2008 Honda Civic Cruise Control Problems

My cruise control just stopped working all of a sudden. It was working this morning but I got in the vehicle to go to work and it just wasn't working anymore.

COOLANT LEAKS ARE COMING FROM ENGINE BLOCK. THE LEAK CAUSES COOLANT TO DRAIN AWAY, LEADING TO OVERHEATING OR TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WILL NOT ACCELERATE, AND SHUTS OFF IN TRAFFIC. HONDA FAILED TO ALERT ALL OWNERS STARTING IN 2010. TO DATE A RECALL STILL HAS NOT BEEN MADE ON MY VEHICLE FOR TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 10-048. PLEASE SEE THE FOLLOWING LINKS: HTTPS://WWW.CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG/CRO/NEWS/2014/03/FREE-ENGINE-REPLACEMENT-FOR-2006-2009-HONDA-CIVICS/INDEX.HTM *TR

OCCASIONALLY, WHEN "CRUISE" OPTION IS TURNED ON (BUT NOT ENGAGED OR "SET"), MY HONDA CIVIC ACTS AS IF THE CRUISE CONTROL IS ENGAGED. THAT IS, WHEN I REMOVE MY FOOT FROM THE GAS PEDAL, THE EXPECTED DECELERATION DOES NOT HAPPEN. THE CAR CONTINUES TO TRAVEL AT THE SAME SPEED. ONLY WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED, THE CAR STARTS TO SLOW DOWN. THIS MIMICS THE EXPECTED BEHAVIOR OF THE CAR WHEN CRUISE CONTROL IS ENGAGED EVEN WHEN CRUISE OPTION IS NOT USED. IN FACT, ON SOME OCCASIONS, THE CAR JERKS A BIT WHEN I LIFT MY FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL JUST LIKE WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL IS ENGAGED. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 68 MPH ON CRUISE CONTROL, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY UP TO 80 MPH. THE FAILURE OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 63,000. UPDATED 8/11/14*CN

I WAS PARKING IN A HIGH SCHOOL PARKING LOT. I "ROLLED" INTO THE SPACE AND WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES THE ENGINE "ACCELERATED". I WENT OVER THE CEMENT BLOCK AT THE FRONT OF THE SPACE AND THROUGH A CHAINLINK FENCE AND ONTO THE SIDEWALK. USUALLY, THAT WALKWAY IS FILLED WITH CHILDREN. I INITIALLY THOUGHT THE FLOORMAT GOT CAUGHT UP UNDER THE GAS PEDAL. I TOOK PICTURES IMMEDIATELY AND IT DID APPEAR THAT EXACERBATED THE PROBLEM. BELL HONDA IN PHOENIX SAID "THEY COULD NOT REPEAT THE PROBLEM" AND DISMISSED ME. IT HAS SINCE HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER AND HUSBAND. FORTUNATELY THEY BOTH APPLIED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. AFTER THE LAST TIME, WE TOOK THE CAR TO SUPERSTITION SPRINGS HONDA. THEY SAID "THEY COULD NOT REPEAT THE PROBLEM AND NOTHING HAS COME FROM HONDA." I HAVE READ WHERE OTHERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. I JUST THANK GOD THAT SO FAR NO ONE HAS BEEN KILLED OR THAT THE CAR DIDN'T SURGE OVER A CLIFF ON OUR TRIP TO YELLOWSTONE. *TR

WHEN I PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED, FLEW OVER CONCRETE AND INTO POST, BREAKING POSTAND AND OVER A SHOPPING CART AT WHICH POINT CAR WAS WEDGE OVER CART AND GRASSY KNOLL. THE ACCELERATION WAS VERY LOUD AND VERY, VERY FAST. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC WITH THE BRAKES ENGAGED, THE VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 50,000. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 30 MPH WHEN SHE LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND CRASHED INTO A STONE WALL. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS BUT THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE A FAILURE WITHIN THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 27,500.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SURGED FORWARD ABNORMALLY UNTIL ABRUPT PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKES. THE FAILURE RECURRED ONCE MORE WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 28,500.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL DETACHED FROM THE VEHICLE WHEN PARTIALLY DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED UNTIL HEAVY PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE CONTACT MOVED THE VEHICLE FROM THE ROADWAY AND SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. THE CONTACT WAS ASSISTED BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO REATTACHED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING FURTHER REPAIRS. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 50,000.

