2008 Honda Civic Structure
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
BAD PAINT CRACKING CLEAR COAT.
PAINT IS PEELING AND FLAKING OFF.
PAINT IS DETERIORATING AND THE METAL WILL SOON BE EXPOSED TO RUST.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PLASTIC COVER, LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF THE STEERING WHEEL WHERE THE AIR BAG WAS LOCATED, WAS CRACKED. THE CRACK EXTENDED APPROXIMATELY SEVEN INCHES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO INDICATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY EXCESSIVE EXPOSURE TO SUN LIGHT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000. UPDATED 09/15/15*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED AN EXPENSIVE SUN SHIELD HAS BEEN ON THE WINDSHIELD, SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NEW. THE CONSUMER DID NOT BELIEVE THE DAMAGE WAS DUE TO SUN EXPOSURE. UPDATED 04/07/16. *JB
PAINT OXIDATION ON ROOF, HOOD AND TRUNK OF CAR.
THE PAINT HAS BEEN PEELING/ CHIPPING AWAY ON THE ROOF AND TRUNK OF MY CAR AND IT IS ONLY GETTING WORSE.
THE TOP OF MY CAR COMPLETELY LOST PAINT IN TWO LARGE SECTIONS (THE SIZE OF A DESERT PLATE, IT WENT DOWN TO THE BARE METAL BODY OF THE CAR AS OF SUMMER 2014. OCTOBER 2014 I PAID $566. TO PAINT THE ENTIRE TOP OF THE CAR BY A LOCAL, REPUTABLE BODY SHOP. I TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF MY CAR AND WAX IT REGULARLY. THIS IS THE FIRST HONDA I HAVE OWNED AND NEVER BEFORE HAVE I HAD TO PAINT A CAR DUE TO PAINT TOTALLY WEARING DOWN TO THE "BONES" OF A CAR. *TR
I OWN A 2008 HONDA CIVIC EX AND TAKE EXCELLENT CARE OF THE CAR. SINCE AUGUST THE PAINT HAS BEEN TURNING WHITE ON THE ROOF AND CRACKING ON THE HOOD, TRUNK AND AROUND THE REAR WINDOW. ACCORDING TO HONDA THEY HAVE NO REPORTED ISSUES WITH THIS PROBLEM AND THAT I AM JUST NOT TAKING CARE OF THE VEHICLE AND ITS MY FAULT. LAST AUGUST MY BROTHER-IN-LAW RECEIVED A WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR THE PAINT ON HIS 2005 CIVIC THAT IS A LIGHT SANDY COLOR. MY CIVIC IS DARK RED. WHEN I MENTIONED THIS NOTICE TO HONDA THEY SAID THAT THE ISSUE IS VIN BY VIN BASED AND MY CAR BECAUSE IT IS A "LIGHT" COLOR DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR THIS WARRANTY EXTENSION. I SAID TO THE REP THEN YOU DO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH THE PAIN ON CIVICS. SHE AGAIN SAID NO AND IF THE PAINT IS CRACKING THEN ITS SOMETHING I'M DOING WRONG IN TAKING CARE OF THE VEHICLE. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY CONFIRMED THE ISSUE AND STATED THAT HONDA IS NOT BEING SUPPORTIVE OF THE ISSUE AND MY CAR WAS THE 3RD ONE THIS WEEK BROUGHT IN WITH THE SAME FAILING PAINT. IT IS DESPICABLE THAT HONDA CAN SELL A DEFECTIVE ITEM AND THEN BLAME THE CONSUMER FOR THE ISSUE. *TR
2008 HONDA CIVIC, PAINT COLOR GOLD IS FADED ON HOOD, ROOF AND TRUCK. THIS CAR IN NOT OLD ENOUGH TO LOOK LIKE IT IS TEN YEARS OLD! I HAVE WAXED IT TO HELP PREVENT PEELING OF PAINT BUT DOES NOT HELP. THIS YEAR I ALSO HAD TO HAVE MY ENGINE REPLACE BY HONDA (AT THEIR COST) FOR A CRACKED HEAD. VERY DISAPPOINTED IN HONDA. *TR
CLEAR COAT BEGAN CRACKING, HAD IT REDONE BY THE DEALERSHIP. NOW THE PAINT ON THE HOOD IS CHIPPING ABNORMALLY FAST, AND THE RIGHT FRONT FENDER HAD TO BE REDONE (12/15/14) SINCE THE CLEAR COAT WAS FLAKING OFF. I TAKE GREAT CARE OF MY CAR, BUT FIND MYSELF HIGHLY DISCOURAGED TO CONTINUE DOING SO GIVEN THAT I CANNOT AFFORD A NEW CAR AND I'M FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE WITH BOTH RUST AND CHIPS. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO TOUCH UP 10-15 SPOTS BI-WEEKLY, REGARDLESS OF SIZE. *TR
PAINT ON MY BLACK 2008 HONDA CIVIC IS FADING ON THE ROOF, TRUNK, SIDES AND HOOD. *TR
PAINT ON MY ATOMIC BLUE 2008 HONDA CIVIC IS FADING TO A WHITE COLOR ON THE ROOF. *TR
THE CLEAR COAT IS FLAKING OFF. *TR
THE PAINT STARTED TO PEEL AND WHITE AREAS APPEARED ALL OVER THE BODY OF MY NEW GREY HONDA CIVIC. I TOOK IT TO MY DEALERSHIP AND THEY DETERMINED THAT THE PAINT WAS DEFECTIVE. I GOT A SECOND OPINION WHO ALSO SAID THAT THE PAINT WAS DEFECTIVE AND THERE WAS AN THERMAL ISSUE DURING THE INITIAL APPLICATION PROCESS. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT IT AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD REPAINT ONLY CERTAIN AREAS AND SAID I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RENTAL CAR. I TOLD THEM I WASN'T COMFORTABLE WITH PARTIALLY PAINTING THE CAR, THAT THE OLDER PAINT WAS ALSO DEFECTIVE AND WOULD OBVIOUSLY FADE TOO. THEY SAID IT WASN'T THEIR PROBLEM AND THEY WOULDN'T DO IT. I WILL NEVER TRUST HONDA AGAIN. *TR
