2004 Honda Civic Problems, Complaints & Recalls

Source: NHTSA · Updated Nov 14, 2023 · 350 owner complaints analyzed

Compared with other Civic years
About as many complaints as other years 18th of 32 for complaints
NHTSA crash rating
Not rated

Owners have filed 350 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Honda Civic. That ranks 18th out of 32 Civic model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (133 complaints, 38%), typically at around 92,122 miles. Complaints mention 47 crashes, 6 fires, 37 injuries. There are 10 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.

Honda Civic
Honda Civic Sedan (FE) Washington DC, USA. Representative photo; appearance varies by model year. Photo: OWS Photography, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.

Compare with another car

Most common 2004 Honda Civic problems

Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.

Air Bags133 · ~92,122 mi
Power Train56 · ~87,250 mi
Electrical System32 · ~91,000 mi
Vehicle Speed Control23 · ~59,000 mi
Seat Belts20 · ~95,500 mi
Structure17 · ~128,000 mi
Unknown or Other17 · ~87,500 mi
Engine and Engine Cooling16 · ~40,346 mi
Suspension15 · ~33,250 mi
Exterior Lighting12 · ~78,210 mi
Problem areaComplaintsShareMedian milesOwners mention mostTypical repair cost
Air Bags problems13338%92,122“air bag” (39%)$560
Power Train problems5616%87,250“input shaft bearing” (11%)—
Electrical System329%91,000——
Vehicle Speed Control237%59,000——
Seat Belts206%95,500——
Structure175%128,000——
Unknown or Other175%87,500——
Engine and Engine Cooling165%40,346——
Suspension154%33,250——
Exterior Lighting123%78,210——
Engine103%95,000——
Fuel System, Gasoline103%56,953——
Visibility93%16,515——
Latches/locks/linkages82%42,500——
Service Brakes, Hydraulic82%11,969——
Seats72%25,750——
Fuel/propulsion System62%146,000——
Steering62%60,380——
Tires51%7,890——
Fuel System, Other31%38,000——
Service Brakes21%97,730——
Child Seat10%———
Electronic Stability Control (esc)10%82,000——
Equipment10%———
Service Brakes, Electric10%150,000——
Wheels10%82,000——

One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.

Complaints by year received

Peak: 2015, with 34 complaints
2003: 120032004: 302005: 2620052006: 172007: 1720072008: 162009: 2420092010: 242011: 3320112012: 172013: 1320132014: 282015: 342015342016: 152017: 1320172018: 152019: 1220192020: 62021: 320212022: 32023: 32023

n = 350 complaints · Source: NHTSA

2004 Honda Civic recalls (10)

Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.

Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator moduleJun 27, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V499000 · 3,947 vehicles

Problem: 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. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: 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. Honda's numbers for this recall are Q5A and Y58.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleJun 27, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V501000 · 1,657,752 vehicles

Problem: 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. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.

Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: 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. Honda's numbers for this recall are E5D and X5C.

Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator moduleMar 6, 2019 · NHTSA campaign 19V182000 · 1,101,534 vehicles

Problem: 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 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous Takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.

Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: 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. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleApr 26, 2018 · NHTSA campaign 18V268000 · 1,335 vehicles

Problem: 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. The front passenger air bag may have been installed incorrectly during replacement.

Risk: An incorrectly installed air bag may deploy improperly in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Fix: 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. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are K1P, and M1O.

Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator moduleJun 15, 2015 · NHTSA campaign 15V370000 · 3,498,481 vehicles

Problem: 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 Honda Accord vehicles manufactured February 21, 2002, to August 28, 2007, 2002-2004 Honda CR-V vehicles, 2002-2003 Honda Odyssey vehicles manufactured June 19, 2001, to July 12, 2003, 2003 Acura MDX vehicles manufactured September 19, 2002, to June 19, 2003, 2003 Honda Element vehicles manufactured June 25, 2002, to July 31, 2003, and 2003 Honda Pilot vehicles manufactured November 26, 2001, to August 21, 2003. The affected vehicles have a passenger side frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion which, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture upon its deployment.

Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the passenger seat occupant or other occupants possibly causing serious injury or death.

Fix: 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. Honda's numbers for this recall are JU4, JU5, JU6, and JU7. Note: Vehicles that have already received a replacement passenger air bag inflator as part of the recall remedy for an earlier campaign such as 14V353 or 14V700 (Honda recall numbers S95, JH6, JH7, JH8, JH9, JJ0, JJ1, JJ2, JJ6, JM5 and JM6) are not included in this recall. However, this recall does supersede 13V132 and 14V349. Note: On December 18, 2015 Honda informed NHTSA of an expansion of this recall to include certain model year 2004 Honda CR-V vehicles in addition to additional model year 2003 CR-V vehicles.

Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator moduleMay 28, 2015 · NHTSA campaign 15V320000 · 6,281,043 vehicles

Problem: 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. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.

Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: 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. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: Vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to September 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or after September 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already received an inflator of a different design, and therefore are not included in this recall and do not require additional servicing. Note: This recall fully supersedes recalls 08V-593, 09V-259, 10V-041, 11V-260, 14V-351 and 15V-153. Honda's numbers for this recall are JQ9, JR0, JR1, JR2, JR3, JR4, JR5, JR6, JR7, and JR8.

Air bagsNov 4, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V700000

Problem: 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 with high absolute humidity. Specifically, vehicles sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saipan, Guam, and American Samoa are addressed by this recall. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger’s frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: 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 bagsJun 20, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V353000 · 133,207 vehicles

Problem: 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 with Takata-brand air bag inflators. Upon deployment of the passenger side frontal air bag, excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture.

Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger’s frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

Fix: 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 assemblyNov 1, 2007 · NHTSA campaign 07V512000 · 6,545 vehicles

Problem: 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.

Risk: This could result in a tank rupture, explosion, and ejection of the tank from the vehicle.

Fix: Dealers will install a heat insulator material to the rear seat back. An interim owner letter was mailed to owners beginning november 26, 2007. When parts are available, owners will be renotified asking them to bring in their vehicle for repair. Owners may contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.

Seat belts:front:anchorageNov 18, 2004 · NHTSA campaign 04V550000 · 416 vehicles

Problem: 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.

Risk: An improperly positioned belt could increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.

Fix: 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. Owners should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009.

To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.

NHTSA defect investigations

  • Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.
  • Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA15001) — opened Feb 24, 2015, still open, led to recall 14V668.
  • Air Bag Inflator Rupture (PE14016) — opened Jun 11, 2014, closed Mar 2, 2015, led to recall 13V172000.

Recent owner reports

Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.

2004 HONDA Civic Cracked Block TSB [XXXX] Honda settled in a class-action lawsuit that covers 2008 - 2009 Civic engine block failures with unlimited miles for an extended 10-year warranty period. Covered Civics will receive an engine repair or replacement at no cost. The covered Civic engine…

Air Bags · received Nov 14, 2023 · NHTSA complaint 11555093

It takes many attempts to get the drivers side seat belt to latch/click. I am concerned after seeing other recalls that mine maybe in fact affected as well.

Seat Belts · received Mar 16, 2023 · NHTSA complaint 11512175

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…

Air Bags · received Feb 3, 2023 · NHTSA complaint 11505436

Unknown

Seat Belts · received Oct 10, 2022 · NHTSA complaint 11488702

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…

Air Bags · received Mar 22, 2022 · NHTSA complaint 11457899

Other Honda Civic years

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2004 Honda Civic?

Owners most often report air bags, power train, electrical system problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 133 complaints.

Was there a recall on the 2004 Honda Civic?

Yes, 10 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.

Was the 2004 Honda Civic a good year?

Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Civic model years, the 2004 has about as many complaints as a typical year. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.