2004 Honda Civic problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (93) · Power Train:automatic Transmission (25) · Power Train (21)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Honda Civic model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
238 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (8)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2019-06-27 · campaign 19V499000 · 3,947 vehicles
Defect: 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 e
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 Module 2019-06-27 · campaign 19V501000 · 1,657,752 vehicles
Defect: 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-
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 Module 2019-03-06 · campaign 19V182000 · 1,101,534 vehicles
Defect: 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
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 Module 2018-04-26 · campaign 18V268000 · 1,335 vehicles
Defect: 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 Module 2015-06-15 · campaign 15V370000 · 3,498,481 vehicles
Defect: 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 Ju
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) a
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2015-05-28 · campaign 15V320000 · 6,281,043 vehicles
Defect: 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
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 a
Air Bags 2014-11-04 · campaign 14V700000 · 0 vehicles
Defect: 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
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passengers 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 Bags 2014-06-20 · campaign 14V353000 · 133,207 vehicles
Defect: 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 passengers 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.
Service bulletins (244)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Air Bags 2020-03-10 · A20-014 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects in the replacement front passenger's airbag inflator only.
Air Bags 2020-03-10 · A20-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects in the replacement driver's airbag inflator only.
Equipment 2018-05-25 · A18-049 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects to the replacement front passengers airbag inflator only.
Equipment 2018-05-24 · A18-046 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects to the replacement driver's airbag inflator only.
Forward Collision Avoidance 2017-12-19 · ACC12192017901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - on december 19, 2017 following a joint inspection, american honda and the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) confirmed that a takata driver?s airbag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2004 honda civic on july 10, 2017 in baton rouge, louisiana, resulting in the
Fuel System, Other:storage 2017-02-10 · A13-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
"service bulletin - for vehicles with sci compressed natural gas (cng) fuel tanks, honda is no longer replacing the fuel tank and solenoid valve altogether. if you replace the fuel tank solenoid valve, you must now reinstall the original fuel tank."
Showing the 6 most recent of 244 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-11-14 · Engine“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 castings were built using thinner aluminum and the crac…”
2023-03-16 · Seat Belts“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.…”
2023-02-03 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“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?…”
2022-03-22 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“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 fractur…”
2022-02-25 · Unknown Or Other“it is not safe to drive because of the slippage is really hard and it still kicks when braking and can cause the car to keep driving while harshly pressing the brake to stop.…”
2021-12-06 · Structure:body“on thursday the 2nd of december 2021 at 8:50 am, i was driving by myself on the freeway heading to work and the hood popped up and smashed my entire windshield. i was unable to see and luckily managed to pull over to the left hand side of the road without hitting anything or anyone. i could have easily been hit by another car traveling at 70-80 mil…”
2021-08-30 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2004 honda civic. the contact stated that the airbag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. the contact then received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 19v501000 (air bags). the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the recall was serviced; however, the airbag warning light remained illuminated on the instrumen…”
2021-03-07 · Air Bags“dealership showed no recall for this vin , when i entered it in their website.…”
2020-12-02 · Power Train · 85,000 mi“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 transmiss…”
2020-10-28 · Air Bags“i have received many recall notices from honda stating the air bag recall repair is free and a free rental car will provided for the day of the repair, however this is absolutely false! i have called the dealership in my area multiple times and am consistently told rental cars are not available and their ride shuttle is not available due to the pa…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.