After the first 15,000 miles, my brand new 2008 Honda Accord EX-L started making an odd rattling sound during cold start. This first became noticeable during the winter months after the temperature started dropping. This initially happens intermittently then as time progresses, very regularly.

The problem is annoying because it only presents once a day on a cold start--typically, after the car has been sitting overnight. When you take your car to the dealership for repair, know that they will not issue you a loaner vehicle until they can verify the noise themselves.

I've had this part replaced 3 times to date and each time it has been a major inconvenience to have fixed--even under warranty. The first instance had me without a car for 2 days--the dealer was not ever able to reproduce the noise so, I had to come back several months later. The second time this occurred I didn't even think about bringing the car in until the sound was happening at every cold start. After the second warranty repair, since I was about to go out of the powertrain warranty, I was told that I would be under a 12,000 mi warranty if it were to go bad again. This WAS NOT TRUE. It went bad a third, time and this time, after haggling with North American Honda they finally diagnosed the problem a third time. American Honda agreed to repair the vehicle a third time BUT I had to come out of pocket $100 this time since my car was out of warranty. They call this a 'goodwill repair' and because the car is out of warranty they require the customer to share the repair cost. I tried my best to fight this, but my American Honda Case Manager, Lily (1-800-999-1009, ext. 17707) was not very helpful and at times rude when I asked to speak with someone else regarding the problem. Further, if it wasn't for the dealership I wouldn't have had a rental car for the two days my car was being repaired.

As far as I am concerned, Honda has been negligent and unresponsive about providing a permanent fix or recall for what is a pretty common issue for the 2008 Honda Accord. This vehicle was my first new car, and my first Honda. When making my purchase decision, Honda was my only choice because I believed in the reputation of the company and product. I can honestly say that I will not be purchasing another new Honda until this company has proven that it stands behind a quality product once again. I would advise anyone looking for a quality and reliable vehicle to search elsewhere. American Honda has made it very clear that they are no longer interested in the satisfaction of their customers or maintaining the reputation of what was once a great car company.

After the first 15,000 miles, my brand new 2008 Honda Accord EX-L started making an odd rattling sound during cold start. This first became noticeable during the winter months after the temperature started dropping. This initially happens intermittently then as time progresses, very regularly.

The problem is annoying because it only presents once a day on a cold start--typically, after the car has been sitting overnight. When you take your car to the dealership for repair, know that they will not issue you a loaner vehicle until they can verify the noise themselves.

I've had this part replaced 3 times to date and each time it has been a major inconvenience to have fixed--even under warranty. The first instance had me without a car for 2 days--the dealer was not ever able to reproduce the noise so, I had to come back several months later. The second time this occurred I didn't even think about bringing the car in until the sound was happening at every cold start. After the second warranty repair, since I was about to go out of the powertrain warranty, I was told that I would be under a 12,000 mi warranty if it were to go bad again. This WAS NOT TRUE. It went bad a third, time and this time, after haggling with North American Honda they finally diagnosed the problem a third time. American Honda agreed to repair the vehicle a third time BUT I had to come out of pocket $100 this time since my car was out of warranty. They call this a 'goodwill repair' and because the car is out of warranty they require the customer to share the repair cost. I tried my best to fight this, but my American Honda Case Manager, Lily (1-800-999-1009, ext. 17707) was not very helpful and at times rude when I asked to speak with someone else regarding the problem. Further, if it wasn't for the dealership I wouldn't have had a rental car for the two days my car was being repaired.

As far as I am concerned, Honda has been negligent and unresponsive about providing a permanent fix or recall for what is a pretty common issue for the 2008 Honda Accord. This vehicle was my first new car, and my first Honda. When making my purchase decision, Honda was my only choice because I believed in the reputation of the company and product. I can honestly say that I will not be purchasing another new Honda until this company has proven that it stands behind a quality product once again. I would advise anyone looking for a quality and reliable vehicle to search elsewhere. American Honda has made it very clear that they are no longer interested in the satisfaction of their customers or maintaining the reputation of what was once a great car company.

We purchased this vehicle in Texas and shortly after moved to Kansas. I thought this awful grinding noise was because of the cold weather. Took it to the dealership for oil change and explained the problem to them. Of course the car did not make the noise for them, so they told me they could not find a problem.

The noise continued every time the car was started. About a month after going to the dealership, we received a forwarded letter from Honda about the update for the VTC Actuator because of oil consumption. I got the update and researched this further, to find out many people have the loud grinding noise because of this issue, some replacing the Actuator to continue to have the noise.

