2008 Honda Accord LX-P from North America - Comments

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It is too soon to test the reliability of the Honda but I love the way it drives and the smoothness of it. I hear many people complaining about these things on the new Accord but I have not noticed any excessive road noise or any rattles or squeaks in the car. I got the base LX with the premium upgrade package that has the aluminum wheels, power drivers seat, and chrome exhaust tip along with a few other things. Even the 177 hp is enough to move this car well. I am still breaking it in but have found myself in the 75+ mph range on the highway, accidentally, because it is so quiet. I am really surprised how well it does on the highway. I will post updates as to the quality and reliability as I go. This is definitely worth looking at and I picked this car over the V-6 Fusion as it performs much better all around. This is my first Honda in over 20 years and if it stays as good as it is now for the long run I will be buying more of them. Oh, and I also picked it up for invoice with no haggling... not for sticker as some claim that Hondas ONLY go for...

The Accord is so gigantic it is now classified as a large car, therefore comparing it to the Fusion is pointless. But at least you'll get better mileage out of the Accord, even if that Fusion will leave you in the dust at a light.

What "excessive" amounts to is truly subjective. I test-drove an EX with the 190 hp motor and did think that the engine was surprisingly loud compared to competitors' cars. Road noise was also louder than the Camry, Altima, and Malibu. Maybe not "excessive", but louder for sure. It seems like a nice car in a competitive group that simply out-nices it.

Actually the Accord won't be dusted at a light even by the V6 Fusion. I drove both and the response of the V6 Fusion is terrible. The Accord is much more responsive as are most 4 cylinder cars these days. They seem to be gearing the smaller engine cars for quick acceleration off the line and the V6 vars for cruise-ability probably to save gas. The Accord is still a direct competitor of the Fusion as well. The barely into the large car categorization doesn't make that any different. It drives smaller than it is as it is very tight and smooth. Believe me, I was hopeful that the Fusion was a better car than it is but unfortunately it didn't justify the price or the decreased mileage of a lethargic V6 under the hood. Drive an Accord, you'll be surprised. Even Ford's own Focus is way faster than the Fusion V6 off the line as I rented one for a few days between cars. I'm talking to 30 or 40... I know any V6 will eventually "dust" me. I really didn't buy the Accord for drag racing though so I don't care too much about that... The only place the Fusion will really beat me over all is to the gas station. On top of everything else, I got the Accord for invoice with no haggling so yes they do deal on them (at the good dealers anyway).

Trouble is the Camry has many quality issues... well Toyota as a whole does nowadays (go read the Camry reviews on here) and I have owned Nissan's and known others who have had them and their quality is about like Mitsubishi which is a step down from the Honda with cheaper interiors and such. I even had the Maxima and it was a second rate car with a lot of major problems that forced me to dump it at two years old. Like I said... time will tell how good the Honda is but they have the best track record so I am hopeful it will continue with the new model. As far as road noise and engine noise... I guess I got one with extra sound deadening materials in it because it is unbelievably quiet at all speeds. Of course, I noticed that on the test drive too in a base LX so maybe it's not just a fluke. Maybe the EX has something different about it with slightly higher HP. All I know is that I love driving it and it doesn't feel like a big car at all to me on the road. Geez, if they made it smaller everyone would be complaining about that too!!! Such negativity out there and nitpicking... I'll keep you posted for the long run of the car.

Truth is, Honda makes an excellent car as do a number of its competitors. I didn't want to slam your car or come off as negative. Accords have a reason for their strong sales. They have been very reliable over time. I noticed more noise in them but perhaps I should have also said that in truth many of these cars are so similar in the way they feel, drive, and handle that all that's left is personal preference and nit-picking differences. I liked some of Accord's competitors more for sure but Honda's perennial reliability is certainly enough reason for many to take that option. Good luck with your new car.

Don't worry about it... I don't take people's opinions personal on here. Just stating my own opinion on the car and its performance and how great it is so far. I just hope after 23 years of not owning a Honda that this one still lives up to the name. Like I said previously, I have had most of the brands at one time or another and they ALL have issues here and there. My Saab was pretty near perfect though, although it was primarily a Subaru and the last Subaru I had was flawless as well. If it weren't for the poorer gas mileage and smaller size I might have bought another Subie. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Only about 800 miles or so now...

