Fuel pump failure on the 2004 Honda Odyssey
When fuel pump failure gets reported
Owners of the 2004 Honda Odyssey report fuel pump failure at a median of 40,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 175,000 miles, from 12 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 9th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 1,100 miles at the tenth percentile to 200,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 198,910 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
42% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,090 miles | 3,100 miles | 39,000 miles | 176,788 miles | 200,000 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
Putting it right typically runs $600–$2,600 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 12 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2015, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2005 at 115,000 miles.
By volume the 2019 carries the most reports, with 54; the 2004 has 15. 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 family and I were on a vacation in our 2004 odyssey. Our vacation was almost 2000 miles, round trip. When we were nearing our destination, our vehicle suddenly began to lose power when we would try to pass. It was getting so bad that we decided to pull off at a honda dealership along the interstate. The serviceman jumped in the vehicle and it did not act out of the ordinary. He told us that likely a computer chip was off and needed resetting, so if it did it again, to be sure to pull off the interstate and shut off the vehicle. We proceeded another 60 miles or so without incident. Upon our return trip a week later, the van did the same thing. It was getting so bad that we could only go 45 miles per hour in the passing lane on the interstate. (keep in mind that our van had less than 3,000 miles on it when we left for our trip.) we pulled off a few times to try to "reset" the vehicle, to no avail. Finally, we knew we would not make it home. At that point, our engine light and tcs lights came on and stayed on. We pulled off at another service center, at which point our van totally died. We had to have a tow, a taxi, and get a…
My 2004 honda odyssey has lurched and loss forward power/motion for just a few seconds while driving normally at speed between 40-60 MPH. This has happened during the first 7500 miles. Cruise control was not on during these events. I have checked recalls and other owners and found similar comments. This could cause an accident if passing or additional power is needed while driving up incline. Have had fuel pump recall item corrected. Please investigate! *jb
My van continues to stall. The fuel pump and fuel pump relay was replaced in late september, but the van continues to have the same problem. It will start, run for 1-3 seconds, and shut down. It will take anywhere from one try one hour worth of tries to get it to start up again. The van has left my family stranded on several occasions. I have contacted the honda dealer, and they tell me this is normal. I don't believe a vehicle with 7000 miles normally does not start, and can take up to one hour to start. They also have told me that I am flooding the vehicle-even though I am not touching the footfeet and have always driven a fuel injected vehicle. My husband and I are to the point that we do not even want the vehicle, but our dealer does not seem to take us seriously. I read a complaint that a customer filed stating metal was sent throughout her vehicles fuel lines. How can the service department check to see if this is what has happened to my vehicle. The service department continually tells me they can do nothing unless the service engine light comes on. This has yet to happen. I am very tired of being stranded by my brand new…
Also reported on the 2004 Honda Odyssey
Other powertrain problem
Complete transmission failure
Other body or interior problem
Other engine problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 15 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 fuel pump failure happen on the 2004 Honda Odyssey?
Across 12 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 40,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 5,000 miles and a quarter after 175,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel pump failure on the 2004 Honda Odyssey?
15 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 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