US probe of Hondas that can activate emergency braking for no reason moves closer to a recall

DETROIT (AP) — A U.S. government investigation into unexpected automatic braking involving nearly 3 million Hondas is a step closer to a recall.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it has upgraded a probe opened in February of 2022 to an engineering analysis after it received 1,294 complaints about the problem, mainly from consumers and through the company. An engineering analysis is the last step before the agency can seek a recall, although the vehicles are not being recalled at this time.

The complaints allege that the automatic emergency braking system can brake the vehicles with nothing in their forward path, increasing the risk of a crash. The agency said it has 47 reports of crashes and 112 reports of injuries from the problem.

The investigation covers two of Honda's top-selling models, the CR-V small SUV and the Accord midsize car. The model years were expanded to include the 2017 through 2022 CR-V and the 2018 through 2022 Accord.