10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
19,855 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 Civic suspension problems

suspension problem

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2008 Honda Civic Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #51

Feb 182010

Civic

  • 40,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic LX. The contact stated that the rear tires were wearing prematurely and would sometimes lean to one side. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and they advised her that the rear control arm needed to be replaced in order to balance the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and they offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #50

Jan 012011

Civic 4-cyl

  • 1 miles
Rear camber not in spec caused pre-mature inner tire wear posing a potential safety risk. Rear camber is not adjustable. Honda has not offered a fix.

- Beech Grove, IN, USA

problem #49

Jun 302011

Civic 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
Rear suspension causes tires to prematurely wear out. After approximately 10,000 miles, I have to replace rear tires because of flat spots. The shop where I buy my tires will not even rotate my tires because of the flat spots. Honda has done nothing to remedy the problem. The noise resulting from the flat spots is obnoxious and it is obviously a safety concern.

- Morenci, AZ, USA

problem #48

Jun 152011

Civic

  • miles

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

Premature tire wearout - extreme shake, especially ay highway speeds. Dealer said nothing is wrong they were actually worn at 20K car handles horrible in inclement weather. Based on other complaints, I expect this to be an issue every 20K until Honda steps up and admits they have a rear suspension issue with the '08S. Experienced severe vibrations/uneven and rapid tire wear, flat spots and cupping on rear tires within first 20K. Replaced with four new tires, then experienced the same severe vibrations and symptoms at around 33K. Tsb for '06-'07 describes same symptoms and new control arm to resolve issue. Have taken car to Honda dealer with this issue and they state that my '08 vehicle has the updated control arm and that car is "fine". obviously this is a wide spread problem for the '08 as well and the vehicle is not "fine". there are many more people listed on various internet auto problem sites that have encountered exactly the same problem as I have with the same make and model vehicle.

- Southington, OH, USA

problem #47

Mar 182011

Civic 4-cyl

  • 24,819 miles
The suspension of the cars is not calibrated correctly per my dealer. This leads to premature tire wear which could lead to failure of the tires.

- Wallingford, CT, USA

problem #46

Mar 162011

Civic

  • 32,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic hybrid. The contact stated that the rear upper control arms on both rear tires were defective and caused the rear tires to wear prematurely. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that they could not have an alignment because the parts were defective and causing the rear tires to bend inward abnormally. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 32,000.

- Belleville, NJ, USA

problem #45

Mar 152010

Civic

  • 20,000 miles

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

Premature tire wearout - extreme shake, especially ay highway speeds. Dealer said nothing is wrong, even though they asked me if it was shaking/vibrating. Tires will not pass inspection & need to be replaced. (they were actually worn at 20K) car handles horrible in inclement weather. Based on other complaints, I expect this to be an issue every 20K until Honda steps up and admits they have a rear suspension issue with the '08S.

- Ballston Lake, NY, USA

problem #44

Jul 092009

Civic 4-cyl

  • 18,000 miles
Experienced severe vibrations/uneven and rapid tire wear, flat spots and cupping on rear tires within first 20K. Replaced with two new tires, then experienced the same severe vibrations and symptoms at around 45K. Tsb for '06-'07 describes same symptoms and new control arm to resolve issue. Have taken car to several Honda dealers with this issue and all state that my '08 vehicle has the updated control arm and that car is "fine". obviously this is a wide spread problem for the '08 as well and the vehicle is not "fine".

- Richmond, VA, USA

problem #43

Feb 272008

Civic

  • 5 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the tires were wearing prematurely and the vehicle was taken to the dealer for an alignment where the dealer located a failure within the rear passenger control arm. The control arm was not the correct size and was entirely too short for the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired with an aftermarket control arm. The failure mileage was 5 and the current mileage was 72,000.

- Charlton, IL, USA

problem #42

Dec 212009

Civic 4-cyl

  • 12,500 miles
The rear tires have worn out at 12000 and again at 23000 miles. Two different manufacturers of tires and all rotations and alignments were accomplished on schedule. Tire manufacturers will not accept responsibility and Honda has stated that they are not responsible for tire failures. There are many more people listed on various internet auto problem sites that have encountered exactly the same problem as I have with the same make and model vehicle. The wheel alignment shops that I have contacted insist that there is a problem with the suspension of this vehicle and weight distribution (heavy in front, light in rear) compounds the problem.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

problem #41

Mar 162011

Civic 4-cyl

  • 20,000 miles

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

There is a well documented defect in the Honda Civic between years of 2006-2009 for the rear upper arm suspension. There still is a defect in the geometry by.75 degrees and is the reason for early tire wearing. All four of my tires started to wear earlier than usage performed on tire. Around 20,000 miles there was early excessive wear noted. I couldn't figure out why there was so much wear on my tires. I had to replace them at 30-34000 miles and believe it is due to the defect in the rear upper arms. I am concerned that this is safety issue and someone needs to look into this and demand Honda to make a recall for this. Many consumers are complaining about this issue and class action suits have been filed. Despite the replacement arm, there still are documents that state excessive tire wear and replacement.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #40

Nov 162010

Civic

  • 24,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic hybrid. The contact stated that the rear upper control arm was causing the tires to wear prematurely and the rear tires were replaced at extremely low mileage. The contact was able to secure an appointment to have the upper control arms replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted in regards to the failure. The contact stated he was aware of other owners of the same year, make and model with the same failure. The failure mileage was 24,000.

