2004 HONDA ACCORD Complaints

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN THE V6 MODEL (85000 MILES) SEEMED TO SLIP INTO NEUTRAL, AND ANY APPLICATION OF GAS RED-LINED THE ENGINE. HAD TO DODGE THROUGH HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SLOWING DOWN TO 25 MPH BEFORE THE GEARS WOULD ENGAGE. AFTER EXITING THE HIGHWAY, THE SAME PROBLEM PERSISTED AT LOWER SPEEDS; COMPLETE GEAR SLIPPING. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED IN D OR D3. AFTER LETTING THE CAR SIT TURNED OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES, IT SEEMS TO NOW BE FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, BUT THERE IS NO TELLING WHEN IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE TO DUE SUDDEN FAILURE OF A CRITICAL SYSTEM. HAD I BEEN LESS FORTUNATE ON THE HIGHWAY, I COULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. ALSO, IF THIS HAPPENED WHILE TURNING THROUGH OR CROSSING A BUSY INTERSECTION, I WOULD HAVE BEEN BROADSIDED. HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM HAS LOGGED OVER 100 OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS IN CARS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN RECALLED, IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED. THIS CAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED WITH THE OTHER 2004 ACCORD V6 MODELS. *JS

I HAVE NO LIGHTS IN THE TOP OF THE CAR; A/C LIGHTS NOR A/C WORK AND THE DOOR LIGHTS. I FEEL VERY UNSAFE NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE WHEN I GET IN OR OUT OF MY VEHICLE. THE SEAT BELT TIGHTENS UP WHETHER BRAKES ARE APPLIED OR NOT. NOT HAVING ANY DASH LIGHTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE SAFETY OF ANY VEHICLE. WANT ASSIST!!!!!!!!! *JS

THE LIGHTS ON THE RADIO AND AC PANNEL DO NOT WORK, THE LCD DOES NOT DISPLAY THE RADIO STATIONS OR THE AC TEMPERATURES. NOW I FIND THAT THE COST IS OVER $800.00. ALSO I REMEMBER THAT WHEN I BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR SERVICE, IN THE PAST, THE TECHNICIAN ASKED ME IF I HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE DASH LIGHT, SEEMS HE ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM OVER A YEAR AGO.

RADIO DISPLAY LIGHTS ARE OUT. THE PANEL IS COMPLETELY DARK. THE A/C-HEAT CONTROLS, CLOCK, RADIO ARE ALL DISPLAYED ON THIS PANEL. THIS WILL NOT LET ME LEAVE THE FAILED COMPONENTS IN THE BOX AND WON'T SEND THE MESSAGE....

MY WIFE HAD PARKED IN A PARKING SPACE WITH A VERY SLIGHT DOWNWARD SLOPE. THERE WAS ANOTHER SPACE AHEAD OF HER. SHE HAD BEEN DRIVING IN A HEAVY RAIN. THE CAR WAS OPERATING NORMALLY. WHEN SHE RETURNED ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER, THE BRAKE PEDAL FELT HARD. SHE STARTED THE ENGINE AND SHIFTED INTO REVERSE. THE CAR STARTED COASTING FORWARD. THE BRAKES REMAINED HARD AND DIDN'T STOP THE CAR. SHE STOPPED IT BY SHIFTING TO PARK, THEN TURNED OFF THE ENGINE. SHE REPEATED THE ATTEMPT TO BACK OUT OF THE SPACE - SAME RESULT. NO ERROR MESSAGES APPEARED. SHE CALLED, AND I DROVE TO THE SCENE. THE RAIN HAD STOPPED. I FELT THE HARDNESS OF THE BRAKE PEDAL, ALTHOUGH IT FELT MORE LIKE A STIFF SPRING THAN A NON-POWER BRAKE PEDAL TO ME. I PUMPED THE SPRINGY PEDAL A FEW TIMES; IT DIDN'T CHANGE. I STARTED THE ENGINE, KEEPING MY FOOT LIGHTLY ON THE BRAKE. WHEN THE ENGINE STARTED, THE STIFFNESS IMMEDIATELY DISAPPEARED, THE PEDAL FELT NORMAL, THE TRANSMISSION WORKED, AND THE CAR DROVE NORMALLY. I DIDN'T GET TO EXPERIENCE THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. LATER, I COULD FIND NO PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKES. THE LINKAGE HAS ONLY A VERY SLIGHT AMOUNT OF PLAY, AS IT SHOULD. I DEPLETED THE VACUUM SUPPLY BY PUMPING THE BRAKES WITH THE ENGINE OFF. THE PEDAL FELT VERY HARD, UNLIKE THE SPRINGY FEEL IN THE PARKING LOT. I HAVE A PHD IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND A LOT OF CAR REPAIR EXPERIENCE. THIS BACKGROUND LEADS ME TO CONCLUDE THAT IT IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY FOR THE UNRELATED BRAKING AND TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS TO FAIL SIMULTANEOUSLY, AND THEN RECOVER SIMULTANEOUSLY. THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER COMMON CAUSE, WHICH LEADS ME TO SUSPECT THE COMPUTER SYSTEM OR POSSIBLY A SENSOR, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE THIS HAPPENED AFTER DRIVING IN A HEAVY RAIN. THE POSTULATED FAILURE MODE IS A COMPROMISED COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT COULD PARTIALLY ACTIVATE THE ABS SYSTEM AND ALSO FAIL TO OPERATE THE REVERSE SOLENOID VALVE IN THE TRANSMISSION.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE DRIVING. CAR WAS LURCHING AND JUMPING IN SPEED. ENGINE WAS RACING. ULTIMATELY, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE DRIVING. THE CAR WAS LEFT WITHOUT PROPULSION IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY HIGHWAY. THERE ARE 100+ SIMILAR COMPLAINTS ON CARCOMPLAINTS.COM AND THE #1 MOST REPORTED PROBLEM ON THE HONDA ACCORD IS THE TRANSMISSION. THE '03 ACCORD IS THE #2 WORST CAR LISTED ON THE SIDE WITH 747 COMPLAINTS (#1 PROBLEM) ON THE TRANSMISSION. THE '04 IS #12 ALSO WITH TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS BEING THE #1 COMPLAINT. PEOPLE DRIVING THE 2003 AND 2004 HONDA ACCORD HAVE A NASTY SURPRISE WAITING FOR THEM. *TR

