Honda Accord (2008-2012) Maintenance and Repair

thegraduate

Post all your maintenance or repair questions or experiences here!

burningedge

I bought a new Accord on Fri. 10/19. When I was driving to work on Mon. 10/22 the car started sputtering and lurching. It had 50 something miles on it. When I turned the car off and restarted it, the engine check light came on and the ECO light would no longer come on, though the car was driveable at that point. Brought the car in and they are working on it.

Update: the problem has been diagnosed as a defective fuel pump. I have to wait a week for a new fuel pump.

yury

You might want to check this also (this is from driveaccord forum)

Pre-Delivery Update: Low Power During Acceleration

link title

yury

oops, that was for I4....

deke3

I bought a 2008 Accord it didn't have but 300 miles on it when the audio display went bad. It started cutting out and showing half of the letters and numbers.

elroy5

Auto what? display.

deke3

The audio display.

elroy5

What did the dealer say was the problem? How do they plan to fix it, and keep it from happening again? Would be nice for potential buyers to know, if you could elaborate.

deke3

The dealer said, the car is so new that they had never seen this problem. They ordered a new one.

thegraduate

That's interesting, considering the audio displays were recalled on the first year model of the last generation Accord too.

burningedge

Oops. I meant defective OIL pump. Seems too much oil was being pumped into the engine causing valves to remain open when they shouldn't be.

elroy5

I don't think the display was recalled, the warranty was just extended for those displays that did go out. I never had to bring my 03 in, and my display has not gone out, yet. Still have 20k miles of warranty left on it (70k miles)

thegraduate

Oh, well, TSB/Recall or sort of the same in my book. They exist to recognize a problem and to remedy that problem. My dad's 2003 EX Accord (which was wrecked a day later) had his display go out in 2004. Since it was wrecked a day after going out, we never got it fixed!

pat

Not meaning to be picky, but actually TSBs and recalls are very different things. Recalls involve safety issues and apply to all of a certain set of vehicles. The manufacturer attempts to notify all owners to bring their vehicle in whether they've noticed the issue or not. A technical service bulletin is issued to a dealer explaining a remedy for a problem if an owner happens to experience it and report it. Owners are not notified and like elroy says, they may never need to have it applied.

thegraduate

Thanks for the clarification. I'm a very picky person most of the time (as I'm sure you've figured out ) so no problem!

pat

aviboy97

Seems too much oil was being pumped into the engine causing valves to remain open when they shouldn't be.

I hope this does not cause you problems down the road. Is Honda sure you have suffered no engine damage due to this, if possible?

tparikh

Has anyone had to have an oil change yet? I am almost at 3k miles and still show 80% on the oil display. If this is accurate, it's going to save me maybe hundreds a year, all cars should have this feature.

thegraduate

Sounds about right. Even before the maintenance minder, Accords had a 10,000 miles oil-change interval. 3,000 mile oil changes haven't been necessary on Hondas in decades (if they EVER were). I know my 12 year old Honda has a 7,500 mile interval.

aviboy97

Most vehicles today have 7,500 miles or more written as the oil change interval. However, it also depends on what type of driving you do. Stop and go vs highway. I change mine (Mazda6) every 5,000 because the North East is just one giant traffic jam.

thegraduate

Yes, you fit in the "severe" schedule that Honda laid out before the Minder was put in place. Lots of idling, extreme temps, etc...

I end up going every 7,000 or so with my mixed commute. It is at this point I hit 15% on the oil life monitor.

burningedge

The Service Manager assures me no damage was done, but what else is he going to say? American Honda did offer to give me a free warranty extension, so I appreciate that. However, I still do not have my car back. The oil pump is on backorder. I have my license plate, but sadly no car.

bug4

burningedge ---- You have a brand new car that you can't even drive --- that's wrong! However, I have one bit of encouragement for you . . . .

