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:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
2,388 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.
2004 Honda Accord-ex (cloth); bought new at Honda dealership. From the purchase date to present, problems with the following: Conditioner/heater: Water dripping from vents and window area; musty/moldy smell. *driver's seat: Only one-way power is up; extremely uncomfortable. *stereo/entertainment: Display goes on and off; cd's are burning hot when removed after playing for short time; whole area around system and panels are hot; sound is muffled from speakers. *front driver door: Latch not functioning properly; doesn't stay open when it should and closes on person in driver seat when getting in/out car. *brakes: Grinding. *trunk: After snow or rain and after brushing off snow from vehicle or after rain has stopped-- when trunk is open, water/snow gets into trunk (not designed well...needs better weather-stripping.)
Ever since the car was purchased I have had a problem with the front driver's seat (automatic seats) moving in a sudden stop. The dealership replaced the seat track which seemed to fix the problem for a few months but the problem has returned. The past two times I've taken the car in for routine maintenance I mentioned the seat feels loose again but they say there is nothing wrong with the seat and have done nothing further to correct the problem. I am very worried about what could happen in an accident.
I have had several instances in the past few month's where the seat has moved forward on it's own. This was caused from hard braking. Amount of movement was from a 1/4 to 1 inch. This is very much a serious safety issue. Honda is going to repair the tracks, but I felt a need to report this issue.
My driver and passenger power seats have forward movement when stopping. Noticed this a few weeks after buying the car. There is about a 1/2 inch movement in the seats.at first dealer tried to say this was normal. Dealer has replaced seat rails one time, fixed problem for about 2 weeks. Problem returned and got worse. I spoke with district rep he told dealer to replace seat rails again. Dealer had car for 1 week but did not replace rails. I have had the car back two more times for the same problem. Dealer refuses to replace seat, says that Honda knows about the problem and is working on a fix. Dearler adds that this fix could take up to 6 mo. To a year, just not sure when they will have a fix.. I am affraid in the event of an accident these seats could break loose. In my mind this is a serious safety issue.
- New Bern, NC, USA
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- Dublin, OH, USA