NHTSA Complaint #11507643 — 2021 ACURA TLX

On two occasions the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) has improperly activated with HARD braking leaving me fighting for control. On one occasion, I was driving at 35 MPH on a divided boulevard in my home subdivision with no vehicles in sight. The second occasion occurred on the Florida Turnpike at 75 MPH while in the outside lane. There was no vehicle in front of me or to the side at that time. That was a scary moment. I want to emphasize that the CMBS employed HARD braking along with the flashing dash warning. After each instance I took the vehicle to an Acura dealer. First to Fountain Acura in Orlando who could find no DTC codes and blew me off by telling me it was my E-Pass transponder and window tint that caused the problem. That was utter nonsense. The second time I took the vehicle to AutoNation Acura North Orlando where I had purchased the vehicle as Certified Pre-owned (CPO) in April of 2022. They took my concern seriously, provided a loaner and kept the vehicle for four days. They also were unable to duplicate the issue and could find no DTC codes. They called Honda’s “tech line” and told me that same nonsense about tint and transponders. This “washing of hands” rather than taking ownership of this life-threatening problem made me start looking for others with the same issue. No surprise, I found 103 other Acura 2021 TLXs as well as RDXs and Honda models with NHTSA complaints for the same exact experience I had. Is AHM’s “tech line” telling all owners it is their fault for the improper activation of the CMBS? It seems to me that a change in the CMBS triggering algorithm needs to be made otherwise the more vehicles with the defective algorithm the more crashes will occur. This improper activation seems unique to 2021 vehicles. NHTSA records currently show no similar complaints for 2020, 2022, or 2023 model year vehicles.