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.

8.9

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$850
Average Mileage:
53,500 miles
Total Complaints:
7 complaints

Most Common Solutions:

  1. replaced tires (4 reports)
  2. not sure (3 reports)
2008 Honda Accord wheels / hubs problems

wheels / hubs problem

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2008 Honda Accord Owner Comments

problem #7

Aug 202013

Accord LX 2.4L 4 cylider

  • Automatic transmission
  • 18,641 miles

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

I bought a 2008 Honda Accord 2.4ltr used, a recent trade in, off a local Campus Honda Dealer here in Victoria. The Mechanical inspection check sheet indicated ALL four tires had at least 50% life still on tires... Bought in good faith and drove it away. Less than six months later, the family mechanic was replacing front brake pads and rotors. He ran his hand over the front tires only to find severe wear 2/32 on both front with the cords showing on both sides, and the rubber coming off in hand fulls. I took it back to the dealer and showed them their pre-sales inspection checklist. They claimed the wheels were fine when they purchased it and somebody had switched them out, possibly the person who sold them the car. The dealer was not willing to replace these two tires for less than $220/each, their cost???.

I have since gone elsewhere to buy 4 new tires. According to the Real Tire store, they advise the new tires must be inflated to at least 42psi for the best ride or premature wear would occur. The dealer had them set at 23psi under the front wheel drive weight. So much for Friendly Honda Service.

- fruitcake, Victoria, BC, canada

problem #6

Sep 112012

Accord V4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 68,677 miles

I bought new tires on June 3, 2010 and had them aligned. This cost me $641.59 and the tires were rated at 85,000 miles of wear. My mileage when these tires were installed was 33714 miles. On Sept. 14, 2012 my Honda dealer recommended I have another 4 wheel alignment with 4 new tires. At this time, I only had 68788 miles on the car. This is using only about 35,000 miles on a tire that has been rated at 85,000 miles. There was a problem with the alignment, and my dealer had to install a new rear control arm on the left side. This set of tires and alignment cost me $1,056.64.

I suggested to my dealer that there had to be something going on as I was not getting the proper wear from my tires, but my dealer didn't think I would have any more trouble after replacing the rear control arm. Now, after driving only 17,341 miles, I again had to have the tires aligned. When doing this alignment, the mechanic stated that he could not align the tires to manufacturer specifications because the rear adjustment arms are not adjustable, and in order to get the alignment perfect I will need to have adjustable arms put on the car. This estimated cost will be $400.00 per side, and that is if I don't need two new tires since the back tires are not wearing evenly.

Honda doesn't want to acknowledge that the non adjustable rear arms are not allowing the alignment to be within specifications and it is causing premature wear on tires and it is costing customers lot's of money. I think Honda needs to have these rear control arms replaced and a complete alignment with good tires needs to be completed with no cost to customers. I have paid out enough for this situation.

- Kat W., White City, KS, US

problem #5

Sep 012009

Accord EXL 4 Cy

  • Automatic transmission
  • 118,000 miles

This is my 4th honda accord and never had any problems with the previous 3. I bought this car in July 2008 a month later my back brakes were squeaking. I called the dealership asking why and they told me to take it in. They told me the back brakes needed to be replaced. I said what I just bought this car last month. Why do I need to rear brakes. I was mad, so they replaced it for free. A year later, my tires started making a whirling noise and was told my tires needed to be changed. I said ok since it's already been a year and we do drive it a lot. Then 9 months later it was cupping again. I had the car inspection done, they said everything was fine, just changed the tires. Well it's been 4 years changed the tires 4 times and the rear brakes 3 times. My other accords, I've had maybe changed the rear brakes once since I got them and I still have my 1998 accord and only had to change the rear brakes once! I just changed the tires on Monday, 12/2/2012 and I just got an alignment done last night the guy is telling me it's starting to cup again, he sees the wear on the back tires. It's only been 4 days!! I do regular maintain on the car, rotate the tires, get them balance, aligned regularly and it's still happening. I don't know what else to do :( The guy checked with Honda and there's no recall on it but stated the mechanics at Honda are having the same problems with the accords but yet no recalls. I'm just tired and ready to trade in my car!!

- Gayle S., Murrieta, CA, US

problem #4

Jun 222012

Accord EX 4 cyliner

  • Automatic transmission
  • 70,000 miles

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

Bought this Accord in August 2008. Had all the issues with brake pads that everyone has had and participated in the recall. Still had to pay for one set myself. Last year at 42,000 miles I bought 2 new Uniroyal tires and put them on the front. Left original Michelins on rear. No problems. In June of this year I replaced the Michelins with 2 more Uniroyal tires, placing the new ones on the front and rotating the older ones to the back. Within weeks I had this terrible reverberation noise coming from the tires. I thought possibly the tires were not balanced properly and the Goodyear store where I purchased the tires rebalanced them. It was actually worse at that point. I returned and asked that they take my car out and listen for themselves as I felt like I was riding on "Fred Flintstone's" tires. They agreed that the noise and ride was awful and determined that my struts were worn out causing the "cupping" on the tires. However they could not determine if it was the front or back struts. Their recommendation was to replace all 4 struts at a price close to $1000. This, with only 68,000 miles on the car. I left and have done nothing since, except turning up the radio in order to drown out the noise. Considering trading the car and moving on. I have owned 2 Honda's before and NEVER had any trouble with them, but this one has been one thing after another with the brake issue and now the tire problems. Very disappointed say the least. Probably will go back to Toyota for my next vehicle, but I hate to know someone else will end up with this car. I certainly will disclose all issues before I sell or trade, making this experience even more costly.

