Other electrical problem on the 2004 Honda CR-V
13 fires 1 injury 14 of the 41 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other electrical problem gets reported
Owners of the 2004 Honda CR-V report other electrical problem at a median of 77,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 7,500 miles and a quarter after 155,000 miles, from 25 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 5,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 182,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 176,480 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
40% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,320 miles | 7,500 miles | 78,000 miles | 154,000 miles | 181,800 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 13 a fire and 1 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $250–$2,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 30 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2019, at a median of 2,500 miles, and latest on the 2025 at 345,000 miles.
By volume the 2007 carries the most reports, with 215; the 2004 has 41. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
My wife was driving down the road and the engine caught on fire. She was in town doing about 30 MPH. The first indication of fire was smoke coming out of the hood. She stopped the car and got out. Another motorist that stopped said flame were coming out of the right front side of the vehicle when my wife was driving down the street. The fire department said the car was totalled. I am waiting on the insurance company to look at the vehicle. The car was purchased in december 2003 - new. *ak
Had oil and oil filter replaced on june 16. Drove home, approximately 7 miles. Next day drove approximately 5 miles and car was totally destroyed by fire. Fire department put out fire.police filled out report.the honda had just over 3,700 miles and was purchased march 25, 2004. *ak
On wednesday, june 9, 2004 my 2004 honda crv caught on fire after leaving dealership from having 1st oil change. I was originally told the problem was "the old o-ring/gasket was not removed and a new one added on top of old one". However yesterday when I went by to get things out of other car I was told it was an electrical problem that caused fire. Dealership wanted to repair car and give it back to me, but I refused. After watching my car burn I just couldn't take it back....after several hours of discussion and to the point of me walking out and getting legal help, they gave me a new 2004 crv. The following week I find out from a co-worker that his parents who own a 2004 honda crv also caught on fire and was totally destroyed by fire. This couple in their 70's escaped unharmed. They had just had their 1st oil change day before. I have talked to american honda corporation and they assured me there were no problems with the cars but yet there are numerous complaints on websites talking about 2004 crv fires. Even though I was given a new car I am now afraid of it and what might happen again. I am very concerned if there is a…
Also reported on the 2004 Honda CR-V
Other engine problem
Air conditioning failure
Other body or interior problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Headlight failure or clouding
Other visibility problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 41 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other electrical problem happen on the 2004 Honda CR-V?
Across 25 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 77,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 7,500 miles and a quarter after 155,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other electrical problem on the 2004 Honda CR-V?
41 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed