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.
Driving along 60mph and power to transmission suddenly lost. Coasted to stop and the side of road. Reverse nor drive worked. We had to call a tow truck and toed to Honda dealership 3 hours from home. Holiday weekend so had to call home for a ride home leaving car at dealership; dealership said transmission needed to be replaced and have now been out of a car for 7 days and must drive 3 hours back to get car now.
Transmission slippage and failure. Similar to what I have since read online about other Honda transmission problems and recalls. Honda quoted me $4,100 to replace transmission, less a discount of 20% or net of $3,280. I have impeccable service records and local dealership (where I bought car from) agreed that I could not have done any better with maintenance--all of which was performed at the local dealership. No previous problems and transmission slippage and failure was sudden (couple of days). Most recent transmission flush was at the Honda suggested mileage.
Transmission failed. One day it is working fine the next day per the Honda dealer the transmission is unrepairable and needs to be replaced. The cost to me was quoted at $4100. I purchased the vehicle new, there was a recall on the transmission, I wonder when Honda is going to notify me of the recall?
Preceding a high pitch whine the vehicles slipped out of gear at third gear. There were no prior warnings. Upon investigating other Honda transmission problems I found the same problem was found in other 2004 Honda Accord. However, I was told by Honda that my VIN # did not match the recall.
- Winter Springs, FL, USA
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Transmission with only 116K miles failed while driving approximately 50 mph. Car violently downshifted, which forced me to drive it to the side of the road. Vehicle has been meticulously maintained. I am original owner and was never notified of the recall tsb on the transmission, even though I never moved from my address which I purchased the car new from showcase Honda in phoenix, Arizona in July of 2004. I only discovered that there was a tsb recall on 2004 Honda Accord ex V6 transmissions after I researched info of the transmission failure. These transmissions, although 8 years old now are still on the road and may cause fatal accidents. Luckily for me, no cars were immediately behind me and I was able to safely steer my car off the road.
My wife had parked in a parking space with a very slight downward slope. There was another space ahead of her. She had been driving in a heavy rain. The car was operating normally. When she returned about 15 minutes later, the brake pedal felt hard. She started the engine and shifted into reverse. The car started coasting forward. The brakes remained hard and didn't stop the car. She stopped it by shifting to park, then turned off the engine. She repeated the attempt to back out of the space - same result. No error messages appeared. She called, and I drove to the scene. The rain had stopped. I felt the hardness of the brake pedal, although it felt more like a stiff spring than a non-power brake pedal to me. I pumped the springy pedal a few times; it didn't change. I started the engine, keeping my foot lightly on the brake. When the engine started, the stiffness immediately disappeared, the pedal felt normal, the transmission worked, and the car drove normally. I didn't get to experience the transmission problem. Later, I could find no problem with the brakes. The linkage has only a very slight amount of play, as it should. I depleted the vacuum supply by pumping the brakes with the engine off. The pedal felt very hard, unlike the springy feel in the parking lot. I have a phd in electrical engineering and a lot of car repair experience. This background leads me to conclude that it is extremely unlikely for the unrelated braking and transmission systems to fail simultaneously, and then recover simultaneously. There has to be another common cause, which leads me to suspect the computer system or possibly a sensor, particularly because this happened after driving in a heavy rain. The postulated failure mode is a compromised computer system that could partially activate the ABS system and also fail to operate the reverse solenoid valve in the transmission.
Automatic transmission failed while driving. Car was lurching and jumping in speed. Engine was racing. Ultimately, the transmission failed while driving. The car was left without propulsion in the middle of a busy highway. There are 100+ similar complaints on carcomplaints.com and the #1 most reported problem on the Honda Accord is the transmission. The '03 Accord is the #2 worst car listed on the side with 747 complaints (#1 problem) on the transmission. The '04 is #12 also with transmission problems being the #1 complaint. People driving the 2003 and 2004 Honda Accord have a nasty surprise waiting for them.
With no other signs or warnings, my transmission stopped working as I was driving down a busy street. The engine revs but the car does not engage. I was able to drift over to the side of the road, where it seemed to stay in first gear. After limping along for a few minutes, all it would do was rev. I coasted to the side of the road again and turned the car off. I started it up after a minute or two of freaking out, and it seemed to work normally again. After about a minute, the same symptoms returned. Had it towed to a mechanic and we drained and replaced the transmission fluid, which was dark. This solved the problem for another fifteen minutes, until it failed again. Now I am looking at 2-3K repair to have a Honda Accord that works. According to the internet, this is a common problem with the make and model of my car. A partial recall for 2004 Accord with transmission problems does not include my VIN#.
