2008 Honda Accord EX-L V6: Wheel Worries.

what were they thinking? it's a small detail, but it matters. it surprises me that honda would allow that.

Unfortunately, many Honda wheel designs suffer from this design style. I distinctly remember the Accord Special Edition and EX V6 15" aluminum rims suffering from this design (94-98). Also, the I4 EX Coupe at a similar issue (98-02). Last genera

Maybe it has something to do with the positive wheel offsets common to FWD cars? I noticed those rubber tire guards are most effective on deep dish wheels usually found on RWD cars.

Unfortunately, Honda's not the only one - see the recent blog on the M3's mirrors, and how they help avoid this. Some Audis also have wheels like this. Big problem with dubs....

7Driver is exactly right. All FWD cars has sizeable positive offsets. It's an unfortunate fact of life. Even some RWD cars come with positive offsets. A positive offset gives a tighter turning radius and allows the wheels to squeeze inside the wheel well.
 
AWDs also typically have positive offsets, but I'm not sure why.

Darn. It's just terrible that cars get cosmetic blemishes when they are used for transportation.
 
Perhaps in the future, we can make all bugs on the road extinct, and all rocks and sand on the road vaporize 1" before it contacts the vehicle.

Honda has had that problem for a long time on numerous models.

Those wheels are definitely ugly, that's for sure. You need one of those curb feelers. Very stylish.

ya, those wheels sure are ugly. They look exactly like the hubcaps on the Civic LX.
 
The Accord (and most of Honda in general) would benefit from some stylish alloys, a la Saturn Aura XR or 2009 Mazda 6.
 
Speaking of which, would you guys PLEASE add the latter to the LT fleet? Pretty please? It's an important car for Mazda!

Regardless of wheel design, I find this statement troubling:
 
"No, not because we're careless drivers, but because of the wheel design."
 
The cliche "A poor craftsman always blames his tools" comes to mind. This also smacks of the Tundra long term test, where the size of the vehicle was blamed for the carelessness of the driver.
 
Honda is certainly not the first manufacturer to offer OEM wheels that protrude slightly beyond the sidewall, and you can bet they certainly won't be the last. It might not be the most logical design, but that still does not relieve the driver of their responsibility.

Those wheels are terrible looking. Why do so many companies have awful OEM rims?

these rims do resemble wheel covers but its not like Honda is known for daring wheel designs. If you have seen an Accord with wheel covers you will notice they have a similar design. In fact all of the Accord's wheels/wheel covers look similar which is strange. It makes it hard to tell which model you are seeing.

The wheels on my A4 are very sensitive to scratching. It is a common issue with the Sport Package's 17" rims from 02-08. I like the look but I already had them re-finished once, and a couple could be done again...for around $50 each.
Back to the Accord, I don't think the wheels look as bad as others do. Honda's wheels look better than they use to in the 80s and 90s. Except for the Pilot could use some 18s-20s as an option...maybe on the 2009?

tryan: Nice post, and I agree with your comment to a point. I imagine if this were my own car I would do that exactly once and then remember that they stick out and never do it again. But with some 20 drivers, there's a learning curve for each one that simply isn't there on other cars.
-mike

Form over function strikes again.

At least it wasn't something pretty getting damaged.

Hey all - don't the current-gen 330i/335i standard wheels look very similar?

I agree with tryan. No matter how bad the wheel design is, the editors of a car testing webpage should expect that if you rub the wheels against the pavement you will probably get scratches on the rim. If you had a better rim design you would damage the tire sidewalls instead. Take your pick. In any case the poor parking competencies of the some stuff member would damage something, not the Honda engineers.

EDMUNDS EDITORS=IDIOTS. PLEASE LEARN HOW TO DRIVE THE VEHICLES ENTRUSTED TO YOU. IT IS OBVIOUS TO US ALL THAT YOU ARE NOT THE ONES MAKING THE PAYMENTS OR ELSE YOU WOULD BE MORE CAREFUL. GOD HELP THE UNSUSPECTING BUYER OF EDMUNDS LONG TERM TEST CARS!

Please stop yelling (all caps). K thx buh bye.

I was yelling for effect. That was apparantly lost on you though...sorry. By the way, what is with the "k thx buh bye" bit? Are you twelve or just a smart ass?

There's isn't any need to resort to name-calling (calling the editors idiots and me a smart a__) here. I'm sure you're much more intelligent than me. Take care and have a nice evening.

I thought it was just me who hated the look of those wheels! Luckily, my mind keeps changing on a number of subjects (home ownership, marriage, etc...)so maybe they'll come to grow on me like that "bustle-butt" back end finally did. [Be gentle with me, I'm new here}