10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
99,993 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2008 Honda Civic:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #12

Nov 082013

Civic 4-cyl

  • 57,650 miles
In November 2013 my 2008 Honda Civic experienced a motor mount failure. The vehicle has been well maintained, driven easy and only has 57,000 miles on it. Investigation on the internet shows this to be a very common problem. Honda refuses to do anything about the issue, other than charging their customers a hefty fee for the repairs. This has become a well documented manufacturing/design defect for this generation of Civics. The fact Honda refuses to accept responsibility and places the repair burden on their customers is very troubling. I would hope either the government steps in or a class action lawsuit is filed to make Honda?S customers whole.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #11

Jul 252013

Civic

  • 55,000 miles
My car was stolen outside of a salvation army in buena park at approx 2 pm. The car has since been spotted in lomita being driven by a tall white man with tattoos and a shaved head. The car is a 2008 black Honda Civic.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

problem #10

Jun 012013

Civic

  • 63,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was a loud noise and the vehicle began shaking. The contact also stated that the failure increased after shifting into reverse. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the motor mount had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 63,000.

- Anderson, IN, USA

problem #9

Jul 012013

Civic 4-cyl

  • 143,000 miles
Daughter was driving car and without any warning the engine started to lose power. She indicated that she pressed on the gas and the car just slowed down. She lost power steering control but was able to pull the car off to the side of the road. The car was towed to the nearest Honda dealership and it was determined by their technicians that the engine block had cracked causing coolant and shut the engine down. There were no warning lights and no indication on the gauge panel that there were any issues or that the car was in the process of overheating.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #8

May 062013

Civic

  • 97,000 miles
Driving down 270 in columbus Ohio doing 67mph when I noticed when I pressed on the gas to pass into the next lane, nothing happened. I down shifted into 4th gear and tried again, nothing. Luckily I was able to cross over 3 lanes of traffic and coast down the off ramp on westbroad. I called aaa and had them tow it to my step fathers shop were him and his friend build hot rods in their spare time. After taking a look under the hood and running a couple of diagnostic tests they determined that the engine block was cracked and the car over heated. No engine light came on!

- Lewis Center Ohio, OH, USA

problem #7

Dec 152012

Civic 4-cyl

  • 78,478 miles
I exited freeway and was waiting at a red signal light when the engine on its own speeded up to 3000+ RPM. It held at this elevated RPM for about a minute while the car remained stopped (foot brake was holding). The engine dropped back down to idle on its own. Headlights and occupant heater was on with fan at lowest setting. Radio was on. Floor mat was not out of place. My foot position remained unchanged except for applying extra force during the elevated RPM event.

- Saratoga, CA, USA

problem #6

Dec 072012

Civic 4-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
The car was at a stop sign. It suddenly accelerated to 2000 RPM from the idle speed of 850 RPM. It this jumped up to 5500 to 6000 RPM and continued like that until I stopped the engine. Fortunately, I had my foot on the brake, which restrained it sufficient until I was able shut off the engine. I restarted the engine and it continued to accelerated at the same speed. I stopped it. After the third try it started normally. It had previously jumped to 850 to 2000 RPM several times, be it never went totally out of control before.

- Union City, CA, USA

problem #5

Jun 202012

Civic 4-cyl

  • 57,000 miles
Car started at usual time around 8 am and started vibrating. A very loud exhaust noise started to begin and the car began shaking. The vibrating noise was so loud and everyone in the car could feel the vibration. The front steering wheel as well as the seats were also shaking. Vibrating continued throughout the day and was gone at times when this first began but as days went by it became louder and more obvious by others outside of the car. The car now continues to vibrate not only in the morning but at all times of the day. It shakes at park, drive, and reverse. Car is very uncomfortable to drive and the noise can become very distracting. The car also vibrates so much during these times that I am afraid that something will happen on the highway and am worried about this. Honda dealer will not cover this under power train warranty because the car is now passed the warranty for power train which is 5 year/60,000 miles. Please look into this matter. It seems very common as I researched online and many people are having this issue on their Honda's which most seem after the 2005 models, more common around 2007 + 2008 models.