I talked my husband into buying the Accord over a Civic because it was more of a "family" car, now with this purchase I regret it everyday I have to start my car. The noise makes me cringe every time. At first the noise was only in cold weather, but now it is every single day. Even after the "update" to fix the problem. With the price we are paying for this vehicle, we should not have to listen to this!

I bought my 2008 Honda Accord LX (5 speed manual transmission) used in 2010 from Ancira Nissan. I test drove the car and everything seemed great. It had around 26000 miles on it, and I've owed several Honda Vehicles in the past and still own 3 currently, (88 Honda CRX (showcar), 92 Civic Hatch back (showcar), and a 95 Honda Accord). I also run an import performance shop and I am really familiar with working on Honda cars. My older cars have over 100K miles on them so I expected a newer 08 Accord with 26K miles to last at least to 100,000 miles with no problems as long as I kept up the routine maintenance. Well I was wrong this car does not fit the standard Honda stereotype for reliable and quality like my older Hondas do. This car was purchased for my wife when she decided to sell her 2000 Civic Si that she loved dearly because she wanted a larger car to drive back and forth to work in since she drives about 45 min to and from work each day 90 miles total and we have regret it ever since. We are trapped in a payment and are stuck with a car that has horrible resale value and multiple issues regarding the engine.

She noticed her Accord making grinding noise for a few seconds at start up at about 35000 miles and we took it into Gillman Honda for them to check it out and of course like everyone else on here, the car did not make noise for them to here so we had to leave it overnight and provide ourselves transportation for her to use to get to work the next day. Well the following morning Gillman Honda called us and stated they heard the noise and it was the VTC actuator and said they will cover it under the HONDA warranty at no charge. They replaced it and 6 months later the noise came back. We took the car back to Gillman and told them it was doing the same thing but I also noticed an Oil consumption problem because I was having to top off the oil about 2 quarts ever month, including doing my regular oil changes every 3 months or 3000 miles. So I was told this time that my HONDA factory warranty expired and my car was 61000 miles so I would have to pay for it, I questioned that because they just replace it 6 months prior but they would not budge, so I remembered I purchased the extended warranty when I bought the car so they billed the warranty company and I had to come up with $50 deductible out of pocket. I also paid them to change the oil so I could verify that they knew when and who did the oil change last so I could show them that it is consuming the oil in a short matter of time , Too much and to fast for a newer car with no leaks. I picked up my car a few days later and the noise stopped and my oil level was right on the money so I went home and tried to forget about it, but not even a month later the damn noise came back and I was burning oil again. I called my service writer at Gillman again and told him whats up and he said bring the car back in maybe the secong VTC actuator was defective, and he stated that he found out that the oil consumption was do to a service bulletin Honda posted regarding re flashing the ECU because the fuel injectors where staying open to long causing oil consumption problems in these cars. Well it didn't really make since to me, but I said ok and took it to the dealer. OK so this is my 3rd time back for the same issue and I demanded for a prepaid rental car and stated that I was not paying a dime to have it replaced again, this time they had it over the weekend and my wife picked it up the following Monday only to get her car back with the check engine light on and it running sluggish. Yep sh*t hit the fan. I took it back over there the following day and asked if I was gonna need to fix it my damn self and charge them for the repairs? They told me no sir we will have your check engine light checked and let you know what it is briefly, well they scanned it and told me that the tech repairing my car did not set the timing correctly and that was the cause of the check engine light and car running sluggish. Yep I had to leave it at Gillman again and have them put me in a rental while they promised me that they will have their shop foreman work on my car and get all the problems fixed.

They called me 2 days later and said it was ready and when I got in there, the service adviser told me that the oil consumption problem is just normal and considering the amount of miles my wife drives each day to and from work, and also stated its common in the big 2.4L 4 Cyl. also stating that the Honda S2000 have the same oil consumption problems. I was so pissed to hear that, because it seemed like they just didn't give a sh*t about me as a Honda customer. I work on cars for a living and I knew that was bullshit, the only reason why I keep screwing with this dealership is because of my extended warranty I purchased and that's cheaper than me coming completely outa pocket.

Well anyways as of 06/12/12 my 2008 Honda Accord is still making that stupid grinding noise at start up every time it sits for a couple of hours, it's still consuming oil, and I'm screwed with paying payments on a piece of crap because the car dealerships only want to over $8000 on trade in on a 2008 Honda Accord with 79000 miles on it. I still owe the bank $14000 for this awesome dependable car. That's right I tried to purchase a new HONDA civic at this dealership one of the many times I was out there having my Accord serviced and that's the best they could do for me. I've been to multiple other new car dealerships and that seems to be the going rate for this car.

So as much as I appreciate the older Honda cars I gotta say STAY THE HECK AWAY from the newer ones, they are defiantly not the same.

