There are 12 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2004 Honda Civicin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
TAKATA RECALL. MY AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON AND THEN I SAW THE RECALL. MY MODEL SHOULD BE RECALLED AS WELL. ALSO EXTERIOR LIGHTING IS VERY DULL BOTH OF THESE HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY RECALLED. I WAS IN PARK, STARTED MY CAR AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. SCANNER SAYS IT'S THE INFLATOR
LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS STOPPED WORKING, WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE. HAD TO SWITCH TO HIGH BEAMS. DEALER SAYS IT IS AN ELECTRONICS PROBLEM
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 HONDA CIVIC. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS,THE HEADLIGHTS BECAME DIM AND HINDERED THE CONTACT'S VISIBILITY. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE REFLECTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 224,000.
HONDA HEADLIGHTS FOG UP INSIDE THE LENS WHEN RAINING OR HUMID OUTSIDE. THIS FOGGING OF THEIR HEADLIGHTS DIMINISH THE LIGHTING OUTPUT TO NON-EXISTENT. I ALMOST CRASHED WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT BECAUSE I COULDN'T SEE THE ROAD. I MADE HONDA AWARE AND THEY DO NOT WANT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. WHEN CALLING HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE THEY SAY ANY HONDA DEALER CAN FIX THE HEADLIGHTS UNDER WARRANTY. WHEN I WENT TO VARIOUS HONDA DEALERS THEY SAID THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HONDA HEADLIGHTS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT MANUFACTURERS. *TR
HEADLIGHTS GO OFF SOMETIMES ON THEIR OWN. I THINK THIS IS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT CAUSED A RECALL ON THE 2002-2003 CIVICS. APPARENTLY 2004'S ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THIS ALSO. I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL COMPLAINTS ONLINE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE HEAD LIGHT FAILED. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED THAT THE WIRES HAD SHORT CIRCUITED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 88,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 HONDA CIVIC. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS FAILED ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE COMBINATION SWITCH WIRING HARNESS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER STATED THERE WAS NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 12V136000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING: HEADLIGHTS: SWITCH), BUT THE 2004 MODEL YEAR WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 67,000.
DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED, MOVING FROM TWILIGHT TO NIGHT, I SUDDENLY NOTICED THE HEADLIGHTS WERE NOT OPERATING ON EITHER SIDE. WE PULLED OVER TO CHECK THE BULBS, FUSES, AND RELAYS WHICH ALL APPEARED IN GOOD CONDITION. THE PARKING LIGHTS STILL WORKED AND WE DISCOVERED THE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS STILL WORKED. WE WERE IN A RURAL AREA SO THERE WAS NO PLACE TO STOP BEFORE OUR DESTINATION TO EITHER GET REPAIRS OR WAIT FOR DAYLIGHT, SO WE HAD TO CONTINUE ON WITH HIGH BEAMS. I CALLED OUR HONDA DEALER TODAY (9/25/12) TO REPORT THE PROBLEM, KNOWING THAT THE HEADLIGHT RECALL HAD RECENTLY BEEN EXPANDED TO 2003 MODEL YEAR, BUT THEY WERE NOT HELPFUL. THEY OFFERED TO CHARGE ME FOR REPAIR BUT DID NOT SUGGEST HOW TO REPORT THE DEFECT TO NHTSA OR OTHERWISE RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *TR
THE HEADLIGHTS ON MY CAR GET A FILM OVER THEM THAT REDUCES VISIBILITY AND CANNOT BE REMOVED BY COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS. I HAVE TO TAKE MY CAR TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP ABOUT EVERY SIX MONTHS AND HAVE THEM USE A POWER BRUSH TO REMOVE THE FILM. I SEE THIS CONDITION ON OTHER CARS AND AM WONDERING WHY THERE IS NO RECALL OR OTHER MOVEMENT FROM MANUFACTURERS AND/OR THE GOVERNMENT TO CORRECT THIS POTENTIALLY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR
HONDA CIVIC LX 2004 4-DR SEDAN. LEFT TURN SIGNAL NOT CLICK BACK IN SUBZERO TEMPERATURES 20* AND BELOW. HONDA SERVICE DETERMINED AN INTERNAL FAILURE OF COMBINATION SWITCH. REPAIR COST 185 PLUS TAX. I DECLINED REPAIR AS I CONSIDER IT A FACTORY ISSUE. AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY DECLINED TO PAY FOR THIS REPAIR, CITING EXPIRED WARRANTY AND AGE OF CAR; I DISAGREE WITH THEM ON BOTH AND HOLD THEM TO PAY FOR THIS REPAIR. WHAT LAWYER WOULD TAKE THIS CASE? ALSO AT ISSUE IS A FRONT COMPLIANCE BUSHINGS CRACKED: $560 PLUS TAX, AND BGI--THROTTLE BODY SERVICE $140 PLUS TAX. AGAIN, AHMC CONSIDERED BUSHINGS A MAINTENANCE ISSUE & I DISAGREE. I WANT THIS ON RECORD AGAINST AHMC FOR FAILURE TO PAY FOR THE BUSHING & TURN SIGNAL REPAIRS. IT IS UNFORTUNATE THAT NO FEDERAL AGENCY HAS THE AUTHORITY TO ORDER AHMC TO PAY FOR THESE REPAIRS. *TR
2004 HONDA CIVIC. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE REPAIRS *TGW THE LEFT TURN SIGNAL DID NOT CLICK BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION. THE DEALER FOUND AN INTERNAL FAILURE IN THE COMBINATION SWITCH. *JB
I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE WITH MY HANDS AT THE 3 AND 9 POSITION WHEN I REACHED OUT WITH MY EXTENDED INDEX FINGER TO ACTIVATE THE LEFT SIDE TURN SIGNAL FOR A LANE CHANGE. WHEN I FLICKED THE TURN SIGNAL LEVER DOWN THE FORCE WAS SUFFICIENT TO TURN OFF THE ROTARY LIGHT CONTROL SWITCH ON THE END OF THE STALK. THIS HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST SIX TIMES. IT WAS AT NIGHT EACH TIME AND I REALIZED WHAT HAD HAPPENED WHEN THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTS SUDDENLY WENT TO FULL DAYTIME BRIGHTNESS. THE ROTARY CONTROL NEEDS MORE RESISTANCE. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026