WITH NO OTHER SIGNS OR WARNINGS, MY TRANSMISSION STOPPED WORKING AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN A BUSY STREET. THE ENGINE REVS BUT THE CAR DOES NOT ENGAGE. I WAS ABLE TO DRIFT OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, WHERE IT SEEMED TO STAY IN FIRST GEAR. AFTER LIMPING ALONG FOR A FEW MINUTES, ALL IT WOULD DO WAS REV. I COASTED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AGAIN AND TURNED THE CAR OFF. I STARTED IT UP AFTER A MINUTE OR TWO OF FREAKING OUT, AND IT SEEMED TO WORK NORMALLY AGAIN. AFTER ABOUT A MINUTE, THE SAME SYMPTOMS RETURNED. HAD IT TOWED TO A MECHANIC AND WE DRAINED AND REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID, WHICH WAS DARK. THIS SOLVED THE PROBLEM FOR ANOTHER FIFTEEN MINUTES, UNTIL IT FAILED AGAIN. NOW I AM LOOKING AT 2-3K REPAIR TO HAVE A HONDA ACCORD THAT WORKS. ACCORDING TO THE INTERNET, THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE MAKE AND MODEL OF MY CAR. A PARTIAL RECALL FOR 2004 ACCORDS WITH TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS DOES NOT INCLUDE MY VIN#. *TR

THE LIGHTS ON THE RADIO AND AC PANNEL DO NOT WORK, THE LCD DOES NOT DISPLAY THE RADIO STATIONS OR THE AC TEMPERATURES. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 HONDA ACCORD EX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LIGHTING ON THE RADIO AND TEMPERTURE CONTROLS WOULD ILLUMINATE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED BY A DEALER NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 70,000.

THE FRONT INSTRUMENT PANEL (THE PANEL THAT CONTAINS THE BUTTONS TO TURN ON/OFF THE DEFROST, HEATER, AIR CONDITIONER, RADIO) FAILED TO ILLUMINATE IN APRIL OF 2009. AFTER GETTING IN MY CAR, PUTTING MY KEY IN THE IGNITION, AND TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS ON I NOTICED THAT THE PANEL DID NOT ILLUMINATE. TYPICALLY, THE PANEL ILLUMINATES AFTER TURNING ON THE HEADLIGHTS. THIS DAY, AFTER TURNING ON THE HEADLIGHTS THE PANEL DID NOT ILLUMINATE AND HAS NEVER THERE AFTER ILLUMINATED SINCE THAT DATE. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT TO BE AN ISSUE WITH A FUSE (SINCE IT IS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE) SO I SOUGHT THE OWNERS MANUAL TO SEE WHICH FUSE CONTROLLED THE PANEL. AFTER HAVING DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING THE FUSE LAYOUT I SEARCHED ONLINE FOR HELP AND THAT IS WHEN I DISCOVERED THAT MANY OTHER HONDA OWNERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM AND THAT IT IN FACT IS NOT A PROBLEM CAUSED BY A SIMPLE FUSE. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE AT NIGHT DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND THE DEFROST BUTTON ON THE PANEL WHEN IT IS NOT ILLUMINATED AND ON RAINY NIGHTS OR OTHER NIGHTS WHEN THE DEFROST IS NEEDED BE VERY OBSTRUCTIVE TO THE CLEAR VISIBILITY OF THE DRIVER OF THEY CAN NOT ACCESS THE DEFROST WHEN NEEDED. BECAUSE OF THIS SAFETY ISSUE IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT A RECALL IS ACTIVATED TO REPLACE AND FIX THE ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTIONS OF THE PANEL THAT I HAVE DETAILED. *TR