NHTSA Complaint #10789511 — 2008 HONDA ACCORD

2008 ACCORD EX-L (4 CYL) STARTED MAKING A RATTLING SOUND ON COLD-STARTS AT APPROXIMATELY 80K MILES. ORIGINALLY THOUGHT TO BE FROM LOW OIL (SEEING HOW THIS VEHICLE BURNS OIL LIKE IT IS ITS JOB), I ALWAYS KEPT AN EXTRA QUART ON HAND. AFTER CLOSELY MONITORING THE RATTLE AND HAVING SEVERAL MECHANICS LOOK AT IT (INCLUDING HONDA), NO ONE COULD IDENTIFY IT UNTIL I HAD A MECHANIC AT WORK LOOK AT IT. I WORK FOR A FLEET LESSOR. HE IDENTIFIED IT AS THE VTC ACTUATOR. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED A BUDDY WHO IS A PARTS MANAGER FOR HONDA AND HE CONFIRMED THIS WAS A KNOWN ISSUE. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH BLEW MY MIND! THIS HAS BEEN A KNOWN ISSUE FOR YEARS AND APPARENTLY HAS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE RESULTS ON ENGINES! MAKES ME FEEL REALLY SAFE KNOWING THAT MY ACCORD HAS SO MANY SAFETY ISSUES! PREMATURE BRAKE/ROTOR WEAR, SRS MODULE FAILURE (CONTROLS THE AIR BAG SYSTEM), HIGH OIL CONSUMPTION, INADEQUATE BATTERY CRANKING AMPS, TRANSMISSION SOFTWARE RECALLS, ETC. WHEN THIS CAR DIES, ITS GONE AND NEVER TO BE REPLACED WITH ANOTHER HONDA. HONDA REFUSED TO WARRANTY MY CAR FOR THE RECENT OIL CONSUMPTION RECALL BECAUSE I AM BEYOND THEIR 125K MILEAGE THRESHOLD EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE ME ON RECORD OF THE ISSUE GOING BACK TO 60-80K MILES! NOT A HAPPY HONDA OWNER.