Jan 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration said on Monday it is expanding and

upgrading a probe into about 295,125 American Honda

vehicles over reports of crashes and injuries due to their

automatic emergency braking systems.

According to the reports, the automatic emergency braking

system in these vehicles was triggering inadvertently, which

increases the risk of a collision due to the rapid deceleration.

The problem affects the 2019-2022 models of the Honda

Insight, a hybrid electric car, and the Honda Passport SUV,

according to the U.S. auto safety regulator.

The regulator said it is upgrading the probe from March to

an engineering analysis, and expanding it to include 2023 Honda

Passport vehicles.

Engineering analysis is a required step before the NHTSA

could demand a recall.

The NHTSA said Honda ( HMC ) provided an analysis of the alleged

defect and stated that some customers may have possibly had an

inadequate understanding of the braking system and its

limitations.

The agency's report states that the Office of Defects

Investigation received 106 complaints, which included reports of

three crashes and two injuries.

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

comment.