This summer, from the month of may onwards, I felt difficult in breathing, blurred vision and sometimes a sudden chest pain while driving my civic with AC running, it blew cool but not cold air, and there were many instances that I almost fell off and my body became off balance while walking around after driving the civic. At first, I thought it might be I am getting old, 46yrs. But. Later , I found out that there is a freon leak within the car when AC is engaged . A tif 5000 detector was used to check and confirm the present of r134a in the cool air inside the civic. The check was carried out under condition that AC system is blowing closed circulatiuon air within the car. I felt that this type of incident might post a greater risk of automobile accidents for elderly drivers as the r134a, freon, is poisonous and once the drivers unaware of its present and inhale it and physically lose control of their vehicles. Especially elderly ones are more vulnerable and accidents happen. There are many accidents might be due to this type of AC defect. The public or the investigators may have not realized this is one of the possible causes of accidents, as the crashes may have physically destroy all the evidences of defective AC system. I hope you will look into this problem. Not only honda automobiles but all cars in the USA.
2008 Honda Civic engine complaints
Page 7 of 8: complaints 161 to 190 of 207, newest first, as owners wrote them.
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 the federal safety agency 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.
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.
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!
Air conditioning/heater,defroster fan stops working. It sounds as if the fan motor is struggling and then it turns off and won?t turn back on for the remainder of the day.
Tl* 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.
I have a 2008 honda civic, the A/C works intermittently, sometimes it cools sometimes it does not. I have it checked by a dealership and a firestone shop, they said the 'freon' level and pressure is ok and both recommended replacing the compressor, etc. If the compressor is broken then why does it still work (on and off)? I've read in some of the forums that there are a lot of honda civic 2008 owners had the same problem. Is there a recall or class-action complaint about this? Is there a fix where you don't need to spend tons of money on it?
Car made an intermittent high-pitched whining noise. I noticed the engine temperature indicator was in the red. There was a smell of burnt anti-freeze. Checking the radiator and radiator reservoir showed there was no coolant. Had to put water in the radiator and reservoir to drive back home. Mechanic and dealership confirmed that the engine block was cracked causing all the coolant to leak out. The engine block has to be replaced. Fortunately I was made aware that honda will cover this manufacturing defect and my cost should be zero.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 honda civic. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact successfully maneuvered the vehicle to the shoulder but the vehicle would not restart. The vehicle was then towed to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the motor overheated and seized. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
First thing this morning I tried to set my cruise control at 65 MPH, but it didn't work. The speed of the car kept decreasing, despite several attempts to set the cruise. I turned off the cruise and tried to press the gas pedal to drive, and the same problem occurred. In addition, as I tried to increase my speed, the car made a loud humming sound and the rpms on the dash began to increase. Then an indicator light turned on; after driving for a few minutes, more indicator lights came on, my brake stopped working completely, and my steering wheel locked. My gas pedal also stopped working completely. At this point, as I was going uphill I lost complete control of the car and put the car in park because that was the only way I could stop the car. Smoke began coming from the hood. I had the car towed to the midas in salt lake city at 875 east 2100 south. The service people told me the cars engine had heated so that it melted the equipment under the hood. Later, after a discussion with the honda corporate office, I found out a recall had been issued in august 2010 for a problem with the engine blocks of 2006, 2008, and some 2009 civics. The honda representative said a letter had been sent to civic owners. However, my experience today showed me the seriousness of this problem. I could have a life-threatening accident today, and when the issue is so grave honda should call car owners to alert them to the recall. A letter sent out one time is not enough. The midas service representatives told me they had absolutely no information about this recall in their database, which proves how poorly this entire matter has been handled. There are many families out there driving these civics. Get your cars checked out, and let honda know that they must take better care and full responsibility for their customers!
