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:
$2,200
Average Mileage:
104,150 miles
Total Complaints:
19 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
not sure (10 reports)
complete overhaul of the transmission and torque converter (4 reports)
Bought this car on Honda reputation,big mistake not checking reported problems!! Have had engine replaced, 7,000 miles later tranny acting up. Reading all other complaints and Honda's reaction am not going to spend another dime and just going to write it off. Will not ever buy another Honda and will definitely never recommend purchase of one to anyone. Buyer beware!
Driving on the freeway yesterday with my 3 year old granddaughter going approximately 70 miles per hour when suddenly the car jerks and will no long respond to acceleration. It was extremely nerve wrecking and more so with my granddaughter in the back seat. The engine remained on, the engine light went on as well as the TCS and the display light on "D" was blinking. I managed to pulled over and waited. While the car cooled I looked for a mechanic to get the car to for repair. He hooked it up to a computer and told me it was the transmission. They were closing (it was 4:30 on a Saturday) so I decided to wing it, my granddaughter and I said a prayer and made it home fearing the whole time it would happen again, I drove very slowly. Today, Sunday was on-line looking for a good transmission repair facility when I came across this website. Note, this transmission was repaired about 2 years ago at a cost of $850.
I bought this Honda 6 years ago with 52000 miles/one owner. It's been really reliable, very smooth ride, and I love the power of the V6! Two weeks ago I left the keys on the sear, ran back into my house and when I came back ALL the locks were locked! That cost me time and $65. The next day I turned on my headlights while going 50 mph and the car lurched forward. I tested it again and it lurched a 2nd time. A few days later I slowed down looking for a parking spot and the engine completely shut down. It happened again again today / at a stoplight. My dealer checked the car and did not find source of either problem. If course he found another issue, leaking steering fluid/got that fixed $600. I am so frustrated..I can feel the transmission lagging at multiple speeds now. Any ideas??
There has been a lot of complaints related to transmission on 2004 honda Accord V6. I started getting CEL and TCS Lights on. After shutting off engine for few minutes, TCS light went away but CEL continued for few days.
Visited Local Honda Dealer and they suggested for transmission assembly repair costing 6k.
Called America's Honda but they said vehicle is not under any recall and cannot help.
Never going to be a Honda customer again and will pass the same feedback to others..
I bought the Accord EX V6 last year and it ran perfectly for almost 8 months with no issues. All issues started coming when it touched 110K miles. Initially it had brake issues which cost me around $600 and then steering fluid and steering hose issues which caused to generate smoke under the hood. It cost another $1k to fix the issues. Now the transmission is jerking which will again cost me around $3k.
I am fed up with this car. Honda lost their credibility big time. When I call the Honda customer service, they simply say that the car is out of warranty. It's annoying that they manufacture all these cars with defects and can't take responsibility for it. No Honda again for life!!!!!!!!
- Vinod A.,
Alpharetta, GA, US
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2004 honda accord v-6: this vehicle had its transmission replaced with a remanufactured one at a honda dealership at 93000 miles. now at 155000 miles, it is leaking transmission fluid on the driver side of axle. presumably the bearing is out. with 155k miles, two transmissions, it might not be just a random event.
Started having transmission problem within the first year of purchasing the v6 accord. Battery and rear brake lights constantly fail and need to be replaced almost 2 times a year (brake lights) and battery within 2 years. Had 3 to 4 inches of rain water flood the passenger side of the car in the first year. Engine started to jerk within the first 1 year. Honda dealership has done all maintenance and services, however, they have not accurately documented my service complaints and this is not by error, it is by purpose because my documents say otherwise and the reasons why I needed repair services (and so many within the first 2 years). This is not my first honda, however, it is my last. It would be a coincidence if only a few complaints about these issues. I have inquired if other honda accord v6 owners are or have experienced same or similar problem and most do. I asked a 2008 accord owner and she stated that she had taken her accord v6 into the dealership because the engine is jerking. (Third party) but hey, I asked people because it is a shame to invest so much time and money into a defective auto and then have the honda dealership tell ya "it's gonna cost 4k to 5k to replace the transmission on an auto that has been paid off.
FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW, A BRIEF VIBRATION AND "RATCHET" NOISE OCCURS BETWEEN 20-35+ MPH. BASED ON WHAT I AM SEEING IN THE NUMBER AND TYPES OF COMPLAINTS THAT ARE POSTED ON THIS WEB SITE, I AM LED TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE TORQUE CONVERTER. MY VERY RELIABLE MECHANIC CANNOT PINPOINT THE PROBLEM BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN EVERY TIME.
I AGREE WITH THE MANY OUT THERE THAT HONDA SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THIS PROBLEM WITH MY 2004 HONDA ACCORD V6 THAT HAS ONLY 91,000 MILES! AT LEAST, OWN UP TO THE PROBLEM AND OFFER SOME GOOD FAITH REDUCTION IN THE REPAIR COSTS!
Over a year ago my 2004 Honda Accord EX V6 became a little jerky/rough when driving in town. This was around 100K miles. This concerned me since I've been so impressed with the smooth ride of this car. I took it to my nearby mechanic, and he found no problems/no codes. It persisted, so I took it to the dealer with the same result. For the past few months I've heard a noise and shuddering feeling around 30 to 40 miles an hour at mild load. If I sped up or stopped accelerating, it stopped. Back to the dealer, and again they told me they didn't find anything wrong, though the problem became apparent after driving just a few minutes. Two weeks ago I went for a drive with a service tech who immediately told me it sounded like a torque converter problem, so it went in the shop. Their diagnosis was torque converter that's causing the transmission to act up, and they told me it would cost $5500 to replace both. The tech spoke to Honda, and they wouldn't consider a goodwill reduction in cost of repair. The car has 116,000 miles on it. I bought it new and am the only driver. I am meticulous about maintenance. This is my 7th Honda, and it's probably my last. The dealer and Honda are denying transmission problems with their cars, but I'm reading otherwise.
