CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2009 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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
58,509 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Honda Accord engine problems

engine problem

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2009 Honda Accord Owner Comments (Page 1 of 6)

problem #106

May 082023

Accord

  • miles

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

Burns oil due to bad piston rings. They are notorious for it and everyone that has a 8th generation Honda Accord (2008-2012) knows this is one of the biggest problems with the vehicle.

- York, PA, USA

problem #105

Feb 022022

Accord

  • miles
The bolt that secures the Serpentine Belt tensioner broke off at the engine block. This disables the power steering and the alternator. This is the third time this has happened. Fortunately for me it has happened when I could stop the car without wrecking it. Without power steering it is all most impossible to steer. I have learned that this is a problem with several Honda models. The tensioner is hydraulic and is secured with one bolt. Honda has issued service bulletins about the problem, but they still break. If mine had gone out at road speed or in traffic I may have been seriously hurt or killed. Some other Honda models come with a spring tensioner, and apparently work OK. I have found a lot of information about this problem on Honda forums. Arlington Car Care, in Upper Arlington, Ohio has been great to me in researching the problem and fixing mine 3 times at their expense. I feel Honda should recall cars with this tensioner and replace it with a spring tensioner that is safe. I wonder if the hydraulic unit is affected by cold weather, making the tension too strong and overpowering the single bolt. The shop has been able to get the broken bolt out of the block so far but it has been problem getting it out. Honda recommends bleeding the tensioner 3 times at installation and oiling the bolt and using a washer between the tensioner and the block. In my opinion tensioner was under designed and needs a fix.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #104

Jan 172022

Accord

  • miles
I took my Honda in regarding a rattling noise coming from the engine while driving. It has become more noticeable in the cold and during acceleration. After taking it to the dealer I was told the engine is burning oil. Keep in mind my 2009 Honda Accord has 42k miles on it and is regularly maintained. I was told there is a large amount of carbon build up and it would require a number of this needing repair. Piston Rings, Actuator, Timing Chain, gaskets, seals and the list goes on. The alternative was bring the car in every 3k miles for oil changes because of this issue and monitor the oil consumption. Baffled by how this is possible with carbon build up and using premium fuel. Now I come home and search the internet and find out Honda has an issue with the 2.4 liter Engines in 2009 Honda accords. Apparently a service bulletin was issued but I was never made aware of this issue. Clearly this is a manufacture defect and there should have been a recall. The technician heard the issue and explained the engine would require this major repair or I would be forced to bring the car in for oil changes every 3k miles. The alternative was $6k in repairs total, $2k in parts to replace what they have identified as the issue. There was never any indication that the oil levels were low. And when the vehicle was brought in for oil changes they would note they would change the oil and top it off it was low but never checked why and what the underlying issue was for any lower oil levels. It's really disappointing when you follow all the maintenance protocols to find out they are hiding behind a bigger mechanical issue that can/will have escalating impact on the engine life of my vehicle.

- Lemont, IL, USA

problem #103

Jul 052012

Accord

  • miles

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

My Honda vehicle-??s engine grinds or rattles at cold start-up. Honda dealerships or manufacturer (Honda) are not cooperating and not able to fix it with the reason that my vehicle is out of warranty. I have complained several times since several years however Honda / Honda dealerships have been under playing and rejecting my complaints. This is clearly a manufacturing defect. Please do something about it.

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #102

Nov 062021

Accord

  • 94,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle started shuddering inadvertently and the oil warning light, the tire warning light, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road and she was unable to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine had thrown two pistons and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.

- Oregon City, OR, USA

problem #101

Aug 162021

Accord

  • miles
1st the check engine light continues to come on, when it does it makes loud noise and seems to either speed up like idling to fast or loss of power, continues the normal maintained, already replaced the head gaskets and belts it burns through so much oil when we do test on car they say catalytic convertor and then it will stop and work and some thing over and over again, I have 157000 on my car the leather in the car it is forming hard spots on seats front and back I don't have other passengers its like the seats are superglued. I have heard Honda is aware of these problems and with this amt of complaints why is not Honda heard accountable, in park city a fire started due to faulty catalytic convertor I don't want that to happen to

- Midvale, UT, USA

problem #100

May 212021

Accord

  • miles

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

Continuing -??ignition coils failure-??, leading to lost acceleration, putting car in dangerous situations, stalling, back firing. Coil failure high, expensive.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #99

Nov 032020

Accord 4-cyl

  • 47,000 miles
My name is [xxx]. between my mother and I we own 4 Honda vehicles. 2 Accord and 2 civics. The two Accord are model years 2009 and 2016. 2009 Honda Accord LX-S 242K miles 2016 Honda Accord sport 47K miles I have noticed both of these cars to have a issue with oil at startup. The 2009 makes more noise than the 2016. It seems to be an issue with the vct actuator on the car. This is just an issue at stationary startup. When the car is in motion there is no issues. I did a quick google search to see and I pulled pages and pages of info about people having this same issue. It even shows that Honda is aware of this issue and they sent out service bulletins regarding this but as to why the owners are still having to pay for this is not right. This is a video of the issue: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=8gmjas9cuwg this is obviously not a one time deal with this issue on the Accord. My civics do not have any noise at start up, they are 2009 and 2014 year models. Thanks for your time [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Tyler, TX, USA

problem #98

Sep 242020

Accord

  • 120,000 miles
Loud engine rattling noise with cold start up. Happens every time now

