2004 Honda Pilot problems & reliability
544 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2004 Honda Pilot, alongside 12 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
29 complaints report injuries (36 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2004 Honda Pilot vehicles were involved in 66 fatal crashes with 44 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Power Train → | 142 | 26% |
| Seats → | 85 | 16% |
| Air Bags → | 81 | 15% |
| Electrical System → | 60 | 11% |
| Structure → | 42 | 8% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling → | 28 | 5% |
| Suspension → | 27 | 5% |
| Engine → | 22 | 4% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 21 | 4% |
| Unknown OR Other | 18 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 27 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 401 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 105,000 miles (middle 50% between 74,452 and 149,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Honda sold America cars that they knew were rusted less than five years and they still letting people drive these cars that are rusted at the bottom”
Suspension · filed Aug 7, 2025
“Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2004 Honda Pilot. The contact stated that at the time of purchase, the odometer mileage reading was 160,000. After obtaining a Carfax Report it was discovered that the previous mileage was 337,000. The contact also indicated that the instrument cluster had been replaced and the…”
Electrical System · filed Aug 7, 2025
“The steering became extremely loose over time on my Honda Pilot posing significant safety concerns because of it. The tires adamantly follow all the divets, lines, grooves, and bumps in the road causing me to lose control of the vehicle very easily in poor driving conditions. This is especially exaggerated during…”
Wheels · filed Jun 1, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA15001 · opened Feb 24, 2015 · open · led to recall 22V945
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Preliminary Evaluation PE14016 · opened Jun 11, 2014 · closed Mar 2, 2015 · led to recall 15V226000
- Ignition Interlock Failure - Rollaway
Preliminary Evaluation PE12026 · opened Oct 2, 2012 · closed Jan 14, 2013 · led to recall 12V573000
- Low Beam Headlights Stop Illuminating
Engineering Analysis EA11012 · opened Sep 12, 2011 · closed Sep 17, 2012 · led to recall 12V136000
Technical service bulletins
235 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2004 Honda Pilot. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
A18-051 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 30, 2026
Service Bulletin - Corrosion of the frame rail that supports the rear subframe may occur on some vehicles that are commonly driven in harsh environments. The subframe mounts may pull away from the body of the vehicle…
A21-019 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 8, 2022
Service Bulletin - Case v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Case No. BC 424169 (Third Clutch Transmission Settlement - $25 Credit Vouchers).
A21-054 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 28, 2021
"Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"
A07-030 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 23, 2021
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…
A20-014 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
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…
A20-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Dealer message - Today, American Honda is notifying dealers of a voluntary noncompliance recall for a small number of Honda vehicles due to an error on the replacement (service part) underhood emissions labels. American…
ABOM08092018901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 2018
Service bulletin - Emission certification labels that were replaced on a small number of vehicles may have been replaced with a label listing incorrect information. The affected emission labels are replacement service…
A18070 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 9, 2018
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…
A18-051 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 1, 2018
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…
A18-046 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 24, 2018
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2004 Honda Pilot has 12 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2004 Honda Pilot?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 105,000 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.