loud pumping noise would temporarily stop only when I had pressed the brake pedal to a complete stop e.g. red traffic light or yielding to oncoming traffic. However, the deep pumping noise would continue to start all over again once I continued to drive from my momentary stop position on the road/highway. My family member (retired RN) tested my car and said she noticed the same noise too but she also noticed that the car would make that constant pumping noise even AFTER parking the car, turning the car off, and removing the car key! She noticed that would happen after driving the car for more than 10 miles or so. She told me to have the car checked at a certified Honda dealer, because I could be in or cause a big accident if the car fails on the road. So, I took my car to TripleJ Honda-Guam and the staff said the pumping noise is due to a faulty "brake booster" and would charge me $2,000 to repair/replace it. Because the car mileage is only 35,000, I checked NHTSA website and there are brake booster recalls for other Honda models but not this 2019 Honda CRV, yet. I also checked other websites and found that there are many other 2018-2019 Honda CRV owners with the very same brake booster problem. I honestly believe that there are tens of thousands (or more) unknowing Honda CRV owners who have this very same brake booster problem, paid Honda to replace it, but they haven't reported their brake booster problems to NHTSA.
NHTSA complaint #11644949 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Mandeville, LA
SERVICE BRAKES
When approaching a speed bump or toll plaza the car randomly slams on the brakes causing a hard stop.
NHTSA complaint #11644413 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Valencia, CA1 injured
SERVICE BRAKES
This is regarding an incident with my 2019 Honda CRV, on 2/12/2025. Conditions were dry, clean and dark with street lighting at approximately 6:15 pm Pacific time. I was driving northward uphill on a paved street and approximately half way up the hill, my car came to an abrupt stop and shut down. My body was jolted forward and I felt an immediate discomfort in my lower back. There was a car behind me with lights on that did not hit me, but had veered left mid-street, possibly to avoid hitting my car, or may have been in the process of making a parking maneuver. I saw nothing in the roadway that would cause my car to stop. There was no occurrence of a warning light or audible notification of a hazard to me. There were two cars stopped at a stop sign ahead at the top of the street, one was in the right turn lane and the one next to it was headed straight south. My car would not proceed. I had to press the start button to restart the car. I drove up to the top of the hill to the limit line of the stop sign. Both of the cars ahead at the top of the hill across the intersection were still stopped, but proceeded once my car came up the hill to the limit line of the stop sign.
NHTSA complaint #11643502 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 48,486 milesBeaverton, OR
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
The contact owns a 2019 Honda CR-V. The contact stated while stationary and attempting to start the vehicle, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle jerked back and forth. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated including the brake system lights. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed with VSA modulator failure and brake booster failure. The vehicle was at the dealer awaiting the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,486.
NHTSA complaint #11640900 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hempstead, NY
SERVICE BRAKES
on [XXX] I was driving home with my wife & [XXX] baby, in what I would describe as standard wintery mix of weather - rain, but not yet cold enough to be snow. My 2019 CRV EX-L alerts me of the following message: "Some Driver Assist Systems Cannot Operate: Radar Obstructed" As I've had this car for years, I've seen this message pop before, but as I had no plans of using any Driver Assist features, i didn't think anything of it. At roughly [XXX], while driving on the highway, my Honda became 100% unresponsive to me as the driver. It locked the ability to steer the wheel or apply the brakes in any capacity. The vehicle completely usurped driving power & under its own power, began veering off the road at highway speeds. I could only look straight ahead and hope that when we crashed into the upcoming highway divider, my family wouldn't die. To confirm, i tried pumping brakes, holding down the brakes, touching - absolutely nothing worked - they were completely locked. The steering wheel locked as well, we were heading for certain death. This was going what felt for a lifetime, but after probably 5 - 10 seconds, i was able to gain steering control - and turned away from the light post we were destined to hit & was able to get us veered back on the highway. Conditions were wintery, and we swerved alongside another car lanes away. By the grace of God, my car and the other car, only slightly touched side view mirrors. We both pulled over and swapped information, but little actual damage was caused. With all of this said I want to make sure one thing is clear. Honda almost killed my entire family. They put us in danger for absolutely no reason. My Honda CRV overrode every possible human driver action - and had us on a direct path with death. If not for the grace of God - I wouldn't be able to write this message to you. We opened a case with Honda Case #[XXX] where they made me pay for a diagnostics test - however didnt properly inspect the issue imo INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (F
NHTSA complaint #11639913 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Augusta, GA
SERVICE BRAKES
Car automatically brakes when there is no obstacles and sometimes no other vehicles in roadway. Most of the time when approaching a bridge. Usually travelling at speeds above 50. Hasn't been inspected by dealer. This increases risk of rear end collision. The light saying to brake comes on prior to the brakes engaging. This has happened multiple times during ownership of this vehicle (purchased new). Most recent incident was within the last month or so. There is no indication of the cause. There are multiple other issues with this vehicle to include issues with the display screen, door seals, and poor interior, however those do not appear to cause issues of safety at this time.