Tl* the contact owns 2008 honda civic. The contact was driving 30 MPH when she realized that the vehicle would not shift gears. In addition, the vehicle would stall intermittently. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or local mechanic for inspection or repairs. The failure mileage was 30,000. Updated 10/21/11
1. I had all recommended service, including oil changes, performed on my 2008 honda civic hybrid since I purchased it new, with receipts to prove this, and never had a problem with this car prior to this incident. 2. The engine failed catastrophically, with no alert or warning light, on a highway at 55mph during rush-hour traffic. 3. The failed engine was replaced with a used engine, as recommended by the honda service location where I had the car towed. The service manager never provided an explanation of what did or might have happened, and he reported that everything about the engine seemed appropriate except for the fact that it had "seized". Honda provided no financial assistance, because the warranty had expired, offered no explanation or understanding, several times spoke unprofessional and, therefore, lost a customer.
Took car in for oil change 4/30/2011 at honda dealer. Service department performed reflash campaign 10-034 without asking. Previously had declined this service and is noted in service records not to perform this service ever. Car performance has been significantly diminished since this service has been performed. Car will not reliably accelerate smoothly from standstill (red light) or when merging into highway traffic at 40-50 MPH. When accelerating from a stop, vehicle may or may not move at acceptable speed causing the potential to enter traffic with inadequate power to get up to speed of oncoming traffic creating a hazardous situation. This is an accident waiting to happen, especially since the performance is now inconsistent and you do not know when it may not accelerate as needed. The engine will rev very high but the car will only go 5-10 MPH with pedal all the way to the floor. Honda dealer has been unresponsive. I am limiting driving this car as much as possible as this car is unsafe in traffic situations. Also, the auto-stop feature does not work as prior to the reflash, engine idles much higher at stops and does not cut off. This has decreased gas mileage significantly.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 honda civic. The contact was driving 55 MPH when the air conditioner stop working and then stalled. The check engine lamp was also illuminated and the contact noticed that the vehicle was overheating. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who diagnosed that the engine cylinder block was cracked and as a result, the cooling was leaking. The manufacturer was contacted who offered to pay for a portion of the repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 58,878. Updated 07/01/11
The engine on my honda overheated and got so hot it actually melted some of the components. Faced with a $4000 repair bill, I did some internet research and found that honda had been aware of engine problems with 2006 through 2008 civics. Honda had issued a bulletin to letting mechanics know there was a problem with leaking coolant. My husband was exiting a freeway when the car just shut down and started smoking. Had it happened sooner, there could have been an accident. I think honda should have recalled these cars rather than wait until a breakdown happens and then do repairs. Even the service manager at honda told us they had been doing of lot of these repairs lately. The potential for a breakdown in an unsafe area and cause an accident is great. Or at least make sure they get the information to their customers. They know where to find me to send my monthly bill, why not the warranty?
I have a 2008 honda civic ex. Around 70,000 miles my engine overheated on the highway. Upon further inspection there was radiator coolant leak from underneath my car. The honda dealers stated there was a crack on the engine block. I investigated this matter on the internet and there were numerous complaints of cracked engine blocks on the 2008 honda civic. Due to numerous complaints honda extended the powertrain warranty to 8 yrs for unlimited miles. There is currently no recall but there should be in my opinion. Also I have replaced all four tires on my 2008 honda civic twice in about 70,000 miles due to uneven wear (inner flat areas on the tires) even with tire rotations and alignments. There are also numerous complaints about extreme uneven tire wear on the internet.
Honda gave us a warning that our civic could lose it's coolant and break down. They refuse to do a recall. We complained to the state of oregon and they agreed with us but could not get honda to recall our car just extend the warranty. We are retired and purchased the car to drive to la to visit our grandchildren and are now afraid to do so as we can't look forward to a breakdown on the highway. It also creates a diminished value for resale for which the state consumer complaint bureau agreed but was unable to get an agreement from honda on. I have all of the documents from honda and the state of oregon and could forward to you if you have the same views that we have. We have only 4500 miles on our civic and have asked them for an ability to trade it in on another car for near what we paid for it for peace of mind in our travels or repair the vehicle. They said that if the problem has not yet occurred they won't address it yet they know that it may occur. At our age and hoping to keep the car for a long time the extended warranty doesn't work for us and it is just a way for honda to avoid a recall and keep their problem out of the medial while pushing the outcome on us with no recourse except to wait for the problem to manifest itself at our inconvenience. They say that the engine would stall so that would lose our power brakes and steering which scares us on top of the inconvenience of an interstate breakdown while both my wife and I have medical issues that cause us concerns in that potential. I can email you the letter of potential engine breakdown potential and the letter from the state of oregon if you are willing to help in this matter.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 honda civic. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who stated that the there was coolant leaking into the engine. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer because it was under warranty, but the dealer stated that there were no leaks. The leak caused the vehicle to over heat several times. The failure mileage was 38,000 and the current mileage was 47,000.
