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.
My 09 Accord v6 coupe EX-L just started doing this shuddering thing about two weeks ago. I explained to my local dealer the symptoms, while driving on the highway my car shifts fine, no issue. Inner city driving in the last two weeks have been painful. If I come to a stop light or stop sign, the engine bogs down to the point it wants to stall and has stalled. Car starts right back up without an issue. In order to keep the car from bogging down I have to place the car in neutral at a stop sign / light. Once in neutral the car idles just fine.
I called Honda about the recall for the software update and was told my VIN # did not show up for that recall. The Honda tech drove my car and it was later determined that I need a new trans. :( I saw a recall bulletin for transmission shuddering however once again they are telling me my VIN # does not fall under that recall. The recall pretty much states what my car is doing. Then I was asked is my car under factory warranty. Brought the car in 2009 and also paId for the extended warranty i.e. 8 years or 80K miles. My car just started doing this about 2 weeks ago.
If it's a recall and Honda is aware, why is a factory warranty any concern at this point. Bad design or bad parts were used in building these transmissions. Honda should address the issue and not expect the customer to pay full price to have their transmission repaired. An uphill battle, any help would be appreciated.
I like the Honda Accords. My wife has owned three. One of them even made it through two sons testing. They seem to be well built and maintenance and repairs are fairly easy and inexpensive if you shop around for parts..
Torque converter slips, causing engine RPM to go up/down a few hundred rev/min. Dealer identified problem as "torque converter shudder". My research says the only REAL cure for this condition is to replace the converter ... car is under warranty at this time ... dealer wants to flush the trans fluid and add a "friction modifier" as their repair, but, they want to charge me almost $300 for this service. They said until the converter runs to "total failure" they won't attempt any repair. I asked what was "WRONG" with my trans fluid ... burned/dirty/chemically contaminated ??? NO REPLY other than I just need to change it, AND that fluids were expressly not covered by warranty.
Called HONDA cust service today and asked if they EVER recommend fluid additives to any fluid in a HONDA vehicle ... response ... "ABSOLUTELY NOT" ... I then told her what they wanted to do ... she took notes and said a "case handler" would be in touch ... * WAITING *
- Bob W.,
Cleveland, TN, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My 09 Accord v6 coupe EX-L just started doing this shuddering thing about two weeks ago. I explained to my local dealer the symptoms, while driving on the highway my car shifts fine, no issue. Inner city driving in the last two weeks have been painful. If I come to a stop light or stop sign, the engine bogs down to the point it wants to stall and has stalled. Car starts right back up without an issue. In order to keep the car from bogging down I have to place the car in neutral at a stop sign / light. Once in neutral the car idles just fine.
I called Honda about the recall for the software update and was told my VIN # did not show up for that recall. The Honda tech drove my car and it was later determined that I need a new trans. :( I saw a recall bulletin for transmission shuddering however once again they are telling me my VIN # does not fall under that recall. The recall pretty much states what my car is doing. Then I was asked is my car under factory warranty. Brought the car in 2009 and also paId for the extended warranty i.e. 8 years or 80K miles. My car just started doing this about 2 weeks ago.
If it's a recall and Honda is aware, why is a factory warranty any concern at this point. Bad design or bad parts were used in building these transmissions. Honda should address the issue and not expect the customer to pay full price to have their transmission repaired. An uphill battle, any help would be appreciated.
- Samir G., Easton, US