CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2008 Honda Accord has several serious defects: poor brakes, excessive oil consumption, & uncomfortable seats.
BRAKES: There was a class action lawsuit against Honda in 2010 for premature & excessive brake wear. See our page on Honda's brake problems for more info.
OIL CONSUMPTION: Honda issued a TSB about this in late 2011, claiming it could be fixed through a software update to the VCM (variable cylinder management). There are class action lawsuits pending. See our page about the Accord oil consumption.
UNCOMFORTABLE SEATS: Owners have consistently reported uncomfortable seats with the entire 8th generation (2008-2012) of Honda Accords. Complaints range from back pain to leg circulation problems due to bad lumbar support, cushioning, & seat angle. Complaints aren't limited to only a certain body type -- the seat comfort problems are from a wide spectrum of owner height & weight. The common theme we hear is "we never noticed this during the test drive." Unfortunately for unwary buyers, the seat pain is noticeable after 15-20 minutes.
7.6
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$230
Average Mileage:
26,150 miles
Total Complaints:
1094 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replaced brakes (567 reports)
have 2008 Honda brake system recalled (278 reports)
not sure (85 reports)
replaced brakes and rotors (44 reports)
repaired under warranty - sort of.. (25 reports)
replacing rear OEM pads with ceramic pads (23 reports)
YouTube: Honda Accord rear brake pad change - Great 6-minute clip explains how to replace the rear brake pads yourself on any 8th generation (2008+) Honda Accord. Looks really easy.
Honda Accord Premature Brake Wear Repair Guide - Shows you how to resolve the premature brake wear problems on 2008-2010 Honda Accords. Easy DIY repair involving swapping/re-greasing upper & lower caliper pins along with changing to ceramic brake pads - all for about $26.Did mine, works great!!
REAR BRAKES DOWN TO ROTORS AT 16,000 MILES. HALF THE MILES ARE HIGHWAY MILES. I LOVE EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT CAR BUT THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. I AM GOING TO CONTACT DEALER.
sucks brakes got replaced 3 times once at 12000 miles again at 18000miles and again at 30000 suck honda just puts on new pad but makes u pay for the rotors i getting out of this car thought i would have kept this one what a mistake i bought this crap i sould have leased it i would have gotting the last laugh thanks honda
Can't believe I had to have the rear brakes replaced on a two year old car. How can this not go unnoticed? I am dreading having to put up with this most likely annual maintance, it is absurd.
Don't by this car unless you want to replace your brakes every 25,000 miles or so. I was told by my dealership that the problem was I lived in the Atlanta area and there was too much stop and go traffic! I received notice of a class action lawsuit settlement where Honda agreed to replace the offending part at half off the cost (or thereabouts). When I took it in (for the 3rd set of brakes by the way) they were going to charge me over $400 for the replacement. I took it to my local mechanic who replaced them for $170. Now I have another issue and they want to charge me $126 to diagnosis the problem even though the car is under 100K and I bought the extended warranty to 100K.
Buyer beware - Honda is running on their reputation not their current performance. I for one will never own another one and I am telling everyone I know my opinion - actually I don't have to know them - I tell people my experiences in checkout lines whether I know them or not!
- Jayne H.,
Waleska, GA, US
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Can't believe the complaints from other 08 Accord owners. The dealer in Columbus, GA. kept referencing the class action suit and Honda could not warranty the repair. I have owned 7 Hondas over the past 30 years, and I am very disappointed in how Honda is handling this brake defect.
Terrible customer service and both the service adviser and service manager seemed to be quoting from a script on this brake issue. Bottom line. they did not care. As a consumer and loyal Honda owner, I feel like I was thrown under the bus by the local dealership. I will definitely think twice before buying another Honda and especially in Columbus, GA.
Replaced rear brake pads with ceramic pads at 18,00 miles. 30,000 miles later the pads look almost new. Was reimbursed for half the price of the pads under that class action law suit.
Buying a Honda Accord - biggest car buying mistake of my life. At 18000 miles, the rear breaks started to make an annoying sound and I took it to the dealer feeling pretty sure that the warranty would cover it. No such luck. The brakes were completely worn !! The warranty doesn't cover brake wear. The dealer blamed braking "habits". I tried to plead that my camry has over 35K miles on it and the brakes are still good on that but the dealer didn't budge.
