2008 Honda Civic: engine stalls while driving

Filed Aug 19, 2022 · Engine · 200,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, after driving ½ mile, the vehicle stalled again. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure, but the contact was informed that there were no recalls associated with the VIN. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

Filed Aug 17, 2020 · Engine · 137,565 miles · FL

Good afternoon, my 2008 civic (137,500 miles) overheated while on highway & after pulling over & checking coolant spill tank saw it was empty. Next day refilled radiator with coolant & after starting car noticed coolant leaking on ground at front right side of engine. I could not locate leak. Drove to nearest honda service department & at service (via pressure test of engine cooling system) a crack in engine block between cyl. 1 & 2 was located. I was told by service tech that honda is aware of engine block crack/ defect & instead of issuing a service recall what they did was a warranty extension of 10 years. However, that warranty expired 2 years ago. Service manager called american honda corp. For goodwill assistance to try & help with repairs but american honda rejected/ declined the request & has left me without a vehicle. I am not able to pay for a new engine. I have no car for work, for my mom/ dad doctor visits/ for supermarket/ for life. Costs of repair are are above $5,000. I was the 2nd owner of my 2008 civic & was not notified by honda of the warranty extension or of a possible recall notification of this safety issue. I received recall for the air bag (tekata), but did not receive anything for a cracked engine block. Why is that? How is american honda corp. Allowed to do a "warranty extension" to resolve a major safety problem only when the engine cracks & only when you notice you have a problem. Without any prior warning, these vehicles can have an engine failure/ stall while driving at higher speeds, increasing the risk of crash. As a lifelong honda owner (20 years '97 accord and '08 civic) I am beyond disappointed. Disappointed not because of what honda legal department did via "legal loop holes," no. I'm disappointed I will never own or drive a honda again. Good day.

Filed Feb 9, 2019 · Engine · 123,000 miles · NY

Was the proud owner of a honda civic(2008) until recently. In january 2019, my honda unexpectedly started overheating when I was waiting in line in mcdonalds. The overheating occured very fast and I I quickly pulled over and towed the vehicle to nearest honda dealer (honda of nanuet). I learned the next day that the car had suffered a engine coolant leak which had the made the vehicle inoperable. I found out that this was a manufacturing defect in the engine block (https://honda.oemdtc.com/340/warranty-extension-engine-block-2006-2009-honda-civic) which is a known defect on 2006-2009 honda civics. My cars situation is sad because it is over the 10 year warranty but has very low miles on it for a car of its age. You can see many engine block failures like this for 2006-2009 honda cars at https://www.carcomplaints.com/honda/civic/2006/engine/cracked_engine_block.shtml currently anybody having this defect could have their engine overheat, stall very quickly and honda is not refunding or acknowledging this is a serious issue and refunding owners for the cost of the car. I ask that honda issue a recall instead of a warranty extension for this serious issue considering that this would make the engine inoperable and overheat very quickly with this issue.

Filed Apr 3, 2014 · Engine, Transmission · OH

2008 honda civic. Consumer writes in regards to engine block failure . *smd the consumer stated the engine block problem should be treated as a recall due to the severity of the problem. When the engine overheated and stalled, he lost power steering and brakes. At that point, the steering and brakes became very difficult. The consumer stopped to the dealer, where they showed him the 4 problem areas of the engine where the leakage occurred. Also, the bearing on the air conditioning compressor pulley started making a noise. The entire compressor had to be replaced. The consumer also had difficulty starting the vehicle and after 10 seconds, the vehicle would start. On occasion, he had trouble shifting from first to second gear. It would not shift, and he had to come to a complete stop and start in first gear. *jb updated 04/10/14

Filed Sep 6, 2012 · Electrical · GA

2008 honda civic hybrid. Consumer states dying ima battery issues *tgw the consumer stated the dealer performed an update to the battery, but it only worked for a few days and then the same loss of charge would happen again; especially in hot weather. The vehicle would lose the ima charge when going up a hill and when making turns. *jb the consumer stated the vehicle would stall. Updated 10/24/12.

Filed Feb 29, 2012 · Engine · 65,000 miles · FL

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.

Filed Sep 12, 2011 · Engine, Transmission · 30,000 miles · NJ

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

Filed Apr 22, 2011 · Engine · 58,878 miles · PR

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

Filed Mar 28, 2011 · Electrical · 8,000 miles · WA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 honda civic hybrid. The contact was driving approximately 20 MPH when the engine stalled without prior warning. The engine restarted and resumed normally yet the failure recurred intermittently. Also, when driving up an incline the vehicle would not accelerate over a certain speed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer five different times for the identical failure. The computerized system software was upgraded and the technician stated that the vehicle would operate properly yet the failure persisted. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

Filed Feb 24, 2011 · Engine · OR

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.

Filed Nov 8, 2010 · Engine · 36,000 miles · OH

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.

Filed Aug 15, 2010 · Electrical · 24,000 miles · CA

My 2008 honda civic hybrid has had two basic problems. One, it simply doesn't deliver the mileage promised on the car sticker and that mileage keeps dropping. The second item which I had not thought was related and which is a safety issue, several times after long trips on the highway, when I approached a hill or was going up one, the car would stall out or refuse to move, despite pushing on the accelerator while the engine was on and in drive gear. Several times it would start rolling back down the hill or would impede traffic behind me. Once the car sat for a while, it would resume working properly, so I never reported the problem to the dealer as I could not replicate it. In this morning's la times cover story about honda being under state scrutiny for the gas mileage problem, several people interviewed related a similar problem to mine. That's when the "aha" took place that maybe my car's problems were related. Luckily I did not suffer any injuries or crashes due to this issue, but the potential for great damage is there. Please investigate this issue and let me know if there is anything I can do to forward the investigation. Thanks.