I WAS DRIVING MY 2008 HONDA CIVIC WITH MY DAUGHTER, AT A SPEED OF ABOUT 50MPH. I WAS ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A STOP FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT. I REALIZED THAT THE CAR WAS NOT WANTING TO STOP, I PRESSED HARDER ON THE BRAKE. WHEN IT CAME TO A STOP, THE ENGINE WAS REVVING AT HIGH RPMS, I LET UP ON THE BRAKE SLIGHTLY TO SEE IF THE ENGINE WOULD SHUT DOWN WHEN IT LUNGED FORWARD. I SLAMMED THE BRAKE DOWN AGAIN AND REACHED FOR THE DOWNSHIFT, WHEN AT THE SAME TIME THE ENGINE CAME DOWN TO AN IDLE. THE ACCELERATOR HAD OBVIOUSLY BEEN STUCK. I HAD STOPPED THE VEHICLE OVER THE WHITE LINE WITH MY NOSE OUT IN THE INTERSECTION. NO ONE WAS IN FRONT OF ME & NO ONE NEXT TO ME, THANKFULLY. I CALLED A LOCAL HONDA DEALER, MADE AN APPT FOR THAT AFTERNOON. MY HUSBAND AND I WERE WAITING IN THE CUSTOMER AREA FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES WHEN WE WERE INFORMED BY THE DEALER EMPLOYEE THAT THE TWO MECHANICS HAD CALLED IN & SAID THAT THEY HAD DUPLICATED THE ACTION I REPORTED & THAT THE CAR WAS UNSAFE TO BE ON THE ROAD, FOR US TO LEAVE IT & THEY WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT. THE MECHANIC WHO DROVE IT, CONFIRMED IT TO ME PERSONALLY. THE CARS COMPUTER DIDN'T REGISTER THE TWO EVENTS. THE DEALER TOLD US THEY COULDN'T FIX IT IF THE COMPUTER WOULDN'T TELL THEM WHAT TO FIX. HONDA'S REGIONAL REP WAS CALLED IN ON JAN 10 & DEEMED IT AS SAFE TO DRIVE. (HONDA'S REP DEEMED THE CAR THAT THE DEALER EMPLOYEE HAD TOLD US WAS "UNSAFE TO BE ON THE ROAD" AS BEING "SAFE"!). JAN 10, WE REQUESTED TO SPEAK WITH HONDA REP, JAN 11, NO CONTACT FROM HONDA REP AFTER SERVICE MANAGER LEFT 1 VOICE MAIL, 2 E-MAILS. (ASKED FOR REPS #, REFUSED) SWITCHED COURTESY CARS WITH DEALER, REQUESTED THE "DESCRIPTION" OF EVENTS ON SERVICE TICKET REFLECT THE TWO MECHANICS STATEMENT ABOUT EXPERIENCING THE "STUCK ACCELERATOR". JAN 12, STILL WAITING TO SPEAK WITH HONDA REP AND REVISED SERVICE TICKET. DEALER STILL HAS OUR HONDA. I AM CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF MYSELF & OTHERS IF I DRIVE IT WITHOUT HONDA REPAIRING IT. PLEASE HELP US RESOLVE THIS. *TR

I RECEIVED THE SOFTWARE UPDATE ON MY 2008 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID ON AUGUST 27,2010. IMMEDIATELY AFTER RETRIEVING IT, I HAD PROBLEMS WITH ACCELERATION. A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN MERGING ONTO HIGHWAY TRAFFIC. THE PROBLEMS HAVE NOT RESOLVED SINCE THEN AND I AM ALWAYS FEARFUL THAT ONE DAY I WILL GET REAR-ENDED AS I MERGE BECAUSE THE CAR CAN'T ACCELERATE FAST ENOUGH. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT HAS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A SPEED CONTROL ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE. WHILE GOING UP HILL THE VEHICLE STARTED TO ACCELERATE WHEN THE DRIVER APPLIED THE BRAKE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT SAID THE VEHICLE DID STOP, BUT WHEN THE DRIVER STARTED TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN, THE VEHICLE SPEED OFF FROM THE LIGHT EVEN THOUGH THE DRIVER LIGHTLY PRESSED ON THE GAS . THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THAT THIS FAILURE HAS HAPPENED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 6008.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA CIVIC. WHEN APPROACHING A COMPLETE STOP THE VEHICLE WOULD LURCH FORWARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION. THE TECHNICIAN CONCLUDED THAT SINCE THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED A FAILURE COULD NOT BE PROVIDED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 6864.

LIKE IN COMPLAINT #10225955, MY 2008 CIVIC 4-DR EX-L SPORADICALLY REFUSES TO STOP. IT HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES SO FAR, AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS, IN DIFFERENT WEATHER, WITH AND WITHOUT THE CRUISE CONTROL ON. I WILL LIGHTLY PUSH THE BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN, AND THEN PUSH SLIGHTLY HARDER ONCE I'VE REACHED THE CROSSWALK/INTERSECTION TO COME TO A COMPLETE STOP. INSTEAD OF STOPPING, THE CAR WILL LUNGE FORWARD ONCE OR TWICE. IT'S LIKE THE BRAKE IS ON BUT THE ENGINE IS STILL TRYING TO ACCELERATE, AND IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING. I'VE BROUGHT IT INTO THE DEALER ONCE AND WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS NORMAL DOWNSHIFTING OF GEARS WHILE COMING TO A STOP--BUT THAT SHOULD NOT CAUSE THE CAR TO ACTUALLY JOLT FORWARD, STOP, AND THEN JOLT FORWARD AGAIN, WITH MY FOOT SQUARELY ON THE BRAKE THE ENTIRE TIME. (I LOOKED DOWN AT MY FEET THE THIRD TIME IT HAPPENED BECAUSE I WONDERED IF I WAS PRESSING THE GAS BY MISTAKE. I WASN'T.) I'M BRINGING IT INTO THE DEALER AGAIN, BUT AM NOT HOPEFUL THAT THEY WILL FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. *TR

