Most common 2004 Honda Civic problems
Share of the 350 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Honda Civic complaints by model year
Best Civic years: 2011, 2021, 2014. Years to avoid: 2022, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2017. Compare all years →
2004 Honda Civic recalls (10)
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2012 Honda Accord and Pilot, 2010 Accord Crosstour, 2001-2011 Civic, 2002-2011 CR-V, 2003-2004, 2006-2008 and 2011 Element, 2007 and 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2012 Insight, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2012 Ridgeline vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began June 22, 2018.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic vehicles manufactured March 21, 2000, to January 20, 2005, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX vehicles manufactured June 14, 2000, to August 19, 2004, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid vehicles manufactured February 24, 2002, to January 18, 2005, 2003-2007…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Show 4 more recalls
Air bags
American Honda Motor Co. (Honda) is recalling certain model year 2001-2005 Honda Civic, 2003-2004 Civic CNG and Element, 2002-2005 CR-V, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2005 Accord, Pilot, Civic Hybrid, and Acura MDX, 2005 Acura RL and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 26, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
Air bags
American Honda Motor Company, Inc.'s (Honda) is conducting a limited regional recall for certain model year 2003-2005 Accord, Civic, CR-V, Pilot and Acura MDX, model year 2003-2004 Odyssey and Element, and model year 2005 Acura RL, and 2006 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in California, and equipped…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflators in all affected vehicles, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during August 2014. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
Fuel system, other › Storage › Tank assembly
On certain compressed natural gas (cng) vehicles, in the event of a severe interior fire in the area of the rear seat, the cng tank May be heated unevenly, preventing the pressure relief device from venting the contents of the tank as designed.
Remedy: Dealers will install a heat insulator material to the rear seat back. An interim owner letter was mailed to owners beginning November 26, 2007.
Seat belts › Front › Anchorage
On certain passenger vehicles, some front seat belt anchors May have been installed with an incorrect washer, which could restrict anchor movement. As a result, the seat belt May be improperly positioned for certain occupants.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the front seat belt anchors for restricted movement. If an anchor does not rotate freely, the dealer will replace the washer with a countermeasure washer. The recall began on November 24, 2004.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 3 possible defects involving the 2004 Honda Civic:
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited.
Air Bag Inflator Rupture
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag…
What 2004 Honda Civic owners say
Air bags all 133 →
The air bag failed to deploy during the vehicular collision on Jan.27, 2022 at the intersection in a city in Virginia. The HONDA Civic LX 2004 was hit by another vehicle on the driver side; the air bag on the passenger side deployed BUT NOT THE AIR BAG ON THE DRIVER SIDE. The driver suffered head injury (hematoma and cuts on scalp) & lumbar fracture and has to be treated in ER and was hospitalized for a few days. The injured driver also cannot go back to work until completely healed and still undergoing treatment. The car was moved from the towing service company shop to the storage facility of USAA (as of this writing, the vehicle is still there). In the police report, in the box for "Airbag Deployed", the officer encircled YES but did NOT specify it was for the passenger side ONLY. The insurance company declared the car NOT REPAIRABLE based on their inspections.
I got into an accident today and airbag inflator that was replaced due to a recall never deployed upon impact causing me to slam into my steering wheel with my head. Officer looked in car and realized airbag never deployed. I drove car home. Now waiting for hopefully someone to give me an answer to why my airbag did not deploy?
Transmission & drivetrain all 56 →
I have a 2004 Honda Civic ex. Driving to glendale (1 hour from where I live) in the city I started noticing the transmission was jerking. Shortly after the engine light came on. Going up a hill my transmission wasn't working anymore and was revving without going into gear. I was in motion on a hill on a very tight road where only 1 car can pass at a time. And cars were parked on the side of the street. I almost crashed into the parked cars because I could't control the jerking of the car and the transmission slipping. I had cars coming towards me and had the car stalled on the road and had to block the traffic for 30 min before my friends could come and help me move the car. There was little amount of space and parking and had to push the car for a while before finding a parking spot. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Honda Civic. The contact stated that while driving, the transmission and check engine warning lights illuminated and the vehicle started to shake and independently decelerate. Additionally, while accelerating the vehicle was skipping gears. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed that the transmission failure was due to a faulty CVT skipping or an EGR valve and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 85,000.
Electrical system all 32 →
My 04 Civic wiring almost set my car completely on fire. The whole electrical harnesses where melted the car without warning started blowing smoke out of the air vents, I pulled over and the car was thick with smoke. The wires under the hood and inside the car all the way to the trunk were all melted. I towed the car to the dealer and they had to replace all the eletrical and sensors in the whole car. It cost over $3100. To replace everything, the car somtimes wont start and the computer has to be reset to start also the air bag light is now on., the dealer said every electrical component on the car might need to be replaced, computer etc. But it will cost about $4000+ dollars and its possible that the air bag will not deploy in an accident., 2004 Honda civics are unsafe to drive., driving Honda civics are dangerous and no one should buy them.
My wife was driving my Honda Civic lx, 2004 . We have been using this car since last 6 year without any problem. On nov. 1st we were driving this car to go to work; car was running perfect smooth with no indication of any problem. During evening hours when she was driving back to home after work. Car started fine as usual but she drove about 5 miles and as soon as she reached on the walt whitman bridge (nj) smoke started to come out from the engine compartment, she pulled over car in the shoulder lane and got out of the car. She called the police for help, as soon as police officer arrived on the scene, car busted in the flames. Police called the fire department for help and soon whole car engulfed in flames and started to burn with high flames. By the time fire truck showed up whole car was destroyed by the fire. …
2004 Honda Civic engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3L 4-cyl hybrid | CVT | FWD | 39 / 42 / 41 |
| 1.3L 4-cyl hybrid | 5-speed manual | FWD | 38 / 45 / 41 |
| 1.7L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | FWD | 31 / 39 / 34 |
| 1.7L 4-cyl | CVT | FWD | 29 / 36 / 32 |
| 1.7L 4-cyl | 4-speed automatic | FWD | 26 / 35 / 30 |
| 2.0L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | FWD | 22 / 28 / 25 |
EPA ratings. Class: Compact car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2004 Honda Civic a good car?
Based on 350 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2004 Civic rates average: 37% fewer complaints than a typical year of the Civic at the same age. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2004 Honda Civic?
The air bags — 133 complaints, 38% of all complaints for this model year, most often about frontal. Next are the transmission & drivetrain (56) and electrical system (32).
How many recalls does the 2004 Honda Civic have?
There are 10 recalls for the 2004 Honda Civic, the most recent from June 27, 2019 (inflator module). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Honda Civic?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2011, 2021 and 2014. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2022, 2016, 2018, 2023 and 2017. See the full Honda Civic years comparison.
At what mileage do 2004 Honda Civic problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 82,000 miles; 29% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
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.