2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid Driver assistance Problems

The forward-facing Honda Sensing camera mounted behind the windshield (Nidec monocular camera, Honda part number 36160-TRW-A04) failed at approximately 85000 miles on XXX The failure produced simultaneous dashboard warnings and disabled multiple driver assistance systems at once, including Collision Mitigation Braking System (automatic emergency braking), Forward Collision Warning, Road Departure Mitigation, Lane Keeping Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control. There was no impact, no windshield damage, and no obstruction of the camera lens. The failure appears to be internal to the camera assembly and occurred without warning during normal driving. Because all of these safety systems depend on this single camera, one component failure removed every forward collision protection on the vehicle simultaneously. The sudden appearance of multiple warning lights at once was also distracting while driving. The vehicle is out of warranty and Honda has offered no repair assistance. Dealer replacement is quoted at approximately $1,500 to $2,000 including required camera calibration. This same camera failure is widely reported by owners of Honda Sensing equipped vehicles, including Clarity, Odyssey, Pilot, Civic, and HR-V models, typically at [XXX] to [XXX] of age, which suggests a durability or thermal defect in the camera assembly rather than an isolated failure. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11755819

Incident

Jul 3, 2026

It looks like this is possibly at this point a wide spread issue with most if not it will be all honda clarity models. The lane departure warnings, adaptive cruise control, front camera honda sense electronics keep to go out and then will work for a little bit. sometimes just not work at all for months, then work for like a day or two. After reading many of many complaints about this it will seems to be pretty much widespread across all yearly models.

NHTSA ID

11750678

Incident

Nov 11, 2025

To Whom It May Concern, I am the owner of a 2018 Honda Clarity, and I am submitting this complaint to request that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigate what appears to be a widespread defect involving the front camera system used by Honda Sensing. My vehicle has experienced a failure of the front camera system, which has disabled numerous critical safety features, including: • Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) • Automatic Emergency Braking (Collision Mitigation Braking System) • Blind Spot Warning • Forward Collision Warning • Lane Departure Warning • Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) • Parking Collision Warning • Rear Cross Traffic Warning When the front camera fails, these safety systems become unavailable, significantly reducing the vehicle's ability to assist the driver in avoiding collisions and maintaining safe operation. After researching this issue online, I discovered that thousands of Honda owners have reported similar failures involving Honda Sensing cameras and related driver-assistance systems. Many owners have reported receiving warning messages, loss of safety functions, and repair estimates costing thousands of dollars. This appears to be a recurring problem rather than isolated incidents. I believe this defect presents a serious safety concern because drivers may unexpectedly lose access to critical collision avoidance and lane safety technologies that were included as standard safety equipment on the vehicle. The failure of a single camera component should not disable so many essential safety systems without a more robust fail-safe solution. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate this issue and determine whether a safety recall or other corrective action is warranted for affected Honda vehicles, including the 2018 Honda Clarity. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I would be happy to provide additional information, repair records, photographs, diagnostic reports, or any other documentat

NHTSA ID

11743727

Incident

Apr 9, 2026

Here is an update to the issue I had raised with your office in March-April 2026: Honda Van Nuys performed the 35,000-mile routine maintenance on the Honda Clarity on February 24, 2026. At that time, Honda Van Nuys recommended (and I approved) that they clean the throttle. The odometer read 33,882 miles. I drove the car 337 miles when the unintended acceleration accident occurred on March 18, 2026 – 2.5 weeks after Honda Van Nuys cleaned the throttle. The airbags deployed. The throttle seems to be the part that failed based on the attached EDR report. The odometer read 34,219 at that time. The car is now considered totaled by GEICO. In addition, Honda Van Nuys has done all maintenance work on the Honda Clarity, including some major removal of the dashboard and back seats, since I purchased the car there in 2018, as outlined in the attachment. I have reached out to Honda Van Nuys and hope your office can encourage them to respond. This is a safety issue. The attachment elaborates further. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11742767

Incident

Mar 18, 2026

I was just driving normal and a message on my dashboard started to appear saying to clean my windshield or the collision mitigation system cannot work, We cleaned the windshield several times and it didn’t work the light still on, mow it got worst all of the lights turned on when I drive the car, adaptive cruise control light, road departure mitigation system problem light, lane keeping assistance problem light, collision mitigation system problem light and Brake system light, I checked online and there’s alot of people complaining from the same thing, they said it’s an issue with the front windshield camera but honda wants to charge thousands of dollars to fix it and there’s other honda models with the same problem too. I don’t know if it’s safe to drive it or if more lights are going to come up.

