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 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
105,273 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.
One day I was driving on the highway I all of a sudden lost power to acceleration. The rpm went up and I pulled over. Put it back in drive to a lower gear to make it home safe. Never had problems with my car until recently. It seems when I get up over 45mph is when the acceleration gives out.
I got off of work early in the morning I get in my 04 Honda Accord and start driving home which only takes about 10minutes, I'm super tired so I go inside and go to sleep rougly around 2 hours, I wake up suddenly to my car alarm going off which I always keep my vehicle locked when Its not visible from me, Anyways I grab my key and click the unlock and lock button but I still hear the alarm going off so I head outside of my home and I see my cars interior on fire and my neighbors already on the phone with 911as he was sitting outside 20 minutes prior, me running frantic back inside for a fire extinguisher first responders we're already there so I run back out the doors are still locked so the first responder climbs on top of my car and kicked the sunroof in and starts using his fire extinguisher which at this point the fire is practically in his face he had to get checked out after incident, there was a police report stating it was a open investigation that they aren't ruling anything out but the thing is the doors and windows were all locked. They did a full scan of the car and the fire started somewhere around drivers side stating it was drivers seat steering wheel/collum and or pedals there was no issues with my car I had it fully inspected/maintenance every 3 months checking levels/gage's every other week I had no warning lights on the dash when I parked to go inside. Also in the police report everything was so melted that they couldn't figure out the cause just a idea of where it started, but I have read about other people that have had this same issue with the same circumstances stating that it's the power steering hoses that can deteriorate prematurely, causing cracks and leaks. I hope that this doesn't happen to anyone else, I loved my car and unfortunately I had liability and my girlfriend and Dad had passed away withing a 5 month gap of this incident so I was extremely devastated from losing my car and didn't know what to do hopefully this helps someone.
Several months ago while driving on the freeway, the CEL came on and the engine revved high without any power to the wheels, as if the transmission automatically went into neutral. It eventually went back into gear. The car was subsequently towed back home and is not currently drivable since gears continue to slip.
I was having problems with my transmission and had a mechanic look at it and I was told there was a recall for 04 Honda accords, i was also told it was very dangerous to drive my car while my transmission wasn-??t engaging properly
Transmission seems to disengage after 20 minutes of driving and the worse bthong about it is it does it on the highway causing me to pull over sh*t the car off and wait 5 minutes start it back up put it in the gear and sometimes it doesn't go in the gear it won't go into reverse we'll go in the drive we'll go in the drive 3 won't go in the drive to or one and then I got to shut it off and wait again then I do it all over again and then I'll get driving again and after about 3 minutes 4 minutes it'll do it again and I have to pull over why is it doing this it does it when I'm stopped at a stoplight and when the light turns green I drive and I'll get stuck in the middle of an intersection it'll be in drive but the engine just continues to rev and nothing happens it's scary it's on safe this needs to be a recall this needs to be fixed by Honda s*** it should be obvious that somebody could get killed
It seems as if my transmission is failing. It jerks when it"S put in drive or reverse. On the highway or anytime that it"S in motion it jerks when changing gears and it gets stuck between 3 and 4 RPM.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated while shifting gears the vehicle stalled and hesitated to change gears making the vehicle lag with the check engine light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to peters Honda of nashua located at (300 amherst St, nashua, nh 03063) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 04V176000 (power train) however VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.
Was driving my daughter to school in the 2004 Honda Accord V6. Heard a loud pop and it just stopped and revved up in every gear and when I tried putting it in park it made a loud grinding noise. Had to have it towed home and it hasn't worked since!
I was driving down a city road and the vehicle started to accelerate on its own and it did not want to shift gear. I was able to apply brakes but the car continued to accelerate to very high rpms. I had no choice but to turn the shut off the car midway and pull-over. While stationary and car shut off on side of the road I tried to turn it back it and it automatically jumped to high RPM and was never able to change gears from park to drive or anything because the car would take off. After 45 minutes of letting the car figure itself out, it stopped revving too high RPM and was able to go back home. The issue has stopped but now when I start the car up and switch from park to drive the car has a delayed engagement. Also, now my steering wheel locks up ever once in a while and when making turns randomly. I have checked power steering and no leaks or any sign on a repair that needs to be completed.
When driving on the interstate for over an hour the transmission began slipping but once I began driving on hills the transmission was no longer catching and I could no longer drive the car. The electrical issue comes from the windows not responding immediately to me pressing them down and the lock button on the remote and the lock button on the car door do not lock.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. While attempting to accelerate, a loud sound was heard and the vehicle suddenly stalled and would not drive forward. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not notified. The failure mileage was 158,000. The VIN was invalid.
While our son was driving his 2004 Accord the transmission, without warning or any indication, went out and he lost power while going approximately 40mph. It is apparent with extensive research that I have done that transmissions in these vehicles have been a known problem and Honda corporate is unwilling to do anything to investigate what caused the issue. The vehicle has had regular maintenance done and all the paperwork for anything major being done. I do not understand how if you maintain a vehicle that something like this can occur without warning or no indications that is was about to go out.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked when attempting to accelerate out of first gear. The contact had to drive in the right lane to avoid being rear ended. The vehicle would eventually accelerate and drive normally; however, once the vehicle came to a stop, the failure would recur. Luther St. Cloud Honda (1500 hwy 23 West, waite park, mn 56387, (320) 281-4465) stated that there were no recalls and did not assist. The manufacturer was called, but the contact was placed on hold and then the call disconnected. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 175,000.
Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help me with this. I own a 2004 Honda Accord which has less than 84K miles. It recently very suddenly had an issue with the transmission while on the highway. Now, a mechanic has determined it must be replaced. I think I found an applicable recall, recall NHTSA id number: 04V176000 Honda/automatic transmission. I looked up the VIN number in your lookup tool, but it did not show up. However, I think this is because the car and/or recall is over 15 years old. I believe I have found documents on your site that show that the VIN falls within the possibly effected vehicles. In this document: Https://static.NHTSA.gov/ODI/rcl/2004/rcdnn-04V176-4295.pdf - there is a section that describes my vehicle - Honda Accord 4D V6, certain 2004 model year - 1hgcm665[xxx] ' 1hgcm668[xxx]. my vehicle has VIN number 1hgcm66554A[xxx]. I believe I fall within this window. Would anyone be able to verify this for me? when I purchased the car, used, directly from the dealership (huntington Honda, about 4 years ago), this recall was not disclosed to me. I feel that if there was an unrepaired open recall (which I believe would have still been open at the time I purchased the vehicle), it should have been disclosed, is that correct" if it was not disclosed, I feel that is unjust - do I have any grounds or rights for them to repair the transmission" I appreciate any help you can offer. Sincerely, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
While driving on 787 in albany N.Y. my 2004 Honda Accord locked up in the front end and seemed to slam back into drive I had all of my children and my husband in the car at the time of the incident we all were jerked forward due to the sudden lock up we were able to get it home and realized that transmission fluid was pouring out we inspected ourselves and took the transmission pan off to find what appeared to be thick metal chunks/gears inside my transmission pan and now will not hold fluid. Luckily no one was hurt but this could have potentially been deadly.
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Accord. While driving 65 mph, the gear shift failed and shifted into first gear without warning. The contact was able to pull over and restart the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing the same failure as listed in NHTSA campaign number: 04V176000 (power train). The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
While pulling out into traffic transmission slipping very bad almost cause rear end collision. Now slips in all gears. All maintenance work done as required but appears transmission has failed. Car has been taken care of very well and now has 150K, but still this is a shock to have this happen to Honda and I see all over the internet Honda transmission issues
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Greenville, SC, USA