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.
8.0
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
No data
Average Mileage:
78,000 miles
Total Complaints:
1 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
the fix is a new circuit board for $185 (1 reports)
This is different than the display blackout - that happened and was fixed under the extended warranty. As explained to me by a tech, a diode was placed to close to a heat sink and failed.
This is the bottom row of LED's on the heater control not illuminating meaning that I have to fish around in the dark at night to control the heater. What upsets me about this is that this is an engineering/design failure on Honda's part and I should not be responsible for Honda not having a solid design in the first place. The whole idea of integrating the radio and the heater seems to put more value on saving money during the manufacturing process than maintainability and sustainability. $185 do make four little LED's glow is preposterous and beneath Honda's reputation of superior and thoughtful engineering.
I am more willing to live without the panel lights than I am paying the money and we can all let passengers in my car observe what has become of Honda engineering.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
This is different than the display blackout - that happened and was fixed under the extended warranty. As explained to me by a tech, a diode was placed to close to a heat sink and failed.
This is the bottom row of LED's on the heater control not illuminating meaning that I have to fish around in the dark at night to control the heater. What upsets me about this is that this is an engineering/design failure on Honda's part and I should not be responsible for Honda not having a solid design in the first place. The whole idea of integrating the radio and the heater seems to put more value on saving money during the manufacturing process than maintainability and sustainability. $185 do make four little LED's glow is preposterous and beneath Honda's reputation of superior and thoughtful engineering.
I am more willing to live without the panel lights than I am paying the money and we can all let passengers in my car observe what has become of Honda engineering.
- Jon P., Seattle, WA, US