NHTSA complaint #11639590 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Miami, FL
SERVICE BRAKES
On [XXX] at [XXX], I was driving down the road - there were no vehicles in front of me. The sky was clear and the sun was bright. There are several trees whose limbs extend high above the roadway causing a shadow to be created beneath them. All of a sudden, the collision avoidance system activated on my car. The "BRAKE" light illuminated, the "chirping" sound associated with the "BRAKE" light activation occurred, and the brakes were instantly applied slowing me from 40 mph to about 15 mph. There was no impediment (vehicles, pedestrians, animals, etc.) in front of my car nor was there a car next to mine in an adjacent lane. The only logical conclusion I could come up with is this: the tree limbs overhead created a "shadow" on the roadway. This "shadow" was of enough contrast in brightness from the roadway, just prior to this incident, that the system concluded there was an obstruction of some type in front of my car. There was not another car behind me for about 100 feet or so, but had they been within the normal distance that driver's follow the car in front of them, I have no doubt the result would have been a rear-end collision. I have had several instances in the past where a contrast in reflected brightness of the roadway surface has activated the "BRAKE" light on my dashboard and the "chirping" sound associated with it. All but one have occurred along a particular stretch of [XXX] just west of [XXX] (specifically, it is on the ramp from southbound [XXX] to westbound [XXX] at about [XXX] ). The car is scheduled to be inspected on Monday, January 27, 2025 by my local Honda dealer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11636654 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Marietta, GA
SERVICE BRAKES
On 2 occasions in this past year 2024 I have had the emergency brake system completely stop the car suddenly without any cars being in front and behind. Both incidents were at night and both are caused when reflection happens or when I am driving over steel grates. This is a very critical issue as I can get hit from the rear or it can cause harm as the brake system is very fast.
NHTSA complaint #11633550 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Houston, TX
SERVICE BRAKES
on 8/21/2024 my vehicle was parked in my driveway and my husband noticed that the brake lights were on. The vehicle was parked and the emergency brake was not on, and the vehicle was off. We turned the vehicle on and the brake lights went off. On 8/22/2024 I was driving on the service road at 45-50 mph when I noticed the traffic light ahead changing to amber I began to slow down, however; when I pressed the brake pedal there was a loud griding sound. The car would not stop and the dashboard said "BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE". I was inches from rearing ending another vehicle! I pulled into a parking lot and the following warnings were displayed, LANE KEEPING ASSIST FAILURE, BRAKE HOLD SYSTEM FAILURE, ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL FAILURE, POWER STEERING SYSTEM FAILURE, HILL START ASSIST FAILURE, ROAD DEPARTURE MITIGATION FAILURE, VEHICLE STABILITY ASSIST FAILURE, COLLISION MITIGATION FAILURE.
NHTSA complaint #11615819 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 22,000 milesNew Hyde Park, NY
SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2019 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that the battery was drained due to the vehicle being parked and not driven for several months. After recharging the battery, several warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the TPMS, brake system hold, Lane Keep Assist, and vehicle stability assist (VSA) warning lights were illuminated. The contact researched and noticed similar vehicles had experienced the same failure after charging the battery. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 22,000.
NHTSA complaint #11611778 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.