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.
7.8
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$300
Average Mileage:
42,500 miles
Total Complaints:
64 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
Honda should replace seats at their cost (21 reports)
not sure (20 reports)
replace cheap leather seat covers (19 reports)
better quality/better customer service (4 reports)
The leather in this car sucks. I had a 20 year old honda and it never had 1 interior problem. Nobody seems to care about workmanship these days.
My center console was the first to go, now the armrests on BOTH doors (almost nobody ever sits on the passenger side). And now the insert on the seat next to the center console is ripped and bubbled.
I was able to get a replacement center console cover on eBay for about $25. Easy to fix and matched great. they also have the arm rests, easy to fix too.
The seats however, are VERY expensive to fix. I'm going to try going to an interior shop and see if they can make me real leather seats. I only have 100k miles on this car and the interior looks like crap.
Garage kept great car but the leather started to bubble in 2010. I replaced the center console box and Weston Honda in Weston Florida after MONTHS of fighting finally repaired the leather. The car has been maintained very well and runs great. Now the leather is bubbling again. What SH%$^ for a product. How do you have such a great car with such CRAPPY FAKE LEATHER? The leather is crap because we have leather sofas that were $4000 from Italy and 20 years later look and feel like new.
I am so pissed off about the way my interior looks! I have only had this car for 3 yrs and the leather on both arm rests are completely peeled up and the drivers side seat is beginning to peel. the cost to fix this problem through an outside dealer is outrageous!!! the interior looks like its a 1998 vs a 2008 vehicle. I am pissed that Honda does not offer to replace since the 2008-2010 models are clearly defective!!!
With this being the first Honda I have owned, I have been very disappointed. My problem with my 2008 Honda Accord, is the cheap leather that has been placed on the car. It first became loose, in 2011. From there it has split and ripped, in small amounts every time I would place my arm on the armrests. As of today's date, 10/13/2016 my car has only 76,000 miles on it. I have added pictures for you to see how cheap this car has been made. For the amount of money spent on purchasing a car from Honda, Honda needs to recall this car to replace the interior leather.
- Valerie B.,
Modesto, CA, US
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Leather (Very Thin) on armrest has split and ripped apart. I would expect better than this from Honda. With all the complaints I feel we are all spinning our wheels since Honda does not appear to care enough to issue a recall and fix the issue.
I sat in a friend's Ford pickup last week on leather seats. You could tell right off that these were real leather - thick and would probably wear like iron. Comfortable, too. I am replacing the Honda leather with "neoprene covers" from AutoAnything. I have experience with this type of cover. A set is on my Silverado, both buckets and the rear bench seat. The fit and feel is remarkable!!! Not near as expensive as Honda leather seats.
Very disappointed in quality of 2008, compared to 2004 that we had previously. Bought both cars brand new. Quality of 2004 is what caused us to buy 2008. Both my husband & I are retired and do not abuse interior or exterior. We do not have small children that would put wear on rear seats, only people who would occasional sit back there are usually elderly.
Called Honda's complaint department and got no satisfaction to our problem. Honda cars are supposed to keep their value. To us this car has lost a great deal of its value for trade in. We bought this one with all the bells and whistles on it because being that we are 77 and 80 respectfully, we thought we would not have to invest in another. Now we can't even think about a trade because how little value is left.
Leather is awful, after a year I purchased the car I started to have problems with the leather. My husband went to Honda Dealer to complain and ask them if the warranty covered this but they said not. When we purchased the car we paid $2000.00 for another warranty but they said this only covered the engine.
Now all seats are cracked.
Armrest console cover is rip.
Door armrest has bubbles.
I'm very dissatisfied with the leather quality, this is going to cost me a lot. :(
The leather on my center console and driver's arm rest is bubbling. It looks ugly and I would like to trade my car for one that gets better gas mileage and I know I won't be able to get what I need out of it.
In 2009, the dealership replaced drivers seat cover and later that same year the passenger.
2010- AGAIN front driver & passenger covers needed replacement as did the entire rear seat bottom covers as well as the middle arm rest leather was now needing to be replaced.
My wife was (& is still) the only driver and very rarely had a front passenger or back seat passengers.
We used the dealerships recommended cleaning products for the leather seats and middle arm rest console.
The driver's seat cover was replaced, not the passenger nor would the dealership or Honda cover the rear seat, additional passenger cover or arm rest.
My wife is not nor was "over weight", wore "scented body creams/lotions" or "unusual tanning, body makeup". Nor have we ever used any laundry detergents other than perfume, color (dye) free or hypoallergenic.
