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.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
41 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
51 / 1
Average Mileage:
40,563 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 (Page 14 of 18)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #84

Jul 262013

Accord 4-cyl

  • 100,000 miles

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

During a monsoon the passenger door was open and slammed shut by the wind. The passenger side airbag deployed while the vehicle was parked and turned off. The deployed airbag damaged the headliner and seat and misc other parts.

- Buckeye, AZ, USA

problem #83

Jan 172015

Accord 4-cyl

  • miles
Air bag light came on and stayed on. When local Honda dealer checked it out was told that there was an internal failure of the SRS control unit. Was told it needed to be replaced. When asked what caused it, was told that if the car was not in an accident they didn't know. The car had not been in an accident. Am planning to have it replaced but with the recalls of this part in older models, felt as if I needed to report this defect in case it turned out to be a problem in other models of this car. Dealer was notified.

- Richmond , IN, USA

problem #82

Feb 022013

Accord

  • 54,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Accord. While driving approximately 45 mph on ice, the contact's vehicle slid and crashed into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The contact and the occupant of the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was repaired; however, the failure recurred in a subsequent crash. The specifics of the repairs were not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 54,000.

- Strongsville, OH, USA

problem #81

Dec 042014

Accord 4-cyl

  • miles

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

I cannot find out is these air bags are defective. The dealer will not offer any information and says they have heard nothing from Honda. Am I driving a time bomb? as of this writing nothing has happened, this car has never been in a crash yet only has 24,000 miles on the car.

- Manlius, NY, USA

problem #80

Dec 022014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 126,024 miles
This had to be replaced. It cost $607.02.

- Andheim, CA, USA

problem #79

Aug 142014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 104,000 miles
Airbag passenger light kept staying on longer and longer, eventually turns off. At 114, xx light stayed on then soon after airbag light indicator on dash was illuminated. There are no accidents on the vehicle. No repairs or modifications to affect system. I took the vehicle to dealer since it was out of warranty by 3 months. I did tell them about the intermittent issues but assumed all was well. They did a diagnostic that took well over 4 hours to isolate the possible issue. Dealer's response; after pin testing fuse box found bad pss fuse/ relay box. Was told to sign a waiver to drive my own vehicle out the lot. The entire airbag system is down and will not work until repaired. I was in shock to know that if I had an accident my family and I could be in grave danger, they said they have no idea how long it could of not been working. I called Honda America to complain case# N012014-10-0900059. They said the car is too old and out of warranty for them to cover the repair. I have since parked the car and have'nt driven it since. This is our 7th Honda and never would expect this type of service or reliability on this vehicle.

- Erwin, NC, USA

problem #78

Jul 262014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 61,000 miles

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

I was parked, someone got out of my passenger side front door. After shutting the door, all of my passenger side airbags deployed, including the passenger seat airbag.

- Interlochen, MI, USA

problem #77

Oct 062014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 93,000 miles
Air bag warning light was coming on intermittently starting on approximately 10/6/2014, became permanent 11/02/2014. During that time span side airbag off warning light came on several times for several minutes then turned off and has stayed off excepted when car is turned on and car runs thru diagnostic routine. Had car serviced on 11/13/2014----Honda tech indicated code of 1018, per tech-indicates open or short in system, he was not sure where failure is--and not sure what fee would be to locate and repair failure. Said it could run into the $100's just to locate failure. Considering my side airbag light off light came on and the investigation into sideair bag deployment and recall of tanaka airbags I will wait to see decision and see if SRS light comes on for a more precise diagnostic at my next visit to Honda dealer.

- Lithia, FL, USA

problem #76

Nov 062014

Accord 6-cyl

  • 31,000 miles
My mother's car is garage kept and only has 31,000 miles. I haven't driven her car in years and when I did the other day I noticed that the airbag light was on and did not come off. She is elderly and she thought that it was her seat belt light. I took it into Honda dealer right away because of all of the recalls going on. They said that it would cost $517 to fix the restraint control unit for the airbag. Explained as little computer to tell the airbags when to deploy if in an accident. If not fixed airbags will not deploy if in an accident. Shouldn't this be covered under warranty or considered in the recalls! now I am seeing complaints about this all over the net. So now what" and will this be included with all of the massive airbag recall problems" at first we were told that the recall did not include this year and model....I beg to differ.

- Groveland, FL, USA

problem #75

Oct 082014

Accord

  • 98,000 miles
I got out of the passenger seat of my 2008 Honda Accord and closed the door shut. Upon the door closing the door the side impact airbags on the passenger side of the vehicle inflated. The curtain airbags and the seat airbag was deployed causing ear pain to my fianc who was getting things from the backseat. I have reached out to Honda and was told that it was not their fault and basically given the runaround. I have researched this particular incident with this particular Honda model and notice there is an open investigation by the NHTSA. I hope this can help move the process of a recall along.

- Mount Holly, NJ, USA

problem #74

Oct 022014

Accord

  • miles

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

I bought my 2008 Honda Accord new. Recently at 80K miles, the SRS light will stay on all the time when the car is running. I brought the car to the local Honda dealer and they told me the SRS module need to be replace and the cost for it is close to $500. I just feel ridiculous because the car had never been in any accident before and how come the airbag system just fail just like that. American Honda should cover this under the warranty. And I do believe they have a defective SRS unit. Please go over with the airbag problems and you will see the same exact problem happened to may people. Someone needs to take an action and let american Honda to take action before someone get hurts. Not everyone can afford to fix this out of their pockets and many of them just let the light on/ SRS airbag system off without fixing it.