THERE ARE WHITEST, SILVER LOOKING PLACES ON ROOF AND TOP OF TRUNK. THIS HAPPENED SOMETIME WITHIN PAST MONTH OR TWO BUT I DIDN'T NOTICE RIGHT AWAY. CAR STAYS UNDER CARPORT COVER. HAVE BEEN RETIRED FOR OVER A YEAR, SO CAR HAS NOT BEEN SITTING IN SUNLITE AT WORK. SHOWED SERVICE MANAGER ON AUGUST 09,2013 AND HE TOOK PICTURES AND SAID HE WOULD CONTACT SOMEONE AT HONDA SINCE THERE WAS A 'GOODWILL' ALLOWANCE FOR THIS AND MY CAR IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY NOW. I HAD A 93 ACCORD FOR 16 YEARS AND NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN. GOT THE USED 2008 CIVIC IN 2009 WITH VERY LITTLE MILEAGE. IT IS TO LAST ME REST OF MY LIFE, I THOUGHT. HAVE ALWAYS TOOK MY HONDAS TO HONDA SERVICE DEPT. FOR ALL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM SERVICE MANAGER. WHAT TO DO?? *TR
I BOUGHT A USED 2008 HONDA CIVIC COUPE FROM A DEALERSHIP A YEAR AGO. IT WAS A ONE OWNER CAR. I NOTICED THE TOP HAD SOME PAINT / CLEAR COAT WEAR SO I HAD IT PAINTED. NOW THERE IS A LOT OF PAINT / CLEAR COAT WEAR ON THE SIDES, TRUNK AND DOORS. IT LOOKS LIKE AN OLD VEHICLE. HONDA SHOULD USE MORE CARE WITH THEIR PAINT AND CLEAR COAT PRODUCTS. I OWN TWO OTHER CARS, TOYOTAS, WITH NO PAINT PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER. I FEEL THAT HONDA SHOULD TAKE AN INITIATIVE TO HAVE THEIR VEHICLES RE-PAINTED. IT LOOKS TACKY. THERE SHOULD BE A WARRANTY ON THE CLEAR COAT AND PAINT. I HAVE NOTICED MANY HONDAS LIKE THIS AROUND 2008 AND 2009 MODELS - DARK COLORED PAINTS. I WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER HONDA IF THEY CANNOT INCREASE THE QUALITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS. *TR
ABOUT A YEAR AGO I STARTED NOTICING LARGE WHITE PATCHES ON THE ROOF OF MY HONDA ( BLACK). I THOUGHT PERHAPS SOMETHING HAD SCRATCHED IT. NOW, A YEAR LATER, IT HAS WORSENED. THE CAR LOOKS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD, THE PAINT IS FADED THROUGHOUT, THE ROOF IS COVERED IN WHITE PATCHES. *TR
CLEAR COAT IS COMING OFF THE ROOF AROUND THE SUNROOF YOU CAN NOW SEE METAL. I WANT HONDA TO FIX THIS AND I NEVER RECEIVE ANY RECALL ON THIS. *TR
THE PAINT ON MY ROOF AROUND THE SUNROOF THE CLEAR COAT IS COMING COMPLETELY OFF. I WANT HONDA TO FIX THIS AS I NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL ON IT. *TR
WHEN I BOUGHT MY HONDA CIVIC, THE BLUE COLOR WAS ONE OF THE REASONS I CHOSE IT. HAD I KNOWN THE PAINT JOB WAS GOING TO FADE AFTER ONLY 4 YEARS, I PROBABLY WOULD'VE CHOSEN A DIFFERENT COLOR OR EVEN A DIFFERENT MAKE. IS THERE A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM?. *JB
PAINT IS PEELING - STARTED ON HOOD LOOKS AWFUL - CHECKED WITH DEALER -THE DEALER STATED THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO - THEY DID CONCEDE THAT THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING. *JB
THE REAR OF MY VEHICLE'S CLEAR COAT PAINT IS CRACKING AND PEELING. THERE ARE CROWS FEET AND CRACKING ON THE REAR QUARTER PANELS, PANEL CONNECTING THE QUARTER PANELS TO THE ROOF, AND THE RIGHT REAR DOOR. HONDA ONLY OFFERED TO PAY 25% OF THE COST TO REPAIR WHEN IT HAS ALREADY BEEN ADMITTED THAT THE CLEAR COAT PAINT THEY USED IS DEFECTIVE. UNACCEPTABLE. *TR
THE BLACK PAINT ON TOP OF THE ROOF OF MY CIVIC HAS A WHITE FADING HAZE. *TR
THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE, BUT AN ISSUE OF QUALITY. I'VE NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH THE PAINT ON MY 2008 HONDA CIVIC. IT ALL BEGAN WITH A DULL SPOT ON THE TRUNK AND WORSENED WITH DULL SPOTS ON THE ROOF. I CONTACTED HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH NO AVAIL. *TR
THE PAINT IS OXIDIZING AND FLAKING OFF EVEN THOUGH THE CAR WAS WASHED AND WAXED REGULARLY. *TR
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
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Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2008 Honda Civic has 60 Structure complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.