RoadVitals

2008 Honda Civic SI

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
7
Latest Mar 30, 2019
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
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InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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Overview

Our database contains 7 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2008 Honda Civic SI, most frequently naming the airbags, body & structure and engine categories. 2 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Airbags225.0%
  • Body & structure225.0%
  • Engine225.0%
  • Other / unspecified112.5%
  • Visibility112.5%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Airbags
Filed Mar 30, 2019

TAKATA RECALL. HONDA REFUSES TO COME TO MY CLIMATE CONTROLLED GARAGE AND REPLACE MY RECALLED PASSAGER SIDE AIR BAG ACTIVATOR-SEEMS MAYBE DISCRIMINATION- AGE RELATED. MAYBE- OR MAYBE JUST MEAN.

NHTSA ID
11192584
Incident
Mar 29, 2019
Mileage
168,000 mi
Engine
Filed Dec 8, 2018

COOLANT LEAK FROM THE RADIATOR. NEW HEAD GASKETS, NEW SEALS. MYSTERY COOLANT LEAK, COOLANT PUSHES FROM THE RADIATOR TO THE OVERFLOW, LEAVING RADIATOR LOW COOLANT. NEW SEALS AND NEW WATER PUMP, NO DRIPS OR INDICATION OF LEAKING

NHTSA ID
11157000
Incident
Nov 30, 2018
Visibility
Filed Oct 6, 2018

SUN VISOR WAS RCALLED AND FIXED BUT IT IS STILL DOING THE SAME THNG IT WAS RECALLED FOR.

NHTSA ID
11138831
Incident
Oct 1, 2017
Engine
Filed Feb 19, 2018

MY 2008 HONDA CIVIC SI HAS BEEN LEAKING COOLANT FOR THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS. IT IS CURRENTLY AT AROUND 115,000 MILES. I NOTICED ALL OF THE EXTENDED WARRANTY INFORMATION ABOUT THE 06-09 HONDA CIVICS AND CONTACTED BOTH THE DEALERSHIP AND CORPORATE MYSELF. THEY TOLD ME THAT BECAUSE MY MODEL WAS NOT THE BASE MODELS BUT THE SI THAT IT WAS A DIFFERENT ENGINE AND THAT THEY COULD NOT HELP ME. HOWEVER I AM GOING TO GET THE CAR BACK FROM MY MECHANIC TODAY WHO ESTIMATED THE REPAIRS WOULD BE $4500 TO COMPLETELY REPLACE THE ENGINE. HE ALSO BROUGHT UP THIS EXTENDED WARRANTY ISSUE AND SUGGESTED I CONTACT HONDA AGAIN BECAUSE THE PRESSURE FRACTURES ARE IN THE EXACT SAME PLACE AS THEY ARE ON THE BASE MODEL 06-09 ENGINE BLOCKS. FROM MY KNOWLEDGE AND THE MECHANICS THE ENGINES MAY NOT BE THE SAME BUT THE BLOCK IS MADE OF THE SAME MATERIAL IF NOT THE EXACT SAME BLOCK. THIS IS COSTING ME MY CAR AS A WHOLE AND THE $4800 LOAN I STILL OWE ON IT. I AM NOW OUT OF A CAR UNLESS I DRIVE IT AND REFILL THE COOLANT WEEKLY UNTIL THE ENGINE COMPLETELY SEIZES AND STOPS WORKING. THIS WILL PUT A HUGE AFFECT ON MY JOB, FINANCIAL SITUATION, AND MY CREDIT SCORE AT THE AGE OF 19. THIS IS INSANE AND SHOULD BE HONDA'S JOB TO TAKE CARE OF CONSIDERING THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO KEEP THE ENTIRE ISSUE FOR THE OTHER MODELS ON THE LOWEST OF LOWS THEY CAN TO AVOID PAYING FOR ALL THE NEW ENGINES. A COMPANY THIS LARGE SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PUT THIS MANY PEOPLE OUT OF VEHICLES AND AFFECT THEIR DAILY LIVES BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THIS WAS A RELIABLE AND SENSIBLE BRAND.

