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.

4.9

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,179 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.

2008 Honda Accord seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2008 Honda Accord Owner Comments

problem #14

May 292011

Accord

  • 43,564 miles

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

My nephew (25 years old) and I were out and came home and when he got out of the car and shut the door (a little harder than normal) the passenger side airbags deployed. It has just happened only one time. I took my car to the Honda dealership I bought it from and they said it was out of warranty and it would cost me $5,989 to repair the airbags. I then called american Honda. Received a call back the next day but missed the call from the rep for american Honda. I called and left the rep a message and he did not call me back until a week later. By then I had called my insurance company (I could not wait any longer, I had to get my car fixed). When the rep from american Honda called back he said there was nothing he could do because he needed to inspect the car. My car was repaired by a body shop my insurance company recommended. I had to pay a $500 deductible and the cost of the repair was $3,200 ( a lot less than Honda's price.

- North Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #13

Aug 222010

Accord

  • 24,156 miles
I own a 2008 Honda Accord and recently I closed the drivers side door and the side impact air bags went off. The car was not moving and I was not struck by another car or item that might have caused it to go off. I took my car to goodson Honda West service department (houston tx) and they said that it was not a warranty issues and that I had damage on the right side of my undercarriage. I asked them why damage under the car on the right side would have caused the air bag on the left side of the car to go off, they didn't have an explanation. They told me to file with my insurance. They had to replace the driver side seat and the entire head liner plus all of the air bags totaling $3,600 I called my insurance and they said that they would cover it but that I had a $1,250 deductible (two teenage drivers). I was told that I should take my car to the goodson body shop because they would be doing the work. When I took my car there they looked it over again and I asked the question why would the side air bag go off when I close the door. They couldn't explain it either and they questioned whether the damage to the right undercarriage caused the air bags to go off. They asked the service folks and a Honda rep to come out and meet and again Honda denied the claim as warranty. I spoke with my insurance company and someone sent me a interesting article that I thought that I would share with you: www.thebostonchannel.com/R/20040559/detail.html a boston channel did a report and found that this is happening in the 2008 model Accord and Honda continues to deny that there might be a problem. I wonder if anyone in houston has had the same experience that I'm having and if Honda is trying to cover something up like Toyota.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #12

Jul 102010

Accord

  • 53,042 miles
I bought a used 08 Honda Accord about a week ago. I stopped at target shopping center to get a few things. I parked the car was still running, in park, when my passenger exited shut the passenger door and boom the side curtain and passenger seat airbags deployed.. unbelievable.

- Layton, UT, USA

problem #11

Mar 022010

Accord

  • 39,000 miles

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

Closed drivers side front door, side airbags deployed. Brought to dealer, was told that is was not covered. Manufacturer also refused to cover.

- Huntington, NY, USA

problem #10

Oct 152009

Accord

  • 23,000 miles
I have a 2008 Honda Accord ex. My car was running and parked. I closed the right front door and the passenger side curtain airbags and seat airbag deployed. Deafening my passenger for approx. 1 day. I brought my vehicle to Honda and they said the vehicle did it's job and they are not covering it. There is no accident damage what so ever. I called Honda corporate and was told to have a nice day. It is a lease car, a very expensive repair, and obviously a defect. There are numerous complaints on the internet of the very same problem with the very same car and they refuse to do anything about it. It is unsafe to drive but unfortunately I have to.

- Yorktown Heights, NY, USA

problem #9

Aug 112009

Accord

  • miles
The passenger side aie bag deployed on my 2008 Honda Accord sedan. Monday night, I shut my passenger door, got into my car and 5-6 minutes later boom!!!. scared the living heck out me. I took it to the dealer. The dealer is telling me its my fault and they are not paying for it. They initially told me that they saw no damages with my car meaning no collisions, no scrapes, no hit, bumps absolutely nothing that would make the air bag deploy. Insurance was called and they told them the same; however, there is no claim because there was no accident. Now Honda has changed there story saying that there are damages to my car. They've had my car for several days and allof a sudden there are damages. I've called America Honda customer care and now I'm waiting for an adjuster from my insurance claim to go out to look at my car. In the meantime, I'm without a vehicle. Honda seems as though they are fighting to avoid a safety recall.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #8

Apr 162009

Accord

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the side passenger air bag deployed without warning when the door was closed on the vehicle. The dealer stated that they would not perform the repair because the insurance company should be responsible. The cost for repair is 5,000. Both agencies have not yet decided who will repair the vehicle. The vehicle still has an extended warranty until 120,000 miles. The failure mileage was 20,000 and current mileage was 32,000. Updated 09/01/09 updated 09/03/09.

