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 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
105,842 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.
On June 30, 2004, Honda's North America website released a statement about their voluntary recall to certain Honda & Acura automobiles. My 2004 V6 Honda Accord is mentioned on this recall. On 4/30/05, Honda dealership shows in my repair history report that the V6 automatic transmission second gear is inspected. The report says "inspect 2nd gear and install lubrication kit on transmission. Inspection show no problems". this clearly does not indicate that the repair was completed. Case in point, on other repairs made by the dealer, they will clearly state that repairs have been made by stating "performed tire rotation" or "replaced rear brake pads". on 3/19/11, I take the vehicle in for an oil change and the dealer recommends that the transmission fluid be replaced. This work is completed by the clear definition on the repair order form "drain and inspect transmission fluid, clean magnetic plug, replace drain plug seal, replace with new Honda transmission fuide. Inspect seals and trans for leaks. Performed trans fluid service". contrary to the 4/30/05 service report, the transmission fluid service was completed. At this time, shouldn't the inspection show wear and tear and cause of concern to the auto technician that the transmission will need to be replaced? this should be a safety flag that goes off to the dealer which was not notified in the history repair log or to myself. On 8/12/11, transmission locks up and car fails on the interchange of highway 270 and highway 40 ' two major highways in St. Louis. Have to pull off to side of the road and wait for aaa to tow the car to the dealership. The next day, the dealer quotes me a price of $5100 to replace the transmission. Still waiting to hear from my assigned Honda case manager for any assistance for this high quoted price. When contacting other auto technicians, the price quoted is 1/2 the cost.
I was driving 70 miles per hour on a busy freeway when the vehicle down shifted abruptly and drastically reduced in speed. It refused to shift into higher gears, randomly spiked in engine RPM, and resulted in a hazard due to quickly-approaching traffic from behind. The vehicle's speed had reduced to nearly 20 miles per hour in busy freeway traffic before I had successfully navigated the vehicle across 3 lanes and onto the shoulder. I turned the engine off and shifted the transmission into park. I turned the engine back on a few minutes later, and was able to get the transmission to shift and drive normally until the end of the off-ramp. Upon reaching the off-ramp's stop light, the transmission died again, and refused to accelerate the car. The engine was responding to gas pedal inputs as if it were in neutral, although the transmission was in drive. I waited for several traffic light cycles, unable to move the vehicle and amid impatient drivers' car horns from behind me. Thankfully, the car's transmission responded temporarily again, long enough to maneuver the vehicle into a nearby dealerships parking lot. We had to push it the last few feet into the parking spot. Here, the transmission had finally failed to the point that I could no longer shift it out of park. I called my insurance company to get a tow truck to tow the vehicle 15 miles back to my local Honda dealership. They diagnosed the issue as a transmission failure, which required a new transmission altogether. They were surprised by the relatively low mileage, but said it was a frequent problem likely due to a design flaw in the V6 automatic transmissions on these Accord. I was especially disappointed because I had just spent over a thousand dollars in maintenance costs at this same Honda dealership a week before, where I have consistently maintained my vehicle.
Transmission downshifted without warning into lowest gear causing the car to jerk and decelerate very rapidly, which resulted in lost control of the vehicle. After coming to a stop transmission would not engage, leaving the car disabled in the middle of the highway.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord ex. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the speed suddenly decreased to 15 mph and the contact lost control. The vehicle jumped the curb and hit a pedestrian who was injured. The dealer stated that the failure was caused by metal in the transmission fluid caused by broken gears. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 109,000.
When parking the car in a parking lot, as I was turning into the parking space the car jumped (went very fast forward and hit the wall in front of me) even though I had my foot on the brakes I felt I had no control of the car and the engine turned off on it's own. I also noticed it jumped gears, it was no longer on D but D3. This incident caused damage to the bumper of the car.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- St. Louis, MO, USA