NHTSA ID

11729066

Incident

Mar 26, 2026

I had an unintended acceleration happen as I was easing into a parking spot of a covered parking garage. The car accelerated like a jet plane taking off. I jammed on the brake. The only thing that stopped the car was the concrete wall that was 4 feet away. My airbags activated. We had taken the car to the Honda dealer for its 35,000-mile check-up on February 24, 2026. The Honda dealer has prepared all maintenance, including Honda recalls, since we bought the car in 2018. I'm scared about what caused the unintended acceleration and concerned that others could be injured. Electronic throttle control? Cruise control? Sensors? Wiring problems? What activated it? I believe this is a Honda mechanical problem. I have researched online that others have had unintended acceleration problems with the Honda Clarity and CRV–another plug-in hybrid–but not enough claims to lead to a recall. I have gotten a runaround. Our insurance carrier has declared the car a total loss but refuses to have the computer assessed to determine the cause. The local Honda dealer says it’s not their problem, claiming that we would have to tow the car to them and pay them to replace all safety items. They would then reboot the computer and delete all data, so they could not assess the cause. They said the Clarity has no “black box.” I contacted American Honda Corporation's customer service. Their engineers would not look at the car either unless our insurance company asked and paid them to do it. I have that Case Number. You would think that American Honda Corporation would be concerned, particularly since this unintended acceleration could have killed pedestrians if it had happened on the street or killed me if the concrete wall had not stopped the car. We had the Honda Clarity towed to our house to see if we could find someone to check out the computer. The towing company has driven the car, even though the airbags were activated. After 30 days, our insurance company will take the car for salvage.

NHTSA ID

11727031

Incident

Mar 18, 2026

Rear camera and Side camera and infotainment system all do not work. Screen does work because we get the welcome message when starting the car. We brought the car to the dealership and they told us that the screen needs to be replaced (Which appears to be working) at a cost of $5400 which they stated may not fix this issue. In addition we tried to get the fuel recall repaired but they told us they could not do it because there is too much fuel in the tank. - The tank holds a total of 8 gallons

NHTSA ID

11713849

Incident

Jan 27, 2026

Several times now while driving on the interstate at the average speed of 70 to 75 which is the speed limit in my Area the battery level while fully charged it's supposed to only drop down to 20% I have noticed several times now while on the interstate I've been barely able to drive 40 mph as it is dropping the power level down to almost zero there is no bars being illuminated they're supposed to be two bars for 20% and even one bar for 10% and twice now in a matter of 2 weeks I've noticed that it goes down to zero bars and the engine is revving very very high and I have very little power available this is quite dangerous on the interstate and I wish this could be resolved or I'll be getting rid of this car

NHTSA ID

11625238

Incident

Nov 13, 2024

My car was involved in a low speed accident in which the front end of our car hit the rear bumper of the other car. There was no damage to the other car and what appeared to be only minor damage to our front grill. 1) Shortly after the accident, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) malfunctioned several times by strongly engaging the brakes when there was no car in front of us. 2) The sudden braking for no reason caused cars behind us to swerve out of the way in order to avoid an accident. Very fortunately, no accidents occurred. 3) The dealer service center confirmed that the accident had caused the sensors for the CMBS to malfunction which in turn caused the brakes to engage. 4) The car has not been inspected. 5) Prior to the brakes engaging, the "Brake Now" warning light came on when there were no cars in front of us. My concern is that the car does not have a safety check to make sure that the sensors are working properly. In addition, the Honda Manual does not warn drivers that even a very low speed accident could cause the sensors to malfunction and the brakes to engage. The CMBS can be turned off by the driver but it automatically comes on every time the car starts. In my view, at the very least, drivers should be warned that if they are involved in an accident, they should disengage the CMBS until an authorized service center can look at the car and make sure the sensors are operating properly. I have contacted Honda and they called me back several months ago, but, to date, nothing has been done. I have attached a picture showing that the damage from the accident appeared to be minor.