2008 honda civic. S10 direct reply- letter to the administrator seeking an investigation into 2006-2008 and early 2009 honda civic engine blocks problem *tgw the consumer stated he received a letter from honda titled warranty extension which stated there was a potential problem with certain year civic engine blocks. According to the letter, the engine cylinder block may experience coolant seepage that can result in the engine overheating. The letter stated honda was committing to extending the warranty for 8 years with no mileage limits. The letter further stated to contact honda if the vehicle was leaking coolant from the engine block, or if the engine was overheating. The consumer stated the resolution offered by honda was irresponsible and simply did not go far enough. The consumer stated his daughter drives the vehicle and goes to school 5 hours away and she would have no idea if the vehicle was leaking coolant from the engine block. The consumer would like the vehicle repaired before it fails. *jb updated 02/02/11.
#2 spark plug blown from cylinder head while driving.
2008 honda civic hybrid was modified according to manufacturer's voluntary recall notice 10-034. This modification involved changes to the engine control computer's software "flash" memory. Subsequently, the vehicle demonstrates insufficient power to accelerate safely into highway traffic. When parked on an incline the vehicle exhibits difficulty initiating forward motion and may roll backwards up to three feet before establishing forward progress. This behavior was not observed prior to the engine modification.
2008 honda civic. Consumer states problem with the engine and brakes *tgw the consumer stated the air conditioner was not working properly for 20 -30 minutes at a time while driving. The AC knob was turned on, but the blower was not working. When the consumer returned to the dealer, she was informed dye had been placed in the AC system and to return in 3 weeks to see if there were any leaks. The consumer returned 3 weeks later and no leaks were found. The dealer advised the consumer that nothing could be done unless AC/heater blower was not working at the time. In december 2009, while it was raining, the windshield became fogged, because the blower was not working. The consumer was able to get to the dealer in time for them to witness, that the AC/ heater blower was not working, but as the technician went to drive the vehicle into the service bay, it began working again. On one occasion when the consumer arrived at the dealer, the blower was not working, but when the door was closed, it began working again. The consumer believed there is a wiring problem. The consumer also stated the engine would surge when the brake was applied.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 honda civic. While driving at speeds of 50, 60, or 73 MPH the vehicle vibrated in the front and rear ends. The vehicle was taken to the dealer numerous times for the failure; the vehicle was aligned; however, the failure wasn't corrected. The manufacturer acknowledged the failure and stated that a proper alignment should correct the failure and has declined to further assist with the repair cost. The warranty expired; therefore he will be responsible for any additional repair to correct the failure. The failure mileage was 7,000 and the failure mileage was 63,000. The upper right motor was replaced. The mount collapsed and was sitting on the frame causing vibration and resonance. Updated evoq 02/15/12 updated 02/17/12 the consumer stated he has noticed considerable improvements in the handling of the vehicle. The vehicle did not vibrate at highway speeds and the steering was firm. Updated 03/09/12
We purchased a 2008 honda civic hybrid new, and were very satisfied with the performance and the pickup was excellent. The company performed a "mandatory" software upgrade to improve battery life in september 2010. Since that update, the car has drastically diminished response time to acceleration, especially when attempting a sudden burst to change lanes or turn through intersections. The engine actually has almost stalled when attempting to start from a dead stop. This response time resulted in a near miss while entering freeway traffic due to the sluggishness of the engine when requesting acceleration that, prior to the software change, would have not been a problem. It is my belief that the software upgrade that honda has forced upon the owners of the honda civic hybrid is a detriment to safe driving, and should be reversed at the soonest opportunity before someone forgets and is actually involved in an incident that involves serious injury if not death.