- Racine, WI, USA

problem #39

Jan 102011

Civic

  • 15,000 miles
2008 Civic (purchased new) currently has 29,000 miles and just installed my second new set of tires. I rotate the tires on a regular basis but the rears continue to wear prematurely on the insides. The dealership checked the alignment and "fixed" the out of tolerance issue but wasn't willing to replace the tires. Car is still burning through tires every 15K, very noticeable road noise, and mileage continues to run 25% below sales quotes. Vehicle is extremely difficult to drive on packed snow without fishtailing.

- Marysville, WA, USA

problem #38

Jun 012009

Civic 4-cyl

  • 22,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The contact stated that the rear suspension was causing the tires to wear prematurely every 20,000 miles. In addition, when driving over wet or inclement road surfaces, the vehicle would become difficult to control and spin abnormally. The original tires were replaced in December 2008 and the replacement tires were replaced in July 2009. There were no recalls for the tires. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but provided no further assistance. The current mileage was 59,800 and the failure mileage was 22,000. Updated 03/24/11 updated 06/30/11

- Vesta, MN, USA

problem #37

Oct 132010

Civic

  • 64,000 miles
Extreme vibration in rear suspension of 2008 Honda Civic ex. Third set of tires (current odometer reading is 64K miles) due to "cupping". Honda dealer states that cupping due to lack of rotation of tires and denies any history of suspension issues for this model.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #36

Sep 082009

Civic 4-cyl

  • 12,000 miles
Rear tire cupping on 2008 Honda Civic hybrid- dealer changed rear upper control arms @ 12,000 mile. I changed tires @ 15,000 -- new tires are doing the same problem.

- Rocky River, OH, USA

problem #35

Sep 162008

Civic

  • 26,000 miles
Ever since I bought my 2008 Honda Civic sedan ex-L I have had a vibration, tire cupping and sever noise in the rear end suspension and wheels. Honda claims it is because of improper tire rotation intervals. Tire cupping is not due to improper tire rotation. It is due to lack of proper shock absorbing. I have had my Civic back for this problem every 10,000 miles with no solution from Honda. At 26000 miles I replaced the rear tires because they were badly cupped. Now my new tires are cupped as well. After repeated wheel balancing, alignments and many attempts to have Honda fix it I replaced the rear shocks with heavy duty shock to no avail. The last car I owned that showed signs of rear tire cupping was my 1970 Fiat 850 racer. I replaced the rear production shocks with koni adjustable shocks and the cupping ceased. Again Honda refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem. There is definitely a problem and needs a remedy.

- Orange Park, FL, USA

problem #34

Jul 072010

Civic

  • 25,376 miles
On June 20, 2010, my wife took her mother on a trip to the midwest. When she started back, the shaking became extremely bad, and the noise was deafening. The closest Honda dealer was middlekauff Honda, twin falls Idaho. They said she was running on the steel belts of the 2 rear tires, and that they would need to be replaced. He said he didn't have the Honda parts to correct/repair the defective Honda parts, but he would do a 4 wheel alignment, and with 2 new tires she should be able to get home, then take the issue up with our local Honda dealer. The cost of this service, and (inferior) tires to the vehicle was $269.31. On July 16, 2010 we took the car (mileage 26234) into our dealer who replaced the defective parts and did another alignment at no charge to us. Our service manager asked why twin falls Honda did a 4 wheel alignment, as it did not fix the problem without replacing the defective Honda parts. We told him the twin falls Honda dealer said it should be done. Our local service manager told us that the Honda Civic hybrid is very particular about the type of tires you put on it. The delta majestic tires put on in twin falls, besides being noisier, may reduce gas mileage. He said the original dunlop tires would have been best. We are extremely disappointed with Honda usa regarding this defect, the damage caused, what it has cost us, and loved ones lives put in jeopardy! this was caused by a known defect, per Honda service bulletin 08-001. We are asking that Honda usa live up to it's reputation for customer service, without us needing to seek further recourse, and that; our unnecessary money spent for the 4 wheel alignment and 2 inferior tires in twin falls be refunded to us, and all four tires be replaced with the original dunlop model.

- Bremerton, WA, USA

problem #33

Aug 162009

Civic

  • 20,000 miles
Severe tire cupping, early tire failure. Dealer unable to fix cause of problem, they state that it results from a design flaw (non-adjustable cambers/arms). Tires failed at 20,000 miles and are failing again at 44,000 miles. I had to fight with Honda to get them to go 50/50 on the first set of replaced (dunlop) tires. They argues that I had enjoyed using them for 1/2 their life, so 50% was their maximum dollar match. I was also told to "rotate" my tires more frequently, even though I had service records showing that I do rotate on a routine basis at the dealership. From what I am researching online, Honda has a big problem going on with tire cupping on the Civic hybrids. My hope is that this is researched by the NHTSA more thoroughly. I am seeing numerous complaints on your website about this issue.....some are filed under "tires" while others filed under "rear suspension". I'm guessing the choose to file under "rear suspension" because dealers like mine are stating that this is a camber issue. On a side note, and this is odd to me, the dealership could not bring my alignment into manufacture recommended "spec" either. The numbers are significantly "off" where Honda says they should be. Ironic"?"

- Appleton, WI, USA

problem #32

Apr 252010

Civic

  • 40,000 miles
2008 Honda Civic hybrid - rear tires wear excessively even after service bulletin tsb 08-001 has been done. Rear tires become noisy with the inside wear and cupping. Eventually, for a non-observant driver, there will be a blowout.

- Lebanon, PA, USA

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