- San Ramon, CA, USA

problem #73

Oct 022014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 0 miles
I was grabbing my books out of my passenger seat and when I closed the door my side top airbags and passenger seat side airbag completely deployed! I went online and found many different cases of people closing there doors of 2008 Honda Accord and airbags going off. I just bought this car it is in brand new condition and now I have to drive around with deployed airbags it 1) looks ridiculous and 2) is completely unsafe because godforbid I actually get into an accident with them deployed! I think it is absurd if I have to pay 5,000 for new airbags for simply shutting my door a little too hard!!!

- Norwalk, CT, USA

problem #72

Sep 132014

Accord 6-cyl

  • 78,600 miles
I have a 2008 Honda Accord. While the car was parked, but running, the front passenger door was shut slightly harder than normal, and the side curtain and seat airbags deployed on the passenger side only. There was not a side collision or evidence that the car was hit. I took it to gillman Honda in houston tx and paid $125 for a diagnostic test. They said the sensor for the side airbag went off (code F4-11) and it wasn't covered under the extended warranty. I made a claim with Honda usa. An inspector came and claimed he noticed previous damage (scrapes) to the undercarriage of the car and even though the airbags didn't deploy then, that may have caused it. I told them my concern is that the airbags deployed so sensitively and I have a 3 year old child. I don't want him to get injured. How can I ensure it won't happen again. They responded the reason the airbags deployed was inconclusive and it would not be covered.

- Sugarland, TX, USA

problem #71

Sep 012014

Accord

  • 61,000 miles
2208 Honda Accord, never been in the accident, SRS stay on and the off (passenger air bag on). Took the Honda dealer and they told me the SRS unit defected. And will cost me $500. I bought the car brand new never been any accident. I think Honda should cover this safety device under warranty.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #70

Jun 252014

Accord

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the air bag and seat belt warning indicators illuminated. The failure occurred several times. The dealer stated that the SRS unit air bag was defective and would not deploy in a crash. The seat belt could be repaired according to the manufacturer's safety warranty. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #69

Aug 202014

Accord

  • 61,000 miles
Started getting a red light with seat belts sign. Checked in the manual - should take it to the dealer and get it repaired. According to the dealer the SRS air bag control unit needs to be changed.if there was an accident - the bags will not operate - whole purpose of the air bag safety will be in vain. The repair cost is around $460. I saw lots of complaints about this issue on the internet for 2008 Honda Accord. Hope the dept. Of transportation will look into it and do something about it.

- Perrysburg, OH, USA

problem #68

Jul 042014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 175,888 miles
My family and I had watched fire works on the 4th of July when they were over we all got in the car I was the last to enter when I closed my car door all the air bags on the whole left side of the car deployed in the parking lot in witch he had parked to watch the fire works.

- Bryson City, NC, USA

problem #67

Jul 072014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 87,210 miles
My husband and I along with my two daughters got in our 2008 Honda Accord on Monday afternoon, my husband was the last one in. He got in the front passengers side seat and when he shut the door the side airbags deployed! my oldest daughter was in the seat behind him and when the airbags deployed it hit her in the face causing burn marks on her face and neck and also she has some loss of hearing in her right ear and a constant ringing in her ear! we contacted our insurance company they said they could not help us! we then contacted our local Honda dealer where we purchased the car and they said sorry no recall on your car and its not under warranty but when I explained my daughter was injured their attitude changed and were told to call american Honda and tell them what happened! at this point we were told to drive the car to our local Honda dealership for them to run tests on the car to see why the airbags deployed! now it is just a waiting game I guess!....updated 07/31/14 updated 03/17/2015

- Rutherfordton, NC, USA

problem #66

Jun 202014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 133,317 miles
My vehicle was hit head on by a pickup truck. The whole front end of my vehicle was damaged. The front passenger airbag failed to deploy. The driver side air bag did deploy, however I have a first degree air bag burn on my right inner wrist/ forearm. My vehicle was determined to be a total loss. I received a vehicle report on my car after the accident and found that the NHTSA has issued 1 safety related recall notice on my vehicle in the past involving power train: Automatic transmission : control module. This recall began on 7/31/2011. I purchased this vehicle on 2/1/2012. I should have never been sold this vehicle until it was inspected and repaired.

- Meriden, CT, USA

problem #65

Jun 292014

Accord 4-cyl

  • 77,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 60 mph, the air bags deployed without warning. The contact stated that immediately after the failure the drivers side seatbelt locked. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The contact was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 14V351000 (air bags). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 77,000. Updated 09/22/14 the consumer stated the vehicle was repaired. The dealer found two impact marks on the undercarriage of the vehicle and states that is the cause of the air bag deployment. The impact that caused the marks occurred on 5/16/2014. The driver hit a double curb. The air bag spontaneously deployed on 6/29/14. Updated 2/11/2015

- Zachery, LA, USA

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