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Honda Accord (2008-2012) Maintenance and Repair

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Comments

  • packer3packer3 Member Posts: 277
    I agree with your dealer, 3,750 is a good number for the first time. What if and I mean what if the oil monitor system has a glitch in it, the furthest I would go on the second change due to certain conditions would be 8,000 to 9,000 miles. Don't
    forget the oil monitor system if I'm not mistaken works from in the oil pan, not the oil filter.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    For your first oil, it is STRONGLY recommended not to change your oil early; go the full time to 15% or 1 year. The oil contains special additives from the factory designed to capture the metal shavings and particulates from the break-in process and prevent damage to your engine.
  • furrycutefurrycute Member Posts: 33
    Are you sure about this?

    I just purchased my very first Accord. All my friends tell me to do the first oil change at 3,000 miles, some even recommend doing one at 1,500 miles.

    Should I really wait 1 year or when there is only 15% oil life left? Isn't that kind of dangerous waiting that long to do your first oil change?
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    Everyone has there own opinions on when to change your oil. YOU have to decide for yourself, just like everyone else. ;) Personally, I would never wait a year before changing my oil. But I would at least wait until I had 3k miles. If you drive less than 3k miles per year, you don't need a car. ;)
  • carzzzcarzzz Member Posts: 282
    I iust recent did some research on oil analysis, and found numerous reports shows the additive is relatively low at 5k miles on 08' accords with ~50% on oil-life. If I knew that, i would have change mine at 5k instead of 6k @ 10% life (i have a 07 V6). my 2cents: I would put my bet on oil analysis reports over Honda Maintence reminder!
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    I think at least part of the reason for increasing maintenance intervals is competition between car makers. Honda, and all the other manufacturers, are now competing against each other for the lowest TCO (True Cost to Own) figures. Longer maintenance intervals, mean less maintenance costs. If all the other car makers extend their maintenance intervals, you are pretty much forced to follow suit. People who bring their cars to the dealership for maintenance (big $$) are influenced by advertising claims of 100k mile tune-ups, and 10k mile oil change intervals. Sure oil technology has improved, but not to this extent IMO. I would rather pay a little more for maintenance, than chance sludge building up in my engine. Opinions vary, of course. ;)
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    With a fairly mixed commute, I feel like the 7,000 oil change intervals I go for at 15% are adequate in my 2.4L 06 Accord. I would really struggle if it was sending me beyond 9,000 or 10,000 miles. If you want to change on shorter intervals, I understand it, but I wouldn't compromise on that first change, at least not before 6k miles.

    As much as car companies advertise long intervals, dealers insist coming in earlier is necessary, as that is just one more source of income. My local dealer used to continue putting the 3,000 mile sticker in my car, despite the fact that I used the maintenance minder. I just threw it away, since I had my records of when my last oil change took place, should I want to see how far I'd been since the previous one.
  • packer3packer3 Member Posts: 277
    The oil filter captures every thing, the oil they use is a cutting oil it enables the engine components to seat and stay at closer tolerances. If your going to change something first, it would be the oil filter, this has been done in the past.
  • camridercamrider Member Posts: 4
    Bought new 2008 Accord Coupe EXL V6. Noticed very top of wheel wells where shock and spring is located is not rustproofed (bare metal showing, but the lower part of wheel well is covered in some black plastic material. Does anyone know why this is or is an oversight during manufacturing?
  • ljgbjgljgbjg Member Posts: 374
    CHECK THIS OUT - A NUMBER OF SERVICE BULLETINS ON OUR CAR!!
    Especially important to those of your with navi systems

    http://www.alldata.com/TSB/24/082401aE.html

    TSB Number & Issue Date TSB Title
    05-032 JAN 08 Navigation System - DVD Information and Inspection
    07-007 NOV 07 Tire Monitor System - Warning Lamp ON/Pressures OK
    99-082 NOV 07 Navigation System - Warranty Exchange/Repair 07-054 OCT 07 Navigation System - Setup and Operation Information
    06-072 OCT 07 Tire Monitor System - Usage of TPMS Sensor Tools
    07-030 OCT 07 A/C - Refrigerant Leak Detection
    06-068 OCT 07 Steering - Vehicle Pulls/Drifts to the Left/Right
    07-044 AUG 07 Body - 2008 Paint Codes