The Honda needs the seat covers replaced and at this point the warranty has expired for these accessories...
The leather on the seats is all worn and of poor quality.the armrest is the worst. I will add pictures. It literally has the thickness of tissue paper and Honda should replace free.
Update from Dec 6, 2015: 90k miles and no "leather" left at all on armrest of door and on console. Both driver and passenger seats have rips and worn through. Time for new car and it won't be a Honda.
My leather is peeling on the door and almost completely off on the armrest. I am 'glad' this is not just my problem and many others have experienced the same issue! I pay too much for a Honda I plan to keep for years to have this problem. It is ugly to look at and expensive to fix. I think Honda should address this concen immediately.
The leather seats in the car is spotting, ripping and bubbling supposedly due to wear and tear of the vehicle only after 2.5 years. I'm the only rider in the vehicle and can't understand why the leather seats are melting thus leaving a nasty spotty stain. After calling Honda and making a complaint - the customer service representative at Honda made me believe that they were going to do something about the issues. Later to discover after I took the car to the local Honda dealership that the seat were vinyl and that it was normal wear and tear of the vehicle. First of all I was not aware that the seats were vinyl - the specs on the vehicle stated that the seats were leather. I am so unhappy with the vehicle, I can't sell the car at it's blue book value. Now the leather on the doors are bubbling up and the arm rest in the center is ripped into shrews. I've talked to other people who had purchased the 2008 Honda Accord Sedan and they've had the same problems. One guy after complaining to Honda decided to get the entire interior replace with "real leather" and not vinyl to restore the value in his vehicle. He paid $1,750. I refuse to invest another dollar into this vehicle let alone purchase another Honda Accord. I enjoyed the car, however, turned sour by the interior of the vehicle.
Honda ought to be ashamed of selling stuff crappy vehicle.
Sincerely,
I will never purchase another HONDA Accord. I don't care how nice they look. This incident has left a bad taste in my mouth.
I really, really love my honda but today I am very disturbed. When I brought my Honda it was still on the truck and actually the Honda commercial car. After a month or two the leather seats began to discolor and honda offered to change all of the seats. Well when it was time to do so, they had amnesia and only remembered saying that they would only replace the back seats..okay, I foolishly went along with that excited about my first new car. Shortly there after I took the car for an oil change and some one cleaned the front seats which left "white spots" then they HAD to change the front seats.
Now, Im watching my arm glove compartment and the two door handles made of leather peel the same as the picture on this website. Its disgusting for the amount of money that I paid for the car also being that the interior states that its "leather" but its not. I believe that there was a leather grain issue going on back in 2008 when I brought the car and Honda should really acknowledge that, I mean why lose potential future sales for a $100 job that can be fixed to save your reputation due to YOUR faulty product? .
I called the corporate office and was told that there was nothing that they could do. The reason I didnt contact Honda sooner was because I wanted to make sure that it was in fact the leather and not wear and tear, really wasnt expecting Honda to respond this way.
Leather (Very Thin) on armrest has split and ripped apart. I have a 1998 honda accord as well which I did not have this problem with. I'm very disappointed, these cars are way to expensive for such unattrative damage. This should be a recall!!!
I had to replace the center console because the leather was bubbling up and it ripped. I am a senior and take very good care of my car. I purchased the (what I thought was the best) Accord with all the extras and leather upholstry. I could have saved myself a lot of money by buying the cheapest type possible. I am now having the armrests on both of the front doors coming loose and starting to tear. Now I am probably going to have to replace them. I have purchased Honda before and kept for fifteen years. My civic was just like it was when I bought it.... GREAT LITTLE CAR.
Right now I would not take another Honda unless they would guarantee me that this wouldn't happen again. It is embaressing to have an expensive care like this and have the upholstery deteriating.
I feel angry because the dealer didn't even offer to make good for the inconvenience and expense of correcting this problem. It was not anything that I caused to happen. It was a result of poor workmanship of the manufacturer.
The Honda Accord is a very reliable car and economical but I am anoyed by this upholstery problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The leather in this car sucks. I had a 20 year old honda and it never had 1 interior problem. Nobody seems to care about workmanship these days.
My center console was the first to go, now the armrests on BOTH doors (almost nobody ever sits on the passenger side). And now the insert on the seat next to the center console is ripped and bubbled.
I was able to get a replacement center console cover on eBay for about $25. Easy to fix and matched great. they also have the arm rests, easy to fix too.
The seats however, are VERY expensive to fix. I'm going to try going to an interior shop and see if they can make me real leather seats. I only have 100k miles on this car and the interior looks like crap.
- Marc P., Winston Salem, NC, US