Car automatically applies brakes for no reason. Happens at least once a month. Beside the startle factor, I am going to cause an accident by someone rear ending me because brakes are being applied for no reason.
2017 Honda CR-V: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)
35 of the 1,782 complaints about the 2017 Honda CR-V describe brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking).
- owner complaints
- 35
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- typical mileage
- 12,000
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 44 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) by model year
What owners say
I was driving across a major intersection when the car slammed on the brakes for no reason. There were no shadows. I was not under a bridge. It is an overcast day. No direct sun. My safety was at risk because I could have been hit by oncoming traffic when I was trying to go forward.
Random problems since purchase with screen going out and emergency brake light either flashing for no reason and braking for no reason. In 2023 the brake system completely failed while driving. Honda dealer replaced fuel pump which helped for awhile. Now flashing brake warning for no reason is happening again. Fear the car will either start braking again for no reason or another system failure might occur. Afraid to drive the car.
Occasionally, for no reason, automatically brakes and issues the brake warning notification despite no traffic in front of the vehicle. When a vehicle brakes for no reason in traffic, the risk is that you will be hit from behind.
The CMBS system malfunctions and phantom brakes when there isn’t anything obstructing the road. It has done it 5 or 6 times, and the dealership can’t do anything to fix it.
We bought this vehicle new in 2017 and now have about 78K miles on it. Since we have owned it there have been SEVERAL (at least 7) occasions where we are driving along on the highway at 35-70MPH (depending on the speed limit) and the emergency forward collision braking system suddenly applies the brakes for no reason. This has happened during daylight and nightime on the open road with no vehicles or objects anywhere in front of us or close to the side of us and, on a few occasions, nearly causing vehicles behind us to crash into us because the brakes come on unexpectedly and we are unable to do anything about it. Early on, we reported this a couple times to our Honda dealer and we were told, "that can happen if there is blowing rain or snow or even a bird flying buy, it is normal so don't worry about it." Well, it IS something to worry about because it randomly happens again and again, and we recently almost had a huge accident on Interstate 79 because of it! What is most bothersome about this DEFECT in design or implementation is that the driver has no way of knowing in advance it is going to happen because it is a random occurrence with no rhyme or reason behind it, and there is nothing the driver can do to prevent it or minimize its effects! PLEASE, investigate this and force it to be fixed because lives could easily be lost from this phantom braking if none have been lost yet!
In 2 separate incidents, the vehicle has applied the brakes on its own, with no obstacle in sight ahead of it. One time the braking brought the vehicle to a complete stop, the other time it started hard braking, then the braking stopped. Both times were in daylight with no animals or any other object ahead of the vehicle. One of the incidents nearly caused a collision with a vehicle following from the rear that would not have been expecting the sudden stop.
I was driving about 25 miles per hour, there were no cars in front of me (in either direction). The car suddenly slammed on the brakes for no reason. My passenger and I were both thrown towards the steering wheel and dashboard, things came flying from the back seat to the front, falling down by the pedals. I was very nearly rear ended, the car behind me was able to swerve to the left but was extremely angry. The car went into neutral, but possibly because something came from the back seat and hit the gearshift, I'm not sure about that. I was stuck in neutral with traffic horns blaring at me. If I'd have been pulling out into traffic when this happened I would easily have been hit broadside. I brought my car to the dealer, they said there was nothing wrong and that perhaps I didn't understand how the system works. I'm certain that it is not meant to bring the car to a screeching halt when there is literally nothing in front of you anywhere.
I was driving about 25mph past a school and the car automatically braked for no reason. Nothing was in the road, no cars near me. I’ve driven that road hundreds of times in the past 4 years without incident.
The collision mitigation braking system malfunctioned. The car would be available for inspection upon request. After the light turned green I entered the intersection, going approx 20mph, when suddenly the car braked on its own without a car/object in front of my vehicle. I could hear the beeping from the collision mitigation system at the same time. Since I did not know the car was about to stop, I was unable to prevent my dog from falling forward and striking the dashboard. Although myself, my dog and the people behind me were at risk, no injuries were sustained. The person behind me was able to stop luckily. I will be scheduling yet another diagnostic with Honda, though I just did that a few months ago when all the warning lights came on. After the injectors were replaced at that time, they were able to turn off the warning lights. I do not believe they will be able to recreate the problem.
My 2017 Honda CR-V decided to brake all by itself while driving on the highway going 65 mph. This incident first happened to me in May 2023 on a clear sunny day with my 1 month old baby and fiancé in the car. My fiancé thought I slammed on the brakes but in fact I did not, I was on the highway going 65mph. I was so scared because I didn’t even know my car was capable of braking on its own until that day. Everything in the vehicle flew to the front of the car, luckily no one was behind me or in front of me at that time and we were all okay but we were shaken up. The second time it happened, I was with my fiancé again on a backroad about a month later with no one in front of me or behind me, again on a clear day and my car slammed on the brakes by its own. From that second time on I always turn off my collision mitigation system hoping it makes a difference and does not do it again. I love my car but it is a complete hazard if it brakes on its own with no warning prior to it happening. I did call Honda to see if this was an issue or if there was a recall but the lady told me there is no recall at this time and this was the second time she has heard of this. I do not know what will cause the car to brake on its own, I can’t replicate it on demand, it is very random. I made sure my sensors were not obstructed and were clear. Hopefully Honda will do something about this issue, this is completely unacceptable.
Multiple times my vehicle has flashed "BRAKE" when there was no object in front of me. At times there were shadows from trees that I thought may have prompted the warning. But in the past 6 weeks during interstate driving and adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle brakes for no reason. This can happen several times in just a short distance, or sometimes I can drive 25 miles and it doesn't happen at all. There is no rhyme or reason to the frequency. Most of the time it drops the speed about 5 MPH but keeps the cruise engaged at that new speed. I have never let it drop more than 15 MPH for fear of causing an issue with other drivers. This past week it applied the brakes just as a semi truck moved into my lane behind me at a close distance. I was afraid the truck would rear-end me. I have received the following warnings in the instrument panel: "Road departure mitigation system problem", "Collision mitigation system problem", and "Adaptive cruise control problem. My husband took pictures of the warnings as they appeared while I was driving. Honda diagnostics could not identify even one code.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2017 Honda CR-V phantom braking
Is brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) a common problem on the 2017 Honda CR-V?
35 of 1,782 owner complaints about the 2017 Honda CR-V (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 2017 Honda CR-V?
There are 0 recalls and 44 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2017 Honda CR-V
Fuel smell 211Warning lights 141Adaptive cruise 125Collision warning 120Stalling 106Check engine light 96Loss of power 71Lane assist 64Battery drain 58Misfire 58Engine failure 38Won't shift 37Won't start 36Screen failure 27Jerking 27Headlights 22Hesitation 22ABS 21Fuel pump 21Fuel leak 18Key fob 17Overheating 16Seat belt 16Brake failure 14Grinding brakes 11Airbag light 10No deployment 9Oil consumption 9Wipers 9Door locks 8Sunroof shattered 8Transmission failure 8Knocking 7Fire or smoke 7Windshield crack 7Backup camera 6Premature wear 6Shudder 6Sudden acceleration 6
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