- Kathleen H., Central, SC, US

problem #3

Oct 312011

Accord ES 4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 39,000 miles

I have replaced the back brakes twice in less than two years. I understand it came with defective brakes because of the new redesigned in 2008. My other car was a honda accord too. I never had any problems.

Did I get a lemon car? Now the tires and battery are giving me problems and they need to be replaced with approx 39,000 miles on the car.

I live very close to work. I am a careful driver & don't drive a lot.

This car is nothing but problems. Help!!!!

- Socorro C., Alhambra, CA, US

problem #2

Apr 012009

Accord LX-P

  • Automatic transmission
  • 25,000 miles

Bought this Accord new in July of 08. I drive A LOT of miles. As of today, 10/21/11, I have 113,000. At approximately 25k miles I replaced two of the OE Dunlop tires because of excessive cupping and road noise. Didn't think much of it at the time just marked it up to cheap OE tires. Currently the vehicle needs it's third set of tires because they are worn and cupped so irregularly the noise is almost to bad to drive the car. Took it to the dealer for a alignment last year when I had put the 2nd set of tires on. Thought that would fix the problem. Just returned from the same dealer today and I still have my issue. When the service writer walked up to the car he said I had two problems, one the rear alignment was so far off he could look at the vehicle and see it and second the tires I had on the car were part of the problem. I have BG Goodrich Advantage T/A installed(which he claims are crap tires) After they aligned it he said that the alignment wasn't off enough to cause the problem and I just need to install a set of Michelins because Hondas really do well with Michelins. I also rode with the tech. to show him the clunking and bumping I am also hearing and he tells me it's just the calipers making noise and he also states that I have gotten 30K out of these BFg' so I have done good.

Bottom line is I have had tire wear issues with this car from day one and no one can seem to tell me what the problem is other than blame the tires.

- sumr, Smithfield, VA, US

problem #1

Dec 182008

Accord LX 3.2L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 35,010 miles

My 2008 Honda Accord has a series problem, causing it to chew up tires. The car currently has 44k miles and it has chewed up 5 sets of tires. Car was purchased new. Since time of purchase, two case numbers have been issued from Honda, for resolution - nothing has been resolved. Here's a brief history of the problem sequence -

In addition to the basic warranty, I purchased an "Extended Vehicle Service Contract" with the original new car purchase. The Extended Vehicle Service Contract offers extended warranty service to 80,000 miles or 2/7/2013.

At the time of original new car purchase, I paid $2750.00 for an upgraded Honda wheel/tire package. Before committing to this upgrade, my sales rep checked with the local Service Department to seek assurance that the wheels/tires would work with this car. In addition, we called Honda HQ to confirm serviceability of these wheels/tires on this car. All agreed that the Honda upgraded wheel/tire package were 100% compatible with this car.

Tires were first noticed as wearing unevenly (cupping) upon the first tire rotation, when the rear tires were rotated to the front. My local Honda Service Manager initially sent me a third party tire company to seek their expert opinion. Three Reps at the tire company stated that the rear wheels are out of camber adjustment, causing the cupping problem. They also firmly stated that if new tires were to be installed that they should not be rotated, as the all four tires would then be damaged from rear alignment issue.

The tire compnay suggested I take the car next door to a wheel alignment company, to seek their expert opinion. I paid $78.12 for their opinion. They provided a written report, further stating that the rear wheels need camber adjustments and confirmed that there is no camber adjustment option on this model car. The wheel alignment company stated that there is no after-market kit that can be purchased, to allow the camber to be adjusted.

Reps at the wheel alignment company stated that the rear wheels are out of alignment, causing rear excessive rear tire wear. My local Honda Service Department did not agree and stated that all wheels are within Honda specs. On December 18, 2008 the Honda Service Department stated in their service report that they "adjusted positive rear camber". It is unclear how they adjusted the camber, as they had stated it was in-spec and not adjustable.

Over the past year, I've tried my very best to follow ongoing suggestions from Honda, toward finding a final remedy for the tire cupping problem.

In addition to the original tires, Honda has installed three sets of new tires. At this point in time, Honda is suggesting to install a fifth set of new tires. In my opinion, this seems to be an on-going experiment, with no ultimate guarantee of correcting the tire wear problem. Eventually, my warranty will run out and I'll inherit the tire wear problem as my own expense.

Prior to replacing the most recent set of tires, the Honda Service Manager requested we install a tire brand that the factory recommended. He stated that if the current set did not work that we would assign the problem to Honda for corrective action. We installed the factory recommended brand with no change toward fixing the problem. Instead of assigning the problem to Honda, it's now being suggested that we install yet another new set of tires.

The first Honda Service Case # was closed, with the problem not corrected. The second Honda Service Case # was also closed, with the problem not corrected. On 5/28/09, Honda Rep-Lauren called to further discuss the problem. Per Lauren, my 40lb tool box is considered as "excessive weight" for the trunk of a Honda Accord and is the ultimate cause for excessive tire cupping wear. Lauren also stated that installation of an after-market camber adjustment kit would void the new car warranty. As info, the Owners Manual makes no mention of trunk weight limits. As further info, the local Honda Service Manager and the local Honda General Manager disaggree with the 45lb trunk weight excuse. The local Honda General Manager also stated that they have one other customer with the same tire wear issue as mine and that they don't carry anything in their trunk.

I've owned new Honda's for many years. My prior car was a new 2004 Honda Accord, making the same trips, hauling the same 45lb tool kit, with no tire wear issues. The tire wear issue started when I bought the 2008 Honda Accord.

In addition to the tire wear issue, Honda has also recently replaced the torque converter in my car. As with many other 200X Accord comments, my brakes are also wearing prematurely. Never owned a car as troublesome as this one.

- justinjune, Hilo, HI, US

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