Is the 2004 Honda Pilot reliable?

Based on NHTSA complaint volume compared to this model's typical year, the 2004 Honda Pilot is rated "significantly worse".

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

The most-reported component is power train, accounting for 26% of complaints on file.

How many recalls does the 2004 Honda Pilot have?

13 recalls on file for this model year.

2004 Honda Pilot

■ Significantly worse — known issue year

2004 Honda Pilot
BUILT 2026-10-10

This year had more than double the complaints of this model's typical year.

This verdict reflects complaint volume compared to this model's typical year. Recalls and safety issues below apply regardless of the verdict — always check them.

How is this computed?

Complaints: 544
Recalls: 13
Investigations: 5
Top problem: Power train

Complaints per year

2004: 544 complaints

View as data table

Year	Complaints
2003	720
2004	544
2005	679
2006	267
2007	211
2008	133
2009	134
2010	111
2011	293
2012	171
2013	271
2014	116
2015	109
2016	1,706
2017	929
2018	439
2019	905
2020	491
2021	435
2022	161
2023	144
2024	115
2025	204
2026	23

Known problem areas

Percentages can add to more than 100% — a complaint can name more than one system.

Power train

26% · 143 reports

Most commonly citing automatic transmission and torque converter.

CRASHFIREINJURY

Seats

16% · 87 reports

Most commonly citing seat heater/cooler and mid/rear assembly.

FIREINJURY

Show complaint excerpts

I am the original owner of the 2004 Pilot. Vehicle has always been well kept and maintained with Honda dealer. Wife was driving when drivers seat started feeling hot like a burn on her back. Started smelling something burning.

NHTSA ODI report, 2018-05-04

The drivers seat has been so hot that it feels like it can burn your skin. Today on the way to work my daughter said she smelled something burning. She looked down on her seat and it was smoking and burned the leather.

NHTSA ODI report, 2017-12-20

Drivers heated seat caught the seat on fire.

NHTSA ODI report, 2012-04-16

Also filed under Electrical system

Air bags

15% · 81 reports

Most commonly citing side/window and frontal.

CRASHINJURY

Show complaint excerpts

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 Honda Pilot. While driving at an unknown speed, another vehicle crashed into the passenger side of the contact's vehicle.

NHTSA ODI report, 2018-06-13

Vehicle veered of the road and struck a tree, dead on the front left headlight and destroyed the bumper and front left fender, pushed the hood into the windshield, which cracked. The air bag did not deploy. Bruising from seat belt.

NHTSA ODI report, 2012-05-28

The air bags failed to work when the car impacted a vehicle head-on. The air bag failed a 2ND time when the vehicle was impacted in the rear bumper. The speed of the vehicle in the rear was going aproximately 50MPH.

NHTSA ODI report, 2005-06-20

Electrical system

11% · 60 reports

Most commonly citing ignition and speedometer/odometer.

CRASHFIRE

Structure

8% · 42 reports

Most commonly citing body and door.

CRASHFIREINJURY

Safety timeline

13 recalls · 5 investigations · oldest first

To check one car, enter its VIN on the NHTSA recall page. Check a VIN →

▮
2004Complaint volume 544 complaints filed for this model year.
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2004-04-27Power train04V176000 On some mini vans, sport utility and passenger vehicles, certain operating conditions can result in heat build-up between the countershaft and secondary shaft second gears in the automatic…

Remedy: On vehicles with 15,000 miles or less, the dealer will update the transmission with a simple revision to the oil cooler return line to increase lubrication to the second gear. On vehicles with more…

Check if this car was fixed →
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2004-08-11Equipment04V389000 Certain sport utility vehicle's certification labels may contain incorrect vehicle weight and tire size information.

Remedy: Owners will be requested to inspect the certification label or to contact a dealer to perform the inspection for them. If the label is incorrect, owners should contact their dealers to arrange to…

Check if this car was fixed →
I
2011-09-12Engineering analysisClosed 2012-09-17 Low Beam Headlights Stop Illuminating
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2012-04-27Exterior lighting12V136000 Honda is recalling certain model year 2002 through 2004 CR-V; model year 2003 through 2005 Pilot; and model year 2002 and 2003 Civic vehicles. In March 2012, Honda filed a defect report to recall…

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will repair the low beam terminal harness or replace the lighting switch as necessary, free of charge. The original recall began in April 2012. Owners of…

Check if this car was fixed →
I
2012-10-02Preliminary evaluationClosed 2013-01-14 Ignition Interlock Failure - Rollaway
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2013-02-22Electrical system12V573000 Honda is recalling certain model year 2003 and 2004 Pilot and Odyssey and 2003 through 2006 Acura MDX passenger vehicles manufactured from November 26, 2001, through August 30, 2006. The interlock…

Remedy: Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a Honda or Acura dealer. The dealer will install an updated shift interlock lever and, if necessary, replace any necessary part…

Check if this car was fixed →
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2014-06-11Preliminary evaluationClosed 2015-03-02 Air Bag Inflator Rupture
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2014-09-12Air bags14V353000 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...

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.

Check if this car was fixed →
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2015-01-26Air bags14V700000 American Honda Motor Co.

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.

Check if this car was fixed →
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2015-02-24Engineering analysisOpen Air Bag Inflator Rupture
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2015-07-01Air bags15V320000 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...

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.

Check if this car was fixed →
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2016-06-29Air bags16V344000 Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold,...

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 27, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

Check if this car was fixed →
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2018-06-22Air bags18V268000 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...

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. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.

Check if this car was fixed →
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2019-04-10Air bags19V182000 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...

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.

Check if this car was fixed →
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2019-08-12Air bags19V499000 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,...

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

Check if this car was fixed →
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2019-08-12Air bags19V501000 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,...

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.

Check if this car was fixed →
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2021-09-17Engineering analysisOpen Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
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Date not on fileEquipment08E013000 Honda is recalling 2,032 hitch style bike racks sold as aftermarket for use on my 2003-2007 and some my 2008 Honda Pilot, ridgeline, and Acura mdx vehicles.

Remedy: Owners should contact thule at 800-THULE91 (800-848-5391) to obtain a free repair kit along with repair instructions or owners may contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009 or Acura at 1-800-382-2238 for further information.

Check if this car was fixed →

Buy-smart checklist

2004 Honda Pilot — pre-purchase inspection

Inspect

Power train: 143 reports on file for this year.
Seats: 87 reports on file for this year.
Air bags: 81 reports on file for this year.

Verify these recalls were completed

Recall 08E013000 · Equipment
Recall 04V176000 · Power train
Recall 04V389000 · Equipment
Recall 12V136000 · Exterior lighting
Recall 12V573000 · Electrical system
Recall 14V353000 · Air bags
Recall 14V700000 · Air bags
Recall 15V320000 · Air bags
Recall 16V344000 · Air bags
Recall 18V268000 · Air bags
Recall 19V182000 · Air bags
Recall 19V499000 · Air bags
Recall 19V501000 · Air bags

Other years of this model

See all years ranked →

Best years3 years

Worst years3 years

FAQ

Is the 2004 Honda Pilot reliable?: Based on NHTSA complaint volume compared to this model's typical year, the 2004 Honda Pilot is rated "significantly worse".
What are the most common problems with the 2004 Honda Pilot?: The most-reported component is power train, accounting for 26% of complaints on file.
How many recalls does the 2004 Honda Pilot have?: 13 recalls on file for this model year.

Data updated 2026-10-09 · Complaints are unverified owner reports filed with NHTSA, not independently verified defects. Methodology.