- Brigantine, NJ, USA

problem #97

Sep 202014

Accord

  • 70,950 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the vehicle shutoff without warning. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to racine Honda - dealer service & parts (9501 Washington ave, racine, wi 53406) where they diagnosed the vehicle with a defective alternator. The contact had the alternator and the head gasket replaced. Since the initial failure, the contact stated that the same failure recurred on three separate occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken back to the same dealer each time to have the alternator replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no further assistance. The vehicle had been repaired for the fourth time. The failure mileage was 70,950.

- Fort Winford, GA, USA

problem #96

Mar 182020

Accord

  • 130,000 miles

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

The contact owned a 2009 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle shuddered with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there was an engine misfire. Additionally, the piston rings and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximately failure mileage was 130,000.

- Woodland Hills, CA, USA

problem #95

Nov 142017

Accord

  • 91,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving between 65-80 mph, shuddered and lost motive power with the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was powered off and was restarted however, the vehicle failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed that cylinder number 3 misfired and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The spark plug was replaced every two to three months. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #94

Jan 082020

Accord

  • 142,000 miles
Tension bolt snapped causing the belt to loosen and no power steering while I was driving, all this happend while I was on a highway was the scariest moment of my life having no steering power! also check engine light went on few months ago issue with oxygen sensor. I taught Honda is such a good car, this will be my last time buying a Honda. This car has cost me so much money and towing its rediculos. I read that people had issue with this and Honda only made that bracket 2 years becuase of issues why was there never a recall on this?

- Palos Hills, IL, USA

problem #93

Dec 112019

Accord

  • 150,000 miles
Car has been with mechanics for day 3 now they thought the problem was at 1st timing belt went to replaced it found out it was not that issue thought it was a sensor was not that as well now told by Honda that it is camshaft, I've always maintained my vehicles and oil changes only a 150000 miles on my vehicle. This is extremely stressful I just bought the car from dean Honda in 2017

- Irwin, PA, USA

problem #92

Jun 012017

Accord

  • 144,000 miles
We have found that are 2009 Honda Accord has a parasitic draw we have to pull fuses so the battery does not go dead within hours. Have tried new batteries, charge batteries. Through our own research people are calling this problem a parasitic draw from the battery and its a matter of tracing wires down and pulling fuses. And if you want to use car without running battery down my husband has pulled a fuse or two but this disables several things radio, some dashboard functions. Which if it keeps going could be problematic on the function of the Honda maybe affecting lights eventually or other safety features. So would like to see how many other people are experiencing this problem and how bad it can get and how it can be fixed. Some people were disconnecting wires to remedy the problem and don't want to do that. When we bought car it had to be jump started. So the problem has only increased as time has passed.

- Underwood, IN, USA

problem #91

Dec 042019

Accord

  • 158,000 miles
Oil is entering combustion chamber cause blue smoke to come out of exhaust at times. Seeing oil consumption under 1000 miles of travel at least 1qt of oil consumption.

- Kankakee, IL, USA

problem #90

Sep 272019

Accord

  • 86,000 miles
My car has a high oil consumption problem, which is causing rattling sound to come from the engine. I'm afraid that my engine might catch file because of excessive oil consumption. It looks like this is a known problem, and there has been a recall as well. I've been complaining about this problem to the Honda dealer from past two years, but they never told me about the recall and were asking me money in the range of $3000-$4000 to fix it. Now when I know that it was part of the recall, they are saying that the car is out of warranty and I've to pay everything from my pocket. Https://static.NHTSA.gov/ODI/tsbs/2016/sb-10083874-2280.pdf I feel the Honda dealers are cheating their customers, not informing them about the potential issues, and trying to gouge them thousands of dollars for fixing their cars. We, as a consumer, do not know much about the vehicle internal workings, so have no choice but to agree to whatever they ask to charge.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #89

Sep 172019

Accord

  • 112,900 miles
Recenly purchaced this 09accord ex coupe automatic 5speed 4 cylinder from a used dealership with no warrenty. 3 or 4 days lateri noticed a brief but loud rattle from the engine compartment only on cold start up. I have researched this and there are thousands of posts on this issue and I definetly can be a very serious safty issue if the engine becomes damaged whild driving with this issue with the vtc actuator. I shouldnt have to pay for this repair as there is a tsb on the issue that clearly stares it as a defect.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #88

Feb 012017

Accord

  • 95,000 miles
The car has excessive oil consumption (0.75 Q per 1000 miles) based on a recent oil consumption test. Every 2100 miles or so the low oil warning light lit. Honda refuses to repair.

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #87

Jul 032017

Accord

  • miles
The engine won't start the starter motor sounds like it is spinning faster than normal, but the engine does not start up and run.

- Weaverville, NC, USA

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