The automatic emergency brake system will randomly activate despite there being nothing in the way, no car in front, and no obstruction. It causes the car to slam on the brakes for no reason which I’m afraid will cause someone to hit me from behind.
2021 Honda Passport: brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking)
6 of the 146 complaints about the 2021 Honda Passport describe brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking).
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
Brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) by model year
- 20261
- 20251
- 20221
- 20216
- 20201
- 20193
What owners say
The Forward Collition Mitigation System is constantly braking on its own for no apparent reason. It happens a lot when going around a slight right turn and it interprets cars coming the opposite direction in the other lane as a trigger to start braking. It is a very dangerous situation each time, so I turn off that feature every time I start driving now to avoid it.
Our 2021 Honda passport EX-L sometimes hits the brakes on its own. It happens every now and then, like when I'm exiting a freeway, or sometimes even when going with the flow of traffic. I've seen this issue talked about in the [XXX] , but today I saw an official article citing the federal safety agency concerns, so I'm writing to say that I too have experienced this potential dangerous issue while on road. My vehicle randomly brake checks on its own when it falsely detects the situation in front of me, which could result in a rear end collision. I'd like to see this issue resolved, so please feel free to contact me if you need any more information. Even back in 2022, I was experiencing this issue. This has happened occasionally. The last time was about a few weeks ago on the freeway. Please see the forum screenshot for my reference-- I'm [XXX] in that thread. Here's the article I read today: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
We drove about 100 miles yesterday. It all happened. False Brake light flash and brake applied because of oncoming traffic. Heavy brake application because of car in the left lane making a turn. Can't tell you how many times I've almost been rear ended, and people blasting their horns at me because this foolish car slams on the brakes for no reason. People think I'm brake checking them. Had 2 Hyundai before this, never encountered this. Honda needs to be forced to fix these issues. There are hundreds of similar complaints in online forum about this problem. This has happened many times, especially on an extended trip, like yesterday, over 100 miles round trip. Dealers do not have a fix for this. Honda needs to be forced to address this and fix all problem vehicles.
On October 29, 2022, the CMBS emergency braking system slammed the brakes on for no obvious reason. This happened at least four or five times while traveling eastbound on I-40 in AZ. There were no cars in front of or changing into my lane. After it happened a few times, I called the dealer RSM Honda in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, where i service the car to see if i could turn it off. They suggested reducing the sensitivity, which I did. After changing the sensitivity, I still experienced two or three more incidents of surprise emergency braking for no reason. After the fifth or sixth incident, I pulled over and searched a pdf copy of my owners manual and found a way to turn off the CMBS with a button on the dash. This worked to stop the braking incidents, but I had to do it over again every time I restarted the engine after stopping for gas, etc. This scared me and was dangerous as this would happen while i was going 70 mph. I think every instance occurred while I was passing a "big rig", but I was never in the same lane as the truck. Sometimes it was on a very gentle curve, but other times we (truck and I) were both going straight down a straightaway. I had done similar trips previously in February, June, and July without having this issue, but had it happen multiple times on my October trip as described above.
I purchased a 2021 Honda Passport Sport on April 30, 2021. Since purchasing the Passport, we have experienced a "Phantom Braking" problem, in which the automatic emergency braking system is deployed for a few seconds. This occurs several times a month. We have taken the Passport to a Honda dealer and they claimed that there maybe some type of obstruction on the emergency braking system camera that is causing the problem. We have not seen any obstruction on the camera and clean it regularly, but we still experience the braking issue. While no serious incident has occurred to date, we are extremely concerned that the braking issue could cause our Passport to brake and be rear ended by a car behind us.
Related recalls
Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: master cylinder
- What is wrong
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Civic, 2020-2023 Ridgeline, 2021-2023 Passport, 2021-2022 Pilot, and 2020 Acura MDX vehicles. The tie rod fastener that connects the brake booster and the brake master cylinder may have been improperly assembled during manufacturing, which can cause the brake master cylinder to separate from the booster assembly.
- Risk
- Brake master cylinder separation can cause a loss of brake function and increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and repair the brake booster assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 7, 2023. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1‑888‑234‑2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are VEU, AEV, and ZET.
Recall number 23V458000 · Recall details
Questions about the 2021 Honda Passport phantom braking
Is brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking) a common problem on the 2021 Honda Passport?
6 of 146 owner complaints about the 2021 Honda Passport (4%) mention brakes engage by themselves (phantom braking). The model year with the most reports is 2021.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2021 Honda Passport?
There is 1 recall and 0 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2021 Honda Passport
Collision warning 10Knocking 8Adaptive cruise 6Loss of power 6Stalling 6Check engine light 5Engine failure 5Lane assist 5
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2021 Honda Passport?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history