10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
89,384 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 Pilot electrical problems

electrical problem

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2004 Honda Pilot Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #27

Oct 012014

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 148,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Noticed an extreme hot spot on drivers side lower seat cushion when heated seats are on hi or lo. Spot is so hot that you cannot let it touch your pants without burning you. I have read many accounts of this same issue with other Honda owners that ultimately resulted in a fire. Now drivers side lower seat cushion heating element no longer works. Drivers side back and passenger side heating elements still work.

- Naperville, IL, USA

problem #26

Sep 072013

Pilot

  • 100,000 miles
When we turn on the seat warmer in the front passenger seat of our Honda Pilot 2004, we smell a strong odor of rubber or foam burning. Now our seat warmer will not work at all. We've stopped using the seat warmer due to concerns of a fire starting.

- Tigard, OR, USA

problem #25

Oct 152013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 72,000 miles
When the driver side heated seat is turned on the seat gets so hot that it literally burns the skin on anyone sitting in the seat. It happens on both low or high setting. The seat then begins to emit smoke.

- Hillsboro, OR, USA

problem #24

Jun 202014

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 170,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We were on another summer trip and the airbag warning light came on. This is the big red light to the far left of the panel. Calling Honda in franklin tn they had no idea what could happen while continuing to drive the vehicle. Calling another dealership they assured me that it was most likely a sensor and the airbags would simply not deploy. Honda as recalls now for bad airbags. 1- our 2004 does not fall into the recall period 2 - Honda should pay for any issue related to bad airbag technology regardless of how old the car is, just like they do with seat belts. If we would have been in a wreck during the time that light was on, the airbag would not have deployed. 3- any part of the airbag/sensor/ seatbelt system should not be merely covered under a limited warranty. It should be covered for the life of the car. This is a safety issue. If they cannot stand behind the safety of the car they need to get out of the business.

- Brentwood, TN, USA

problem #23

May 092011

Pilot 6-cyl

  • miles
I'm having trouble with my 2004 LX, no keyless remote on this model. The drivers side door lock quit working, the key goes in with difficulty and won't turn, won't unlock the door. Resorted to using the rear door lock to get in and now that lock has developed the same problem. Now have just the passenger side door to unlock from the outside. Now the ignition. Same problem. What the [xxx] is going on? information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Brentwood, CA, USA

problem #22

Jul 252013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 105,000 miles
On July 25,2013 around 8:00am am starting my 2004 Honda Pilot, to move my car to avoid parking tickets at 8:30am. After 5 minutes of warming the engine I decided to drive around to find a parking space to avoid a ticked.around 8:14am I found a parking space and the car is parked.later around 3:00pm I decided to go to my girlfriend house, I see the my car parked and a free parking space in front of my apartment. To avoid tickets the next day I moved the car. Around 3:02 the car is parked in front of my apartment. Around 9:50 pm am walking home and I see the hood of my car open.the engine was all burned including headlights there was no wire everything melt.neighbors where sitting outside as usual, they told me that it started around 3:30 and that small amount of smoke was coming out of the left side of the engine.fire department took like 15M !!!!to arrived.car had 105,000 miles. I wasn't using the car that often, the night before the fire I drove the car for 15 miles back and forward. My ensures don't cover fire. No more Honda thanks!!!

- Bronx, NY, USA

problem #21

Feb 142013

Pilot

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2004 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that she received notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 12V573000 (electrical system) and took the vehicle to the dealer for service. The dealer advised that they would not repair the vehicle because the shifter interlock did not need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired per the recall. The manufacturer was not notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. The current mileage was 113,000.

- Beaufort, SC, USA

problem #20

Mar 292013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 162,715 miles
The key was difficult to insert into the ignition. Once in, the key was then virtually impossible to remove. Furthermore will not turn as it is stuck in between off and accessory positions. Hours were spent jiggling, bringing a locksmith to make attempts at removing without success. The Honda Pilot had to be towed to dealership. This happened within 1 day of a serviced recall for the interlock lever which involves the ignition and the steering column shifter.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #19

