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.
After 13 years of driving my beloved Suzuki (devastated) I had to replace it. Had heard that Honda was a good car for longevity, very dependable. Found one with low mileage, descent price. In the 5 months I have had it, hadn't even put 3,000 miles on it for an oil change. While coming back from vacation, going up a pass (not even doing speed limit) it jerked twice and I lost all power, car would not respond even with gas pedal to the floor, would only go about 10 mph. After a 5 hour process of getting it to a mechanic, he pulls 2 burned spark plugs apparently from blown rings, oil would not register (I had check it while waiting, there was oil on the dip stick), find metal shavings in the oil after adding oil, check one of the pistons- half of the piston was melted. Car never gave any indication that anything was wrong, no odd smells, no oil burned exhaust, no temp gauge elevation, nothing. How can an engine get that hot and not give any warning? He said the piston rings stuck. Tried to blame it on the gas, only used 89 or 90. I now have to replace the engine, I will never trust it again and once back in Bozeman it will never leave the city. If I could get out from under it I would (financed), I had hopes that it would last 9 years until retirement, guess that was too much. This will take everything I have to fix. I will never recommend a Honda, instead of having a dependable car for work; I now have a piece of junk. Not that it matter but I am very disappointed in Honda and will never be proud to own one. That is my rant, thanks for listening.
Car was stalling, hard to start, made a knocking noise and was generally unreliable.
The dealer determined that the issue was a bad ignition coil. They also wanted to replace the spark plugs and quoted a ridiculous $350 for replacement.
I told them to perform the warranty repair only and not to replace the spark plugs and they ended up dropping the price down to $225. It was still a rip off but the extra money outweighed having to take the vehicle elsewhere.
The vehicle was out of service for 2 days while they got the parts and minted what must have been solid platinum spark plugs...
since i bought this car , it has stalled on me in the middle of the highway , dropping from 55-60mph to 15-20mph with loss of power while my feet is on the gas pedal this can last up to 30mins , and each time then engine check light has never come on each time this has happened every year since i bought this car , it occurs once a year and has never been duplicated at the dealership , after the car is parked and restarted in drives like nothing ever happened
- jamakernc,
Charlotte, NC, US
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this is my first honda. i've owned toyota & nissan & i have to say that i'm fairly diappointed with my honda experience & it's reputation. my car is barely 2 years old & i just recently hit 30k miles & already i'm experiencing major stress & headaches with this engine problem. like everyone else, my car surges & loses accelerating power during lower speeds, especially when you accelerate from a dead stop. i took it to the dealership a few days ago. i was there for 8 hours. they told me the same schpeel, that it was a "software " problem. they supposedly uploaded new software, but that didn't help. they told me they wanted to keep the car longer because they needed to send some info to "Honda engineers". they offered me a loaner, but one of the MAIN reasons i get new cars is to AVOID these type of hassles! I'm supposed to go back later this week and i'm dreading every minute. i don't know about everyone else here, but if this goes beyond a day or two, i'm ready to throw in the towel and never buy honda ever again!
I have an 2008 Accord V6 sedan top line, I bought it new in these year but, after two years it became a problem, the engine fails when you are into overdrive, and the light of check engine starts. Te experts In the Honda agency tells me that problably is a valvule betwen 4 or 5, but it is the 5th time that I have had report it and it is still the same. In other instance they told me that probably was a software issue, but the car is now in Honda for reviewing
my 2008 Honda accord had that surge problem. This ended up with my crashing into a concrete barrier while parking! my foot was on the brake. Now I am waiting to see the outcome of this disaster. Hopefully they won't turn it around and say it was my fault.
I was traveling back home on the interstate when I felt my car jerk. I thought maybe I ran over something and that everything was fine. Then my check engine light came on and I immediately pulled over the emergency lane. I called the Honda dealership where I had it serviced and they ask me to check to see if the gas clip was secured. It was so I tried to restart the car. The car would not drive over 10 mph. I had to call a tow truck which cost me $250 to transport me and the vehicle to the Honda dealership in my area.
The next day, when they finally looked at my car, they said that it was a engine valve failure. They reset the computer and said they tested all the independent parts. They stated that all the parts passed. They then told me nothing was wrong with me car.
I am not sure what happened, but I do not feel safe that I can drive my car on the road for long distances again, without knowing I won't have an unexpected malfunction with the engine.
This is unnecessary for a car that is less than 2 years old.
I really like the 2008 Accord Coupe V-6. It is a great car till this problem came around. I hope they can solve the problem if not it will be the last Honda I ever buy and believe me I have had a few. From A 1976 Civic cccv that I used to race to my new Accord.
One more thing, the floating pads are annoying. They move make a sound in stop and go when you let go of the pedal.. Other than that I love the car. HONDA please don't disappoint me.
Car will surge, stumble, and be under powered 75% of the time during light to mild acceleration. Honda was only will to do parts swapping and then they pretty much told me to go pound sand.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
After 13 years of driving my beloved Suzuki (devastated) I had to replace it. Had heard that Honda was a good car for longevity, very dependable. Found one with low mileage, descent price. In the 5 months I have had it, hadn't even put 3,000 miles on it for an oil change. While coming back from vacation, going up a pass (not even doing speed limit) it jerked twice and I lost all power, car would not respond even with gas pedal to the floor, would only go about 10 mph. After a 5 hour process of getting it to a mechanic, he pulls 2 burned spark plugs apparently from blown rings, oil would not register (I had check it while waiting, there was oil on the dip stick), find metal shavings in the oil after adding oil, check one of the pistons- half of the piston was melted. Car never gave any indication that anything was wrong, no odd smells, no oil burned exhaust, no temp gauge elevation, nothing. How can an engine get that hot and not give any warning? He said the piston rings stuck. Tried to blame it on the gas, only used 89 or 90. I now have to replace the engine, I will never trust it again and once back in Bozeman it will never leave the city. If I could get out from under it I would (financed), I had hopes that it would last 9 years until retirement, guess that was too much. This will take everything I have to fix. I will never recommend a Honda, instead of having a dependable car for work; I now have a piece of junk. Not that it matter but I am very disappointed in Honda and will never be proud to own one. That is my rant, thanks for listening.
- Helen H., Bozeman, MT, US