My honda Accord’s automatic braking system suddenly engaged this morning for no reason. The driver of the car following me had to slam on his breaks to avoid rear-ending me. If the other driver had not stopped, we would both have been injured. Honda’s emergency braking system is dangerous. There should be a way to disable it permanently.
2021 Honda Accord: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)
6 of the 247 complaints about the 2021 Honda Accord describe brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking).
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 0
Brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) by model year
What owners say
At speed limit cruising down I66. I was all alone. No birds in area at all. Open road. I was in middle lanes. Car attempted to come to a complete stop by itself. “Phantom Braking”? All my friends with Honda’s and Acura’s mentioned similar issues. If anyone was behind me, I could have caused a pile up or even worse. It’s happened a few times. Took to Capitol Heights Honda and Landmark Honda. They ran diagnostics. Explained to me there were no error codes. I explained to them, if system has a fault, it thinks it’s operating properly. So, no errors would appear! I have experience and education in computer programming (College), mechanical and electronic (US Army) and over 30 electromechanical troubleshooting, repair and maintenance and other IT experience. SME After they haven’t been able to do anything about it, I turn off all safely systems. I drive a lot. So, I’m also a very good driver. Have almost 65k miles on my vehicle. Date of incident below was when I forgot to turn off sensor. But it happened a few times before and I brought to Honda after first two times. I even had to rent a car at my expense.
1.Driving on a straight road at about 45-50 MPH sudden abrupt braking for no reason . 2. Good thing I was wearing a seat belt , it was a very forceful brake action that pushed me forcefully forward, I was struck from behind by another vehicle. Visial minor damage to the rear bumper cover. 3. No it happened today 4-5-23 I plan on calling the dealer tomorrow. 4. The BRAKE message appeared at the exact time of the incident.
Vehicle tends to turn on brake warning light when there is nothing in the way. Driving with no obstacle in the way and the brake warning sign will display on dashboard. I’ve driven it on the highway with no cars and it will signal me to brake for no reason. I’m afraid the brakes might apply which could cause a serious accident.
My automatic emergency breaking kicked in today when there were no cars in front of me. My car began beeping loudly and flashing the word “BRAKE” and the car abruptly stopped in the middle of a very busy road. My daughter and I could’ve been very hurt but were lucky there was enough room behind us that we didn’t get rear ended. Nobody has checked this out yet because it just happened, but I am willing and open to having it looked at. I had a brief warning while the car flashed “BRAKE” and beeped, but there were no cars in front of us, and nothing I could do to make the car not slam on the brakes by itself.
Honda Accord multi point serviced July 2nd at Hendricks Honda Easley SC. Immediately after I was driving on Haywood Rd. Greenville SC when my vehicle slammed on brakes for no reason. There was no car, animal, pedestrian or debris in road to cause to happen. As a result I experienced whip lash and was seen by a doctor and therapist July 5th. This has caused me to be afraid to drive my own car plus miss work plus enjoy my July 4th. I have reported this to Honda Motor Company and I also returned to Hendricks Honda to have a diagnostic test performed but all they did was put 20 miles on my vehicle and said I would have to bring it in and leave it for 3 - 4 hours. WHY? If you truly checked it out today I don't feel I need to return for them to just tell me anything. I really feel like they wasted time doing nothing today. There diagnostic was just driving my vehicle and adding unnecessary miles.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2021 Honda Accord phantom braking
Is brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) a common problem on the 2021 Honda Accord?
6 of 247 owner complaints about the 2021 Honda Accord (2%) mention brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking). The model year with the most reports is 2018.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2021 Honda Accord?
There are 0 recalls and 13 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2021 Honda Accord
Warning lights 24Check engine light 16Screen failure 14Loss of power 14Misfire 13Collision warning 10Jerking 10Adaptive cruise 9Fuel pump 9Lane assist 9Overheating 9Backup camera 6Stalling 6Won't shift 6
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