Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Honda Accord owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
2004 Honda Accord lx. I was in the right lane on ( queens / ny city) grand central parkway west ( after the exit from jackie robinson parkway, coming from brooklyn / nyc). A pickup truck in the left lane, slight behind me, skidded at least 3 times perpendicular to the road, hit me first on the left 2 doors and on the 2nd skid it hit me on my (rear) trunk ( left side). The rear windshield glass was shattered into 1000s of pieces. I had 4 air bags in the car. None of the air bags inflated. Lucky for me and my wife, we did not suffer any broken bones or cuts. The geico insurance co has declared my car as "totaled". The driver side outside mirror flew away. I think the air bags should have inflated as there was a lot of damage to the driver side door. The car now is in the possession of geico insurance company. I was the only owner since August 2004 ( brand new car). …
My daughter was driving my 2004 Honda Accord and was traveling at about 30 MPH. She had my 12 yr old in the passenger seat and got too close to the edge of a road that didn't have a shoulder. It pulled the tires off and she overcompensated swerving back onto the road. There was another car coming so she swerved back towards the ditch and hit a power pole head on. The airbag on drivers side deployed but slowly and with very little force at all. My daughter described it as falling out and barely inflating. However, the other daughter's airbag shot out hard and fast and caused her to break a bone in her rt dominant hand. She had to have surgery on that knuckle/finger using three pins. They had to eventually go back and do surgery to remove them since they buried under the skin. I was completely unaware that there was a recall on the airbags since I wasn't the original owner of the car.
My car got into a minor accident a neighborhood. The airbag on the passenger seat came out. Everyone including the police thought it was odd because there wasn't anyone sitting on the passenger seat. The driver's side on the other hand, the airbag did not come out. And the airbag light is off even though the passenger airbag came off. I have a question as to why that is? Also my seat belt became too tight and does not allow me room to moves.
I was in a parking garage and pulling into a parking spot. I was within 2 feet of the concrete wall and foot over break when my car accelerated with enough force to deploy the airbag and push the frame into the radiator. It happened so fast, I tried to brake but it was over within seconds. I could not have been going more than 2mph or less as I did not even have foot on gas.
I own a 2004 Honda Accord that has experience major paint chipping. The problem occurs across the entire body of the car: the hood, the roof, and the trunk are all peeling away. While the car is 10 years old, the paint would not be described as "normal wear and tear." Honda recently made an announcement about the paint problem under an extended warranty but only under specific VIN numbers. My issue is that my car clearly has a problem with the paint, a problem that was acknowledged by the company, but is not being amended by the company. I would just like to get it on record that there might be a problem with 2004 Honda accords and the paint used on them. Thank you for your time.
This is a really appalling situation regarding our Honda. The paint started peeling for no apparent reason and not it looks like a car with leprosy... I have already replaced the transmission to the tune of $3,500.00 with no help from Honda after selling my 2001 Ford f-150 and now they say they don't have any paint problems. I beg to differ. The quote I have to have it re-painted is $2,500.00. If Honda cares this little about their customer's experience, I will never own another one of these pieces of [redacted]...
Clear coat is peeling off on the roof and trunk. Dealer took pictures and came back two months later saying they would paint it for $2,200.00. This is a clearly documented manufacturer's defect. Two minutes on the internet will confirm that. Recently I paid over $2,000.00 for maintenance and repairs. At that time they reminded me what a good investment it was as the car would last another 100,000 miles. Now with the paint coming off, my investment is gone. This is not right. Please help me an 100's others.
I was heading north bound and the on coming vehicle was heading south bound he made a improper left turn in to the front of my car, the entire front of my car was damaged hood,windscreen,headlights,right and left front fender, radiator,ac condenser, horn and chassis frame. But my airbags did not deployed.
On January 2, 2004 we purchased a Honda Accord ex. The car is red in color. Total cost was $25,998.50. We have enjoyed this car since we purchased it and about 6 months ago we made the decision to replace the timing belt. That was on April 8, 2011 as the mileage neared 100,000. Since that time (probably in May 2011) we started to notice some peeling on the front above the windshield and also some around the rear window. It has gotten worse with each passing day. Had we known this was going to happen we would not have replaced the timing belt. We now have a Honda in great mechanical condition that looks awful. It seems that Honda when contacted blames the environment for these problems even though we don't see the cars made by other manufacturers having complaints about a paint peeling issue. …
2004 Honda Accord-ex (cloth); bought new at Honda dealership. From the purchase date to present, problems with the following: conditioner/heater: water dripping from vents and window area; musty/moldy smell. *driver's seat: only one-way power is up; extremely uncomfortable. *stereo/entertainment: display goes on and off; cd's are burning hot when removed after playing for short time; whole area around system and panels are hot; sound is muffled from speakers. *front driver door: latch not functioning properly; doesn't stay open when it should and closes on person in driver seat when getting in/out car. *brakes: grinding. *trunk: after snow or rain and after brushing off snow from vehicle or after rain has stopped-- when trunk is open, water/snow gets into trunk (not designed well...needs better weather-stripping.)
Body complaints in other Accord years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2004 Honda Accord?
NHTSA has 36 complaints about the body & structure of the 2004 Honda Accord, 4% of the model year's 1,018 complaints. The component named most often is body (23 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Honda Accord body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2004 Honda Accord, though it has 13 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2004 Honda Accord body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 100,000 miles, and 12% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 3 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.