Transmission went without warning as I headed up a small hill about two miles from my house. My mechanic said the failure was related to my second gear and the entire transmission needs to be replaced.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. While stopped at a stop light, the contact attempted to accelerate and noticed the engine began to race excessively. The vehicle would also lunge forward when driving at approximately 40 mph. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostics. The technician stated to the contact that the transmission and motor mounts would have to be replaced. The failure mileage was 87,263... updated 04/11/12 updated 06/07/12 the front struts were replaced.
My 2004 Honda Accord V-6 transmission failed at about 100K miles. There was a previous transmission recall but apparently they did not do any repair during the recall because the transmission looked fine! sure enough, it failed after. I had to fix it and then called to request a reimbursement or partial reimbursement from Honda. They offered a $50 gift certificate! ps: The response from Honda customer service and Honda repair shop was that it was normal for a transmission to fail at 100K. So for all of you looking to buy a new car, be aware that it is normal (not) for a Honda to fail at 100K miles and as such expect to pay an additional $10-$15K to replace transmission several time over the life of your Honda. After more than 3 Honda, my next car will probably be a Toyota. Signed Honda just lost another customer.....
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact was driving 25 mph when the vehicle became resistant to acceleration. The vehicle was coasted to a stop and the contact shut the vehicle off. Upon restart, the contact was able to accelerate and drove the vehicle home. The contact then attempted to drive the vehicle on the following day, but the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 130,000.
While driving on a highway at 60 miles an hour the transmission failed and the car jerked and lurched down to 35 miles an hour. It was as if the automatic transmission went to neutral at 7000 RPM's then would not increase above 3rd gear. Transmission fluid was changes in accordance with the maintenance schedule. After that incident, the car was driving fine for two days. Brought the car for inspection at a Honda dealer who told me the transmission was fine. Four days later, while driving on the highway again traveling at 55-65 miles an hour the transmission gave out again. Except this time the car will not go into gear at all. It smelled as if my transmission was burning. I'm told the transmission failed and I need a new transmission. The failure occurred seemingly out of nowhere while traveling at high speeds. I was lucky the failure did not occur during rush hour traffic otherwise I could have been involved in a serious accident.
Entering on-ramp on freeway with speed of about 45mph and I hear my engine accelerate and see my RPM's increase rapidly, but my Honda Accord 2004 slows-down and transmission refuses to engage into another gear. Then transmission decides to work again. Honda Accord 2004 owners please be cautious and replace transmission asap to avoid any injury or death. This has been the same story for many Honda Accord 2004 owners....I entered my VIN number on the Honda website for recall-database and nothing resulted as a safety recall..... I will present my defective transmission to Honda again. Estimated cost to repair transmission is almost 5K!!!
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the vehicle would not accelerate from a stop. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer and the vehicle stalled while they were diagnosing the failure. The contact was informed that the transmission failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was 77,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the rpms increased rapidly. The vehicle shifted into different gears when depressing the brakes and also began jerking abnormally. The contact was able to pull over as the vehicle would no longer respond to the contact's acceleration attempts. The dealer was contacted and they advised the contact that they were unaware of the failure. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 81,900 and the current mileage was 90,900.
Transmission would become either completely disengaged or car would lunge forward as transmission slipped into low gear. Very scary with infant in back seat. Need to completely replace transmission at 80,000 miles. This is a safety issue and a very expensive one.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. While driving approximately 65 mph the vehicle began to suddenly decelerate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technicians were unable to duplicate the failure; however, he flushed the transmission fluid. The failure continued to occur. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 67,000.
I own a 2004 Honda Accord ex V6 coupe and the transmission is failing in 2nd gear. I was traveling up a hill and it failed and I was forced to pull over so I would not get rear ended. I have been told I need to replace my transmission, which costs $4,000-$5,000. In a recent January 11, 2011 article published by the NY times by [xxx], titled "Honda transmission problems seem to persist", a recall from 2004 is outlined which involves 2003-2004 Honda Accord V6 transmissions. The article also states "the N.H.T.S.a. web site has some 570 transmission complaints from owners of 2003-4 Accord. Many refer to problems with second gear". I have contacted Honda and have been told there is nothing they can do because my specific car was not part of the recall" I am livid. This is ridiculous. How can they not be held responsible for this"! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Columbia, MD, USA