NHTSA ID

11623266

Incident

Feb 26, 2024

All the sensor is showing as a problem on the dashboard the vehicle was not in any accident and no damages to the front radar or front camera sensor. Multiple error problems continue to show on the dashboard.

NHTSA ID

11568550

Incident

Jan 15, 2024

No Accident occurred but wanted to report a problem with my vehicle. Dealership diagnosed my vehicle with a malfunction in the "multipurpose camera unit/millimeter wave radar." Because of this malfunction, my vehicle lost all its driving assistant abilities such as: Adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, land departure warning, lane keep assistance, and automatic emergency braking. Attached a picture of a screenshot of my cell phone showing all the things that are affected by the one camera malfunctioning.

NHTSA ID

11558985

Incident

Nov 30, 2023

I’ve purchased my 2018 Honda Clarity in July of 2023. I haven’t any issues with it, but recently I turned my car on in the morning, and it’s flashing the lights pointing to braking malfunction. ABS braking issue, Dashboard errors illuminating randomly, indicating brake system errors, sometimes locking the parking brake. I haven’t the slightest idea why? The vehicle has 66,000 miles which is minimal considering the life span of Hondas. I will be taking it back to Honda to take a look at this, but I’ve noticed some online complaints regarding the Clarity’s braking system. Specifically, the model I bought 2018. Hopefully, Honda will resolve this with a recall. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11544504

Incident

Sep 14, 2023

I started my car, and it would not transition out of park. The car displayed several warnings including “brake system problem”, “electric braking problem”, and “road departure mitigation system problem”. The windows also would not consistently move up and down. I had to abandon my car so I could get my children home.

NHTSA ID

11540280

Incident

Aug 23, 2023

Multiple errors. Possible broken car camera. Because the camera is broken, all safety futures stop functioning like land departure warning, land keeping warning, collision warning. The problem is confirmed by the dealer and the dealer told us it’s known problem with Honda car.

NHTSA ID

11483800

Incident

Nov 1, 2011

The software in the car dashboard randomly pops errors like - road departure mitigation, brake system, brake hold system problems, etc. This has happened many times this year. I have taken it to the dealership to get fixed a couple of times (most recently on July 16 2022). They say they have reset the software but the problem still reoccurs and is very frustrating since in some cases the vehicle if it has parking brake set remains immobilized. Also, the safety systems in the car like Lane Keep Assist, Road Collision Mitigation and Automatic Cruise Control get disabled when these errors popup. I filed a case with Honda customer service (Case #13070724) on Jun 9, 2022 and have been following up with them weekly to get this fixed

NHTSA ID

11476445

Incident

Jun 8, 2022

My family has noticed several incidents involving the sensitivity of the FCWS. In most incidents we are accelerating or coasting towards a car that is making a turn and there is plenty of time and space for the driver to conduct their turn. The system will cause the car to shudder and brake and limit throttle application on the accelerator pedal. This has also occurred when approaching slowing or stopped cars where the vehicle will slam on the brakes. These events happened between 5-30 mph. I chose to file this after seeing PE 22-003 as the clarity shares a similar base with an Accord. I've put todays date, but we've had maybe 5-10 incidents in the last 6 months. No crashes or injuries though

NHTSA ID

11454244

Incident

Feb 26, 2022

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2018 HONDA CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT 35 MPH, WHEN HE REAR-ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND THE FORWARD COLLISION WARNING FAILED TO ALERT THE CONTACT OF THE VEHICLE AHEAD. NO MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS RECEIVED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND DEEMED TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT TO CALL THE INSURANCE COMPANY. THE VEHICLE FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC OR DEALER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,868.