    No need to subscribe - get them from your Honda dealer
  • ljgbjgljgbjg Member Posts: 374
    Automotive Recall and Technical Service Bulletin Titles for 2008 Honda Accord L4-2.4L.

    TSB Number & Issue Date TSB Title
    07-057 SEP 07 Campaign - PCM Software Update for Low Power on Accel
  • accordguy0325accordguy0325 Member Posts: 169
    According to a search on www.safercar.gov - I found no recalls or tsbs for the 2008 Accord.
  • ljgbjgljgbjg Member Posts: 374
    http://www.alldata.com/TSB/24/082401aE.html

    This website was cited int he NY Times today. You are looking at the wrong website - it onlly reports defects and recalls - this site reports TSBs. Sorry but you are incorrect.
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    A TSB means very little to the car owner. They are meant to give fellow techs a heads-up on problems reported and the possible solutions. There are 100s of TSBs for each and every car on the road.
  • packer3packer3 Member Posts: 277
    ljg

    There are some of us who appreciate things like that, keep them coming, I'm curious what those issues were under those Honda TSB numbers.
  • cstilescstiles Member Posts: 465
    One important point here is that TSBs are common for most every make of car. Note that most of these TSBs for the 2008 Accord were released last fall, when this car first hit the market. So most of these are not indicative of a problem, but are merely communications released from the factory to the dealerships to help prepare service depts for questions or issues from customers.

    Unfortunately, this website charges $25 for info on these TSBs, so they may be taking advantage of people who think these TSBs represent problems and will pony up the money for information of questionable value. As ljgbjg said, you can call the dealer to find out what these TSBs are for.

    But don't assume a TSB means there is a problem with the car. Most TSBs won't result in a communication with the customer for valid reasons. There is a difference between a recall and a TSB.

    Just a heads up for everyone to be aware of. Go ahead and do a search on this site for virtually any car, and you will find 20 or 30 TSBs, most of them very routine or benign.
  • bug4bug4 Member Posts: 370
    Technical Service Bulletins are great! I love them because they make you aware of things that might be wrong with your car, but that you didn't notice on your own. If there is a TSB, then there is little chance that your dealer won't fix the problem when you bring it up. I had several TSB's on my 98 Accord that the dealer agreed to fix without question when I asked him to check if they were issues. They were interior issues and electrical issues that I had never noticed.

    Several times I have located a list of TSB's on the web. I'll have to find that link again and get back to y'all!
  • packer3packer3 Member Posts: 277
    Alot of people don't go back to the dealers if they are not having any problems with their cars or for simple oil changes and the Dealers do not call customers back in when there is a SB on your car.
    Don't ever assume a SB is not a problem it could be something leading up to a major problem. So getting info from other people in a thread is important wether it's valid or not your research into it a statement will determine that, at least you were made aware of something.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    Yes, it is important information and we appreciate the posting.

    But it's also true that these are bulletins for the dealerships so they know how to resolve issues that have been reported by some number of customers. A TSB for any given issue on any given car does not mean that every vehicle will have the issue the the TSB addresses. It just means that if a customer comes in saying I have these symptoms, the dealership doesn't have to reinvent the wheel in order to to address them.

