Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2004 Honda CR-V owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2004 Honda CR-V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the SRS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not inspected, diagnosed, or repaired. The contact stated that the SRS warning light remained illuminated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.
Honda is not honoring their commitment to make service available for the recalls on this vehicle, which includes the Takata airbag. I am attempting to make an appointment at my local Honda Dealer Paragon Honda in Woodside, NY on 6/28. There are no service appointments available through the end of December. I had the same problem about two years ago when I attempted to speak to a person at the dealership. They have made this impossible. Because I live in NYC it is not reasonable to commute to the next closest dealer because that would require bridges and tolls. This is unaccaptable.
While cruising down a standard roadway around 40 mph, the passenger side/seat airbag randomly deployed for no apparent reason. The sound and shock of the airbag deployment nearly caused me to lose control the vehicle because it was so loud and unexpected.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Honda CR-v.the contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, a deer walked in front of her vehicle without warning. While trying to avoid the deer, the vehicle veered down two embankments, hit several trees, and rolled over. The air bags failed to deploy during the incident. The contact sustained minor injuries and a few abrasions. The passenger sustained severe cuts to the right side of his body and had to be air lifted to a local hospital. The passenger was taken to froedtert hospital 9200 w wisconsin ave, milwaukee, wi 53226 [phone] where he was treated for cuts to the right fore arm and upper arm, forehead and shoulder. The contact also sought medical attention for her injuries at aurora medical center grafton 975 port washington rd, grafton wi 53024 [phone], where she treated for the removal of glass from her legs and scalp. A police report was filed. …
No " Takata recall?" for my 2004 Honda crv w/ faulty driver + passenger airbags?! This car should definately be on that recall list but is not!! Why? ! I purchased my 2004 only 9 months ago from a dealer. I was traveling on a highway approaching a red light going approx 35- 40 MPH when my 2004 Honda crv hit the rear of another car. My driver airbag never opened to protect me yet my passenger airbag inflated!? Ironically, I was alone with no passengers! Both front airbags failed me & were faulty! I feel this is a major safety hazard and I was lucky to get out of my car alive! I don't know if fault lies wholly with Honda and/or takaka or w/ the dealer who sold me this car? Unfortunately, I now own an $8000 "totaled" crv sitting in a junkyard and I'm w/o transportation to my job!
Tl contact owns a 2004 Honda CR-v. The contact stated that while traveling 35 MPH, the vehicle was involved in a crash which caused the driver side air bag to deployed burning the contact's hands. A police report was filed and the vehicle was repaired by a body shop. The contact stated that the body shop replaced the air bags. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was not repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14V700000 (airbag). The failure mileage was 43,000. Updated 3/24/15 updated 05/12/15
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Honda CR-v. While driving 15 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the passenger side of the contact's vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the chassis bottom was fractured due to a missing part that covered the chassis and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 140,357.
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 Honda CR-v. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 15V320000 (air bags). While driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact crashed into the preceding vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 195,000. Updated 2/4/16
Tl* the contact owned a 2004 Honda CR-v. The contact stated that the vehicle was involved in a rear end collision with a semi-truck. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard and deemed destroyed. The contact suffered a contusion and moderate headaches, which required medical attention. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 250,000.
The car was in an accident and none of the airbags deployed. This vehicle was brought to a dealership for the Takata recall in November 2015 and the accident occurred in January 2016. Since the car rolled over when slowing down quickly taking a turn on the highway, maybe the driver's side airbag shouldn't have deployed but none of the side airbags worked either (see pictures).
Related recalls
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.
Show 5 more recalls
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.
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.
Air bags › Frontal
On certain sport utility vehicles, the wire harness of the driver's front air bag was incorrectly wired.
Remedy: Dealers will repair the wiring. Owner notification began on June 16, 2004. Owners should contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009.
NHTSA investigations
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…
Airbag complaints in other CR-V years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2004 Honda CR-V?
NHTSA has 103 complaints about the air bags of the 2004 Honda CR-V, 21% of the model year's 501 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (6 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Honda CR-V airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 19V-501 (inflator module, Jun 27, 2019); NHTSA recall 19V-499 (inflator module, Jun 27, 2019); NHTSA recall 19V-182 (inflator module, Mar 6, 2019). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2004 Honda CR-V airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 107,000 miles, and 10% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 22 crashes, 0 fires and 16 injuries to air bags 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.