2008 honda civic hybrid ima dash light and engine light come on at approximately 31,000 miles. I was driving and all of the sudden the integrated motor assist light on the dash and the engine light came on. I stopped and read that this indicated a problem with the integrated motor assist and that performance would be affected which it was. Acceleration was sluggish and slow from a stand still. I took it to the dealership immediately and was asked if I had received a recall notice which I said I had not. They said they were aware of the problem and that it required a software upgrade. I left the car for about 30 minutes and when I returned they said that they flashed the computer and did an upgrade. After this there were no more problems. I have looked at the federal safety agency and honda site and there is no mention of this problem or a recall listed on any site. I just wanted to let you know that this may be a problem. Thank you.
Have a 08 civic hybrid with 89k miles. Got the recent battery software upgrade several weeks ago. Have had a sudden drop in battery charge down to one or two bars, both before and after the upgrade. Recovery usually fairly quick, driving on the interstate, 72 MPH, all of a sudden dash went dark and engine stopped. No warnings or lights beforehand. Coasted to the side of the road. Able to restart immediately. Happened twice more over the next 30 minutes. These times put the car in neutral and restarted as I coasted. Tank about 1/3 full with shell gas. Filled the tank with off brand gas and drove the rest of the way ok. Took it to honda dealer. They checked engine (no codes) and electrical system. Nothing found. Have to drive this car every weekend for 400 mile round trip. Concerned about upcoming weekend.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 honda civic ex (n/a). The contact was traveling 45 MPH and attempted to accelerate when the vehicle suddenly began losing power. The check engine light illuminated so the contact pulled over to the shoulder and turned the vehicle off. The vehicle was then towed to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed the bottom of the engine had a crack. The service manager then called back and stated that there was a problem with the headers and the radiator was melted because the vehicle had overheated. The failure mileage and current mileages were approximately 32,000.
Honda software update on my 2008 civic has made my car lethargic to drive. It is now dangerous to drive in normal traffic. Gas mileage has dropped from ~40mpg to ~35 forcing me to stop more often to fill up and costing me lots more money to drive.
Basic complaint is unpredictable loss of power when accelerating. This seems to be due to the ima system operation. Not being able to depend on consistent acceleration has drastically changed the way you have to drive vehicle to prevent crash. If you needed the ability to accelerate quickly and safely, you cannot count on this vehicle to provide it. It occurs almost daily when acceleration is needed most, turning across traffic and merging in traffic/highway on-ramps. At the start ownership of vehicle, no problems noted. Car operated great! In last 5-10k miles car has gotten worse and worse. It has had all software updates. Mpg was always 42-45. Now runs around 35 mpg.
In august 2010 I took my 2008 honda civic hybrid to the dealer for routine maintenance. The dealer performed a purported software update on the battery system without notifying me until afterwards. Immediately upon leaving the dealer, I noticed a profound reduction in power and acceleration. On the freeway portion of the drive home, I was almost rear-ended twice as I drove in the slow lane up a minor grade where the vehicle could not accelerate over 40 miles per hour (with the pedal fully depressed in the passing gear)-- prior to this date I had driven my vehicle for its prior 20 months of ownership up that same grade at 70mph. Additionally, prior to this date I had never even utilized the "s" gear on my transmission. Ever since honda's software update my car has become a severely underpowered accident waiting to happen. I am reduced to driving in the slow lane on the freeway with vehicles flashing me as they approach a 40-45 MPH vehicle at 60-70 MPH from behind. I have called the honda service departments at several local dealers regarding this problem, and get a universal response- "wait for your system to adjust to the software update" or "you need to adjust your driving". What the heck does this mean? I drove the vehicle fine for 20 months prior to the software update and now it drives like a 20 year old 4 cylinder engine with 2 bad pistons. The decreased power and acceleration are a dangerous accident in the making. I am fearful of being rear ended. This is an every day problem that was caused by this "software update" and I suspect that it is happening to every 2006-2008 honda civic hybrid that goes to the dealer for this software update. An additional consequence of this alleged "software update" is a profound drop in gas mileage from approximately 37 combined mpg prior to "update" to 29-30 post "update". I have never lodged a complaint with any organization before, but like I've previously stated, this "update" is a danger to the public.
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