April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Wednesday it had upgraded

its probe into reports of unexpected activation of automatic

emergency braking systems in around 3 million Honda Motor ( HMC )

vehicles to an engineering analysis.

An engineering analysis is a mandatory requirement

before the auto safety regulator can potentially demand a

recall. The probe includes the Japanese automaker's popular

Accord sedans and CR-V crossover SUVs.

The NHTSA said it had received 2,876 consumer complaints,

and reports of 93 injury incidents and 47 crashes involving

Honda ( HMC ) cars with unique vehicle identification numbers that may

be related to the issue.

The regulator

had opened a preliminary evaluation

into about 1.7 million Honda ( HMC ) vehicles in February 2022 to

assess claims that the automatic emergency braking system

activated with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's path.

While the preliminary evaluation covered 2017-2019 Honda

CR-V and 2018-2019 Honda Accord vehicles, the NHTSA has expanded

the probe to include 2020-2022 models of the Honda CR-V and

Accord vehicles as well.

Honda ( HMC ) did not immediately respond to a Reuters request

for comment.

Honda's ( HMC ) Autonomous Emergency Braking works by using a

radar and camera, and applies strong braking pressure if the

accident becomes unavoidable, but gives drivers visual and

audible alerts before kicking in.