I have experienced four instances of my vehicle braking (two very extreme) when nothing was nearby or in front of my vehicle. Two of these happened when passing through an intersection, but no other vehicles were nearby. Fortunately, no one was following close behind during two occasions, or I would have been rear ended. I mentioned this today while having my car serviced at the dealership(White’s Auto Mall in Hopkinsville, KY) but they wanted to charge me 207.00 for an inspection, which I didn’t think I should be responsible for paying. I have researched and found “phantom braking” to be a problem in my vehicle make and model.
2020 Honda CR-V: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)
9 of the 363 complaints about the 2020 Honda CR-V describe brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking).
- owner complaints
- 9
- of this car's complaints
- 2%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 39 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) by model year
What owners say
Phantom Braking incident. This has changed continually happened since I took delivery of the vehicle. The brakes are autonomously applied for no apparent reason.
Phantom Braking Incident. As I was driving at approximately 35 mph, the vehicle applied brakes for no apparent reason. Luckily, the vehicle traveling behind me didn't crash into the rear of my vehicle but had this happened when traveling at higher speeds, there would have been a serious accident. This has happened numerous times since owning the vehicle, but only the 2nd time I've reported it here.
Automatic braking system engaging when no cars or objects are present. Has happened while on highway at relatively high speeds and on regular neighborhood streets.
1. The vehicle will inadvertently and without warning, apply the brakes (phantom braking). 2. The Lane keeping assist will not follow the road, especially when the road curves. The vehicle will sometimes not negotiate the required turn to stay in the lane.
Car brakes on its own when no vehicle in front of or around my vehicle.
My car has been braking on its own the last 5 months. Today it braked for no reason. There was no car in front of us or to either side of us. There was nothing in front of us either. It braked super hard and there was someone behind us who luckily slammed on their brakes and didn’t hit us. It gave me and my kids whiplash. Other times it will brake on its own if there’s a shadow from a bridge or something. Again when it does that there are no cars in front or next to us or even remotely close to us. This is beginning to be a frequent thing happening once or more a week. It’s super dangerous and I don’t feel safe with it braking for no reason.
I have a 2020 Honda CR-V that is having a Phantom Braking issue. It has happened several times, 3 of which were while on the expressway and a tractor trailer was behind me. The CR-V warning system would flash "BRAKE" and then stop suddenly, there was nothing in front of me, nothing to either side of me. When I took it to the dealership, the technician could not replicate the issue and said 'it was a common issue with all vehicles' and recommended that I 'just turn it off, I did so on my vehicle.' After seeing the news I now know that I am not the only one with this issue. I purchased this vehicle from the dealer in June 2020, and this began in September 2021.
Following a car that then pulled over in to the breakdown lane the automatic braking engaged when there was nothing in front of us reducing the speed causing other cars behind us to have to lockup their brakes for no reason. This was very dangerous to myself and the cars behind us. The system does this often with nothing in the lane.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2020 Honda CR-V phantom braking
Is brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) a common problem on the 2020 Honda CR-V?
9 of 363 owner complaints about the 2020 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 2020 Honda CR-V?
There are 0 recalls and 39 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2020 Honda CR-V
Check engine light 25Fuel pump 21Warning lights 20Loss of power 15Collision warning 12Stalling 11Airbag light 9Jerking 9Sunroof shattered 9Adaptive cruise 8Misfire 8Seat belt 8No deployment 7Engine failure 6Lane assist 6Won't shift 6Headlights 5Steering noise 5Won't start 5
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