    Now can we please move on? We've pretty much beaten this to death now. :)

    And again, we do appreciate the list ljgbjg provided.
  • packer3packer3 Member Posts: 277
    Sorry, it's just that easy, because you don't necessarily have to have a symptom, it could just happen at the in convince of the customer. I had a problem with something else with my car and so I brought it to my dealer who never addressed the three SB's that were months old, until I went to another dealer because of the situation I was in so and when I picked up my car they made the corrections. And this was not beaten to death in my eyes, sorry.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    What I was trying to say is that the TSBs are to help the dealerships address specific symptoms observed by customers. If customers don't have the symptoms, the TSBs do not need to be performed.

    Hope that is clearer.
  • cstilescstiles Member Posts: 465
    Pat---thanks....and sorry if I inadvertently contributed to something getting blown out of proportion (again). You have an interesting and challenging job navigating through these various threads! We appreciate your presence and your help keeping us on point.

    It's time for a new development or real story out there on the Accord, so we can talk about something new and different for once!
  • packer3packer3 Member Posts: 277
    Understood, lets move on to other interesting Honda subjects.
  • rkirchoffrkirchoff Member Posts: 65
    This is my 2nd accord. I previously owned an 04 accord w/v6 and was impressed so I purchased an 08 accord ex w/v6. I miss my 04 accord. This 08 accord has been nothing but a lemon since I bought it. I've now got about 5000 miles on it and the mileage is getting worse. At first, I was getting about 22.5 highway and now I am getting 20.3mpg on highway with the cruise set at 65mph. This car lacks performance too. I attempted to pass another vehicle at 50mph and my car did not...would not shift into passing gear. I floored it and nothing happened. The car just sat there...thinking...didn't speed up enough to get me around the car I wanted to pass so I had to slow down and follow them till I got another chance to pass and still...nothing...no shift to passing gear. The shift-hold-control is horrible too. Sometimes, it prevents the car's transmission to shift to a higher gear which in turn slows me down and then I have to give it more gas again just to get to the speed I really wanted before this hold-control took over. I've also noticed it will not shift into low gear at 5mph. I've tried many times to shift into low gear at 3mph and it just sits there. The ECO is a bad idea too. GM-Cadillac, tried this feature back in the 80's and it was so successful that it lasted 2 years...lower fuel mileage and poor performance. I've also noticed this 08 accord's headlights are not too bright...rather...not as bright as my previous 04 accord although the lights on this new 08 accord are supposedly halogen. They're alot dimmer and aimed lower so I avoid driving at night whenever possible. Then there is the driver's seat. I have the 8-way power seat yet it is uncomfortable as heck. The rear of the seat-bottom...the part of the seat that you sit on...will not adjust. I am scrunched into a "V" and it hurts. The power lumbar makes it worse. Other cars had an adjustment to raise and lower this rear part of the seat but this Honda has no such adjustment. It is lower in the back than in the front which makes me constantly readjust myself which then causes me to take my eyes off the road for several seconds. I've notified Honda of this safety concern but they more or less laughed at me. Honda? Never again!

    Lastly but no least, the owner's manual says this car is supposed to have an 18.5 fuel tank capacity. I say it is wrong. I have always filled my car's gas tank to the rim and in each car I've owned since 1970, the total capacity stated in the owner's manual matched when filled to the rim. But not this 08 accord. I've put in 19 gallons several times. Other times, I've put in almost 21 gallons. And these amounts were at different gas stations. At first, I thought that the gas pumps might be off so I checked their certifications and the pumps showed correctly. I also had one of the guys that works at the weights-and-measures for the state watch me fill up my car to almost 21 gallons and they could not find any leakage or spillage on my vehicle or the pump itself and told me that the capacity shown in the owner's manual must be wrong. They have predicted that my actual tank capacity is around 22.5 gallons. Again, Honda has laughed at my findings and will not certify the tank.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    You are filling beyond tank capacity, into the filler neck, I suspect. I'd guess you aren't stopping at the first click?

