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 Odyssey owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I stopped behind a car waiting to merge from a parking lot to highway 193. The car ahead pulled out a little. Then apparently changing his mind, he backed up into me. I had not pulled forward, but he still totaled my car. Surprisingly, my airbags did not inflate. The collision bent my hood, cracked the grill, broke the bumper.
There is a serious problem with the rear bumpers rusting away with no way of knowing. My family rode around in this car for maybe 2-3 years with a bumper that had rusted so badly it was literally falling apart, but remained inside of the bumper cover, so we did not know it. Finally it rusted so badly that it began to leave rust stains on the driveway and I traced it to this problem. By this time the bumper was almost gone. It probably past the point of providing any protection maybe 2 years ago. This car has a rear facing seat and is used often. It terrifies me to know a rear end collision at practically any speed would have been far worse then it should have been and probably impacted the fuel tank, again, at far lower speeds than it would normally. My search on the internet shows this is not an isolated issue, there are plenty of people complaining about this. …
I had all major services at Honda dealer ( four wheels alignment at 95000 miles in 2012, timing bell at 100000 miles in 2012, oil transmission service at 109500 miles in 2013, alignment at 121000 in 2013). I bought extended warranty for 7 years or 100000 miles when I bought my car. During that time period and all services at Honda dealer they did not advise any thing. Today I brought my car for air bag recall, alignment and oil transmission service, they told me that I need to replace all three engine mount cost approximately $1380. I was shock because it too expensive. I can not understand why engine mounts easy to break. I went home researching online and surprising to discover that a lot of people had same problem. I think this engine mount defected or design problem cause engine mounts easy to break (normally need to replace over 200000 miles) and Honda needs to address this issue. …
I was entering an 4way and it was my way to clear to enter, when a driver on my right side enter after I had allready entered the intersection and was well underway. The other driver complain that he was blinded by the sun and ran into me on my right side of van. My insurance asked if my airbags had opened they didn't. The passenger door was damaged and the back side sliding door was completely damaged and was not able to open it and the opened door ding would not stop ringing. I am concerned why the bag didn't opened?
Paint began peeling sometime but not noticeably until a year ago. When serviced at a Honda dealer, they shrugged and said they didn't handle paint. The damage has increased greatly (see photos) and rust is beginning to be visible. The paint flakes off while I drive. I cannot sell the car in this shape. Honda's undercoat is blamed in research I have made. I have always trusted Honda, but am alarmed and unable to believe this is happening. Want to sell this car back to Honda for blue book price.
Parked car in parking lot--backed into spot--put into park?--shut off engine/removed key and exited vehicle/locked door and went into store--was informed within 5 minutes car had rolled approx' 50 feet into friends pickup truck..my left front[driver side] had smashed into right rear of truck-no damage to trk--my car actually in reverse when key removed and engine stopped.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that the front driver side door was off track. The contact was unable to unlock the door and noticed an abnormal fuel odor from the radio console. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000.
Dear madam or sir, while driving, with two children seated inside on the back seats, my newly purchased Honda Odyssey suddenly flashed all the signals on the control panel/dash board, became almost non-maneuverable and abruptly stopped. This happened just after two months of purchase. My wife, who was driving the car, and the two children were in panic and scared not to speak of the trauma and inconvenience they underwent. It put my family in a very dangerous situation once and my family and I feel very bad and insecure about it. Fortunately this did not happen on a freeway or on any busy road otherwise it might have been disastrous for us. We do not want to be in same situation again and we have lost trust in this particular van s machinery due to the fact that it failed so early in its life cycle and more so because this failure was not of trivial nature. …
My daughter and I both opened her door at the same time (she with the handle and I with the button on the key). The door opened just a little and then stopped. I asked her to open the door and she said, "no, you open it." she began to get in the car (through the small opening in the door) and I pressed the button. The door closed on her - it did not stop. It pushed hard enough against her to cause a huge mark on her arm. It is completely black and blue and she screamed out and cried loudly from the pain. The door after closing on her reopened. It should have never closed on her. The sensor should have caught it. - we took pictures of her arm if you need them. I have also been caught in the door a couple times (twice) when I was buckling my kids in and accidentally pressed the button. The door didn't stop even though I was in the doorway. …
About 2 years ago, the window actuator failed on the passenger side, I paid to repair this. Over the last 6 months, another 4 actuators have failed. One of them is the lock actuator on passenger side, second is the lock actuator on left sliding door, another is the window actuator on driver side and the actuator for driver side door lock. The problems of this magnitude are a serious safety issue as the window actuator on driver side suddenly failed while driving and was scary as the window just fell into the door. The other actuators failing with locks and doors can be a serious problems, especially with children in the vehicle where the window or door suddenly opens or closes. This seems to be an electrical component problem that need to be addressed by a national recall.
Body complaints in other Odyssey years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2004 Honda Odyssey?
NHTSA has 55 complaints about the body & structure of the 2004 Honda Odyssey, 9% of the model year's 585 complaints. The component named most often is body › door (18 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2004 Honda Odyssey body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2004 Honda Odyssey, 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 Odyssey body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 85,000 miles, and 14% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 9 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.