I wouldn't recommend buying a Honda for two reasons. A formerly reliable car maker is making inferior products, and they are denying a problem and not backing their product. And it's an expensive one, this would cost me almost as much as I could sell the car for if I had them do the repair. Buyer beware.
When the vehicle is in drive the car has stalled, it shakes and it at times feels like it is going to turn off. When air conditioner is on; the idle on the car goes up, down idling; accelerates on its own, jerking without increase of the accelerator. Car is unpredictable when driving. Frequently when on the highway as driving and you increase the accelerate that does not change the speed of the car at times it decreases which becomes very dangerous while on the highway having avoid the highway needing to drive via local streets only.
Transmission started jerking and I went to this website before taking the car into the dealer. I called American Honda and they gave me a case # and they have indicated someone from their office will be contacting me to discuss possible compensation. The Service Adviser has already told me Honda will cover 40% of the transmission cost IF I also replace 3 motor mounts that are "shot". I've called American Honda back and was told to wait for one of them to contact me.
I'm thinking of purchasing an American car for the first time in 15 years. I've had three Honda's but sold them prior to having any issues. I guess that I kept this one just to long.
If I find out that the torque converter on this vehicle is bad, then I am certain to be buying American in the very near future.
Update from Feb 14, 2011: Replaced torque converter, linior sol pack, single linior, 4 shift sol and replace all soft seals and filter. Total price $3,200.00 Thanks Honda
my honda has been giving me issues since the first few months i bought it. i kept having electrical problems (i.e windows won't work or work by themselves, car wont start while only 2 months old). dealer kept telling me they found no problems. around 69,000 miles my transmission started acting up. when i reach 3000rpm or going uphill it starts jerking really bad and will not go faster than 40mph which is a big problem when im on the freeway.
9 months later...replaced transmission in Aug 09 92,300 miles, May 29 driving to Houston from San Antonio and my car starts jerking really hard, the engine light comes on, my daughter was sleep and the jerking startled and woke her up, I have 30 miles to go to get to destination...Honda has 120,300 miles on it now...take it to get looked at and again the damn transmission. Either JETSO Transmission didn't fix it in Aug 09 and ripped me off and/or the Honda is a Lemon! Just spent another $3200 to get it fixed, I will be getting rid of it shortly and I'll never buy another HONDA in my life! After further research--turns out Honda Accord went to torque converters and to sum it up--it sucks--so the 02 Honda Accords and newer suck!
At 92,300 miles I had to replace the transmission in my 2004 Honda Accord EX V6. It gave little warning of the transmission going out, no engine light came on and it only started shifting gears like I was driving a stick/manual 1 mile prior to it stopping, good thing I was at a red light. I had 3 girls in the car with me--stranded. It sucked! Took it to Honda and they wanted to charge me $6000 so of course I went to a local company called JETSO Transmission in Tampa, FL and I got it fixed for $2,400.
Noticed about two months ago that the transmission in my 2004 Accord was jerking severly around 35 mph uphill as well as on level terrain. First time I took it to Honda dealer to be looked at, they told me that one rear and one front motor mount was "stressing" and reccomended replacing them soon before they completely broke. So my extended warranty company paid to have them replaced ( $600.00 ). Then, about 2 weeks later my malfunction indicator lamp came on and the jerking that I had once felt before the mounts were replaced had returned( although not as severe this time). I took it to a local auto parts store and had the light tested. The response was that my co2 sensor was bad and needed replacing. I did not believe that this was a mere coincidence. So I made an appointment with my Honda dealer again to have the car looked at for the second time. This time after looking at the car, they told me that the torque converter was bad, and needed replacing and that had i driven it much longer, the entire transmission would have shut down on me. Wow! If the people had just checked the tranny the first time I came in this would not have been an issue.
So, the extended warrany company then paid $3,000 to have this part replaced. I am now about a month out from all of this service to my car, and am happy to report that it is running smoothly. But still am wondering.. why would the transmission be going bad in a car with such few miles driven? This is a question only the "experts" at Honda can anwer.
I have been the proud owner of 2 Honda accords and because of the faith I had in my accords I recently purchased a 3rd from a private owner. The car is a well maintained 2004 Honda Accord 3.0 V with 51,800+ miles. I have only driven the car approximately 500 miles, but today while driving my engine light came on, the car started jerking, and the RPMs raced to 4000. I took it the car straight to the shop to have it evaluated and it was determined to be 1 of 3 diagnoses, all pointing to the transmission. The mechanic recommends flushing the tranny to see if that would solve the problem, but after reading similar complaints transmission list on AutoBeef I am not so sure flushing the tranny will solve my problem. f the tranny flush does not work I plan on talking to a dealer to see if we can work something out, if not I'll join my complaint with everyone else in a class action suit. Lets fight this together.
My car start jerking whenever i switch gear to 4th and 5th. I brought it up to my mechanic who said that it was transmission problem. Since I thought it was a fuel injection issue, i thought he was joking, so i never fix it. The problem's getting worse and i googled the issue and found that there are more than 100 complaints with similar issue for Accord 2002. Is there anyway we can make Honda pay for the fix? Probably sue them and force their hand so they can make better quality transmission in the future? Does anybody knows consumer rights lawyer that can help me do that?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Bought this car on Honda reputation,big mistake not checking reported problems!! Have had engine replaced, 7,000 miles later tranny acting up. Reading all other complaints and Honda's reaction am not going to spend another dime and just going to write it off. Will not ever buy another Honda and will definitely never recommend purchase of one to anyone. Buyer beware!
- Harold H., Kingston, US