NHTSA To Probe 250,712 Honda Cars In US Over Unintended Braking Issue

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has initiated a preliminary probe into 250,712 Honda Insight and Passport models over multiple complaints of phantom braking.

The organisation is looking into the details of the complaint to collect more information regarding the issue. As per NHTSA’s report, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received 46 complaints. These reports included cases of three crashes or fires and two injuries.

NHTSA initiated the investigation on March 7, with a focus on Honda Insight, a hybrid car and Passport SUV built between 2019 and 2022. The complaints against the vehicles allege that the brakes were applied unexpectedly without any obstruction to set them off. As per the document released by the organisation, around 250,712 vehicles will be part of the investigation.

Motor1 quotes a Honda representative saying, “Honda is committed to safety. We are aware that the NHTSA has initiated a Preliminary Evaluation, their first level of investigation, regarding a limited number of consumer reports of inadvertent activation of the Automatic Emergency Braking system. Honda has already been in communication with the agency on this topic and will cooperate with the NHTSA through the investigation process while continuing our own internal review of the available information.”

In the first phase of the investigation, NHTSA will review the consumer complaints or manufacture service bulletins which indicate the possibility of a safety defect. It is to be noted that as per reports, other details related to the incident including location, speed, and status of cruise control, among other things are not known yet.

Honda Passport has been on sale in the US since 2019 and SUV’s sales reached its highest point in 2021, with 53,133 units sold. However, the sales figures in 2022 came down to 41,306. On the other hand, Insight didn’t achieve the same level of popularity. Its most successful year was in 2021 when only 19,431 units were sold.