NHTSA upgrades 2019–2023 Honda Insight and Passport probe to engineering analysis: Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
On January 17, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened an Engineering Analysis (EA25002) into 2019–2023 Honda Insight and Passport, concerning the forward collision avoidance. An Engineering Analysis is the second, deeper stage of an NHTSA defect investigation, opened when ODI wants a closer technical look; it can end with NHTSA asking the manufacturer for a recall. It follows Preliminary Evaluation PE24008. As of NHTSA’s latest data it is still open.
- Action
- EA25002 (Engineering Analysis)
- Status
- Open
- Component
- Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
- Listed
- 9 make/model/year entries in NHTSA’s file
Vehicles under investigation
| Make | Honda |
|---|---|
| Models | Insight, Passport |
| Model years | 2019–2023 |
As listed in NHTSA’s investigation file. Not every vehicle of a listed model is necessarily affected.
What ODI says
On March 7, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24008) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system in model year 2019-2022 Honda Insight and 2019-2022 Honda Passport vehicles. The complainants allege activation of the AEB system with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's path, resulting in rapid vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that it is aware of a total of 412 reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of the AEB system and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints received by ODI allege that Honda dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or state that Honda dealerships informed the consumer that this is considered normal AEB operation. To date, ODI has received a total of 106 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of AEB in the subject vehicles. In total, ODI reviewed 475 reports involving vehicles with unique VINs that may relate to the alleged defect. Of the reports reviewed by ODI, three (3) allege a crash caused by the inadvertent activation of AEB and two (2) allege injury. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations. Further, the scope of the investigation is being expanded to include assessment of model year 2023 Honda Passport vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
Official summary by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation for EA25002, quoted in full (U.S. government work, public domain).
What owners have reported
Owners filed 813 complaints with NHTSA about the model years in this investigation, reporting 38 crashes, 1 fires, 28 injuries. These are all complaints on file for those vehicles, about any problem, not only this one; complaints are unverified owner reports.
| Vehicle | Complaints | Crashes | Injuries | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Insight | 98 | 12 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 Insight | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 Insight | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 Insight | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 Passport | 279 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| 2020 Passport | 102 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 Passport | 143 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 Passport | 62 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 Passport | 40 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
Recalls and problems for these vehicles
Timeline
- ODI opens engineering analysis EA25002
- OpenNo closing date yet
What this means for owners
- An investigation is not a recall. NHTSA has not made a defect finding here, and owners are not asked to do anything yet. If a safety defect is confirmed, the manufacturer recalls the vehicles and the repair is free.
- Check your vehicle for open recalls with a free VIN recall check.
- Had this problem? File a complaint with NHTSA. Owner complaints are the evidence ODI uses to open and expand investigations.
Official record: search EA25002 or your vehicle at NHTSA.gov/recalls, which lists investigations alongside recalls. Data: NHTSA ODI investigations file, updated daily. All NHTSA investigations.