Let them take as long as they want to get your car back to you. . .there may be some benefit if there is real damage to the engine. Although I have never worked with California's lemon law (I think you said that is where you are from), it looks like you would qualify for relief only after your car is out of service for at least 30 days. Of course, the 30 day requirement is only one criteria among several. (see this web site: http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php )

No matter where you are from, in most states, the longer your car is at the shop awaiting repair, the closer you get to qualifying for a buy-back. For your sake and so that you start enjoying your awesome car, I hope you never have to worry about the lemon law

bug4

I understand that my 08 EX-L, I4 (190hp) Accord has a timing chain that does NOT have to be replaced. Can anyone confirm this for me? Thanks!

mrbill1957

Yes, it's true. Honda has dropped the timing belt in the I4 beginning with the 03 model.

Mrbill

bug4

Thanks! My 98 needed it and it was a relatively expensive service -- nice to know my 08 won't need it!

accordboi03

I have owned a 2008 Accord Coupe (EX 4 cylinder) automatic for about one month now and just today noticed a thumping/rattle type of noise coming from the passenger side (I suspect the door).... Anyone else have any similar issues ?

I thought maybe it could be due to the cold weather here in upstate ny - bout 20 degrees-- and I checked to make sure no objects were in the car rolling around on that side...

Besides this- it is my second Accord and I love it!

blackexv6

My '08 EXL-4cyl Sedan w/1200 miles had a clunking/rattle noise from the first week of ownership. Sounds like its coming from the driver side door(s). At first I thought it was the car jack in the trunk but ruled that out.

I am going to have the dealer look at it during my first oil change.

Last Accord I owned '03 V6 was a rattle trap, hopefully, this one will be a little better.

accordboi03

I too had an 03 Accord (LX model though) that was made in Mexico... Overall it was a good car and pretty solid after 40,000 miles of ownership (sans a paint chipping/peeling issue that I believe had more to do with Honda's Tafetta White than its first year status or build locale) but I digress...

My 08 was made in Ohio...I'll have to make a special trip to my dealer though as I only put on 5,000-7,000 miles per year now and do not want to wait till my first oil change (next October) to address this issue...

steelr10

We recently purchased a 2008 Honda Accord V-6. This is our fourth Honda and we love them. Presently we have about 2000 miles on the engine and are not experiencing very good fuel mileage. The best we have gotten is around 28 and that is highway miles. We got about 20-21 mpg combination highway and in town. Is this typical during the "break in" period? Could it be the fuel we are using. We are using a 90/10 ethanol blend which we have used in all our accords and other vehicles. We assumed utilizing the VCM with the "eco" option would give us better fuel mileage. Anyone have an idea for us??

blane

There's no question that ethanol will reduce mpg.

What are the outside temperatures? Winter blends and winter temperatures impact mpg too.

blufz1

I think that's about what the sticker says you will get. Not bad for a 3500 lb. V6.

thegraduate

I second everything that BLane said. Winter blends of fuel couple with ethanol means you should actually be pretty pleased with your numbers.

bvdj84

Okay, since when can we put ethanol in our accords?

thegraduate

Not E85, I think its up to 15%.

robr2

Okay, since when can we put ethanol in our accords?

Since forever I guess. As noted, ethanol that is being used as an additive (up to 10%) in gasoline as a replacement for MTBE. Look on the pump you use - it'll tell you the mix. Most modern vehicles should not be damaged by the 10%.

E85 is a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Vehicles have to be designed to run on that blend.

bvdj84

Well I am not taking a chance on my leased car. Though it might be just fine.

robr2

You may not have a choice. Most gasoline sold in North America is 10% ethanol. As I noted earlier look at the pump - it'll have a sticker on it saying something to that affect.

thegraduate

I'm not sure how it is taking a chance. My owner's manual states that its ok up to 15% in my 4-cyl, iirc.

robr2 is correct, while it has yet to catch on where I live in the south, in a large part of the country, 10% Ethanol is the norm.

blane

Since this is the 2008 Maintenance & Repair forum...