NHTSA ID

11405772

Incident

Mar 15, 2021

Mileage

25,868 mi

FEW TIMES IT HAS HAPPENED ESPECIALLY IN EXTREME COLD WEATHER, THERE WILL BE LOSS OF POWER/ACCELERATION EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE TRYING TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE. WHILE ACCELERATING IT WILL TAKE THE COMMAND ENGINE RPM WILL BE HIGHER BUT VEHICLE IS NOT TAKING UP THE SPEED. EITHER IT WILL STAY TO GO AT LOW SPEED OR SLOWLY IT WILL STARTING TO HALT SITUATION. THIS HAS HAPPENED FEW TIMES(ABOUT 5-6 TIMES). AND IN SUCH SITUATION THERE WILL SOME UNACCEPTABLE NOISE FROM ENGINE. ONE TIME WE WERE AT ABOUT 50MPH SPEED BUT I COULDN'T ACCELERATE (JUST LIKE ABOVE) AND HAD TO STOP THE CAR IN MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY, STOP THE CAR (SHUT THE ENGINE) AND THEN START THE CAR IT STARTED WORKING FINE. THIS HAPPENED MOSTLY WHEN ON GAS AND ESPECIALLY DURING EXTREME COLD WEATHER. WHILE ON FULLY EV MODE IT WORKS FINE, I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11394934

Incident

Feb 2, 2021

BRAKES WHEN IT WANTS TO MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. OR BRAKING ASSIST WILL NOT KICK IN AND ENGINE JERKS.

NHTSA ID

11363394

Incident

Oct 8, 2020

MY CAR WAS IN MOTION WHILE PREPARING TO PARK IN AN OUTDOOR PARKING SPACE AT WORK ONLY GOING 5 MPH OR LESS. I TURNED MY CAR SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT SINCE THE PARKING SPACE IS AT AN ANGLE WHEN MY CAR ACCELERATED UNEXPECTEDLY AND I CRASHED INTO A FENCE AND ELECTRICAL POLE. MY BRAKES DID NOT WORK AND THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE ELECTRICAL POLE MY CAR WOULD OF RUN INTO A HOME. MY CAR IS CURRENTLY AT A HONDA DEALERSHIP. THE SERVICEMAN TOLD ME THAT NO CODES POPPED UP WHEN RUNNING A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THEY ALSO TOOK THE CAR FOR A TEST DRIVE AND STATED THE CAR SHOWED NO ISSUES. THEY ARE GOING TO KEEP IT OVERNIGHT TO TEST ONE MORE TIME. THE MAN STATED HONDA COULD NOT DO ANYTHING UNLESS A LIGHT CAME UP ON THE DASHBOARD.I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN THIS CAR AND I'M AFRAID THIS MAY HAPPEN AGAIN. DECIDING OF MAKING A COMPLAINT TO CORPORATE.

NHTSA ID

11363289

Incident

Oct 6, 2020

Mileage

16,660 mi

ON APPROX 6 OCCASIONS, WHEN EV POWER IS USED UP, THE CAR SWITCHES TO ICE MODE WITH ISSUES. WHEN TRAVELING UP HILL, IT FEELS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT ENGAGING. THE VEHICLE LOSSES POWER, AND DOES NOT ACCELERATE. THE ICE REVS EXTREMELY HIGH WITHOUT SPEED GAIN. HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED A DOWNHILL SITUATION WITH NEARLY FULL EV IN EV MODE. VEHICLE FEELS LIKE IT DISENGAGES DRIVETRAIN. WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. ONE FEELS HELPLESS WHEN THIS OCCURS. MOST OF THE TIME, THE CAR HAD SWITCHES FROM EV TO HV AUTOMATICALLY, WITHOUT ISSUE. BUT, THE ABOVE PHENOMENA HAS HAPPENED 6 TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR THIS IS UNSAFE. THE VEHICLE WAS SOLD AS AN EV, WITH A GAS ENGINE TO TAKE OVER WHEN EV RUNS OUT. AT NO TIME WAS THERE ANY EXPLANATION REGARDING POTENTIAL SITUATIONS THAT WOULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO BECOME UNSAFE AND LOSE POWER. ONE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO ENSURE RESERVE EV POWER FOR POTENTIAL POWER LOSS SITUATIONS. WHEN THESE SITUATIONS HAVE OCCURRED, UPON SHUTTING OFF THE CAR AND EXITING, THERE IS A STRONG SMELL OF BURNING RUBBER AND OTHER MATERIAL SIMILAR TO TRANSMISSION AND BRAKES, OR HOT METAL. CLEARLY SOMETHING IS OVERHEATING, AND IF THE VEHICLE WAS NOT SHUTDOWN AND ALLOWED TO COOL, A REASONABLE PERSON MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE, ELECTRIC MOTORS, EV BATTERY, OR TRANSMISSION WOULD TAKE PLACE. I AM NO LONGER DRIVING THE VEHICLE AS A PURE EV FOR CITY DRIVING. THE FEAR OF POWER LOSS WITHOUT CONTROL IS EXTREMELY UPSETTING, AND CONSEQUENTLY, NOT GETTING THE VALUE OF VEHICLE. MY SPOUSE WILL NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE AS DRIVER OR PASSENGER IF THE TRIP IS TO EXCEED 20 MILES IN ONE DIRECTION. MY GAS SAVINGS HAS DROPPED CONSIDERABLY AS I AM UNABLE TO RISK RUNNING OUT OF EV BEFORE MY TRIP ENDS. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES, AND INSPECTED BY HONDA OF AMERICA. THEY DENY THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11204270

