The Boston Globe

US probes Honda braking systems

Complaints over emergency stops for no reason

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US auto safety regulators are investigat­ing complaints that automatic emergency braking engages for no reason on two Honda models.

It’s another in a string of probes by the agency into the performanc­e of automatic braking systems, technology that has been touted as having the ability to prevent many crashes and save lives.

The investigat­ion by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra­tion covers just over 250,000 Insight and Passport models from the 2019 to 2022 model years.

In documents posted on its website Monday, the agency says it received 46 complaints from owners that the system brakes with no apparent obstructio­n in a vehicle’s path, without warning. The complainin­g owners reported three crashes and two injuries.

The agency says it is investigat­ing to determine the scope and severity of the potential problem, which could increase the risk of a crash.

In a statement, Honda said it is cooperatin­g in the probe and is continuing an internal review. It said the investigat­ion is the agency’s first level of inquiry and involves “a limited number of consumer reports of inadverten­t activation of the automatic emergency braking system.”

Just over two years ago NHTSA opened an investigat­ion into complaints that more than 1.7 million Hondas braked without an obstacle in the way. The probe covered two of the company’s most popular models, the CR-V and Accord.

NHTSA also opened a probe in 2022 of at least 750 complaints that Tesla models 3 and Y can brake for no reason.

And in May of last year, the agency began investigat­ing Freightlin­er trucks for similar complaints.

Last May the agency announced it plans to require all new passenger cars and light trucks to include automatic emergency braking within three years. The proposed regulation would set standards to make the systems more effective at higher speeds and better at avoiding pedestrian­s, especially at night.

The regulation proposed by

NHTSA will require, for example, that the systems allow vehicles to fully avoid other vehicles at up to 50 miles per hour if a driver should fail to react. If a driver brakes some but not enough to stop a collision, the system would have to avoid hitting another vehicle at up to 62 miles per hour.

In 2016, the auto industry voluntaril­y decided to make the systems standard on over 95 percent of the passenger vehicles they manufactur­e by Aug. 31 of last year. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said all 20 participat­ing automakers met the pledge as of last December.

 ?? DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? The investigat­ion by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra­tion covers just over 250,000 Insight and Passport models from the 2019 to
2022 model years.
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ASSOCIATED PRESS The investigat­ion by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra­tion covers just over 250,000 Insight and Passport models from the 2019 to 2022 model years.

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