    I'm sure the host will guide you there, but there is a dedicated forum that already exists for 2008 Honda Accord Maintenance and Repair.
  • rkirchoffrkirchoff Member Posts: 65
    Actually, I am not filling it beyond the capacity. I've done tests on this. The last time I quit at the first click, the gas gauge's low fuel light lit up just as I pulled alongside the gas pump which told me I had 2.5 gallons in the tank according to the car's owner's manual. I then noticed I had already put in 18.6 gallons. Thus, 18.6 + 2.5 = 21.1

    The tank's neck will hold less than a gallon. My previous 04 Accord w/v6 had a 17.1 gallon capacity and I did fill it to the neck everytime I gassed up. The 04 accord's fuel light lit up when there was about 1/2 gallon in the tank...about 10-15 miles. It came on one time and I drove about 8 more miles then filled up to the rim on that 04 accord and the total amount was 16.7 gallons which told me that I was running on fumes.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    My fuel light in my 06 Accord lights with more than 3.5 gallons left in the tank. I doubt you were running on fumes in the 04.

    Oh well, you don't have the car anymore, so it doesn't matter.
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    The 04 accord's fuel light lit up when there was about 1/2 gallon in the tank...about 10-15 miles. It came on one time and I drove about 8 more miles then filled up to the rim on that 04 accord and the total amount was 16.7 gallons which told me that I was running on fumes.

    My 03 V6 low fuel light comes on way before that. :surprise: I usually drive at least 10 miles after the light comes on (could go 30 easy). The gas pump will rarely get to 14 gallons when I fill up. If the tank is really 17.1 gallons I would still have over 3 gallons left. The low fuel light will come on when the needle gets between 1/4 tank, and where the red area starts, so that looks about right to me.
  • rkirchoffrkirchoff Member Posts: 65
    To be truthful, I was running on fumes since there is always about 2/10 of gas left in a tank when the motor quits and the needle shows it is empty.

    The service manager at the dealership where I bought my 08 accord says there is no way the gas tank could be a 22 gallon tank. He says there is not enough room. I say there is enough room. Based on the circumference of the tank itself, in order to get another 4 gallons in my car, the tank would only have to be about 1/2" bigger.

    I'm scheduling a service call on this accord at a dealership other than where I bought it. I cannot and do not trust the service dept where I bought the car. They've lied to me on more than 1 occasion and they know that I know that they lied. The service manager himself looked me right into my eyes and lied one time. What a clown! I marked the backside part of my tires with chalk..the part of the tire that faces the undercarriage. The markings said rr, rf, lr, and lf so I could tell if they rotated my tires. My car was being serviced and the service manager said my tires were rotated too. I then told the service manager what I had done prior to pulling my car into the dealership and then I got him to look under the car at the tire markings. They were still in the same location as when I took the car in for servicing. That was the 1st time but definitely not the last time that I caught him in an outright lie.
  • carzzzcarzzz Member Posts: 282
    Regarding of putting over 20+ gallon, you should try various gas stations. Maybe that station has mod the meters and cheat on its customers. Jeff from vtec.net has put 18.5 gallon on an 08 Accord V6. So, 19 gallon seems possible. I have seen a person put 17.2 gallon on a gen 7.5 AV6 SE in my local gas-station. Honda may have underrate the fuel tank, just like what they underrated horsepower on last generation I4 & V6 :D.
  • rkirchoffrkirchoff Member Posts: 65
    I buy gas where it is cheapest now which means I don't always buy gas from the same company. Since I travel several hundred miles for business several times each month, I am forced to buy gas from others. It is not the pumps causing this, I do know that! In fact, I was at a Huck's gas station filling up my tank when I first experienced the gas pump showed I had pumped 20.4 gallons. As I went inside to pay, I sought out the manager and asked her when the last time she had their pumps certified and she told me within the last 10 minutes. The weights-and-measure guy was just finishing certifying their pumps so I told him my problem about the gas pump and he told me it definitely was not the pump since it showed it was right on the mark where it was supposed to be.
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    So if the tank is bigger than what is stated in the owner's manual, what's the problem? Wouldn't that mean less trips to the gas station? If you could only get 10 gallons in, I would consider that a problem worth complaining about. :confuse:
  • mrbill1957mrbill1957 Member Posts: 823
    For what I've read, all tanks have a larger capacity then stated in the manual. The filler tube extends into the tank, causing the fuel pump nozzle to trip before the tank is 100% full. This is to keep some room for air so the fuel has a place to expand without building up too much pressure. This would explain the recommendation to stop filling the tank when the nozzle first clicks off, and also explains why you can keep adding more fuel after it does click off the first/second/third time.

