2004 Honda Odyssey buying guide

A data-driven checklist for buying a used 2004 Honda Odyssey, built from 584 owner complaints, 13 recall campaigns, 193 service bulletins and federal safety records — not opinions.

Know before you buy

13 recall campaigns affect this model year. Check each one and confirm the repairs were done — recall work is free at any authorized dealer.
Main problem areas: power train (221), air bags (110), structure (55), electrical system (53), engine (50).
Symptoms owners describe: stalling (34), check engine light (31), vibration / shaking (21), shifting problems (14), rust / corrosion (14), hesitation / surging (13). Test-drive with these in mind.
Reported incident mileage: among 423 complaints with a usable odometer reading, half were filed between 79,537 and 143,127 miles (median 108,000). This describes when owners reported problems — it does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop one.
5 federal investigations have named this model year — read what they cover.
Fuel economy: 19 MPG combined (EPA; engines: 3.5L 6-cyl).

When problems get reported

Reported incident mileage among 423 complaints with usable odometer readings.

under 20k		28
20–40k		14
40–60k		20
60–80k		45
80–100k		66
100–150k		155
150k+		95

Before you hand over money

Run the VIN through our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact build.
Check open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — a recall that was never fixed is a free repair you can claim.
Get a pre-purchase inspection focused on the problem areas listed above.

This guide is generated from official NHTSA, EPA and FARS records. Complaints are unverified owner reports and raw counts are not adjusted for sales volume.