Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (wheels, lug nuts, original-equipment tires, TPMS).
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).
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 Honda Civic. While driving 30 MPH in inclement weather, the wheels and the steering column seized. As a result, the contact crashed into a guardrail. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a salvage yard. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
My Honda Civic experienced severe rear tire wear on the inside edges about 10 months after purchase (as a new vehicle). In October 2009, the dealer replaced both rear upper control arms as described in Honda service bulletin 08-001, which has since been replaced by sb 13-047 (attached). The arm replacement was intended to return the tire camber angle to zero (see alignment criteria in last page of TSB) so the the wheel would be perpendicular to the road, and no longer cause wear at the inside edges. At a recent inspection, the tires were again found to be worn at the inside edges: there was about 1/4 inch of tread on the outside edge, but the cords were showing on the inside edges. I validated that the dealer had actually installed new control arms (they are marked with a "c" as described in the bulletin). …
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Honda Civic equipped with westlake tires (na), size: p205/55/16 (na). While driving 50 MPH, there was a vibration in the tires. The contact performed a diagnostic test on the tires and determined that the tires needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the tires were purchased recently. The vehicle failure mileage was 195,000. The VIN and tire failure mileage were not provided.
Ganley Subaru of bedford, oh (ganley bedford imports, inc.) sold this pre-owned 2008 Honda Civic si with no TPMS sensors. The TPMS warning light was on, and ganley Subaru stated that only an "update" (to the ECU) was needed due to a tire replacement of all four tires, when in reality they allowed a vehicle with no tire pressure monitoring sensors to be sold.
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.
Our 2008 Honda Civic coupe developed a road noise in the rear tires at about 12K miles. Tires have been rotated every 5K and I have service order requests to back this up. At 15kmiles the noise had gotten unbearable. I asked my local mechanic to check and see if there was anything obvious before I took it to the Honda dealer and he noted that the rear tires appeared to have the belts slipped and that the right tire appeared worn out. I called Honda and they directed me to Bridgestone who told me the tires were worn out because Honda has a chassis problem and that the tires were not warranted for wear. Honda said there is no technical issues with their suspension and they couldn't help me. So I have a car with tires that are worn out at 15K miles and I have no recourse but to eat it and hope that the next set of tires wears better. This is unsafe in my opinion. …
Our 2008 Honda Civic coupe developed a road noise in the rear tires at about 12K miles. Tires have been rotated every 5K and I have service order requests to back this up. At 15kmiles the noise had gotten unbearable. I asked my local mechanic to check and see if there was anything obvious before I took it to the Honda dealer and he noted that the rear tires appeared to have the belts slipped and that the right tire appeared worn out. I called Honda and they directed me to Bridgestone who told me the tires were worn out because Honda has a chassis problem and that the tires were not warranted for wear. Honda said there is no technical issues with their suspension and they couldn't help me. So I have a car with tires that are worn out at 15K miles and I have no recourse but to eat it and hope that the next set of tires wears better. This is unsafe in my opinion. …
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". …
My 2008 Honda Civic lx started experiencing door lock problems in March of 2011 (I can provide the exact date, but will need to go through paperwork to find it.). Since that point in time, I have had over a dozen locks replaced. I have the driver's door lock replaced 3 times, the driver's side rear door replaced 4 times, the passenger side front door replaced 3 times, and the passenger side rear door replaced 4 times. This problem has continued even after the extended warranty ran out. There is some kind of electrical short causing the problem. I have had called American Honda to get there help and they offered to fix the problem as long as I paid $100 towards the cost of repair. That is ridiculous considering the history of issues. The Civic was taken to other service places and they agreed that there was a major problem with the door locks and electrical. …
I've had to replace the tires on my Honda Civic prematurely because of "flat spots" that would appear and lead to extreme noise inside the cabin while driving. I've researched and asked the tire stores and they bascially stated that they see this a lot in the 2008 civics. If I didn't rotate the tires every couple of thousand miles this would happen over and over. After replacing all four tires recently the noise this time did not go away, in fact it was even louder than in the past. I brought it to the dealership and they told me that it's the rear wheel bearings. This car has 83,000 miles on it! I looked up wheel bearing replacement and it seems there was a factor recall for this problem for 2006-2007 models, but not the 2008. It also mentioned that the wheel bearing problem in the 06-07 models lead early tire wear and to the noise problems I experienced as well. …
Wheel & Tire complaints in other Civic years
Frequently asked questions
How common are wheel & tire problems on the 2008 Honda Civic?
NHTSA has 50 complaints about the wheels & tires of the 2008 Honda Civic, 5% of the model year's 916 complaints. The component named most often is lugs/nuts/bolts/studs (2 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Honda Civic wheel & tire problems?
No. NHTSA lists no wheels & tires 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 wheel & tire problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 20,000 miles, and 67% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 0 injuries to wheels & tires 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.