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:
29 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
27 / 1
Average Mileage:
78,272 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.
This vehicle was purchased used- how do I know it wasn't originally from a "known humid state"" and what about cars that might have been exposed to superstorm sandy? this sounds like General Motors and Toyota when they claimed "driver error". if humidity is a factor, it's a factor- is Honda saying we don't get humidity in New York"
I was traveling about 30 mph and a animal ran out in front of me. I swerved and sideswiped a tree and hit a tree on passenger side. The air bag came out on drivers side giving me 3rd degree burns on my hand. I did not suffer any other injuries. I cant believe how bad I the airbag had burned me.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where it was found that the driver's seat position sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number 07V001000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 143,550.
Over the past couple of months the red airbag light would sometimes stay on while driving. Called local Honda dealer who said my 2004 Accord wasn't recalled for this issue based on my Accord's VIN. I researched airbag issue & saw other Honda had been recalled. I have seen on nhsta site that many other 2004 Accord owners have had an issue with airbag light staying on. This means the airbag will not work in an accident! it is a serious safety issue. I was concerned about my safety & needed my car inspected. My car failed inspection because of the airbag problem (code 61-10). I had seat removed & new seat buckle switch installed. This cost $225.61 to fix so my car would pass inspection. Honda recalled some cars for the airbag issue in 2007. Honda needs to look into this & fix this & reimburse those of us who have fixed it.
I was driving my car and my transmission started slipping. I keep up with all of the scheduled maintenance for this car. I got the transmission rebuilt and now less then 3 months later the car is starting to jerk again and the drive light on the dash is starting to blink. I also have this error code that won't go away saying there is something wrong with the fuel tank. I got the gas knob changed and the error goes away but when you hook the computer up to it, the code still comes up. The air bag light also comes on and off when it wants to.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the air bag light warning illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 51,000. Updated 08/20/13 the consumer stated when he put his seat belt on, the air bag light went out. While the vehicle was running, he un-latched the seat belt, the air bag light illuminated and stayed on, after he put the seat belt on. Updated 08/22/13
Airbag light started coming on intermittently. Now it's coming on and staying on every time I drive. It comes on with all the other lights during the start/self-test, then goes out, comes back on and stays on.
I was pulling into a parking space in a parking garage. When I was about 3/4 of the way into the parking space, I put my foot on the brake. Apparently my foot slipped or I had put it on the gas pedal instead of the brake. My car surged into the concrete wall about 5 feet in front of me as I pushed harder on the gas pedal because I thought I was pushing the brake. None of my 8 airbags went off and I do not believe that my seat belt tightened its tension at impact. I suffered a shattered patella, 3 broken toes, a bruised sternum and a black eye. If the airbags and seat belts had worked properly I believe my injuries would be less severe as they would have kept me from flying forward at impact. The impact was strong enough to crack the transmission case, break one engine mount, break the air conditioner, destroy the bumper and hood and cause repairable damage to the quarter panels. Your crash test reports and Honda's safety information do not seem true to me due to my personal experience.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 mph, he swerved and crashed into a ditch in order to avoid a crash with another vehicle who was merging into his lane. The contact crashed into four trees but the air bags did not deploy. The contact was not injured. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The approximate failure mileage was 129,564.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the air bags light randomly came on and off. The contact stated that the light can came on and off whenever the seat belt was engaged or someone would sit in the passenger seat. The contact found NHTSA recall campaign id number: 07V001000 (air bags) and took the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the seat position sensor sub-harness needed to be replaced. The dealer advised the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was unknown. The current mileage was 51,000.
I have noticed the air bag light comes on, took it to Honda dealership and they told me that the code is 61-10. They would order the seat belt part (special order). I was under the impression that seat belts would be covered by the warranty for the life of the car. Dealers told me "it's electrical problem in the seat belt, not mechanical" and Honda does not cover this even the language in the warranty does not express this at all. I was very disappointed how Honda would not honor the warranty. Wondering how they received high marks for customer relations. The only recourse I have is spend the $260 and never, never buy another Honda again !
My 2004 Honda Accord exl generated a seat position sensor SRS code at 85,000 miles. SRS light was continuously on. I found the NHTSA campaign # 07V001000 recall for the exact same issue on the 2004 Accord, but my VIN was not included. The Honda dealer would not cover the cost of the repair as a result, but was fully aware of this "common" issue. They indicated I should not have the issue again once fixed. I also contacted Honda and notified them of the extreme safety-related issue, but they refused to cover the cost of the repair. Now 4 years later at 155,000 miles, the SRS light is once again on and the code indicates the same seat position sensor issue. I contacted Honda once again and raised the issue. I unfortunately received no compensation or understanding for the repair. I stressed the fact that this is a critical safety-related problem and Honda should take the matter more seriously.
There are plenty of online posts regarding the SRS light intermittently coming on in Honda vehicles. Dealership stated that problem was due to a faulty sensor inside the seat belt buckle. Considering the magnitude of reports, there should've been a recalled issued. Although the new car warranty booklet clearly states on page 31 that there is lifetime coverage of any seat belt component "that fails to function properly during normal use, " Honda has refused to honor it per conversation w/[xxx] @ 800-999-1009 on 1/23/13 @ approximately 9:05am et. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Urgent - safety issues recently my air bag light indicator came on when I started the engine and it will stay on until I turn off the engine. This seem to be happen more frequently but it does not happen all the time. Further search on the web this seem to be a common problems for 2004 Honda Accord, below are steps that I had tried. 1/ if the light came on when the engine start, turn off the engine and start again sometimes the light goes off sometimes it does not. 2/ if the light came on when the engine start, turn off the engine then buckle the seatbelt and start, this seem to turn off the airbag light. 3/ with the engine running while in part, un-buckle the seatbelt sometimes the airbag light come on but not the seatbelt light. Other time seatbelt light on and airbag light off ( I think this is how it should be) searching through NHTSA website I found one really that might related to this on 2007 (NHTSA campaign # 07V001000) airbag frontal sensor/control module but did not receive any recall. Please help to look into this as the airbag might not work when there is an accident.
To whom it may concern: There is a huge safety problem with the passenger air bag sensor in my car. The passenger seat airbag indicator lights comes on intermittently when no items are in the seat, and occasionally comes when items are in the seat. The seat definitely has a short in it and I am concerned about it not working properly if I am involved in an accident. ## VIN passed ##
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. While parked, the contact noticed that the air bag warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number: 07V001000 (air bags:frontal:sensor/control module) that could have been related to the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the passenger side air bags deployed. The contact mentioned that there was no accident or impact that caused the deployment. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified and stated that since the vehicle was not included on any recalls they would not be offering any further assistance. The failure mileage was 155,000.
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