Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Honda Civic owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Bought the car 2 days ago. Did test drive it with no notable issues. I did not take it on the highway because I was not familiar with the area and the salesman insisted not to go on the highway due to road construction outside the dealership. So on the way home I did take the highway from the dealership following my husband out of the area until I got to familiar territory. Then he got behind me. Well while driving on the highway I felt the car swaying side to side having trouble staying between the lines. Didn't feel right and when I would hit a bump the back end of the car moved all over the place. Well when my husband and I got home I mentioned it to him and he said when he was behind me he noticed the right back of the car was bouncing up and down. …
I was driving at about 65 MPH when my car suddenly started swerving to my left. I pressed my brakes and I heard a little explosion, but I didn't think anything of it. My car started swerving even more and I was not able to do anything because it was out of my control. My car spun and hit another car and then spun again and ended up crashing into the left side divider. When police arrived at the scene, they noticed my wheel was popped out. The wheel malfunction must have caused the accident because the wheel popped out even before I hit the divider.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. While driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle made an abnormal noise. The failure recurred numerous times. The contact stated that the air bag warning indicator also illuminated continuously. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the compliance bushing fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Geometry problem on suspension causes excessive uneven tire wear. The driver May be unaware of this damage because the outside of all the tires appear fine. If no close inspection of the inside tread of the tire is done, dangerous conditions can be overlooked. This puts the passengers of this car and anyone around it in danger. Honda should recall and fix this problem immediately before someone dies if they haven't already
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. While the vehicle was stopped, it vibrated uncontrollably. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the front motor mount and torque struts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.
One of the control arms, I believe it is called, went bad and cracked. The front ones went bad and had to be replaced, but were under warranty. These would be the arms that connect and hold the tires/brakes but not the suspension. I May have referred to them wrong, but they went bad nonetheless.
Rear tires cup after only a few thousand miles. Constantly replacing rear tires. Honda recalled the '06 & '07 models for this but claimed they fixed the issue in '08. It doesn't seem to be the case.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic. The rear control arms have failed, which caused excessive tire wear. This conditions made the tires tilt inward. This also caused the vehicle to drift when driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but they could not aligned the rear wheels to the correct specifications. The Honda manufacturer stated that they would investigate the failure. He never received a response. The failure mileage was 11,800. The consumer stated Honda california called and said they investigated and found there as no problem. The consumer asked why on the alignment report it stated that both rear wheels showed the negative camber outside of range that they allow. His response was that he didn't see a problem, but would put the consumer on record. The consumer contacted the dealership and was told they would investigate his complaint off the record. …
Currently I have 32,277 miles and don't drive it, it's not safe to drive. I take a bus :) 1# trans locked at 60mph on hwy and caused almost a fatal crash! At 23,000 miles. Car was able to drive up to 15mpg having appx. 6000rpms. Car left at dealership and only PCM software was upd. No lockups are occurring, but trans is weaving, harsh start/stop often!/unexpected shutdown. Dealership found service bulletin #08-014 (harsh engagement), upd. The on board computer and symptoms are much worse than previously. Lower mpg ( 25-28 ), much worse performance, unexpected battery discharge, weaving, low accel. Dealer duplicated problems, but said "it's OK" and problems is untouched. Since they updated the system, the hybrid option is not kicking in as before. Prev. I was able to drive slowly only on hybrid, now I can't. No actions are taken to resolve the issue. …
Severe tire cupping, early tire failure. Dealer unable to fix cause of problem, they state that it results from a design flaw (non-adjustable cambers/arms). Tires failed at 20,000 miles and are failing again at 44,000 miles. I had to fight with Honda to get them to go 50/50 on the first set of replaced (dunlop) tires. They argues that I had enjoyed using them for 1/2 their life, so 50% was their maximum dollar match. I was also told to "rotate" my tires more frequently, even though I had service records showing that I do rotate on a routine basis at the dealership. From what I am researching online, Honda has a big problem going on with tire cupping on the Civic hybrids. My hope is that this is researched by the NHTSA more thoroughly. I am seeing numerous complaints on your website about this issue.....some are filed under "tires" while others filed under "rear suspension". …
Suspension complaints in other Civic years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2008 Honda Civic?
NHTSA has 99 complaints about the suspension of the 2008 Honda Civic, 11% of the model year's 916 complaints. The component named most often is rear (51 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Honda Civic suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 2008 Honda Civic, though it has 7 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Honda Civic suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 20,000 miles, and 65% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to suspension problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.