2008 Honda Accord EX from North America - All Comments

The driver side door handle will become difficult to open. It doesn't happen all of the time, but it does happen far too often. I had the dealership look at it, and they said it seems like the mechanisms aren't lined up correctly. So they are in the process of ordering me another handle, and the mechanism that goes inside, to see if this will correct the problem.

My glove compartment was making this rattling noise so bad, whenever I would hit a slight bump in the road or anything. They put something in there to try and "cushion" the glove box so it wouldn't make that rattling noise. It seems to have worked so far.

My passenger seat also seems to make noise when someone is sitting in it, and I brake or anything like that.

I have also notice there is quite a bit of wind noise while on the highway.

The most annoying thing thus far would have to be my moon-roof rattling. I also had the dealership look at it, and it has something to do with the pan that catches the water. They said Honda said that there have been complaints about this, but there are no real fixes for it yet. So they tried a couple of different things, but still I get a rattle so obviously it didn't work.

I also had an issue with the paint on the back bumper peeling off right underneath the tail light. So the dealership took it and got the bumper repainted. Which the shop they took it to did a horrible job, so I made them take it back and redo... still doesn't look very good.

I really love the front end of the car, but not too fond of the back end... kind of just big and blah.

It seems as though I don't really have that much power when I try to accelerate to get on the highway or something...

The gas mileage is not really that great. I get about 19 mpg and that's for a combination of highway and city driving. That's not really good compared to the my Civic I had.

If you are getting 19 mpg with an Accord there is something wrong with it... Mine averages about 27 mpg mixed and has since it was new and it is easily into the mid 30's on the highway. Sounds like you have a lot of little rattles going on with your car. I haven't noticed too much with mine yet. Good luck finding a newer car that doesn't have any though. Unfortunately, it is the nature of cars in general to have a certain amount of quirks you have to live with.

Yes, 19 mpg with an Accord is normal for many. Sadly, Honda, like Toyota, has dropped the ball on quality, efficiency and reliability.

My family has had past experience with both Honda and Toyota, and will never purchase another one.

As for rattles, none of our domestics purchased since 2001 have developed a single rattle or squeak. The quality of our GM cars is amazing.

Our 8-year-old GM rides, runs and drives as if it just rolled off the showroom floor, and at 75,000 miles has never had a single problem.

Our 6-year-old GM has 65,000 miles and is likewise perfect, with nary a rattle or squeak, and no repairs.

Our 2007 Ford is thus far perfect, but doesn't have enough miles to make an objective comment on it yet. Based on one of our previous Fords that was traded at 325,000 miles, I expect good service from the new one too.

We've owned several imports, and none has ever been as solid or reliable as any of our Fords, GM's or Chrysler products.

It is funny how you have had no problems with your GM vehicles and Fords but there are so many other reviewers that think they are junk and Honda and Toyota are the best and go for 200,000 miles with no problems. I have had ALL of the major brands over the years and guess what... they all rattle squeak and most have their share of problems. Our '03 Trailblazer completely fell apart at 30,000 miles and it was unsafe to drive. They would not let me leave the dealership with it until they fixed it. Needless to say it was gone a month later (when the rear end started coming apart). That is just one of the many problems I have had but to say GM and Ford are so much better just means you got luckier with those two brands than anything else. My best car was a Saab 92X which is actually a Subaru... No problems whatsoever the entire time I had it. Next to that would be my old '90 Z24...same thing no problems the whole time I drove it.

The problem with the Trailblazer must be fairly rare. My brother-in-law is a doctor and is required by his medical group, who are on call for emergencies at all hours, to own a dependable 4-wheel drive vehicle. He purchased a new 2002 Trailblazer, and after way over 100,000 miles passed it on to his son and bought another one. Neither ever had a single problem.

Our GMC Envoy (same vehicle as a Trailblazer) has never had any problems either. The only vehicles my family has ever had any serious problems with were a German built VW, a Japanese built Honda and a Japanese built Mazda (before Ford took over and the build quality improved drastically).

The most poorly built and unreliable vehicle I ever had the displeasure of having to put up with was a Honda.

Honda and Toyota vehicles today are not likely to last as long as they have in years past. These companies have outsourced much of the production on the cars to the US and Mexico and Canada. The same quality controls are not used here as they are in Japan. Technically even though these models are dubbed imports, most are domestic makes just like Chrysler, Ford, and GM.

All cars can last a long time, but I do believe foreign vehicles do last longer.

I owned a 1996 GMC Sonoma pickup that lasted 225,000 miles with me before blowing a head gasket. After selling the truck, the new owner has it back on the road today. The whole time I owned the truck I was forced to pay costly repairs quite frequently. My axle once fell apart, the hood jammed, air and heat went out, electrical system was poor among other things. Routine things like timing belt and alternator caused fairly expensive repairs.

As far as engineering is concerned I do not believe there is an extreme difference for the most part. The biggest difference is build quality. A vehicle not well built will nickel and dime an owner, parts will fall apart, odd things will break on a regular basis. This is what category "domestic" vehicles fall under and they typically have poor resale value.

Foreign cars' build materials hold up far longer and things like door locks aren't likely to break as easily as domestics. With regular maintenance the motors last far longer than those of American cars.

My 1987 Nissan Maxima was perfect in every way for 21 years. The car in its entire life only needed brakes, tires, alignment and the usual oil changes and the like. Even after it was more than 20 years old, it performed well on the road with NO problems that weren't ordinary. The car was far less costly overall than the Sonoma pickup. It was totaled but was worth every penny I spent on it.

