What are the common problems with the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS?
Owners of the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS have filed 37 complaints with NHTSA, most often about steering (22) and the fuel system (6). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 35 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 37 owner complaints on the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS. Owners named steering most often: 22 complaints, and half of the 20 that list a mileage came after 5,500 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 37 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 8 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2008 Spyder RS
NHTSA's file holds 37 owner complaints on the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS. Owners named steering most often: 22 complaints, and half of the 20 that list a mileage came after 5,500 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering | 22 | 20 | 5,600 |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 6 | 6 | 9,000 |
| Engine | 4 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 3 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electronic Stability Control (ESC) | 3 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 37 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 8 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2008 Spyder RS
The 35 mileages owners gave run from 300 to 38,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 5,000 miles, half at or under 9,000, three quarters at or under 14,588 and nine in ten at or under 19,500; none came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2008 Spyder RS wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: all 35 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2008 Spyder RS can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 300 miles |
| 25th percentile | 5,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 9,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 14,588 miles |
| 90th percentile | 19,500 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 38,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Is the 2008 Spyder RS a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2008 is a good or a bad Spyder RS: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2008 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 37 complaints, the 2008 drew the most of the 2 Can-Am Spyder RS model years from 2008 to 2009 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2009 (13).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 (this page) | 37 | 35 | 9,000 |
| 2009 Spyder RS | 13 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
2008 Can-Am Spyder RS recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2008 model year under the name SPYDER RS. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2008 Spyder RS lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2008 Spyder RS.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 2 of the 37 complaints on the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: SPYDER RS. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: SPYDER RS.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2008 Can-Am Spyder RS questions
What are the most common 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS problems?
NHTSA's file holds 37 owner complaints on the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS. Owners named steering most often: 22 complaints, and half of the 20 that list a mileage came after 5,500 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 37 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 8 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS?
Of the 35 complaints on the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS that list mileage, the middle half came between 5,000 and 15,000 miles; none came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2008 Spyder RS can cover.
Is the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2008 is a good or a bad Spyder RS: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2008 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 37 complaints, the 2008 drew the most of the 2 Can-Am Spyder RS model years from 2008 to 2009 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2009 (13).
How many recalls does the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2008 model year under the name SPYDER RS. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2008 Can-Am Spyder RS.