2004 Honda Pilot problems
Owners have filed 644 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Honda Pilot. Drivetrain & axles is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. After that come seats (14%) and air bags (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 644 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 41 and 19
- Injuries and deaths
- 48 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 103,000 miles 485 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 35 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 32 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 52 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 73 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 76 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 59 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 37 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 33 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 27 |
| 200k+ miles | 36 |
What the data shows
Among the 485 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 103,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 122,000 miles (88 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 41 complaints mention a crash; 19 complaints mention a fire; 48 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 24 model years of the Honda Pilot with enough data (157 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 12 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The seat heater got really hot in one place on my back. It slightly (less than a 1st degree burn) burnt my back. Also, the seat smoked. I had the seat heater on for 15 minutes. I notified honda and the dealer. The dealer tested the seat for only 10 minutes; and, said it didn't smoke. I was one of the the first ones into the dealer and the last one out (eleven hour wait!) for a 10 minute check and 2 recalls which should have taken less time.
The driver's seat heater got burning hot, and it burnt the leg at a spot, the injury was minor; when the heater was off the problem disappeared. I am not using the heater now as it is intolerably hot and might create fire hazard.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 honda pilot. The contact stated that the drivers side seat warmer was activated and became extremely hot. In addition, there was a burning odor throughout the vehicle. As a result, the driver sustained a burn. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000. The VIN was not available.
2004 honda pilot SUV 9/9/2008 front AC blower resistor replaced $230 (miles 68,197, also had 100 miles bumper to bumper warranty but was told by dealer it was not covered. 1/25/2013 (miles 134,000) front AC air mix motor replaced $501,rear ac/heat does not work was still in 100 mile warranty it has a bad blower resistor I still have not replaced it. To top it off when it rains my driver and now front passenger floor mats are getting wet from the underneath the protective mat (miles 105,000)!
On 06/21/2014, I was entering my vehicle when a bracket connected to the adjuster assembly (part# 81630-s3v-a30) broke. This occurred on the drivers seat. Due to this, the seat was no longer secure to the floorboard and started rocking back and forth. I searched honda part records and I was unable to find a specific part number assigned to this bracket. The vehicle was parked at the time of the break. But, while driving the vehicle the seat was unstable and hard to keep it still.