I went in for my 30K service and guess what ..... the SECOND set of brakes now needs to be replaced.
NEVER HONDA AGAIN. I have resolved to tell this to every new person I meet this year as a conversation starter. Even if I cost Honda 100K in lost sales, I will feel at least some satisfaction.
If I would have known that this car was such a hunk of junk I would have never purchased it. And if honda does not fix this problem I will no longer be a lifetime honda owner!!!!
I have always loved Honda vehicles until I bought this 2008 accord with all the toys. Now at less than 30,000 miles I am having to replace the rear brakes. I have never had rear brakes go out before the front brakes. In addition this car is not driven in the city. mostly highway driving. Now I see hundreds of others with the same problem. Honda should be replacing the rear brakes for free and not having their customers going to some website and trying to get 150.00 back which is not the full cost of repair.
The brake problems on this car are definitely real. I had a Subaru Outback prior to my Honda and did not have to change the brakes until around 110,000 miles. With this car, I am about to change the brakes a second time in the first 50,000 miles.
My 2008 Honda Accord EX-L was my dream car, now it is my night mare. I am leasing the vehicle and I can tell you that the car doesn't meet up to the expectations that Honda says it does. At 24,000 miles my brake pads needed to be replaced. I was told by the mechanic that the calipers needed to also be replaced. That is hard to believe that a car with such low mileage would be having this problem.
I am also having a problem with the leather seats, arm rest, and console. The seats are looking like they belong to a car that is over 10 years old! The arm rest and console is buckling and splitting. I though that I had a quality vehicle, but from what I see in my car and from what I have been reading I can see that Honda needs to recall and fix these cars. My neighbors and family told me that they would think twice about buying a Honda after they have witnessed what has happened with mine. Large price tag, no quality, don't buy a Honda.. I am stuck paying for this garbage for the next 2 years
rear brakes every 25000 miles is hard to swallow. recall needs to be issued. dealership in naperville, il. told me 25000 miles was normal for rear brakes, bull#$!@.
My wife had the car in for an oil change at 56000 miles. The tech told her she needed new rear brakes. She questioned them on this issue and said that they were replaced not to long ago(25000 miles ago). Again the dealership in naperville, il. I told her this was normal.
I went in myself to talk to service agent. After pulling teeth, he told me about the class action lawsuit filed against honda. He told me i may qualify for a $150 refund, but did not give me any direction on how to get it done. I guess i will do all of the work myself, and never recomend those honda guys to anyone and cut all ties with there service department. Honest buisness goes a long way with me, dishonest buisness i wll not stand for.
This is total crap. I drive 90% highway, not a lot of breaking needed. I have never had rear breaks go out before front, and NEVER at this low milage. I came home and looked on line, sure enough many people are having the same problem. I bought a Honda for its reliability, and the name, Honda knows there is a problem, and should have been taking care of it before now. Won't buy another Honda if they don't address this problem. From what I read it is a design flaw, they know about it, so fix it. I am going to call the dealer I got the car fixed at, and put some pressure on them to contact Honda.
Chock one more 2008 Honda Accord up to bad brakes. Had to have the rear brake pads replaced for $250. I only have 30,000 miles on this car! Naturally, warranty does not cover this. I have seen the hundreds of complaints about this issue and there should be a recall or at least have this covered by the warranty. Total bullshit.
I have had the Rear brakes on my 08 accord repaired twice. The second time was December 2010. My wife drives it to work all highway driving! The first time I was reimbursed for my repair by Honda after I paid for the work done. The second time the dealer was going to charge me. After I mentioned to him the information I have found out on your web site the service tech spoke to the manager and they agreed to cover the cost. If I had not been informed and put up a fuss, they were going to charge me the full amount!
There should have been a recall on this car. Giving it back when the lease is up. Great site keep up the good work.
This really sucks. I had the car in for an oil change and tire rotation and they told me I had to have the rear brakes replaced, about to get into the metal. I told them to put the wheels back on it and I was going to get rid of this lemon. I have had nothing but troubles with this Honda and the dealers. I need to get rid of this thing.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Unbelievable.. 36000 miles and the rear breaks are shot. You buy a Honda expecting no problems.
- Larry B., Vancouver, WA, US