2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid: false forward collision warnings

Filed Aug 10, 2026 · Driver assistance · TX

The forward-facing Honda Sensing camera mounted behind the windshield (Nidec monocular camera, Honda part number 36160-TRW-A04) failed at approximately 85000 miles on XXX The failure produced simultaneous dashboard warnings and disabled multiple driver assistance systems at once, including Collision Mitigation Braking System (automatic emergency braking), Forward Collision Warning, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Keeping Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control. There was no impact, no windshield damage, and no obstruction of the camera lens. The failure appears to be internal to the camera assembly and occurred without warning during normal driving. Because all of these safety systems depend on this single camera, one component failure removed every forward collision protection on the vehicle simultaneously. The sudden appearance of multiple warning lights at once was also distracting while driving. The vehicle is out of warranty and Honda has offered no repair assistance. Dealer replacement is quoted at approximately $1,500 to $2,000 including required camera calibration. This same camera failure is widely reported by owners of Honda Sensing equipped vehicles, including Clarity, Odyssey, Pilot, Civic, and HR-V models, typically at [XXX] to [XXX] of age, which suggests a durability or thermal defect in the camera assembly rather than an isolated failure. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jun 12, 2026 · Driver assistance · CA

To Whom It May Concern, I am the owner of a 2018 Honda Clarity, and I am submitting this complaint to request that the federal safety agency investigate what appears to be a widespread defect involving the front camera system used by Honda Sensing. My vehicle has experienced a failure of the front camera system, which has disabled numerous critical safety features, including: • Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) • Automatic Emergency Braking (Collision Mitigation Braking System) • Blind Spot Warning • Forward Collision Warning • Lane Departure Warning • Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) • Parking Collision Warning • Rear Cross Traffic Warning When the front camera fails, these safety systems become unavailable, significantly reducing the vehicle's ability to assist the driver in avoiding collisions and maintaining safe operation. After researching this issue online, I discovered that thousands of Honda owners have reported similar failures involving Honda Sensing cameras and related driver-assistance systems. Many owners have reported receiving warning messages, loss of safety functions, and repair estimates costing thousands of dollars. This appears to be a recurring problem rather than isolated incidents. I believe this defect presents a serious safety concern because drivers may unexpectedly lose access to critical collision avoidance and lane safety technologies that were included as standard safety equipment on the vehicle. The failure of a single camera component should not disable so many essential safety systems without a more robust fail-safe solution. I respectfully request that the federal safety agency investigate this issue and determine whether a safety recall or other corrective action is warranted for affected Honda vehicles, including the 2018 Honda Clarity. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I would be happy to provide additional information, repair records, photographs, diagnostic reports, or any other documentat

Filed Apr 3, 2026 · Driver assistance · CA

I was just driving normal and a message on my dashboard started to appear saying to clean my windshield or the collision mitigation system cannot work, We cleaned the windshield several times and it didn’t work the light still on, mow it got worst all of the lights turned on when I drive the car, adaptive cruise control light, road departure mitigation system problem light, lane keeping assistance problem light, collision mitigation system problem light and Brake system light, I checked online and there’s alot of people complaining from the same thing, they said it’s an issue with the front windshield camera but honda wants to charge thousands of dollars to fix it and there’s other honda models with the same problem too. I don’t know if it’s safe to drive it or if more lights are going to come up.

Filed Nov 2, 2024 · Driver assistance · NJ · crash

My car was involved in a low speed accident in which the front end of our car hit the rear bumper of the other car. There was no damage to the other car and what appeared to be only minor damage to our front grill. 1) Shortly after the accident, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) malfunctioned several times by strongly engaging the brakes when there was no car in front of us. 2) The sudden braking for no reason caused cars behind us to swerve out of the way in order to avoid an accident. Very fortunately, no accidents occurred. 3) The dealer service center confirmed that the accident had caused the sensors for the CMBS to malfunction which in turn caused the brakes to engage. 4) The car has not been inspected. 5) Prior to the brakes engaging, the "Brake Now" warning light came on when there were no cars in front of us. My concern is that the car does not have a safety check to make sure that the sensors are working properly. In addition, the Honda Manual does not warn drivers that even a very low speed accident could cause the sensors to malfunction and the brakes to engage. The CMBS can be turned off by the driver but it automatically comes on every time the car starts. In my view, at the very least, drivers should be warned that if they are involved in an accident, they should disengage the CMBS until an authorized service center can look at the car and make sure the sensors are operating properly. I have contacted Honda and they called me back several months ago, but, to date, nothing has been done. I have attached a picture showing that the damage from the accident appeared to be minor.

Filed Dec 7, 2023 · Driver assistance · CA

No Accident occurred but wanted to report a problem with my vehicle. Dealership diagnosed my vehicle with a malfunction in the "multipurpose camera unit/millimeter wave radar." Because of this malfunction, my vehicle lost all its driving assistant abilities such as: Adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, land departure warning, lane keep assistance, and automatic emergency braking. Attached a picture of a screenshot of my cell phone showing all the things that are affected by the one camera malfunctioning.

Filed Sep 10, 2022 · Driver assistance · CA

Multiple errors. Possible broken car camera. Because the camera is broken, all safety futures stop functioning like land departure warning, land keeping warning, collision warning. The problem is confirmed by the dealer and the dealer told us it’s known problem with Honda car.

Filed Jul 29, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · AZ

The software in the car dashboard randomly pops errors like - road departure mitigation, brake system, brake hold system problems, etc. This has happened many times this year. I have taken it to the dealership to get fixed a couple of times (most recently on July 16 2022). They say they have reset the software but the problem still reoccurs and is very frustrating since in some cases the vehicle if it has parking brake set remains immobilized. Also, the safety systems in the car like Lane Keep Assist, Road Collision Mitigation and Automatic Cruise Control get disabled when these errors popup. I filed a case with Honda customer service (Case #13070724) on Jun 9, 2022 and have been following up with them weekly to get this fixed

Filed Mar 31, 2021 · Driver assistance · 25,868 miles · IL · crash

Tl* the contact owned a 2018 honda clarity plug-in hybrid. The contact was driving at 35 MPH, when he rear-ended another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the forward collision warning failed to alert the contact of the vehicle ahead. No medical attention was received. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact to call the insurance company. The vehicle failure was not diagnosed by an independent mechanic or dealer. The failure mileage was 25,868.