2008 Hyundai Accent

Photo: OSX / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

2008 Hyundai Accent: common problems and reliability

An average Accent year.

101 owner complaints, most about air bags. 1 recall.

Should I buy a 2008 Accent?

The 2008 Hyundai Accent has 101 owner-filed NHTSA complaints and 1 recall on record. The most-reported areas are air bags and visibility/wiper.

Safety record for the 2008 model year

101
Owner complaints
1
Recalls
11
Crash reports
1
Fire reports

Source: NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for 2008 Hyundai Accent vehicles (US, public record).

The Year Score compares this year with other Accent years only. How we score it

Is 2008 a good year for the Accent?

Across the 26 Accent model years we track, complaint volume runs from 12 (2020) to 276 (2013). With 101 complaints, the 2008 Accent sits about the same as the model's median of 88.

These are raw NHTSA complaint totals, not adjusted for how many cars sold or how long each model year has been on the road. Older and higher-selling years accumulate more complaints.

Where owners report problems

air bags
34
visibility/wiper
17
service brakes
12
exterior lighting
10
electrical system
8

Recalls affecting the 2008 Accent

exterior lighting:brake lights:switch

Campaign 13V113000

Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Accent, model year 2007-2011 Azera, Sonata and Sante Fe,2006-2011 Tucson, 2009-2011 Elantra Touring, 2007-2010 Elantra, 2008-2011 Veracruz, 2009-2011 Genesis, 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, 2007-2008 Entourage, and 2006-2008 Tiburon vehicles. Originally, in April 2013, Hyundai recalled 1,059,824 model year 2007-2009 Accent and Tucson, model year 2007-2010 Elantra, model year 2007-2011 Santa Fe, model year 2008-2009 Veracruz, model year 2010-2011 Genesis Coupe, and model year 2011 Sonata vehicles. In September 2013, Hyundai informed the agency that it was adding more vehicles to this campaign, representing an additional 652,512 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 1,712,336. In the affected vehicles, the stop lamp switch may malfunction. A malfunctioning stop lamp switch may cause the brake lights to not illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed or may cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal. Additionally, a malfunctioning stop lamp switch may also result in intermittent operation of the push-button start feature, affect the operation of the brake transmission shift interlock feature, preventing the shifter from being moved out of the PARK position and cause the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) malfunction light to illuminate.

What owners say across generations

Sentiment is sharply divided and heavily dependent on model year, maintenance history, and purchase price.

Owner insights cover all generations of the Accent. See the full Accent owner picture and every model year.

Typical used price

Used Accent listings typically run $7,298–$11,438 across 2012 to 2022 model years.

Other Accent model years

Compare every Accent year side by side to see how 2008 ranks against the rest.

Compare the Accent against its rivals

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