- Ludlow, MA, USA

problem #4

Jan 022012

Civic 4-cyl

  • 48,000 miles
Water pump pulley/tensioner quit at 70 mph. Pump and tensioner were replaced. Six months later, car quit again, same thing. Only this time the bolt that mounts the tensioner sheared off in the engine block. Honda has recalled this vehicle in 2006 and 2007 for this same issue. (service bulletin 248422 and 248421) and action number NHTSA 10026791. No recalls for 2008 yet. They have replaced (under some kind of warranty) the engine block and the water pump/pulley/tensioner caused by the second break down. There needs to be a recall for 2008, as well. Honda needs to pay for my first repair, as well.

- Gulf Breeze, FL, USA

problem #3

Jul 222012

Civic 4-cyl

  • 94,826 miles
My car was stopped in line while waiting to go through us customs. Transmission was in drive and my foot was on the brake. All of a sudden, engine started to rev. Placed transmission in neutral position. Engine revved three times, each time higher. On third revving, RPM reached 4000 RPM. Turned off engine and restarted. When I restarted the engine, the engine revved at high RPM again. Turned off engine, waited approximately 10 seconds. Restarted engine again, and engine started normally. Took car to Honda dealer on 7/23/12. Dealer was not able to find any trouble codes in the engine computer. This is very similar to what happened two years ago at approx mileage of 45,000 miles. Engine started revving while stopped at a signal. Car was towed to the dealer who was not able to find anything wrong. Dealer called in area rep who reviewed process and was not able to find anything wrong.

- Federal Way, WA, USA

problem #2

Jul 062012

Civic 4-cyl

  • 78,655 miles
My wife was headed home from work (approximately 5 pm) when she had to stop in traffic on a fairly steep hill, with an outside temperature at, or near, 100 degrees. When she attempted to resume forward she pressed the gas on her 2008 Honda Civic hybrid and the car started to roll backwards into another car. The transmission was in drive, she switched to the lowest range, still the car would not move forward. As a result, she had to wave cars behind her around while all she could do was hold the brakes until she could manage to roll backwards down this hill to safety. She then changed routes that had substantially more congestion, but smaller hills. Hills are a way of life in the atlanta metro area, so are high temperatures in July. She has mentioned that this vehicle has terrible acceleration on some lesser hills in hot weather over the past 2 years, but never experienced anything as dangerous as this incident.this malady has been reported a minimum of 2-3 times to the Honda dealership she purchased it from, heritage Honda, rome, ga. I wouldn't allow her to use it until Honda sorted out the malfunction. Well, I spent the day there, they did computer analysis, technician interfaced with Honda tech line, even sent a "snapshot" of the vehicle's computer data when it actually recreated the same condition for the mechanic on a steep hill. None-the-less, I left there hopeful that Honda would resolve our dilemma. After a day and a half of waiting for some feedback, I was finally informed the car was operating properly. Apparently, the hybrid batteries reached a high temperature, which for "safety reasons" disabled the circuitry that "assists" the car via the "hybrid electric motor" which in turn leaves the car completely dependent on the undersized gasoline engine. In this case, not near enough power to move her car. Honda says it's ok to drive! we need help, please help us!

- Dallas, GA, USA

problem #1

May 122012

Civic

  • 123,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph the vehicle overheated. The contact was able to bring the vehicle to a stop and attempted to remove the oil dipstick but found that the dipstick had melted due to the heat. The dealer was notified of the failure and replaced several parts of the engine. After the repair, the vehicle failed twice more. The manufacturer stated that they would contact the dealer to ensure the matter was handled appropriately. The failure mileage was 123,000 and the current mileage was 128,000. The VIN was not available.

- Peekskill, NY, USA