Used 2008 Honda Accord Consumer Reviews
Used Accord for sale
Honda money pit/.2008 accord EX
Steve’s Accord, 02/22/2022
2008 Honda Accord EX 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl 5A)
4 of 8 people found this review helpful
I always thought Honda was known for its reliability. The drive might be a little bland and boring and tepid in its handling etc but built well. I’ve owned about four different Civics and I just recently mistakenly bought a 2008 Accord EX and I’ve never been more ambivalent and frustrated with a car. I would need 10 paragraphs just explain all the things wrong with it but I’ll try to keep it reasonable and fair so that anyone thinking of buying this year and model will at least have some information before buying it. I say I ambivalent about it because although 90% of it has been horrific, when everything is going right and the car is aligned it is a smooth drive and I much prefer the double wishbone suspension than the McPherson struts just feels more of a substantial drive. When I drive the civic or the Corolla they feel like a toy compared to the accord. Much of this is my own fault because I inherited it through a family member but if you get a car history and the car has had seven different owners in 14 years, run far away!!! The guy who he got it from was a bit of a crook actually a lot of a crook and a liar but there’s no way that all these things that went wrong with the car could’ve been his fault anyway. The car has 240,000 km on it. We bought it for $4200. Then it cost $1600 to safety it which should’ve been a red flag from the beginning. I’ve had two new batteries (can’t explain) in the last three months, control arms were replaced bushings were replaced, bearings were replaced, ball joints, alignment was done three times. The fuel door wouldn’t open. The seats are incredibly uncomfortable it’s like you’re sitting in a bucket, I realize they’re called bucket seats but your ass is literally 5 inches lower than your knees. The blower motor for the HVAC is making noise. The cold air doesn’t blow that strongly on the outside vents just in the middle. I realize that many of these complaints are particular to this car and may not be relevant in many other cars but the issue of the uncomfortable seat can be applied to all these Hondas as well as the $2000 repair job for a defective VTC actuator on the four-cylinder. You can diagnose it when you have a rattle on cold start up. Of course I could not notice this because I got the car it was warm weather and it wasn’t making that noise at the time. This is why I feel Honda has really dropped the ball as far as quality because they will not do anything about this admittedly defective part to which they did not change in almost 8 years. This defect can be found in most 2008 to 2012 accords, Honda pilots, CRV‘s, and even in some Honda Civic‘s. Yes there has been class action suits but they’re all closed by now. I have to also say that my particular car is atrocious when it comes to gas mileage. I have to literally baby the pedal, use cruise control all the time and I drive very slow on the highway just to get the best mileage and I’m barely getting 18 to 19 miles per gallon. For any of you Canadians out there I’m barely getting 450 to 500 km with a 62 L fill up. I saw a guy the other day with the eight cylinder hellcat (charger) and he gets better gas mileage than my four-cylinder accord. This might be just specific to my car but I’ve done everything I could to make my car better with gas mileage. I replaced the air filters, had the spark plugs changed had all the O2 sensors and map and MAF sensor scanned. I used a fuel injector cleaner and still it made no difference. I know that it’s an older car with lots of miles but 18 miles per gallon when driving like an old lady is still brutal!!! I’ve put at least 3000 to 4000 dollars into this car and if I keep it I will have to spend another 2000 to fix this variable valve actuator (vtc). I am definitely not buying a Honda after this. As loyal as I was to Honda all these years I’m going to test out a Camry. Another thing that’s definitely in all the Hondas besides excruciating seats, bad gas economy, VTC actuator defects, and of course the deadly takata airbag recall (but these are on many different vehicles so it’s not fair to single Honda out). Another issue I have is that this 2008 is known for premature brake wear and I think it might be connected to every time you turn the wheel when you’re starting off, the Hydraulic steering revs the engine to make the steering smoother and if your foot is on the break while you’re doing this you’re constantly grinding down wearing out the brakes a little at a time. By the way I’ve also had the throttlebody cleaned to see if it will help with fuel economy and it seems like this car is always throwing gas into the engine and running Rich and I have to use the brakes to slow down the car while it is almost still accelerating on its own almost as if the cruise control was on. I think it must be just my car is possessed and it’s not fair of me to just make a blanket statement about Honda Accord‘s but I can say with certainty that the basic fact that they used the same defective part (VTC ACTUATOR) for at least eight years is unscrupulous. Also I found when I tried to contact corporate Honda they made zero attempts to alleviate the situation. So I find that Honda has become more greedy less accountable and less reliable. I will conclude by saying avoid at all costs the 2003 Honda accord and the 2008 Honda accord. Never buy a car without a mechanic putting it up on a hoist and checking everything and don’t be stupid like me if you’ve seen that a car has been sold on average every two years, do not buy it! Thanks for your time!
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Low quality and poor service of the Honda car
Smith, 10/31/2021
updated 11/04/2022
2008 Honda Accord LX 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl 5A)
4 of 8 people found this review helpful
I had very bad experience with my 2008 Honda Accord LX. It is about 119k miles and does not work at all. Comparison of quality of my 2008 Toyota Camry, Honda Accord has bad quality and the Honda dealer has very poor capability and knowledge to fix the problem. After the VSA sign showed on, I brought my car to Honda dealer twice for diagnostics. The first, the dealer said that one of speed sensor failed. After the speed sensor was replaced. The VSA sign is still on and car can not be driven. The dealer did the second diagnostics and said that car engine may have problem(???). After be inspected by a local auto garage, the auto garage found that all hardware, including engine, are OK but the control system is disordered. I talked to the Honda dealer to fix the control system, but they are not able to do it !!! How the Honda dealer got so bad training for car service? I will not buy any Honda car in the future. It is not only because the quality of the Honda cars, but also about very poor qualification and training of service of Honda dealer.
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Reliable & comfortable
OB in Massachusetts, 12/20/2019
2008 Honda Accord EX-L 4dr Sedan w/Navigation (2.4L 4cyl 5A)
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Mine’s still going at 180,000. No major problems. Bought it for a long daily commute and it was a joy to drive. Still is.
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2008 Honda Accord Couple 2.4L 5AT
RocTen, 02/13/2017
2008 Honda Accord EX 2dr Coupe (2.4L 4cyl 5A)
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Thus far its been a very dependable and trouble free car. Recall replaced rear brake pads at 27K. Front brakes lasted 90K. Only disappointment was center console trim vinyl bubbled up. Local upholstery shop for $65 upgraded it to leather. Had a 1996 Honda Accord Couple EX 2.2L 4AT that was still running strong at 250K when it was stolen. Best car I ever owned. Have the same expectation for this 2008. We will see.
Step it up Honda
fab82, 10/28/2011
2008 Honda Accord EX V-6 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 5A)
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Where do I begin? Aside f/my 08 Accord, I also own an 02 accord coupe. My old accord drives better, is quieter, and the interior appears sleeker. I am a tad bit disappointed in the 08 model. The paint used on this model is extra cheap, for a vehicle that has been garage kept I shouldn't be seeing rust where the paint has chipped away. The paint shouldn't be chipping @ all. The brakes/rotors are shot (although they were just replaced 4 months ago). The stereo system is nice, but the speakers are cheap! Outside noise is apparent, my old Honda rides like a spaceship!Honda's used to be flawless...not anymore.