NHTSA Complaint #10809094 — 2008 HONDA ACCORD

AT ABOUT 68,000 MILES, I BEGAN HEARING A DISTURBING MECHANICAL RATTLE ON COLD STARTS. IT GOT WORSE AND WORSE UNTIL A RECENT TRIP TO MY HONDA DEALER CONFIRMED I HAVE THE VTC (?) VALVE RATTLE PROBLEM, AND IT IS "CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW BY HONDA." FROM MY RESEARCH ON HONDA OWNERS FORUMS, THIS AFFECTS A LARGE NUMBER OF MODELS FROM 2008 ON, AND HAS BEEN A KNOWN ISSUE FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. I WAS TOLD THIS ISSUE DOES NOT AFFECT ENGINE PERFORMANCE OR LONGEVITY, BUT IT IS DISCONCERTING TO HAVE SOUNDS LIKE THIS EMANATING FROM MY ENGINE EVERY DAY (IT NOW HAPPENS EVERY TIME I START THE CAR). A CALL TO HONDA CONFIRMED HONDA KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM, BUT THEY ARE "STILL WORKING ON A SOLUTION" (I DON'T KNOW FOR HOW MANY YEARS NOW). AND NO, THEY WON'T DO ANYTHING FOR ME, NO COMPENSATION OR EVEN A FIX I COULD POSSIBLY PAY FOR. I WOULD LIKE TO GET RID OF THE CAR BEFORE SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENS, BUT NO BUYER WILL PAY MARKET VALUE FOR IT WITH THIS CONDITION. I AM ALSO WORRIED ABOUT SAFETY BECAUSE THIS ISSUE COULD CAUSE AN ENGINE SEIZURE WHILE DRIVING. THE PROBLEM KEEPS GETTING WORSE AND I NO LONGER TRUST HONDA IS TELLING THE TRUTH.