NHTSA ID
11073579
Incident
Feb 19, 2018
Mileage
115,000 mi
Body & structureOther / unspecified
Filed Nov 6, 2017

ON MY 08 HONDA CIVIC SI IN FIJI BLUE PAINT, THE CLEAR COAT IS DETERATING ON THE ROOF AND NOW WHEELS ARE PEELING CLEAR.. MY CAR IS GARAGE KEPT AND WELL MAINTAINED. I DID SEE WHERE HONDA WOULD REPAINT AFFECTED AREAS, SO ON MY LAST VISIT TO DEALER I ASK THE SERVICE LADY TO PLEASE PLEASE FIX. SHE INFORMED ME THAT SHE WOULD DOCUMENT SAID AREAS AND E-MAIL ME WHAT TO DO NEXT. IT HAS BEEN 3 MONTHS WITH NO SOLUTION. I HAVE MET A COUPLE OF OTHER HONDA OWNERS THAT HAS HAD THE AREAS REPAINTED. SO I DONT KNOW WHERE TO GO FROM HERE. I DID SEE THAT THESE CERTAIN COLORS WERE IN A CAMPAIGN FOR THIS REASON. I WAS INFORMED THAT A DEADLINE WAS PLACED, BUT IS THE DEALERS DISCRETIONON WHICH CARS TO RE PAINT AND SINCE MY CAR IS GARAGE KEPT THE SPOTS ARE NOT AS LARGE AS OTHER PHOTOS IVE SEEN. BUT LATELY IVE NOTICED AREAS ARE GROWING. SO I GUESS IM ALSO ASKING ANY ADVICE ON HOW TO GET THIS RESOLVED..I DO LIKE MY CAR. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP.

NHTSA ID
11043619
Incident
Jan 12, 2017
Mileage
125,000 mi
Airbags
Filed Aug 15, 2017

THERE IS A RECALL ON THE PASSENGER AIR BAG. KA5

NHTSA ID
11015400
Incident
May 23, 2016
Body & structure
Filed Jun 22, 2017

VEHICLE IS A 2008 CIVIC SI MUGEN PAINTED IN FIJI BLUE PEARL. PAINT AND CLEAR-COAT ARE OXIDIZING, CHIPPING AND PEELING. WHEN WE'VE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS TO THE AUTHORIZED SERVICE DEPARTMENTS, THE EXISTENCE OF A KNOWN PROBLEM HAS BEEN DENIED AND IT'S BEEN STATED THIS ISSUE IS 'NORMAL WEAR & TEAR', WHICH IT CLEARLY IS NOT. WE JUST FOUND OUT YESTERDAY THERE WAS ACTUALLY A TSB (TSB 14-034) PUT OUT ON THIS, ALONG WITH A WARRANTY EXTENSION THAT IS NOW EXPIRED. ACCORDING TO THE TSB, OWNERS WERE BEING NOTIFIED OF THE WARRANTY EXTENSION. WE HAVE NEVER RECEIVED NOTIFICATION AND AS STATED ABOVE, WHEN WE'VE COMPLAINED, WE'VE BEEN TOLD THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. THE COST TO FIX THIS WILL BE SIGNIFICANT AND AS TIME GOES BY, THE PAINT ISSUE IS BECOMING WORSE.

NHTSA ID
11000735
Incident
Jan 1, 2015

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

DLR MSG - Honda

AIR BAGS

Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, American Honda announced three recalls for various 2001-11 Honda models. As of August 4, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and VIN status inquiry has been updated.

DLR MSG - Stop S

AIR BAGS

Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, American Honda announced three recalls for various 2001-11 Honda models. As of July 23, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and service bulletins 14-040, Safety Recall: Accord, Civic, and Others ? Front Passenger?s Airbag Inflator Can Be Over-Pressurized, 14-045, Recall: Front Driver?s Airbag Inflator May Produce Excessive Pressure After Long-Term Exposure to High Absolute Humidity Recall, and 14-046, Recall: Front Passenger?s Airbag Inflator May Produce Excessive Pressure After Long-Term Exposure to High Absolute Humidity have been posted to ISIS. However, due to the large number of affected units, American Honda is still in the process of populating the VIN status inquiry function on iN, which is expected to take several days. When this process is complete, American Honda will notify all dealers again via iN message. Until that time, the existing acknowledgement procedure must be used for all potentially affected vehicles.

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

Honda Civic SI by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2026000
2025400
2024800
2023610244.1
2022730244.2
2020300
2019800
2016100
2015802
2014002
2013102
2012602
2011100
2010300
2009200
2008Viewing700
2007800
2006400
2003000
2002300

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.