Honda will not fess up and admit that its VTC actuators installed on Honda Accords at least from 2008 and 2009 are defective and work with original owners to alleviate the problem with noisy cold engine starts. Honda should not allow dealerships to charge their loyal customers a $175 diagnostic fee when this problem is well documented with Honda Accords. Shame on Honda!!

Update from Sep 22, 2018: For all you Honda Accord 2008 and newer owners I have some encouraging news to share! I obtained a copy of a Honda Service Bulletin (09-010) off of the internet and I understand that there is an update as well regarding the exact same problem I was experiencing with my 2009 Honda Accord EX, 2.4 with 63K miles. This bulletin was issued in October 2011. I was angry that on my last visit to my Honda dealer the Service Writer told me that the problem I fully described in detail to him had to be diagnosed and for that I would be charged a $ 175 diagnostic fee. Now Honda had to have full knowledge of this problem way before I came to the dealership with my complaint. They were trying to pull a fast one I thought. I went back to the Honda service dept. with a copy of the Service Bulletin and I spoke to a manager there. I told her that I believe that I was taken advantage of and that their own Service Bulletin described this problem with 2.4 L Accords since 2010, some eight years ago. I requested that my $ 175 diagnostic fee be refunded and that Honda should give me that consideration since I purchased my vehicle at that dealership and serviced it there as well! I was told by the manager that she couldn't promise anything but she would speak to the Director of Service and that someone would contact me. Well, about a week later, I received a phone call from the Service Writer. He first apologized to me he stated that he did not know about this Service Bulletin on Honda Accords and that there are so many bulletins that its hard to keep track of them. He continued to say that Honda would refund my $ 175 diagnostic fee. Surprisingly, he continued on to say that Honda would repair my VTC actuator problem at no cost to me. I was shocked but pleasantly surprised. Moral of the story is: Do your homework and research these problems on the internet. I found the same complaints with Honda Accord owners that I had with my car on noisy cold weather starts. I believe Honda repaired my problem under the emissions warranty. Hopefully, I won't have the same problem in the future. Anyway, it pays to speak up. I bought a Honda because of their reputation for making a good products and I believe in my case anyway, they did the right thing. Thanks to Honda of New Rochelle.

For about 6 months my vehicle makes a loud rattle during a cold start. I took it to the dealership about 2 months ago and told them what I had discovered after researching. The infamous VTC actuator. UGH!!! Well after their diagnostics, they informed me that there was a recall on the oil consumption and had me do the oil consumption test. I took it back and sure enough the vehicle had high consumption. Well they changed the piston rings and whatever else but didn't mention the actuator or the rattle. They did however tell me all the other things I needed to have done like new tires, new brakes, new fluids, etc. When I asked about the actuator, they said for me to "monitor" it. WTH?? Anywho, so sure enough the very next day it made that awful noise. I called them to inform and their response was for me to bring it in, drop it off and let them run the diagnostics. REALLY??? They had it a month ago!! So I've called another dealership to see what they say. They are closer to me anyways. I only took it to the other dealership since it was where I purchased it.

I have looked at the service bulletin issued by Honda for the actuator and what's odd is the range of VIN's ends at 29958 and mine ends at 33354. So only a 4,000 difference. Has anyone had any luck with Honda expanding the covered VIN's to include their vehicle?

This is a known problem of a design fault from one supplier of the VTC actuator. Honda has issued a service bulletin for this problem yet will not issue a recall. There has been a successful class action lawsuit for the V6 version but not the 4cyl 2.4. Honda's own website says the VTC is an emissions reducing part, which would make it covered under federal emission warranty but they are disputing the claim in the service shop over and over saying "It's a drive-train component" If anyone has information on starting a class action to cover the 4 cyl I have tons of info on this issue

Bought the car about two years ago. Been financing it. About a year ago I started to notice this rattling when I would cold start my vehicle. (keep in mind I'm notorious for keeping up with my oil changes). Soon enough I started noticing the the rattling as I was driving through first and second gear. It started to get worse and worse. I asked hundreds of people what the problem was. Even the Honda dealership. No one had any clue. I noticed when I would shift my RMPs would fly up and then my gear would catch. Then after about a week I my RPMs were going up but my speed wasn't. So I brought my car to a mechanic and he told me my clutch needs to be replaced. So I got it replaced four months ago and now I'm dealing with the same thing all over.

I purchased my 2009 Honda accord used from a local Honda dealership in California. The car has been great overall, but shortly after I bought it I noticed a short rattle that would occur in the mornings every once in a while after the car sat overnight. Over time the issue became more frequent, and every time I took it to the dealership they "could not replicate" the issue. I now have had the car for over 3 years, and have concluded that the issue may be related to oil levels.

Every time the service is due or I have driven the car for about 3-4 months since the last oil change the rattling noise is noticeable on every start. Today I took in the car to the dealership for an oil change and they indicated that this is a "KNOWN ISSUE" but they don't have a fix for it.

HONDA NEEDS TO HEAR FROM ANY OWNERS WITH THIS ISSUE. EMAIL HONDA AND LET THEM KNOW.

Unfortunately, the issue existed while I had warranty and now my warranty has lapsed. If any of you know of a true fix please let me know.

ICEMAN