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.
6.4
fairly significant
Typical Repair Cost:
$300
Average Mileage:
38,950 miles
Total Complaints:
9 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
replace warped rotors with aftermarket rotors (5 reports)
not sure (3 reports)
bought new rotor from dealer and new brake pad (1 reports)
When car was first leased I thought I could feel a slight pulsing. As I began to put more mileage on the car it got progressively worse and finally had to change pads and rotors with aftermarket parts from Auto Warehouse.
On October 26, 2009, we took in my Honda Accord to the dealership and told them we were getting vibration in the front when applying brakes. They looked at them and told us it was nothing, but rotated the tires. We immediately noticed they were still vibrating and took them back and they said the rotors needed to be turned. We had that done and two days later felt the vibration again. We ended up taking them back and now they tell me I need rotors on all four wheels. When we questioned them about the short amount of time from when they said nothing was wrong they tried to say it was my driving habits. On hondaproblems.com I found out the Honda is having problems with brakes on their Accords and doing nothing about it. My dealer was very rude to me and believe me, he has lost me as a customer. Stay away from I-79 Honda in Pennsylvania.
Honda accords seem to have had brake problems for quite a long time, my 1991 accord had problems and my 2004 accord has the same problem with the brake rotors warping and premature brake pad wear out, other people I have talked to have the same problems but your honda dealer acts dumb and makes like it's something new, I have found that the only fix that works is to replace the brake rotors with aftermarket rotors and get some good ceramic brake pads from your local parts store instead of paying your honda dealer premium money for poor quality parts, this fix won't fix the problem but will extend the service time between brake service by double, the problem is the brake system is not adequate, both rotors and pads are not large enough for the weight of the accord, the accord is a great vehicle except for the brakes, but honda has to make some money in the service department.
My brake issue started at 3,000 miles. I noticed a deep groove in my driver side front rotor. I took the car back to the dealership and they said it was normal wear. I showed them the same groove on the passenger side front. They said I must have a rock stuck between the pads and the rotors. I told them the likelihood of two rocks getting stuck in the exact same place causing the exact same grooves was astronomical.
I began to notice at 15,000 miles, I would brake and my rear brakes would engage causing occupants to surge forward. The pedals would also vibrate(warped rotors). The dealership stated the ABS was engaging and the turned my rotors to alleviate the vibrations.
The rotors were turned 3 times.
my rear brake pads burned out at 36,000 miles. I change all of the brake pads on my car. The front pads were in very good condition, but I changed them anyway. i had a sqeaking noise from the rear brakes. i replaced the rotors with slotted rotors and now my brakes are ok.
During this time I had went to the dealership constantly. they never completely fixed any of my cars issues and after the warranty ran out they tried to charge me to fix the problems that couldn't be fixed under warranty. In Aug 2004 the staff was great when I purchased the car, now in May 2007 I'm just another dis-satisfied Honda owner. I will never deal with Bryan Honda in Fayetteville, NC again. This will be my last Honda product.
- T S.,
Fort Bragg, NC, US
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I have taken it to the dealer asking them to fix it and they tell me its just something called glazing. I asked the dealer, does your car make squeaking noises every time you come to a stop? Well mine does and it is not normal. My friend who actually knows about cars says it has to be a warped rotor. I have not yet received any helpful service yet. And Honda cars of Mesa tells me the same thing two different times, saying it's just glazing and charges me 50 dollars or more to inspect the brakes.
First of all, this is caused by uneven wear of the OEM rotor. When you brake firmly from more than 40 MPH, the car appears to shake. The Honda fix is to resurface the front rotors and give you new front brake pads, which is what I elected to do, but they would not warranty it. Brakes and rotors are only covered within the first 12000 miles if you read the fine print. This is buyer beware. From the online research I have done, I knew this problem would resurface again.
Guess what? After resurfacing the rotors, and replacing the brake pads at 17,500 miles, they're well on their way to being very warped again, and the shaking has set in at 37,000. I intend to go with aftermarket brakes and rotors all around just to solve the problem for good. This may not be a permanent solution for all owners, but it's the route I am going.
I currently have 50k miles on this car. Every 8-10k miles, my rotors are severely warped. I thought the problem was fixed after they turned the rotors the first time. However, every 8k miles (more noticeable sooner than that... maybe 1k-2k), the dealership has been turning my rotors or replacing them and the pads (when worn down).
At 42k miles, I told them I was tired of the same old problem. I knew the problem was predominately in the Rear brakes of my car because I could feel the shake in my butt as opposed to my steering wheel. I told them to NOT turn my front rotors and focus on the back. They did not want to fix this for free this time. They kept telling me that it was my "driving habits". Well, I'm not an aggressive driver, don't ride the brakes at all. I have owned many other cars whose brakes last over 60k miles without EVER having this problem. After speaking with their BBB representive, they relented and replaced my Rear rotors for free, but I had to pay for the pads. I told them I was fine with normal wear and tear, but I was not going to pay for a service when it was only fixing the SYMPTOM and not the root cause of the problem.
I just took my car in at 50k miles. Same problem as before... severe shake from the rear brakes (rotors warped again). They told me this was my last fix. I told them to check the slides, brake drag, rotor alignment etc. They said they could not find a problem.
I'm at the point where I feel this problem is more of a design issue with the rear brakes and maybe I only see it because I put a lot of miles on the car (22k/year). There are definitely others that experience this same problem from this car that I read about in other forums. I suspect the Honda PAD compound or defective cooling of the rotor is what is causing these failures. It wouldn't hurt if Honda put in a thicker rotor in the rear. The current rotor looks like something off of a bicycle. Nevertheless, in about 8k miles, I'm going to replace my brake rotors and bads with some aftermarket rotors in hopes that that finally fixes the problem.
What makes me believe the problem is more more with the PAD & Rotor cooling was from this article:
I hate this car, I filed a complaint with the BBB and have requested Honda take the car back, it now has 39000 miles on a 48000 lease and I feel like stopping my monthly payments and telling them to go to hell.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
When car was first leased I thought I could feel a slight pulsing. As I began to put more mileage on the car it got progressively worse and finally had to change pads and rotors with aftermarket parts from Auto Warehouse.
- lpetricone, Wayne, NJ, US