On 4 separate occasions (the most recent being 6/24/14), twice at highway speeds and twice while slowing down, the vehicle's engine has surged, causing the vehicle to unexpectedly move forward. On the two occasions it has occurred when slowing down, I was operating the vehicle. What happened was as I was coming to a stop (once at a red light, once in a parking lot), the RPM indicator unexpectedly shot up to approximately 2500rpm, the vehicle moved forward, and even though I had my foot on the brake, the unexpected increase in power made it difficult to stop. Had there been any vehicles in front of me in either occurrence, there may have been an accident. On the two occurrences at highway speed, my wife was driving, and she reports that the RPM indicator again went high and the engine was making a lot of noise.
2008 Honda Civic transmission complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 52, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was stopped at a red light with my foot firmly on the brake with the car in drive. Without warning the engine revved up and the car lurched forward a foot or two.
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
Transmission went completely out while driving my car. Only has 50,000 miles on it.
I exited freeway and was waiting at a red signal light when the engine on its own speeded up to 3000+ RPM. It held at this elevated RPM for about a minute while the car remained stopped (foot brake was holding). The engine dropped back down to idle on its own. Headlights and occupant heater was on with fan at lowest setting. Radio was on. Floor mat was not out of place. My foot position remained unchanged except for applying extra force during the elevated RPM event.
Shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear grinds and sometimes 3rd gear pops out when shifting at fast speeds, obviously while rolling. I went to the o'hare honda dealership in des plaines, il where I purchased my car brand new with an extended warranty, and they would not do anything to repair it. I asked, what if the matter turns into a dangerous accident? They couldn't give me an answer. Please help me.
On multiple occasions, while shifting the car into 3rd gear, the gears grind. The shift knob is lined up exactly where it should be to go into 3rd gear. The car will also pop out of 3rd gear at random without even stepping on the clutch to prompt it. This is a very dangerous problem to have in a standard car, and I have seen many people make complaints about this online. I called honda customer service and they said that it was my responsibility to get the car fixed, not theirs, and that they base most of their claims for reimbursement on mileage as well as honda customer loyalty. The gentleman then proceeded to ask me if I had owned a honda before and insinuated that due to the fact that this is the first honda that I owned that the likelihood of them reimbursing would be slim. This is not right. I did not choose for my transmission to be built with a faulty part, and I should not be responsible for fixing the problem when my safety is called into question.
Car started at usual time around 8 am and started vibrating. A very loud exhaust noise started to begin and the car began shaking. The vibrating noise was so loud and everyone in the car could feel the vibration. The front steering wheel as well as the seats were also shaking. Vibrating continued throughout the day and was gone at times when this first began but as days went by it became louder and more obvious by others outside of the car. The car now continues to vibrate not only in the morning but at all times of the day. It shakes at park, drive, and reverse. Car is very uncomfortable to drive and the noise can become very distracting. The car also vibrates so much during these times that I am afraid that something will happen on the highway and am worried about this. Honda dealer will not cover this under power train warranty because the car is now passed the warranty for power train which is 5 year/60,000 miles. Please look into this matter. It seems very common as I researched online and many people are having this issue on their honda's which most seem after the 2005 models, more common around 2007 + 2008 models.
My daughter was driving the car when the passenger cv joint at the wheel broke apart resulting in the car becoming not drivable. It had to be towed from the scene.
Owned this 2008 honda civic si (manual transmission) for one week before the clutch quit at highway speed. Very dangerous situation and totally unexpected for a car that was just inspected by a honda dealer (who had listed another car dealer as the previous owner on the nys retail certificate of sale). This honda dealer will not repair this car as they were flat-bedding it to an auction house that was actually the last owner of this vehicle for them to repair it. I called american honda because the auction house repairs are likely to void the remainder of the honda warranty but their representative stated that american honda does not get involved with local honda dealer issues. American honda assigned case # [xxx] and also stated that they were not concerned that a safety report would be filed with the federal safety agency. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
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!
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
Cannot change into 3rd and 6th gears properly. Grinding and excessive force to go into 3rd, must repeat attempts to go into 6th.
Driving on the expressway and the transmission seized up and the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. The vehicle was towed to the dealership and although the vehicle is under warranty the say that the vehicle was abused therefore they will not cover the transmission. Honda has had numerous complains regarding the manual transmissions and the failures that they've had.
2008 honda civic si, 16,000 miles had clutch fail and manufacturer refuses to cover this item.
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.
Our standard 2008 civic ex (bought june 2008) started to have variable vibration/shuttering issues from idle/stop to 1st and 2nd gear around 28,000 miles (new civic, we are the only owners, no accidents). The shuttering stopped after the car was in higher gears. This vibration issue worsened and we could not safely accelerate the vehicle when shifting from an idle position into 1st gear - due to extreme vibrations, which became more frequent. We took the vehicle to the dealership around 35000 miles on november 17, 2010, to determine/correct the shuttering/vibration issues. The dealership indicated they could not replicate the issue and returned the vehicle. The shuttering/vibration continued and we decided to replace all of our tires at our cost around 40,000 miles to see if this would correct the issue. The vibration/shuttering continued at variable times. At 41,000 miles, the vibration/shuttering became impactful and we could not safely accelerate from an idle position without the car shaking/not engaging effectively. We took the car into the dealer again on february 3, 2011 and the technician replicated the issue with us in the car. They indicated they looked at the vehicle motor mounts and "looked" at the clutch (not inspected). They said nothing was wrong with it and it was due to the way we drove the vehicle, even though their technician replicated the issue. They said honda does not have any recommendations for this issue via the phone technical line. We did not take the car back due to safety concerns and it is still at the dealership. We do not feel safe driving the vehicle, as it will not engage/accelerate properly without shuttering when shifting from idle into 1st and 2nd gear.
