Two problems related to engine have been reported for the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid based on all problems reported for the 2008 Civic Hybrid.
Basic complaint is unpredictable loss of power when accelerating. This seems to be due to the ima system operation. Not being able to depend on consistent acceleration has drastically changed the way you have to drive vehicle to prevent crash. If you needed the ability to accelerate quickly and safely, you cannot count on this vehicle to provide it. It occurs almost daily when acceleration is needed most, turning across traffic and merging in traffic/highway on-ramps. At the start ownership of vehicle, no problems noted. Car operated great! in last 5-10k miles car has gotten worse and worse. It has had all software updates. Mpg was always 42-45. Now runs around 35 mpg.
2008 Honda Civic Hybrid was modified according to manufacturer's voluntary recall notice 10-034. This modification involved changes to the engine control computer's software "flash" memory. Subsequently, the vehicle demonstrates insufficient power to accelerate safely into highway traffic. When parked on an incline the vehicle exhibits difficulty initiating forward motion and may roll backwards up to three feet before establishing forward progress. This behavior was not observed prior to the engine modification.