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 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
79,590 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 January 2, 2004 we purchased a Honda Accord ex. The car is red in color. Total cost was $25,998.50. We have enjoyed this car since we purchased it and about 6 months ago we made the decision to replace the timing belt. That was on April 8, 2011 as the mileage neared 100,000. Since that time (probably in May 2011) we started to notice some peeling on the front above the windshield and also some around the rear window. It has gotten worse with each passing day. Had we known this was going to happen we would not have replaced the timing belt. We now have a Honda in great mechanical condition that looks awful. It seems that Honda when contacted blames the environment for these problems even though we don't see the cars made by other manufacturers having complaints about a paint peeling issue. Honda has changed its paint process to save money and now the consumer is going to suffer the cost of repair or a car that looks like a junker. We are very upset that this was not a recall by Honda. There are so many Honda owners with this problem and they have documented these problems online.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Toms River, NJ, USA