Did Honda build quality hit a low point in 2008?

"Alex B" (alexb420) 05/01/2015 at 12:07 • Filed to: None

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Strange misalignment

Velcro applied to the wrong side of the pull

Something emerging from the passenger airbag area

Weather stripping that doesn’t even fit. Literally you can see right through the gap. The weather stripping also falls of the A-pillar a lot to.

And panels that do not line up at all.

I was cleaning the interior of my family’s 2008 Honda Odyssey yesterday and was struck by how bad the interior fit and finish was. I was aware it was bad, but not quite that bad. Was 2008 a bad year for Honda? I understand it’s not luxury car by any means, but Hondas are known being well built? My cousins have a 07 EX-L (same trim as ours just a MY earlier) and these issues are nonexistent on theirs. That’s not to say the odyssey is a bad car, because in the time we’ve owned it, it has been reliable and durable. Just wondering if Honda had a notably bad year.

TheHondaBro > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:10

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Could be just a fluke.

Firewrx234 > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:10

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I’d say this one amazes me the most

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:11

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Maybe it’s took some damage in it’s time and been worked on a fair bit.

Sam > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:11

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I will point out that the weather stripping shrinks over time, you have to replace it with new when it does. My 95 5-series is the same way.

And Hondas are known for being reliable. That doesn’t necessarily mean well built.

crowmolly > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:11

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I don’t know about build quality but I’ve seen poor quality/thin paintwork.

Alex B > TheHondaBro 05/01/2015 at 12:12

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Yeah, possibly. Being that my cousins one has none of these issues. It did get a refresh in 2008, but the interior was unchanged.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:13

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Fuck, I've seen 90s GM cars with better attention to detail.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:14

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From 03-12 their interior quality was definitely down. The shop where we work did a bunch of leather replacements for factory leather on Accord, Odyssey, and Pilot EX-L cars with under 50,000 miles. They used thin, cheap materials that wore out quickly here in the south. The vinyl would separate from its backing and blister all over the door panels and armrests. Leather - especially the tan - would lose its color and fall apart. Don’t know why, though. But the aftermarket stuff we had ended up being better than the factory leather for those years. Since then they’ve cleaned up their act, though.

Alex B > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/01/2015 at 12:14

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We bought it new.

Alex B > Sam 05/01/2015 at 12:17

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Ah, ok. thanks for your input!

Alex B > Firewrx234 05/01/2015 at 12:18

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That crevis may be larger across then the Grand Canyon! ;)

Sam > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:24

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Also, Hondas have a lot of stupid engineering. For example, changing the alternator on our 07 Element required taking half the intake off the engine. And replacing the belt required a special, proprietary wrench to pull it onto the pulley. As opposed to the usual hinge and tightening bolt.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Sam 05/01/2015 at 12:28

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I’m glad to hear they didn’t learn anything about the alternator placement in the 7th gen Civic...

Firewrx234 > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:30

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It doesn’t even look like those pieces are meant to go on the same vehicle!

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:32

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Maybe your parents do drug runs in their spare time? Lol

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:37

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yes, that is IS a pretty dismal time in Honda interior quality, but that also looks suspiciously like a car that has the interior stripped out and replaced, ALA flood or passenger compartment fire, or something like that...

TDIGuy > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:40

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To be honest I think just about everyones build qualities were terrible around 2008 because of the bursting of the market bubble.

Alex B > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 05/01/2015 at 12:48

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Hm, we bought it brand new. It was shipped to the dealer, it wasn’t even ones that was already on the lot. Perhaps something happened at the factory?

Rico > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:52

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What the fuck!? Square in round hole?

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:54

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It might just be a Friday afternoon car... I have been in Civics and Accords of that vintage, and their pretty crap... though this is worse. Maybe they just gave less of a shit than usual on this one.

Sneaky Pete > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 12:59

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My 08 Fit has had multiple issues. First and foremost is the headlights that keep crapping out. They had a recall that installed a longer wire in the steering column that fixed it. Wait, no...my headlights crapped out again, replacing the headlight switch this weekend. The seat belt for the middle seat doesn’t stay in the holder in the ceiling, so it hangs down. All of the paint flaked off of the 3”ish wide panel between the spoiler and the roof. That’s not even getting into the fit and finish...

Sneaky Pete > Sam 05/01/2015 at 13:00

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To do a valve adjustment in my fit, you need to remove the intake manifold. Changing the accessory belt took me the better part of a day due to complete lack of space on that side of the engine.

Brickman > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 13:29

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Panel gaps so big you can f*** it :) Or loose a credit card or key.

Alex B > Rico 05/01/2015 at 13:38

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Yeah, I don't really know how that happened...

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 15:03

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My mom had a 2008 Pilot, and a 2008 Accord a few years ago. The pilot leaked when it rained, and the accord required a replacement transmission at 40,000 miles, and needed the leather replaced.

jkm7680 > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 16:05

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Bad paint, crappy leather, crappy plastics. No bueno.

Alex B > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO 05/01/2015 at 16:33

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Gosh, I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that it’s not leaking and that the leather is holding up relatively well. That won’t matter for too much longer as were getting rid of it this summer. :)

Alex B > jkm7680 05/01/2015 at 16:35

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It was much better than the competition at the time though! The 2008 car market wasn't really that great as a whole tbh

jkm7680 > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 16:39

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Depends on the brand...

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 16:40

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Congrats on your family getting rid of it, I guess. What are y’all planning on replacing it with?

Alex B > jkm7680 05/01/2015 at 16:42

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Right. I should have clarified by saying non-luxury car market.

Alex B > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO 05/01/2015 at 16:53

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I’m only beginning to compile the list, so it’s pretty vague. Volvo XC60 (2010 or 2012), Volvo XC70 (2010,2012), Volkswagen Touareg (2012) BMW X3 (2012) BMW X5 (year tbd) all of these with MaxCare warranty, possibly. Then also the last gen Subaru Forester, and current outback.

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 16:57

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XC60’s are nice, my mom used to have a 2013, and obviously the Subaru. The rest are a bit iffy in my book.

Alex B > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO 05/01/2015 at 17:01

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They really are iffy, especially in terms of reliability. I don't think it would be necessary to buy either of the volvos new because they really seem to loose their value quick. 2012+ models seem to have volvos update technology. Have your moms volvos been reliable so far?

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > Alex B 05/01/2015 at 17:37

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Mothe xc60 wasn't perfect reliability wise. I'd highly suggest an extended warranty.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Alex B 05/02/2015 at 08:31

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if it was a GM vehicle , you’d be saying how well it was built ;P

TheLOUDMUSIC- Put it in H! > Alex B 05/02/2015 at 22:07

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My mom’s 08 Civic had the same problem with the door seal, but her 2015 Mustang 09 Accord coupe has no such issues.

TheHondaBro > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/04/2015 at 20:27

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My 2004 Accord is completely fine after 12 years.

Amoore100 > Alex B 08/26/2015 at 17:55

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You meant to say the crevices may be larger than in the Grand Caravan :D

Alex B > Amoore100 08/26/2015 at 17:57

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Hahaha good one. :-)

It’s also probably true. :-(

Amoore100 > Alex B 08/26/2015 at 17:57

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Nothing like that in our ‘05 except at one point our door seals wore out and it leaked when it rained...besides that, one of the 3rd row seatbelts is a bit frayed and there’s some plastic wear and tear but nothing exceptional like that gap in the last picture...most of our things are inflicted by us considering the abuse we heap onto that van...oh, and our ivory leather is basically brown after my dad left some old seat covers on them for years and they left their color embedded there...