Five problems related to automatic transmission have been reported for the 2008 Honda Civic. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2008 Honda Civic based on all problems reported for the 2008 Civic.
Problem happened when car is down shifting when coming to a stop. Early in the morning, when stopping at our stop sign the car will begin to down shift then the motor begins to rev up to 4000 rpms with nothing on the gas pedal. This has happened only 4 times in the 2 yrs we have owned the car and I was unable to reproduce the trouble to the Honda repair man.
I had an incident with my 2008 Honda Civic. I was pulling into the church parking lot and turned to park in the grass next to another vehicle when I lost the steering and then suddenly the car jumped forward out of control and crashed into a tree about 10 ft in front of me. I thought the gas pedal had stuck but the adjustor was not able to confirm that this was the case. I never put my foot on the gas pedal-I was braking and going less than 10 mi/hr at the time. I have been unable to find out what caused the car to leap forward and accelerate. I have had no other incidents with this vehicle. I have put around 35,000 miles on the car mostly highway driving.
While traveling on a downgrade on I-15 south of the baker grade south of las vegas our 2008 Honda Civic automatically downshifted causing the car to slow down rapidly and outside of our control. Vehicles traveling behind us had to make quick decisions to keep from hitting us. I had to put the automatic transmission into neutral to keep the car from slowing down any further. From what I've read it is the fault of Hondas grade logic control system that is suppose to work on upslope but is also making incorrect decisions on downslopes. Its happened two different times now it happens without warning and is a drastic difference to overcome the % of the freeways grade. I will report this to my dealership when I return to be checked.
While traveling on a downgrade on CA hwy 101 north of santa barbara, our 2008 Honda Civic automatically downshifted causing the car to slow down rapidly and outside of our control. Vehicles traveling behind us had to make quick decisions to keep from hitting us. I had to put the automatic transmission into neutral to keep the car from slowing down any further. I have researched this on the internet and it is the fault of Hondas grade logic control system that is suppose to work on upslopes but is also making incorrect decisions on downslopes. Honda says this is normal behavior.
My 2008 Civic hybrid has a power train issue. Often, when accelerating, the car jumps or jerks. It is almost like you accelerate then brake then accelerate and brake over and over while your foot is only on the gas. This happens regardless of the vehicles temperature or the weather conditions and happens periodically. It may happen once a week, once every two months or three times a day. I contacted the dealership and I have an appointment to get it fixed. The service department seemed to know exactly what I was talking about and said the problem is under warranty. The service representative also mumbled something about a recall. I have not been notified of a recall and this website is not showing one either. Just a heads up for other hybrid owners.