Jul 122012

Pilot

  • 119,000 miles
Pilot rolled away while it was parked, I had key in my hand, it hit a concrete flower pot. Damaging my right fender bumper mirror.policeman got inside Pilot took key in and out of ignition several times, while it was in gear. I drove the car to Honda dealership told them what happened. They admitted it should not do that, but did nothing to help. After hearing of recall in Jan. I contacted Honda about the incident telling them they should fix my Pilot since it was there fault this accident happened. They had me send them information about what happened. The police report ect.they had me take the Pilot to dealership and leave it 5 hours. When Honda called me back a week later they refused to take responsibility for accident because the key does not come out of ignition when dealership had it, it does not do this all of the time, but it did happen in July 2012 long before I knew about recall and I have police report and witness to prove it did. My insurance has gone up because of accident plus I have to pay deductible, when this was not my fault. Honda has recall on Honda so how could they not be responsible" could you please help me with this"

- Peoria, IL, USA

problem #18

Sep 092008

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 68,197 miles
2004 Honda Pilot SUV 9/9/2008 front ac blower resistor replaced $230 (miles 68,197, also had 100 miles bumper to bumper warranty but was told by dealer it was not covered. 1/25/2013 (miles 134,000) front ac air mix motor replaced $501, rear ac/heat does not work was still in 100 mile warranty it has a bad blower resistor I still have not replaced it. To top it off when it rains my driver and now front passenger floor mats are getting wet from the underneath the protective mat (miles 105,000)! your attention to this above matter is most appreciated.

- Milton, DE, USA

problem #17

Jan 022013

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 106,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When turning on the driver's side seat warmer it got extremely hot. Recently it actually burned the seat foam and began to smoke. I will not use it anymore for fear of a fire. Thank you for looking into this issue.

- Reno, NV, USA

problem #16

Nov 012012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 39,000 miles
Driver seat heater gets extremely hot to the point that burns are possible. Afraid that a fire may occur so stopped using. There appears to be a widespread occurrence when searching the internet. No recall by Honda.

- Leawood, KS, USA

problem #15

Feb 152012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 180,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that while stopped in a parking space, the key was removed from the ignition and the contact noticed that she had not shifted the gear in park. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic stated that the brake switch would have to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 180,000. Updated 12/28/12 the consumer stated the brake light switch was replaced previously. Updated 01/09/13

- Semmes, AL, USA

problem #14

Nov 202012

Pilot

  • 106,000 miles
Drivers side back powered window does not work. It went down automatically and does not go up while driving automatically. Almost caused a car crash.

- Voorhees, NJ, USA

problem #13

Sep 122011

Pilot

  • 84,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the key came out of the ignition while the vehicle was in drive. The contact was in a rush and turned the vehicle off, but the vehicle was in drive. As a result of the failure, the vehicle rolled back into another vehicle. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the ignition was replaced. The dealer stated there was one cylinder ignition and it was not under warranty. The contact stated this was the second time failure occurred. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 84,000 and the current mileage was 96,000.

- Maywood, NJ, USA

problem #12

Jul 192012

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 111,297 miles
Apparently I did not place the car in park but was able to take the keys out of the ignition. Left the car and when I came back to the car, the car had rolled backward and crashed into bushes which stopped the car. This has happened to me twice. I now make sure I engage the parking brake to make sure the car does not roll.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

problem #11

Feb 082011

Pilot

  • 140,000 miles
Key could be removed without vehicle being in park. No damage occurred, but car did roll at times. Vehicle was repaired by dealer at a cost of $446.03, (10/05/11, 163538 miles). Dates and mileage of first occurrence are approximate.

- Collinsville, IL, USA

problem #10

Apr 202012

Pilot

  • 115,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that the key was able to be removed from the ignition without the vehicle being placed in the park position. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnose that the ignition needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 115,000 and the current mileage was 130,000.

- Lake Stevensons, WA, USA

problem #9

Nov 022011

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 110,000 miles
Drivers heated seat caught the seat on fire.

- Franklin, TN, USA

problem #8

Jul 052011

Pilot 6-cyl

  • 100,867 miles
On my 2004 Honda Pilot, the SRS (airbag) warning indicator light on the dashboard mysteriously remains on even though there have been no other changes to the vehicle. The Honda dealer wants $80 just to look at it! this is outrageous; it's clearly a failed component that should be covered under the safety portion of the vehicle's warrantee for the lifetime of the vehicle. There are many other Honda owners who have experienced this warning light and they report it is nearly always a failed passenger seat sensor that Honda is replacing under a tsb; however my local dealer claims to know nothing of the tsb and want me to pay for this.

- Benton City, WA, USA

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