2025 Honda Accord

Automatic braking has engaged at least 3 times in the last year when there was no car nearby or obstacle in the road. This has happened on city streets at speeds of approx 30-45mph. If this sudden braking happened at freeway speeds it's highly likely I would be rear ended. I have not taken it to dealer as I expect that they will say what they typically do ...nothing is wrong. Granted it is difficult to reproduce the phantom braking for them to observe the issue. The alarm sounded and the large red "Brake" light came on on the dash. 8.12.26 incident was in a lane adjacent to traffic cones but I was nowhere near hitting them.

I was driving an interstate freeway with my cruise on set to 75mph while passing a truck, both the truck and I were in are respective lanes and neither of us was straddling the lane divider. Suddenly the orange brake light came on the dash and the car braked hard without any input from me. The braking was so hard it pushed me forward twice and caused my seat belt to lockup.

The local authorized Honda service center has failed to resolve this threat. Below is the mandatory timeline and documentation regarding this defect: [Date of Incident #1 – XXX]: While driving at approximately 35 MPH on a open road with no obstructions, the vehicle abruptly engaged heavy emergency braking without warning. This nearly caused myself to get into a severe rear-end collision. [In-person Service Visit #1 -XXX– Paramus, NJ]: On this date, I brought the car to Paramus Honda, and was advised that their service department “has never heard of any vehicle made by Honda, phantom breaking”. Upon my insistence that this happened and that experiencing such made me feel unsafe and nervous to drive the vehicle. The service department advised me to ensure that both the rear and front sensors on the vehicle were free and clear of any type of debris. I did so and have ensured to always be of the sensors moving forward. [Date of Incident #2 - XXX]: While driving at approximately 25 MPH on a clear road, with no obstructions, the vehicle abruptly engaged heavy emergency braking without warning. My two children, age [XXX] & [XXX] were in the vehicle at this time & again nearly caused a severe rear-end collision. Phone contact- Service Visit #2 - XXX. – Honda of Paramus, NJ]: On this date, I called Paramus Honda, and was advised again that their service department “has never heard of any vehicle made by Honda, phantom breaking.” * [Date of Incident #3: XXX]: While driving at approximately 35 MPH on a clear road with no obstructions, the vehicle abruptly engaged heavy emergency braking without warning. This CAUSED a severe rear-end collision with the three vehicles behind me to all crash into each other- with 7 of the 9 people that were in those vehicles, get hurt and require medical attention & ambulance transport. Two of those individuals were babies & my two children, age [XXX] & [XXX] were in my vehicle at this time. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Dashboard shows that there is a problem with the adaptive cruise control system, lane keeping assist system, road departure mitigation system, and automatic high beams. Message occurs intermittently, usually lasting a few seconds, and goes away. Can happen while driving or while parked. Usually occurs a handful or times per day. Seems to happen more frequently when engine bay is warmed up. This is a safety issue because it suddenly and unexpectedly disables the advanced driver assistance systems. For example, while driving on the highway, cruise control and lane keeping assistance will turn off suddenly, forcing the driver to intervene with all of these systems at once. This also has other implications, like automatic emergency braking not functioning correctly to help prevent an accident. Vehicle has been brought to various Honda dealers a total of three times. A case has been opened with American Honda Motor Co, but no solution to the problem has been found.

Subject: Safety Complaint – Loss of Drive Power Prior to Recall Resulting in Crash (2025 Honda Accord Hybrid) I am submitting a safety complaint regarding a 2025 Honda Accord Sport Hybrid (VIN: [XXX]) involved in a crash on [XXX], which we believe is related to a recall issued later in January 2026. At the time of the incident, the vehicle was being driven under normal conditions, below the speed limit, on an empty road. The driver suddenly experienced a loss of control, the vehicle became unresponsive, veered out of its lane, and did not respond to steering correction. The vehicle ultimately collided with an electric pole and was declared a total loss. At the time of the crash, no recall or warning had been issued. We reported the incident to Honda on October 23, 2025 (Case #[XXX]), describing the loss of control and unresponsiveness. However, no mention was made of any potential defect or safety concern. In January 2026, we received a recall notice stating that if the ICM CPU resets while the vehicle is in operation, it may cause loss of drive power and increase the risk of a crash. This description closely matches what occurred during our accident. We also informed the dealership, Scott Honda (Vineland, NJ), but our concerns were not investigated. Instead, the dealership attempted to sell us another vehicle without addressing the safety issue. We believe the defect existed prior to the recall and may have directly contributed to the crash. We are also concerned that the manufacturer did not warn us despite our earlier complaint describing similar symptoms. This incident resulted in the total loss of our vehicle and ongoing financial hardship, as we have been without a replacement vehicle for over six months. We respectfully request that NHTSA investigate the timing of the recall, the manufacturer’s awareness of the defect, and how pre-recall complaints like ours were handled. We are willing to provide all supporting documents. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5

Problem Summary: While using the vehicle’s Traffic Assist / Adaptive Cruise Control (system that controls acceleration and braking in traffic), the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated toward a vehicle directly ahead as if no lead vehicle was present. This created an imminent rear-end collision risk. The issue occurred twice in the same drive. Incident Details: On 18 dec 2025 at about 5-15MPH/ “stop-and-go traffic”], I was driving with Traffic Assist / Adaptive Cruise Control enabled, which normally manages throttle and braking in traffic. I was following a semi tractor (no trailer attached). The semi was approximately 15–20 feet in front of me. While the system was engaged and operating normally moments before, the vehicle accelerated forward as if the lane was clear, despite the semi being directly ahead. I had to apply the brakes manually to prevent a collision. A short time later in the same traffic situation, the vehicle did it again—it accelerated toward the same type of lead vehicle and I again had to brake to avoid rear-ending it. During the second event, I observed the instrument cluster / driver display showing the lead semi incorrectly identified as a passenger car instead of a truck, and the display showed that “car” accelerating away, which was inaccurate and did not match real conditions. This suggests the system may have misclassified or failed to track the lead vehicle, leading to unintended acceleration.

The issue involves the adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking systems. When engaged, the system intermittently and unexpectedly applies full braking force while I am changing lanes on the freeway, even when no vehicle is directly in front of my car. This has occurred multiple times at highway speeds, causing the car to slam on the brakes abruptly, which poses a serious safety risk particularly when other vehicles are following closely behind. The issue most commonly happens when the adaptive cruise control is active, but it has also occurred occasionally when the system is not engaged. There are no consistent warning messages or error indicators before the event, aside from the brief flashing of the emergency brake light at the moment of braking. The problem has not yet been inspected or confirmed by a dealer, manufacturer, or independent service center.

The contact owns a 2025 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at any high speeds, the collision mitigation braking system (CMBS) engages independently. In addition, all 4 tires lock, and the emergency brake engages. A dealer was contacted. No warning light illuminated; however a warning message to "brake" would illuminate, but did not give the contact ample time to engage the brake pedal manually. The contact mentioned she sustained whiplash due to the failure. The contact also mentioned that the failure occurred on three different occasions. During the most recent failure, the contact mentioned driving at 40 MPH, when the CMBS engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed; however the diagnosis was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,111.