CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2004 Honda Accord suffers from widespread transmission failure & problems with the stereo backlight failing. We recommend avoiding this model year like the plague.
The transmission begins slipping & eventually has to be replaced, typically soon after 90,000 miles & with a repair cost of over $2,000. Transmission failure has been a huge problem for the Accord & several other Honda models all through the early 2000s model years. Honda extended the transmission warranty to 93 months/109k miles for the 2000-2001 Accord as a class action lawsuit settlement, but owners of other Accord model years with transmission problems are out of luck.
The stereo backlight problem has been an issue ever since these Accords were only a few years old. Honda eventually issued a recall which covered the repair for 7 years/100k miles, which was nice while it lasted but now that period is over. Honda initially replaced the entire radio ($800) but eventually began replacing just the PCB which at ~$300 is much cheaper. That sounds like a deal, but keep in mind we're talking about a backlight bulb that costs $2 to fix in most other cars.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 1
Average Mileage:
83,933 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
NHTSA# 10016310... 2004 Honda Accord 2.4L coupe. A water leak in the middle-front dash board. The leak had run into the ECU of my car and caused my car to lock the transmission. I was lucky to not be traveling at a high rate of speed and in a populated area. Anything could have happened with the ECU shorting in water. My car is currently in the Honda shop being trouble shot for the extent of electrical damage. Car will not start.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the key had a chip that could recognize the vehicle. The vehicle would stall as if it were being stolen. The chip embedded in the key appeared to be damaged and stopped working. The contact was locked out of the vehicle. She took her vehicle to a repair shop and was informed that when the chip and instrument panel lights turned off, that indicated that there was something wrong with the key. The current mileage was 78,783 and failure mileage was approximately 77,000.
I parked my car in my parents driveway at approx 11:pm at 2am my father woke me and told me my car was on fire in the driveway. When first seen the fire was inside the car in the front drivers corner by the time the fire department got there the car was totally engulfed total loss.
1. car would not start. Called aaa, jump started. Battery was fully charged. No apparent reason for not starting. No further problems. 2004 Honda Accord on April 3, 2007. 2. neighbor has 2006 Honda Accord. He started and was backing out of driveway and the car stalled half way onto street and would not start. Taken to dealer. No problem foundon April 9,2007. Could be dangerous if happened on road.
- Silver Spring, MD, USA
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(1) enough accumulated driving hours will cause the failure, per Honda service bulletin 04-027, and online information: The resistor in the audio unit over time will be heated up and fail due to a design defect, resistor" too close to the a heat sink. 2) cd/ac/fan unit display went dark. Consequently, the defroster cannot be reliably set, causing a driving hazard, especially in the wet pacific nw and at night. This is a safety issue, not just the cd display. (3) no one will contact dealership. This is a complaint against the vehicle, not to the dealership.
This is the third time this has happened. While driving my 2004 Honda Accord ex the light denoting the driving gear has come on. The 1st time it happened I took it to crown Honda dealership. They said the computer didn't record the act and couldn't find the problem. Today on the way to the crown dealership the same thing happened twice. Both times I stopped the car and restarted the car. On the second restart the light disappeared and drove fine. Hopefully this isn't automatic transmission going bad.
Radio/HVAC lighting has failed two times, repaired by Honda dealership. The unit is not working again. Unable to see HVAC/climate control/radio/clock when unit is out. I almost rear ended another vehicle trying to adjust heat (had to swerve into emergency lane and nearly landed in a ditch. Honda of America refuses to replace the unit despite unsuccessful attempts to repair it.
As I was pulling out of my parking spot at the local kmart, in my 2004 Honda Accord ex, I noticed another car backing out also. I applied my brake and put my car from reverse into drive to pull a little ways back into my parking space so I would not get into an accident, when suddenly and without warning (the blink of an eye) my car crashed into another vehicle. In shock, I pressed harder on the brake, but my car continued to accelerate and I could not stop it. I hit two other parked cars before the brakes finally stopped the car. Thank god it stopped as my car was heading toward the kmart store. One 85-year old lady was injured while in her car. The other two cars were empty. A lot of damage to 3 vehicles plus almost $7,000 damage to my Accord. After my car was repaired, I asked the Honda dealership to look at my car and they could find nothing wrong. I asked to have the cruise control disconnected as I have read that may be what causes "sudden acceleration accidents" and Honda refused saying if something went wrong they would be liable. This is a nightmare, just horrible, as I am being forced to drive my car and I am frightened another incident will occur. Something needs to be done!
Could not start car on 2 occasions months apart. Originally thought steering wheel was locked hard against switch. This time switch easily turned but car seemed to have dead battery. Both times no further indication of battery problems.
I had purchased my 2004 Honda Accord ex on 7-16-04 with 145 miles on it. Two days later I was attempting to accelerate and the car went dead, no power, steering or brakes. I hit the guard rail with my new car. It has about 202 miles on it. So far the dealer said this is the first time this has ever happened from other articles posted here, I see its not. Also on other sites, the end result is always Honda finds no problem. I am afraid to drive a car with 202 miles on it. If they choose to repair it. I hope not...
I had purchased my 2004 Honda Accord ex on 7-16-04 with 145 miles on it. Two days later I was attempting to accelerate and the car went dead. No power, steering or brakes. I hit the guide rails with my new car. It has about 202 miles on it. So far the dealer said this is the first time this has ever happened from other articles posted here, I see its not. Also on other sites. The end result is always Honda finds no problem. I am afraid to drive a car with 202 miles on it. If they choose to repair it. I hope not.
Purchased car with 10 miles on it. Failed to start upon leaving dealership. Apparently loose wire. Salesman wiggled with cable and car started. Every day since the purchase of car, I would have a false start requiring a second or even third try to start the car. 25 days later, 1200 miles later, the car died and was towed to the nearest Honda dealer. Apparently, the battery was not installed properly and all cables surrounding the battery was loose and the headlamp cover was loose also. There is clunk noise when you initially put the car in drive and was told by the dealer that this is normal noise. There is a metallic rub when depressing on the brake and there is loud brake noise also. Dealer said this was normal also, but I'm not so sure of this.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Huron, OH, USA