Incident

Feb 9, 2019

Mileage

12,650 mi

STATE OF DRIVING CONDITION: THE CAR WAS SET IN CRUISE AT 70 MPH IN HV MODE (NOT CHARGE MODE). EV RANGE WAS 30 MILE REMAINING, APPROXIMATELY 70% OF BATTERY REMAINING. THE HONDA CLARITY PHEV SPONTANEOUS EXCESSIVE REVVING THE ENGINE WHILE CRUISING AT A CONSTANT SPEED ON FLAT HIGHWAY ROAD THEN THE CAR DROPPED SPEED BY ITSELF WITHOUT ANY CAR IN FRONT. ONCE I NOTICE THE CAR DOES NOT HAVE POWER TO REGAIN TO SET CRUISING SPEED, I TURNED CRUISING OFF, SWITCHED THE CAR FROM HV TO EV THEN THE ENGINE STOP DOING HIGH REVVING. I DROVE IN EV FOR 2 MINUTES THEN SWITCH BACK TO HV THEN THE CAR REGAIN ITS POWER TO RESUME CRUISING SPEED. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHEN DRIVERS DID NOT AWARE WHEN THE CAR DECIDED TO CUT ITS POWER IN HV MODE. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I ENCOUNTER THE SITUATION, BUT I'VE NOTICED MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER DRIVER REGARD TO CLARITY PHEV SPONTANEOUS ENGINE REVVING ON MANY FORUM.

NHTSA ID

11202812

Incident

Apr 22, 2019

Mileage

15,703 mi

WHEN VEHICLE IS IN ANY MODE THAT REQUIRE THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, IT PERSISTENTLY GETS STUCK IN A HIGH REV, HIGH RPM, STATE AT ANY SPEED. THIS CAUSES POWER FLUCTUATIONS AND EXTREME ENGINE NOISE. THIS CREATES CHALLENGING AND POTENTIALLY UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS DUE TO THE SENSITIVE STATE OF THE ENGINE WHEN STUCK IN THIS MODE.

NHTSA ID

11174607

Incident

Jul 2, 2018

Mileage

100 mi

VEHICLE WAS IN A PARKING GARAGE, WHEN MAKING A RIGHT TURN AT THE TOP OF A RAMP TRAVELING AT ABOUT 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE WENT INTO MAX ACCELERATION. THERE WAS NO BRAKING EFFECT WHEN THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. AFTER A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED FEET THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO 2 PARKED CARS WHICH WERE TOTALED ALSO. THE CAR HAD CRASH MITIGATION BUT IT DID NOT APPEAR TO ACTIVATE. THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED SO THE DRIVER HAD ONLY MINOR INJURIES. HOPEFULLY AN ANALYSIS OF THE BLACK BOX WILL ENABLE HONDA TO FIX THIS PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11144940

Incident

Oct 29, 2018

Mileage

3,000 mi

MOSTLY ALL THE TIME, THE ENGINE KICKS IN (CHARGE MODE) EVEN THE BATTERY IS AT FULL CHARGE. MOSTLY ALL THE TIME, HIGHWAY DRIVING OR JUST PICKING UP.. THE ENGINE IS AT ECO MODE, THE GAS ENGINE IS WORKING AT HIGH RPM. SOUNDS JUST LIKE A REGULAR ENGINE CAR AT 8RPM SOUND. SPEED AT 65MPH.

NHTSA ID

11142774

Incident

Sep 3, 2018

Mileage

4,000 mi