2023 Honda Odyssey Collision Avoidance Problems

This is regarding the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) I will be driving on side streets around town (driving kids to school and daycare) and there will be no vehicle/obstacle near me/ in front of me and my van will flash on the dashboard "brake" and then it slams on the brake. This has happened at least 5-6 times as of todays date 5/20/25. There is no warning or reason for the car to brake like this. I have brought this to the Honda dealer two times now once I realized how serious this was. I was informed that since it isn't throwing a code there is nothing they can do. This is a serious safety risk not only to myself but to my children- this is a van so most people who drive this have small children. The last two incidents i was inches from being rear ended with my children in the car. The time before that I had my family from out of town in my car, that could have been eight people seriously injured or killed for no reason.

The present complaint alleges as follows: 1. Honda has a defective design in the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) of all Honda Odysseys, models 2018-2023. 2. Namely, Honda has placed the RADAR behind the large HONDA emblem on the front grille. This causes the radar to give a "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning, which disables all Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the car (Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning). 3. The "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning cannot be reset by restarting the vehicle or disconnecting the battery, requiring recalibration of the RADAR at the cost of $800 each time since it takes several hours to do (per Dealership). 4. The official Honda Odyssey Forum online has countless complaints on the same issue without resolution by Honda. 5. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers since this defect impacts the vehicle's advanced safety features for which buyers incur additional expenses, endangering the lives of passengers. 6. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers by designing a system that requires continuous and substantial expenditures without resolution because it is an engineering problem, i.e., the placement of the radar behind the large, thick plastic H emblem obstructs the radar. 7. I hereby ask that the NHTSA investigate this issue and order Honda to offer a solution in the form of a RECALL that permanently addresses the problem.

The present complaint alleges as follows: 1. Honda has a defective design in the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) of all Honda Odysseys, models 2018-2023. 2. Namely, Honda has placed the RADAR behind the large HONDA emblem on the front grille. This causes the radar to give a "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning, which disables all Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the car (Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning). 3. The "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning cannot be reset by restarting the vehicle or disconnecting the battery, requiring recalibration of the RADAR at the cost of $800 each time since it takes several hours to do (per Dealership). 4. The official Honda Odyssey Forum online has countless complaints on the same issue without resolution by Honda. 5. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers since this defect impacts the vehicle's advanced safety features for which buyers incur additional expenses, endangering the lives of passengers. 6. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers by designing a system that requires continuous and substantial expenditures without resolution because it is an engineering problem, i.e., the placement of the radar behind the large, thick plastic H emblem obstructs the radar. 7. I hereby ask that the NHTSA investigate this issue and order Honda to offer a solution in the form of a RECALL that permanently addresses the problem.

With low reproducibility rate, the vehicle may activate alarms or emergency breaking in response to wide open lane with no obstructions. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Automatic Emergency Breaking / Radar How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Unexpected change of behavior Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No except during the event

The present complaint alleges as follows: 1. Honda has a defective design in the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) of all Honda Odysseys, models 2018-2023. 2. Namely, Honda has placed the RADAR behind the large HONDA emblem on the front grille. This causes the radar to give a "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning, which disables all Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the car (Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning). 3. The "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning cannot be reset by restarting the vehicle or disconnecting the battery, requiring recalibration of the RADAR at the cost of $800 each time since it takes several hours to do (per Dealership). 4. The official Honda Odyssey Forum online has countless complaints on the same issue without resolution by Honda. 5. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers since this defect impacts the vehicle's advanced safety features for which buyers incur additional expenses, endangering the lives of passengers. 6. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers by designing a system that requires continuous and substantial expenditures without resolution because it is an engineering problem, i.e., the placement of the radar behind the large, thick plastic H emblem obstructs the radar. 7. I hereby ask that the NHTSA investigate this issue and order Honda to offer a solution in the form of a RECALL that permanently addresses the problem.

Forward Collision Warning in conjunction with Emergency Braking have major safety issues that need to be addressed. 1st occurance: Driving through a construction zone through cones for lane realignment, van suddenly applied brakes in heavy traffic despite no obstacles in vans path. Vehicle quickly recovered. 2nd occurance: Driving on a dark street, van heavily applied brakes despite no obstacles. The braking occurred rapidly and van nearly came to a stop. Attempted to press harder on gas to override system with zero results. Had I been on a busier street, it would have resulted in a vehicle crash. This is a major safety issues that needs to be addressed by Honda with a recall.

The automatic emergency braking system will apply the brakes and try to slow or stop the car when there is nothing in front of the vehicle. This could cause a car following to hit my vehicle because they would not expect my vehicle to suddenly slow or stop. The service center at my Honda dealership was told of the issue and said this was normal. They did not think the system needed to be looked at. The vehicle does not have any warning lights or messages. When the brake is applied my the vehicle the dash indicates that the brake has been applied.

While driving the collision system has activated when no apparent hazard is present.

Driving with nothing in lane in front of vehicle brakes are applied. This has occurred several times.

When the car is on adaptive Cruise Control, going downhill it won't correctly control the speed and keeps on accelerating, Austin hill country at one point I managed to gain up to 20 miles above the set cruise speed limit. I have reported this to the First Texas Honda service department, took a test drive with their technician, and reproduced the issue, in a small test managed to increase 10 miles above the set cruise limit. Honday service advisor later contacted me and told me that they had tested several other same-model cars, and all of them have the same behavior therefore there is no recall any error for them to fix, just use the break to reduce the speed that actually disable the cruise control

Driving down the highway with cruise control and lane keep on, the vehicle engaged the breaks for now apparent reason. I immediately disengaged cruise control and applied the accelerator. So far has only happened one time.