My Sentra, which is four years old, is a good car but I doubt it will last as long as the Maxima. It shows how much quality is compromised when cost-cutting strategies are implemented. I'd take a foreign car, one that is truly foreign (actually manufactured in the foreign country) any day over American makes.

I'm sure all hard-working Americans will just LOVE comment 01:24. Nothing like cheering for MORE economic woes for our people!!

Actually the Trailblazer I had that fell apart was not that uncommon according to the dealer that fixed it. My uncle had an Envoy at the same time and his whole front end came apart as well at about the same 30K mile range. He now drives a Ford. As to the comment about the economy... This is a car rating site not an economic forum. They are just stating their opinion of the quality of cars. Lighten up already!!

After 3 Explorers, we traded for a 2003 GMC Envoy in June of 2003. The Fords were totally reliable (never a problem with any of them), but the Envoy has sold us on GM. It is awesomely powerful, incredibly smooth and accelerates faster than lots of cars. At nearly 70,000 miles it has had one battery and NOTHING else. It still has the original brakes and Michelin tires. This has been one of the most reliable vehicles our family has ever owned. I've never heard any of our friends who own Trailblazers, Envoys, Rainiers, Ascenders or Bravadas (all are the same vehicle) complain. They all love them and have had no problems at all with them.

Just goes to show there are lemons in every car line. We actually traded the Trailblazer for an Ascender which is a 2004 and have had no other issues as far as falling apart. I was hoping it was a fluke of a problem and so far it has turned out to be so. My uncle did have the same thing happen on his Envoy but his was a 2002 or 2003 as well so I was thinking it may have been an earlier problem with the trucks. The dealer was kind of annoyed with the quality issues when I got mine fixed and they said it was not an uncommon problem. I never saw any recall though so it couldn't be too wide spread. Maybe they were just built on a Monday!! We are having the stalling issue with the Ascender, though, which seems to be common on the Trailblazer line across the board but it seems a simple computer fix so I am hopeful it will be remedied shortly.

The 2002 Trailblazer and its clones were plagued with TONS of computer-related problems. As a mechanic (who is NOT computer-qualified) I was well aware of this issue. When we bought our 2003, I sought out a dealership that had a very well-trained and highly computer-qualified tech staff. From day one we have had great service from this dealership, and have encountered only ONE very minor glitch. At 56,000 miles (out of warranty) the computer decided to re-route the air flow from A/C from the dash to the floor only. Our dealership repaired this minor issue free of charge in less than half a day. Other than that, no problems of ANY kind in 6 years. Good dealer service is a important as buying a good vehicle.

"I'm sure all hard-working Americans will just LOVE comment 01:24. Nothing like cheering for MORE economic woes for our people!!"

In response to this comment: If Americans focused more on quality of the product instead of quantity of production, the big three would not be in the shape they are in today. Secondly, if they would take more pride in their jobs, people would not turn to imports, their vehicles would last longer with fewer problems. Other than buying the top range models from the big three along with the trucks, I couldn't be paid to drive another domestic vehicle.

Many of the 'imports' now are actually made in the USA or Canada for North American customers, including the Accord.

That's why you don't buy a car without a "J" at the beginning of the VIN number.

Modern domestics are more reliable than imports. Even older domestics were more reliable. My oldest domestic is a 2001 and my newest is a 2007 (we also own a 2003). None of them has ever had a single problem. Not even so much as replacing a light bulb.

By 40,000 miles our last Honda was plagued with clattering CV joints, worn out brakes and excessive oil consumption.

I have never worried about domestic vehicles wearing out.

My extended family currently owns a 54-year-old Pontiac, a 39-year-old Dodge, a 42-year-old Dodge, and a 32-year-old Buick. They all run great. The Pontiac has had one set of rings at 150,000 miles, each of the Dodges has had one engine rebuild, and the Buick has never had ANY problems. Why on Earth would I want a cheaply built and overpriced import?

If the American auto industry goes under, my 2007 Ford will outlive me, so I won't be needing another car anyway. How many 30-year-old Hondas or Toyotas are still used as daily drivers?

With the exception of truck and SUV offerings from the big 3, domestics are crap. The only reason those work well is because a large portion of their sales depend upon it. I'd rather pay for an old import than be given a domestic vehicle any day.

Hondas require maintenance like any other vehicle. No one said they were completely problem free. They are good ONLY if service is performed at the regular intervals.

A cousin owns a 2002 Ford Taurus, the transmission caught fire twice, he refuses to let it go.

My 1987 Nissan Maxima gave me 21 years of service and 363,509 miles. I had alignment and brake work done on a routine basis, but other than that, my car ran PERFECTLY even earlier this year when I used it on a 120 mile commute 3 days a week. It NEVER left me stranded. The only reason I don't own it now is because it was totaled in an accident. I would've trusted my old Maxima on a long trip over any new domestic.

On the other hand, I had a 1996 GMC Sonoma pickup that nickel and dimed me for 225,000 miles; things were constantly wrong, stayed in the shop and always leaving me wondering when it would die on me again.

Also, import vehicles were relatively rare in the U.S. until the late 1970's and 1980's when gas prices began rising and consumers began looking for a more economic means of transportation. Domestics USED TO BE more reliable, that is not the case today. They consistently rank lower than imports in resale value, dependability and long-term costs of ownership.

It's no secret why the big 3 is wanting a portion of the bailout money. Whether you choose to accept it or not, domestic makes for the most part are crap and led to the demise of Oldsmobile, Plymouth and why Mercury is currently hanging on by a thread.