Page 261 of the 2008 Accord Sedan Owner's Manual states: "Your vehicle is designed to operate on oxygenated gasoline containing up to 10% ethanol by volume and up to 15% MTBE by volume. Do not use gasoline containing methanol"

blane

Pages 83 through 85 of the 2008 Accord Owner's Manual discuss Auto Door Unlocking. The feature has five possible settings. I've tried multiple times (unsuccessfully) to program the system so that "All doors unlock when you move the shift lever to the Park (P) position (A/T vehicles)".

Only the driver's door unlocks for me. I'm frustrated, but trying to save a trip to the Honda shop. Has anyone else been successful doing so following the four-step instructions on page 84?

bvdj84

well I have an 06 Accord. I am not sure it is in the manual for that.

blane

I just checked my 2004 Accord V6 Owner's Manual. The wording is identical.

bvdj84

what, that it says that you may put that in your tank? or you cannot find it.

blane

bvdj84,

The 2004 wording is identical to the 2008 wording that I quoted in post #40.

bug4

Hey blane . . my new Accord does the exact same thing. I did try to reprogram it one time, but it didn't work and I didn't have time to try again. I assumed I had just done it incorrectly. I'll try again . . but keep us posted.

royalty

I had the same problem. I did exactly what the manual said to no avail so I finally took it in to the dealer. The Tech did what exactly I did and it didn't work for him either. Then he tried something else. It is about 2 months ago so I am trying to remember but I think he programmed everything to turn off (no lock or unlock) and then he programmed it to unlock both doors and it finally worked. If you struggle with this stop by the dealer. Mine reprogrammed it at no-charge, they didn't even write up a work order.

genego1

I have an 08 EXL V6 Accord with about 200 miles on it and I also have a noise coming from around the front of drivers side door or front pillar or that vicinity but I can't pinpoint exactly where it is coming from. It sounds like it maybe a plastic piece that is under stress and at the beginning of an acceleration or braking action you get this creaking like noise - not loud but very subtle. The sound system must be turned down. I tried pushing on the dash, door, and headliner pieces try to stop it but it does not stop it.

I also will take it in to the dealer to get it looked at. I hope it can be located and corrected since the exact location is vague. Just for information this Accord was made in Alabama in 9/07. If any else has something like this please respond.

I really, really like this car and previously owned 2 Accords 12 yrs each and had an 04 Toyota Camry XLE for 4 yrs and traded it in for the 08 Accord. XLE was a little too mushy for me and wanted a tighter handling car. The engine power and drive is great in the Accord.

thegraduate

Hold it, Accords aren't made in Alabama. They're made in Marysville, Ohio... Ontario, or Japan. Those are the only 3 places, the last time I checked.

bug4

You might check one other spot for the source of the noise. The sound you describe is similar to a squeak I have in my 08 I4 EX-L Accord --- except mine is coming directly from the automatic gear shifter. It is very slight and mirrors itself all around the cabin (which made it hard to tell exactly where it was coming from). It sounds like someone is very lightly rubbing two pieces of styrofoam together. It is noticeable only when the cabin is very quite at low speeds and only until the cabin warms up -- but its there! Just a thought . . .

You know, I've actually relaxed considerably about squeaks over the years. I still expect a car to be tight and relatively squeak-free. But, I've noticed that Hondas and Toyotas are among the best of ANY vehicle. . . .and they still have some squeaks. I've had the chance to drive and ride in lots of expensive cars. Frankly, they have generally disappointed me when it comes to "squeakiness." I've been in many BMWs that are worse than the 3 Accords I've owned and I've noticed significant squeaks in Audis, Porches and Jaguars. I dont' have a lot of experience in Mercedes --perhaps they are quiet? Strangely, the quitest car I ever rode in was a 2001 Volvo Cross Country . . I'm not sure if the interior tolerances were so tight it didn't squeak, or perhaps they were so loose none of the pieces actually touched eachother

[p.s. - the loudest car I ever drove was an early-2000s model Mustang. It had been raced before --so maybe that was the problem. In that car, the tachometer was not necessary. . . the frequency of the buzzing plastic pieces clearly announced the engine RPM :P ]

genego1

I'm very sorry. My girlfriend just bought an 08 Pilot and it was made in Alabama. I got the manufacturing location of the 2 confused.