- Wynne, AR, USA

problem #7

Apr 222009

Accord

  • 41,183 miles
It was April 22, 2009 around 3pm when I pulled into the laundry basket on broadway in bangor, me. I opened the rear passenger door to take the dirty laundry out of the back and then closed the rear passenger door. I opened the front passenger side door where my cousin was sitting and asked him to hand me some money for laundry. When I shut the front passenger door all of the passenger side air bags went off striking my cousin in the head. My cousin and I drove the vehicle over to darling's Honda in bangor where they were very helpful. After coming to an agreement I was given a rental car and my vehicle was to be inspected at no cost to me. I reported the incident to my insurance company as well. An adjuster from my insurance company took a look at the car and determined that it was a mechanical defect in the car so my insurance will not cover the repairs. After Honda took a look at the car they were unable to determine why the airbags went off and Honda America is refusing to cover the cost of the damages. My cousin that was sitting in the passenger seat when the airbag went off has a previous head injury that causes him to have seizures and after he was struck in the head by the airbags, he had a couple of seizures that night. Honda told me they are refusing to fix the vehicle because that would be admitting fault and they are afraid of a lawsuit from my cousin or myself. I had no intentions on filing a lawsuit, I just want my car fixed. After I go my car back from Honda all of the weather stripping is coming off the vehicle. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

- Orrington, ME, USA

problem #6

Apr 162009

Accord

  • 20,000 miles
1. by shutting the pass side door the side curtain air bags deployed. This is on a 2008 Honda Accord, the warranty stated they would not pay for it even though when I bought the warranty I was told it covered everything even if the tiniest light bulb went out, my insurance co stated they would not pay because there was no accident and it is a malfunction the only good thing is that we were not going down the road at the time and no one got hurt.

- Wynne , AR, USA

problem #5

Feb 182009

Accord

  • 7,500 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Accord. While driving 55 mph, the passenger side curtain air bag deployed without impact. The dealer stated that the contact must have struck something, although there was no damage to the vehicle. The insurance company inspected the vehicle and found nothing that would cause the air bag to deploy. The VIN was unknown. The current mileage was 8,000 and failure mileage was 7,500.

- Holland, PA, USA

problem #4

Jan 012009

Accord

  • 14,452 miles

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

My daughter started the car, her husband got in & closed the right passenger door & the curtain air-bags on the right side of the vehicle deployed. The car is a leased 2008 Honda Accord sedan with approx 14,452 miles. I brought the car to coral springs Honda, and was told that their investigative team had to look the car over. Their final statement is that the passenger "slammed" the door to hard and it caused the air-bags to deploy. It is pretty scary to think that this can happen if you should close your door to hard. They are also stating that it is my responsibility to have the car repaired. Please advise as to my legal rights.

- Coconut Creek, FL, USA

problem #3

Jun 262008

Accord

  • 9,499 miles
Air bags deployed when door was shut not contact!!!!

- Stillwater, OK, USA

problem #2

Feb 192008

Accord 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 602 miles
Vehicle passenger seat creaks and is not stable, lights on car continue to flicker and dim in and out when A/C and headlights are on. Very dangerous. Someone will think you are brightening them or stopping suddenly and will either cause a crash or road rage incident. Today eddie Milan, general manager of sloane Honda called me (can verify by cell phone bill) and "told me not to come back to sloane Honda anymore" great attitude after multiple purchases and sending multiple customers. Honda refuses to admit they have problems>I will complain everyday that it gives me problems. I urge all consumers who have these problems to keep complaining until Honda fixes this issue. Cars have problems. But flickering headlights and taillights are a danger.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #1

Feb 092008

Accord 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 510 miles
Cars lights dim and blink everytime the cooling fan kicks on and off, this includes headlights, brake lights, all interior lights, A/C fan dims, radio gets softer. This is dangerous to drive at night. People think you are flashing them and jamming on my brakes. I also have problems with upholstry, side air bags, right seat track, out of line bumper and pealing paint. Honda has to do something with my 2008 Honda Accord ex coupe before someone gets killed. Please someone help me.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

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