    Mrbill
  • gmitch7gmitch7 Member Posts: 8
    Re: Gas tank size! My 2 cents. The unknown variable is how much fuel is remaining when the low fuel light comes on . I have an 08 EXL-V6 and I think that the manual reads that the light comes on when "approximately" amount of fuel remains. We do not know how firm that value is. I don't think you can truly know unless you run the tank completely empty and then measure how many gal to refill. Just my thoughts. Love the car!

    gm
  • rkirchoffrkirchoff Member Posts: 65
    Service managers have told me the exact thing about overfill too but I've been doing it ever since I got my first car in 1970 and have not ever had any problems with doing it. My family and many of my friends always fill to the rim too and I've never heard any of them ever talking about problems caused by overfill. I think it is just a bunch of manure..the cautions of overfill. Years ago in the 20's, the possibility was true. Fires from overfill did happen but it happened on those cars of yesteryear that didn't have the same gas caps of today nor the same fuel systems of today.

    I've talked to mechanics about this and they've never told me it was bad for the car or the system and they never told me to quit doing it. It is just hype. If it were such a problem and if it caused as many problems as some people claim, then why hasn't there ever been a public service announcement or a tv commercial or some warning for everyone to see perhaps on a billboard alongside a busy highway explaining the hazards/problems of tank overfill? To me, I am not overfilling it. I am filling it to its true capacity. That is why I want to know the real capacity of my gas tank. Whatever Honda and all other manufacturers state in their owners manuals should be correct and if not, they should be willing to provide gas tank certification tests to show their figures are correctly stated.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Whatever Honda and all other manufacturers state in their owners manuals should be correct

    It has been for me. What you want is the total of the gas tank and the filler neck. Most people don't care to fill it to overflowing, so the "TANK" capacity is listed.

    Personally, I don't understand wanting to run the risk of ruining the evap canister located near the top of the filler neck. What's it going to save you, an extra 20 miles between fillups?
  • mrbill1957mrbill1957 Member Posts: 823
    Do a internet search and you WILL find information on why you shouldn't overfill your tank.

    To each is own, I won't do it.

    Mrbill
  • elroy5elroy5 Member Posts: 3,735
    If the tank is really larger than Honda states in the owner's manual, why would you have a problem with that? Especially since you insist on over-filling it anyway. :confuse:
  • musicscenemusicscene Member Posts: 4
    I've had my 08 V6L since January. I had my windows tinited a few days after buying the car. Just last week, I brought it into the Honda dealer because my AM radio has so much static since I bought the car I've been going crazy. The service advisor looked at my car and said "metalic tint". I didn't realize that the antenna was in the glass and by putting the metalic material over the window would distroy my reception. So, two days ago I brought the car back into the tint shop and they replaced the metalic for a non metalic and now the radio sounds great. This only affected the AM, the FM has been fine.
    I also have noticed that my drivers side power seat skips when adjusted front to back on it's track. I will have this checked when I bring my car in for it's first service.
    The brakes still squeek as they have since the first day I bought the car in January and now I've driven about 6,000 miles and when applying the brake lightly it always squeeks just a little bit.
    George Kaye
  • ljgbjgljgbjg Member Posts: 374
    My driver's side seat does the same - can you let us know what you find out?
  • weigchenweigchen Member Posts: 3
    After my '08 accord has been parked for a half day or more, when I go start it and shift from "park" to "drive", it makes a very loud clunk sound. I even feel it.
    I know hondas always had that clunk, I know from my previous '00 and '04 accords, but not as loud as this one.
    Has anyone else had this experience?
    The car will not do this again until after I park it again for more than half day.
    Sometimes it won't make the sound, but lately, its been clunking more and more.
    I am afraid I may have a transmission problem on my hands, b/c I don't have warranty on my car.
  • rkirchoffrkirchoff Member Posts: 65
    If the evap canister were such a huge or risky issue, then why hasn't there ever been any public service announcements on tv, or literature from any of the car manufacturers concerning such canister, or warnings in newspapers, magazines, etc.?

