WASHINGTON — U.S. car protection regulators have introduced an investigation into additional than 1.7 million Honda Motor Co. motor vehicles for unintended automated crisis braking.
The investigation covers 2018-19 Honda Accord midsize cars and 2017-19 Honda CR-V compact crossovers.
NHTSA’s Place of work of Defects Investigation mentioned it has acquired 278 issues — 107 for the Accord and 171 for the CR-V — alleging “inadvertent activation of the collision mitigation braking procedure” in people automobiles.
“The issues allege braking incidents, some with substantial pace improvements, occurring with nothing obstructing the vehicles path,” according to a doc posted Thursday to NHTSA’s web-site.
The company opened the investigation Monday.
Six of the issues allege a collision with small injuries, according to the report. The problems also allege the inadvertent braking takes place with out warning.
“2 times in the past six months, driving down our rural highway to our community, the motor vehicle flashed the ‘brake’ indicator on the dash and applied the brakes,” one particular criticism reads. “After touching the brake pedal, the car returned to its standard pace. The road was crystal clear, with no obstructions, no cars in entrance or cars and trucks [from] coming the other course.”
In a assertion to Automotive Information, Honda spokesman Chris Martin mentioned the automaker is conscious of the investigation and committed to safety.
“Honda will cooperate with the NHTSA by means of the investigation approach, and we will carry on our have interior evaluation of the obtainable info,” Martin mentioned.
Automakers in recent several years have mounted automatic emergency braking as regular equipment on more recent vehicles. At minimum 12 automakers, such as Honda and its luxury model Acura, have installed the crash-avoidance technology on extra than 95 percent of the autos they developed in 2020 and 2021 as aspect of a voluntary motivation led by NHTSA and the Insurance policy Institute for Highway Safety.
By 2024, NHTSA expects to initiate a rule-generating to mandate automatic crisis braking and pedestrian computerized unexpected emergency braking on new passenger motor vehicles — a need in the infrastructure regulation handed by Congress final yr.
Related probes
NHTSA final week opened an investigation into particular Tesla motor vehicles for a identical difficulty.
The protection probe handles an approximated 416,000 Tesla Product 3 and Y autos from 2021-22 that are geared up with the automaker’s Autopilot highly developed driver-assistance procedure. Problems allege that even though employing Autopilot’s capabilities, these kinds of as adaptive cruise manage, “the car unexpectedly applies its brakes while driving at freeway speeds,” according to the agency’s report.
In 2019, NHTSA also released an investigation into opportunity unintended braking in 675,000 Nissan Rogue crossovers from the 2017-18 product several years following studies alleging the automated unexpected emergency braking procedure can have interaction unexpectedly.
NHTSA’s procedure
With a safety probe, the agency will assess the scope and severity of the possible defect and other possible basic safety-associated concerns.
Most NHTSA investigations begin as preliminary evaluations, in which agency engineers request facts from the company, like details on grievances, accidents and warranty claims. The manufacturer also can existing its see concerning the alleged defect and may possibly problem a recall.
Just after the evaluation, NHTSA will possibly shut the investigation or shift into the subsequent stage. If a basic safety-related defect exists, in accordance to NHTSA, the company may possibly mail a “recall request” letter to the company.