So, my only complaint so far is the Honda accessories. I bought the cargo net from an online source that was way cheaper than the dealer, but guess what.. I can't install it without special tools, so I will probably have to get it installed by the dealer at $100 per hour. I will try to find a small shop to do i,t but how annoying is that? They can't put all the hooks and attachments in the car, so you can just put the net in?? I see that most of their accessories are like that. To add the fog lights you literally have to take the whole front of the car off. Get the car equipped how you want it before you buy it, and deal on any installation charges, otherwise you'll get killed after the sale. Car is great otherwise!!

What kind of mileage are you getting now? Hwy? City? Average?

One other thing... You may be able to get the special tools at an auto parts store. They may not be specific-to-Honda body tools. You will save a fortune if you are able to do it yourself. Good luck.

Hey, thanks for the advice on the tools. I never thought of that. I really would like to have the net I bought installed and not just sliding around the trunk... heh!!

I am getting about 28 mpg mixed so far. I checked it at around 1K miles and again at 2K to see if it is going up. I imagine the low 30's is pretty attainable on the highway. I drove it about 100 miles on the highway yesterday after a fresh tank and the gage was still on the "F" mark.

I am still loving it and I really am comfortable in it.

One thing that is strange is the oil change interval. The break in oil is still in the car, and according to one Honda forum you aren't supposed to change it until it reads 15% on the maintenance minder... I am at 70% oil life left with over 3K on the car. Some go to like 8K before changing the first time... I am continuing to research this to make sure it is okay and not detrimental to the engine on break-in. I am mostly doing highway cruising though, so I am not too worried about it. I will also switch to synthetic when it is changed.

Okay, one more complaint. I went to upgrade the rear speakers and you literally have to take out the back seat and the roof pillars to get to the speakers. That is ridiculous. I thought it would be a 20 minute swap as I used to do that years ago. I guess in all fairness it could be the same on most cars these days. I haven't had the need to upgrade things in awhile... not that the stereo is that bad, I just thought it would be nice to have it a little cleaner sounding for $100 or so. I am still researching it but it looks like another dealer job if I want to do it...or 4 hours in the garage.... This is quite the racket they got going on... Big surprise there... ha ha ha.

I would hesitate to change out the speakers anyway. I used to own a Civic that had sort of weak sound. I got some nice speakers installed and found that without adding an amp, the speakers were hobbled by the relatively low wattage put out by the stock deck. Friends have had similar outcomes. So if you're going to the trouble to change the speakers, consider adding an amp to make them sound good. Best of luck.

Okay, in all honesty I am thinking this may be my last Honda. I have crossed the 6K mark with no problems, but everything I want to do to this car is a pain.

I just figured out I can't even change the oil at home without jacking the car up or using ramps. They put the oil filter on the back of the engine, and even the oil drain plug is on the back of the engine and totally out of reach. What a ridiculous design.

I have always done my own oil, and use Mobil 1 so the engines last forever, and now I have to trust some Jiffy lube kid to change the oil on this thing every time, and use cheap quality oil that they get in bulk. I just don't know what Honda is thinking with these cars.

I gave up on the speaker replacement because you basically have to take the whole back seat out to get to them, and I really don't need to hear the rattles and squeaks from everything not going back together as it should (which always happens!) Why you can't just unscrew the speakers and swap them out is beyond me.

I also wanted to get the aftermarket fog lights through Honda and guess what: The lights are about $200, but it is $600 for the install because you have to take the whole front of the car off to do them! Maybe it is time to go back to an American car and see if they are more reasonably designed and cheaper to add on to and upgrade. They all have great warranties anyhow if things go wrong so what's the difference.

This car is great if you are the casual buyer that has everything done for you at the dealer and you don't mind paying double or triple for service.

Still on break-in oil at over 6K because the maintenance minder tells me it is still at 40% life and I was told to NOT change it until it reads 15% (By the salesman at the dealer).... of course it didn't tell me that it needed the over half quart of oil I put in this weekend!! Boy, they will be putting new engines in these cars for those people that don't bother checking fluids between changes if their intervals are 8K - 10K miles as that is what I am looking at if I continue to wait until that 15% mark. I won't be, however.... it will have new oil this week.