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.

8.0

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$1,900
Average Mileage:
74,400 miles
Total Complaints:
3 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. complet valve job on cylinder head and resurface , new timin (3 reports)
2008 Honda Accord engine problems

engine problem

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2008 Honda Accord Owner Comments

problem #3

Dec 142018

Accord LX 2.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 121,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Be me; driving along the interstate for work... Notice pluming white smoke coming out of your exhaust. Realize this is not a good sign and get your suuuuuuper reliable 2008 Honda Accord (gag) to the mechanic asap.

Now, my mechanic is an angel and has done right by me for many years. Turns out there is coolant all up in my oil, the head gasket is blown and the cylinder head may be cracked. I went ahead with the repair figuring that this would be the last major issue with this vehicle for its realistic life (it wasn't see my power steering review, I have a beautiful picture for that one).

I went ahead, shelled out the $2,300 to get this issue fixed as it impacted quite a few other items in the process of getting its sweet, sweet coolant yumminess all up in my smooth oil, but luckily the cylinder head in this oh so reliable vehicle was salvageable. After this bargain of a repair, it was less than one month before I began to have more problems surprisingly not related to the engine.

- ellie08, Seattle, WA, US

problem #2

May 112012

Accord LX 3.2L V4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 54,059 miles

My 2008 Honda accord was real pain in the ass from the beginning I will never ever never will deal with Honda dealerships not even if they give me a free Honda!!!! at the beginning back in 2008 noticed gas intake of the car is super high for sedan car so I returned it to company to check it. this is what they told me: Oh cars engine is small for this body and body is so heavy for this size engine!!! so you must have purchased the V6 one!!!!!!!!!! ok then I had problem with Rear Brakes yes do not be shocked back brakes on a first 14 months so changed it because it was not safe to drive the car few months after Honda sent me a note that Honda will cover the cost for who ever has already replaced rear pads lol and then a year after car starter had issue under warranty they fixed it and now at the Mileage of 87000 Km ( 4 years) car engine has massive issue then you tell me are going to purchase Honda again?????? I still do not know for sure what the heck is problem but as far as I know CAA guy was completely in shock when he came to take the car to the dealer and a service guy said holy jesus !!!!

- bshadzik, Toronto, Ontario, canada

problem #1

Jun 212011

Accord EX-L 2.4L 4 cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 48,000 miles

overheating, diagnosis , pull engine codes , none found , check both electric fans numerous times and also found no problems,i pressure tested the cooling system several times and found a small seepage only when not under pressure .it was leaking on the left rear side of the radiator, there was no damage from road debris , i replaced the radiator , thermostat and radiator cap and temp sensor on bottom of tank app. , app1 year earlier i flushed the cooling system and replaced with honda coolant , , the manual said the coolant was to be changed at 5 years or 150,000 miles , i had 30,000 mile and only 2 years old . app. 1 month later the vehicle overheated again , check engine light on ,i did a dye test and found combustion gas in cooling system, called dealer and was told it was covered under power train warrant up to 50,000 miles , brought car to dealer and after 3 weeks was told it will NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY BE CAUSE RADIATOR WAS NOT ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ,AND THIS CAUSED THE HEAD GASKET TO FAIL, I AM NOW REMOVING THE CYLINDER HEAD AND SENDING OUT TO A MACHINE SHOP AND WILL HAVE RESURFACED AND CHECK FOR CRACKS AND REPLACE HEAD GASKET SET, 7-9-11 also i am a ASE MASTER CERTIFIED AUTO TECHNICIAN , IAM MASTER CERTIFIED IN HD TRUCK ,MASTER EVT FIRE APPARARUS FIRE ENGINES AND MASTER EVT FIRE RESCUE , SERVICE ADVISOR , PARTS SPECIALIST AND OTHER CERTIFICATIONS I HAVE BEEN A CERTIFIED MECHANIC FOR APP. 30YEARS .at 30,000 miles all fluids and filters have been changed, coolant , transmission fluid and filters ,power steering fluid, tires , all brakes , clean intake and injectors , also i use mobil 1 synthetic oil and change at app.every 4,000 miles , i keep acomplete log of all repairs and go well above scheduled service intervals ..... I WOULD NOT HAVE BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE HONDA DEALER FOR REPAIRS IF THEY WERE NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY , AND TO WAIT 3 WEEKS , AND ALSO GET NO REPLY FROM ANY ONE AT THE DEALER , THIS SERVICE IS UN ACCEPTABLE !!!! i will add to this when i finish repairing this with the after market radiator to see if this caused the overheating, i also check the speciations of the radiator and found them to be exactly the same as the original,

Update from Oct 5, 2011: after doing a complete valve job and reinstalling the cylinder head and complete gasket set i have had no problems with this car . also i waited a very long time for original honda parts , head gasket set app. 1 week , timing chain and guide set over 3-4 weeks

Update from Oct 5, 2011: after doing a complete valve job checking for cracks and reinstalling the cylinder head and complete gasket, timing chain and guides set i have had no problems with this car , i am still using the aftermarket radiator [csr] that the dealer said caused the head gasket to blow and i have not overheated yet , nice job maroone honda . also i waited a very long time for original honda parts , head gasket set app. 1 week , timing chain and guide set over 3-4 weeks

- Jeff S., davie, FL, US

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