1. I ATTEMPTED TO TURN LEFT ON A BUSY 6 LANE FARM TO MARKET ROAD. WHEN THERE WAS AN OPENING IN TRAFFIC I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AND THE CAR MOVED OUT INTO THE TRAFFIC LANES, BUT WITH GREATLY REDUCED ACCELERATION. MY HYBRID HAD LOST THE ELECTRIC MOTOR ASSIST NEEDED TO ACCELERATE NORMALLY. I WAS ALMOST BROADSIDED BY A SPEEDING SUV BECAUSE I COULD NOT ACCELERATE OUT OF THE WAY QUICKLY. 2. THIS LOSS OF ELECTRIC MOTOR ASSIST OR INTEGRATED MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) STARTED OFF HAPPENING ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH. NOW IT IS HAPPENING A COUPLE OF TIMES A WEEK. THERE IS NO AUDIBLE OR VISUAL WARNING LIGHT THAT THIS LOSS HAS OCCURRED. THE ONLY EVIDENCE IS THE LOSS OF ACCELERATION AND THE BATTERY CHARGE LEVEL WILL DROP FROM "NORMAL" (6 OR 7 BARS) TO ONE OR TWO "BARS" ON THE BATTERY CHARGE DISPLAY. THIS UNEXPECTED LOSS OF NORMAL ACCELERATION CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS WHEN MERGING INTO BUSY TRAFFIC. IT IS ONLY AFTER THE DRIVER COMMITS THAT THEY DISCOVER THEY CANNOT ACCELERATE "NORMALLY" 3. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE HONDA DEALERSHIP FIVE TIMES AND OPENED A CASE AT AMERICAN HONDA. THEIR POSITION IS THAT SINCE THEY CAN'T REPLICATE THE FAILURE, THEY CAN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. AFTER DOING MY OWN RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED THAT THIS LOSS OF ACCELERATION IS DUE TO A PROGRAMMED FUNCTION IN THEIR IMA SYSTEM. THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO PERIODICALLY RESET THE STATE OF CHARGE FOR THE BATTERY PACK TO A MINIMAL VALUE TO ELIMINATE ACCUMULATED ERRORS. WHEN THIS HAPPENS, THE ELECTRIC MOTOR ASSIST IS DISABLED AND THE SYSTEM USES THE ELECTRIC MOTOR TO RECHARGE THE BATTERY PACK. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THIS "RESET" OCCURS AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME; WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STOPPED AND THE DRIVER NEEDS THE HIGH TORQUE/LOW RPM ELECTRIC MOTOR TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE ACCELERATION. IN MY OPINION, THIS UNANNOUNCED RESET FUNCTION AT A STOP IS A DESIGN FLAW AND MAKES THIS VEHICLE DANGEROUS TO OPERATE. *TR

PROBLEM WITH CRUISE CONTROL. WITH CRUISE ON CAR HAS A TENDENCY TO SPEED UP AND SLOW DOWN AND SPEED UP AGAIN. DOES NOT MAINTAIN SET SPEED BUT WILL READ SET SPEED. IT HAS A HABIT OF SPEEDING UP ON TURNS AND STRAIGHT A WAYS. MUST USE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN AND THEN RESET SPEED. *TR

DEC 18, 2007 DRIVING 2008 HONDA CIVIC LX APPROX 73 MPH ON INTERSTATE WITH CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED. PASSENGER UNBUCKLED SEAT BELT TO REACH FOR ITEM IN BACK SEAT. SEAT BELT DISCONNECT BEEP SOUND, AND VEHICLE SUDDENLY BEGAN ACCELERATING UNTIL CRUISE CONTROL MANUALLY CANCELED AS RESULT. AFTER PASSENGER REBUCKLED, WE ATTEMPTED TO REPLICATE FOLLOWING SAME STEPS--WITH SAME RESULTS. THEREAFTER, TRIED TO REPLICATE TWO OR THREE TIMES, BUT UNABLE TO REPLICATE--I.E., NO ACCELERATION. *TR

MY 2008 HONDA CIVIC SI DRIVE-BY-WIRE THROTTLE KEEPS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL DEPRESSED FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS AFTER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS RELEASED. THIS HAS CAUSED TWO NEAR CRASHES IN THE FIRST WEEK THAT I OWNED THE VEHICLE. I NOW KEEP THE CAR PARKED IN THE GARAGE DUE TO SAFETY CONCERNS. HONDA HAS REFUSED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE FOR THE THOUSANDS OF CIVIC SI OWNERS. THE HONDA CIVIC SI'S SHOULD BE RECALLED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *TR