This problem actually began several months ago but still within the past year. The car makes an awful grinding/scraping sound for a few seconds when I turn it on from a cold start. Honda told me a day or two ago that I need a new VTC actuator. Six major issues in less than 4 years = lemon!!!

Update from Apr 24, 2012: I had the VTC actuator replaced and the problem has disappeared. This would have cost around $250 installed however the Honda dealership replace it at no cost to me. It was covered under the powertrain warranty since my mileage is under 60,000. Thank you Prime Honda of Dedham!!!

My 2008 Honda Accord, that I bought new, has been making a terrible grinding noise when I start it (cold start), and it appears to be getting louder. The more I read, the more I hear that this could be a VTC Actuator issue that appears to be happening a lot. If so I think it should be a recall. My brakes squeak terrible too and always have, not to mention my paint is chipping off of the door (ding) guard, which the dealer said should happen, but my family member in the automotive paint business says that it's not normal and looks like it didn't cure or something to that affect. I called the dealer today to ask them about this grinding and he acted as if he hadn't heard of this until I mentioned the VTC issues I've seen. I just want the reliable car that I thought I was getting. I'm not sure the cost of this repair or what it will eventually do. Does anyone?

I begin hearing a knocking/grinding sound during a cold start two month ago. I took my car to the dealership the noise was not heard by the mechanics at that time. After a month of cold starts of hearing the noise and my oil indicator appeared when I would smash the brakes, although my oil life was only at 40%. I took the service advisors advice to get an oil change. A month and a half later the sound continued again and the oil light re-appeared. Oil life at that time was at 90%.I took my car back to the dealership they recommended a transmission flush and stated that my oil was full.

Now, I am finding out that this is a normal complaint and is most likely a bad VTC Actuator that needs to be replaced. I’m contacting Honda now to get my issue resolved. I hate to give up on Honda. I brought my car because of their trusted reputation, hopefully they will do the right thing for a loyal Honda buyer. I will post the outcome real soon.

My concern is that this is a situation that is not on a recall list. I have had my car at Leith Honda (Raleigh NC), Autopark Honda (Cary NC) and Crown Honda (Durham NC) and no one could hear this noise. They have kept my car all day and no one heard it. On Wednesday May 18, 2011, I took it back to Crown Honda (Durham NC) and they kept it all day and did not hear the noise. When I went to pick up the car I asked a technician to be there with me when I started the car and he heard the noise and indicated that this was the Vtech Actuator. He said Honda issued a bulletin admitting knowing about the problem but it was not on the recall list. He said no one knows why this is happening, but that it costs approximately $650 to repair. That is unfortunate that Honda is not taking ownership of this issue because it is something that is not a wear and tear item, it is no reason for this to break and it is not something that the driver does to cause this defect. From the moment I have had my Honda it has given me small incidents that were unexplained by Honda. I am highly disappointed and I would like this to be added to the recall list please.

I took my car to get the loud grinding noise repaired and the service manager at Ed Voyles Honda on Cobb Parkway (Marietta, Georgia) claimed that Honda states it is not a part that is "failing" so it would not be repaired. He went on to say that the ignition key should be turned faster. Growing up in a family who knew how to work on cars, I obviously went back at him with how completely unbelievable his comments were. Of course, it turned out to be the VTC Actuator which had to be replaced - it was covered under warranty. HOWEVER, when I picked up the car (after service hours), the emission light, VSA and (!) light was illuminated. My car drove extremely sluggish - I would have the pedal to the floor and it would take forever just to reach 40mph. I had to take it back to the shop again today only to hear that they probably installed it incorrectly. On top of those issues - at 32,600 mi, I am now on my SECOND set of brake pads, I've had a leak in my rear window which actually caused ICE to form on the inside of my windshield, the car used to make some type of gurgling sound which Honda completely ignored - - if you are considering this car, PLEASE think long and hard.

This is my 6th and LAST Honda for a while. I have been completely offended and undermined by the service people (don't get me started on Gwinnett Place Honda - CROOKS!!!) and I've had nothing but car problems that ended in a dispute. Save yourself some heartache. I've only had the car just over three years and I've had significant repair issues during this short timeframe.

Car started clacking very briefly on first day of cold weather upon initial start up. I thought that the starter was bad. I checked out Auto Beef and sure enough it was the VTC actuator that people are having trouble with...I thought my warranty had expired so I was reluctant to bring it to the dealer....I was relieved to know that the powertrain on 07 and newer is covered for 5 yr/60k . First I heard about that I was under the impression the whole car was just 3yr/36k. Dealer is replacing part on 2/21/11.

This site also helped me with the brake wear problem too.