While pressing the clutch it has started grinding and popping, it can be heard and felt out side the car with hood up. And can be felt on the clutch pedal.
2008 honda civic si. Grinds in 2nd and in 3rd and pops out of both gears, sometimes under power and others while driving at low speeds. I spoke with the dealer and honda.
The car will not resond properly from stopped postion when acceleration is needed.
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.
We received a letter from honda stating that there was a recall on the software stating that a software update was needed to be done on the car to help the battery life of the car. So we brought it in to be serviced and ever since, we've lost power to the car, and lost mpg that used to be approx. 38 mpg to now 29 mpg, the same as our '99 civic coup dx, that is not a hybrid. My wife, while going onto the freeway was almost hit, while trying to accelerate. My wife is now hates driving the car she used to love. We live in a hilly area. When trying to accelerate up a hill we drive everyday, if the battery charge is 4 blocks or lower, it doesn't even assist. It's all the gas engine. The battery rarely kicks in so that defeats the hybrid theory and just adds more pollution that honda purports that it doesn't. To put it straight, this is not the car I bought and have been frustrated with the experience. I've brought my car back to honda to try to get the software issue resolved. They stated that there is nothing wrong with the car, engine or battery that everything is fine. When asked for an explanation for the loss of power and mpg, they said that I should try a higher octane of gas or a different brand. I have always used the highest octane gas from different gas stations without any issues before the software upgrade. So that isn't the problem. They have refused to say that there is an issue with their "software upgrade". I have pretty much wasted $26,000+ on purchasing this car. All I can say is this is shame on another big company, trying to save $$ by taking advantage of their own loyal customers. Thank you honda!
After the honda dealer performed a software update per a recall to extend the life of the battery on my 2008 honda civic hybrid, the vehicle began losing power intermittently and the gas mileage dropped significantly. Returned to dealer and was told "everything checked out." problem still unresolved.
2008 honda civic hybrid with 24,000 miles with hybrid battery and performance degradation that is, at times, a real issue. Battery doesn't hold charge very long and very adversely affects acceleration. Problem is very repetitive and very adversely affects acceleration. Honda's recall software update was applied within the last 30 days but battery is still not holding a charge and acceleration degradation and safety remains an increasing concern. Honda should replace these degraded batteries but won't take any action until an ima light comes on - at which time, the battery would be almost fully degraded. Battery degradations happens very often - even after the recent honda software update and many honda civic hybrid owners are very concerned about this performance issue.
My honda civic 2008 gets stuck on gear. I stop and then it will switch gears but it will not rev past 2rpm which can make me crash. Honda has not made a recall for this but they should as many people have complained about this on 8thcivic forums and other places. So basically the car bucks forward and the transmission jerks hard and so it will go back to normal you have to turn the car on or off. Imagine im on the highway and it happens.
Tl- the contact owns a 2008 honda civic. The contact stated the rear wheels bend inward and is causing the contacts rear tires to wear out prematurely. The contact has had to replace the rear tires three times while the front tires look brand new. The dealer stated that everything on the rear axle needs to be loosened up and bent back to its correct formation. The failure mileage was 12000 and the current mileage was 40000.rl
Currently I have 32,277 miles and don't drive it, it's not safe to drive. I take a bus :) 1# trans locked at 60mph on hwy and caused almost a fatal crash! At 23,000 miles. Car was able to drive up to 15mpg having appx. 6000rpms. Car left at dealership and only PCM software was upd. No lockups are occurring, but trans is weaving, harsh start/stop often!/unexpected shutdown. Dealership found service bulletin #08-014 (harsh engagement), upd. The on board computer and symptoms are much worse than previously. Lower mpg ( 25-28 ), much worse performance, unexpected battery discharge, weaving, low accel. Dealer duplicated problems, but said "it's ok" and problems is untouched. Since they updated the system, the hybrid option is not kicking in as before. Prev. I was able to drive slowly only on hybrid, now I can't. No actions are taken to resolve the issue. Once they changed the ima batt pack, but this did not help and I see not a difference. Complained again, and absolutely no response. Brakes are malfunctioning. Brake fluid is missing, dealer said "[xxx], it's a mystery". Depending on outside temp, battery charge level and car temp breaks work diff! Occasionally while slowing down, the battery level reaches full and you must press the pedal as hard as you can to stop. This has caused small crashes and once brakes did not work, or I pressed too lightly ( cold outside with full battery ) and unfortunately I couldn't stop on time and ran over a pedestrian. She is badly injured and suing my insurance company! Dealer rec. To "change car, better to buy not a honda and don't bother them if nothing is broken." police report ready to present. These are only the major issues I'm having. I would need much more space to write 20 pgs essay. Minor issues: - super fast tire wear ( after 20,000 ) and now again at 32,000 - not working climate ctrl system - check engine, ima light, brake system and airbag lights on. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Problem happened when car is down shifting when coming to a stop. Early in the morning, when stopping at our stop sign the car will begin to down shift then the motor begins to rev up to 4000 rpms with nothing on the gas pedal. This has happened only 4 times in the 2 yrs we have owned the car and I was unable to reproduce the trouble to the honda repair man.
Vehicle transmission gears will grind when shifted into second and third gears.
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