    I will also say again...I've been filling my tank to the rim since I got my first car in 1970. My parents have always done the same thing and so have my brother, sister, other relatives, and lots of friends all over the United States. I don't consider myself to be overfilling anything. If the tank were truly overfilled then gasoline would be/could be sloshing out onto the ground or other car parts. But I've looked all over my car and all over the other cars too when they're filled to my capacity and have yet to see any signs of leakage or other problems. I've never had any check-engine lights to come on as well. If filling the tank to my capacity were so dangerous/risky as you claim, then why hasn't the car manufacturers or the government or others fixed all gas tanks so that they can hold only a certain amount and never ever be filled the its fullest capacity?

    I took my car to the dealership yesterday and told them I was having performance issues. With all the information they can receive through their readouts, they should have told me that there were problems such as the canister evap or other problems associated with your so-called overfill but no problems were found. I told the mechanic and the service manager that the car had a full tank of gas and then further explained to them that I filled the tank to the rim at all times and you know what they said to me about my filling to capacity? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I told them there were several people that claimed to have issues with filling to capacity and they informed me the issues were in their minds and that these new cars..the cars of today...are so drive-by-wire that IF filling to the rim were such a big problem as some claim, then the car's drive-by-wire system would sense a problem and report it accordingly either through a warning light or perhaps a readout on the computer when hooked up to it at any dealership.
  • dwashcodwashco Member Posts: 4
    I took delivery of a 08 EX-L I4 last week. It's been hot up here in NE but I think my A/C is not operating properly. I have owned 3 Hondas and 1 Acura in the past and the air will blow cold air within 3 mins or so. The new car will only ever blow mildly cool air regardless of the setting. So I'll set at Auto, Lo setting. Can anyone comment of their air temp ? I will be putting a air temp gauge in there to measure the temp of the cool air today.
  • rkirchoffrkirchoff Member Posts: 65
    Take it back to the dealership and have them check the a/c unit for leaks and also to see if it needs freon.
  • dwashcodwashco Member Posts: 4
    I plan on doing that next week. The care only has 200 miles on it.
  • dpmeersmandpmeersman Member Posts: 275
    My 08 EXL-V6 has been OK here in NE over this past very hot week. Not knowing the model years of your previous Honda's/Acura's, and whether or not they were models using freon as opposed to the current refrigerants(R134A?), but I have found that freon would provide almost instant cooling and R134A would take 5-10 minutes to get a good chill going. While I feel mine is operating within what I'm sure Honda would call a normal operating range, it pales in comparison to my 03 Taurus, a car I paid 50% less then I did for my new Accord and it had rear seat heat/ac vents off the center console which needless to say is appreciated by those riding back there. The change-over year for most mfg's from freon to R134A was 1994-1995.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Make sure and set your parking brake; if your car rolls after putting it in park (doesn't necessarily have to be on a hill to do it), it'll clunk more.

    Always set the brake.
  • weigchenweigchen Member Posts: 3
    I always set the brake, I don't let the car roll forward, where I stop is where I set the brake.
  • thegraduatethegraduate Member Posts: 9,731
    Ok, good habit.
  • ljgbjgljgbjg Member Posts: 374
    Just be carfeul in really cold weather - can freeze on. Otherwise I agree
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