Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||||
| 704 | 07/16/2004 | 10014116 | Accessory belt noise. *sc | 04/28/2005 | |
| 05012004 | 05/01/2004 | 10014015 | Front door inner sash trim removal and installation. *nm | 04/27/2005 | |
| 040103 | 04/01/2003 | 10003139 | Removing heater temperature and mode dials - handy tips. *tt | 10/09/2003 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||||
| 03090 | 12/23/2003 | 10008529 | Creak from the right side of the dash. *tt | 08/04/2004 | |
| 03056 | 09/08/2003 | 10004699 | Rattle from the a-pillar trim or corners of the dashboard. *tt | 12/31/2003 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||||
| 03050 | 08/26/2003 | 10003050 | Rear hatch trim panel is loose or falls off. *tt | 10/07/2003 | |
| STRUCTURE - BODY - TAILGATE | |||||
| 090103 | 09/01/2003 | 10005075 | Creaking or popping from tailgate area. honda servicenews. *tt | 01/28/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRUCTURE | |||
| 08/11/2008 | 62000 | 1 | |
| Crack formed on the lower driver side of my 2003 honda element with no sign of impact. the vehicle was parked. *tr | |||
| 01/14/2004 | 35588 | 4 | 01/10/2003 |
| Consumer had windshield replaced on four occasions, because it made a howling noise. *ts the company that replaced the windshield blamed the manufacturer for not fixing a bad weld. the manufacturer claimed the consumers model was prone to breakage because of the vertical position when struck by even the slightest impact within the black area on the outside edge of the glass, however the consumer disagreed with that theory, stating there had been other vehicle down through the years that had this type of windshield positioning without excessive windshield breakage. *jb | |||
| 07/18/2005 | 16500 | 2 | 09/20/2003 |
| 1. honda element windshield spontaneously cracked and repaired at my cost 2. passenger side window spontaneously imploded on 7/18/05. glass hit my son the driver and covered passenger seat. 3. honda tells me over $300.00 repair bill is my problem | |||
| 2 | 03/01/2003 | ||
| Vehicle's radiator is exposed in the front end of the car.*mr the vehicle's radiator has been replaced twice due to road debris flying into it and penetrating it. the consumer believes the design of the vehicle is flawed in some way and that the radiator and a/c condenser need some protection. *nm | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY | |||
| 11/28/2010 | 55000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda element. while parked, the contact inserted the key into the front driver's side door to unlock the door but the key would not turn. the contact unlocked the front passenger side door and entered the vehicle. after some time, the front passenger side door failed to unlock intermittently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 55,000. | |||
| 11/28/2010 | 55000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 honda element. while parked, the contact inserted the key into the front driver's side door to unlock the door but the key would not turn. the contact unlocked the front passenger side door and entered the vehicle. after some time, the front passenger side door failed to unlock intermittently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 55,000. kmj | |||
| 11/28/2010 | 55000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2003 honda element. while parked the contact inserted the key into the front driver side door to unlock the door but the key would not turn. the contact unlocked the front passenger side door and entered the vehicle. after some time the front passenger side door lock would not unlock intermittently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 55,000. da | |||
| 01/01/2005 | 6 | 06/07/2003 | |
| The consumer has had consistent problems with the vehicle's factory installed horn and alarm. *nm the dealer was unable to remedy the communication system. other problems were; the bumper cover would pop out intermittently, the right side corner piece was loose, the horn sound was abnormal and anti-freeze was leaking. *sc | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - BUMPERS | |||
| 11/23/2003 | 5650 | 1 | 06/07/2003 |
| Problems with windshield, cd player, horn and alarm.*mr the windshield cracked after a small piece of debris hit it. the cd player stopped working after it had been playing for 5 hours. the right side bumper fell off. *nm | |||
| 05/06/2003 | 64 | 1 | 05/06/2003 |
| We purchased a honda element and within 6 hours i foolishly rear-ended a vechicle from a complete stop at a traffic signal when the light turned green. it was a very low speed (3-5 mph maximum) collision however the subsequent damage was astounding, my element basically does not seem to have any front bumper support, rather appears to have two beams protruding from the front of the car, that look like they should have something horizontal between them but they do not. one of the beams impaled the car ahead of me stabbing thru its bumper into the vehicle slightly bending the metal below the bumper. my element ended up with $1786.00 in damage. the plastic bumper cover (that has no bumper support beneath it) shattered and the single point impact allowed my car to somehow destroy the condenser, radiater, and frame that supports the condenser. i have involved honda of my concerns and they are telling me that the element is designed to not have a horizontal bumper support in the front of the car. my question remains how is the vehicle engineered to be safe if there is not supposed to be anything there to distribute the force in the case of a higher-than-3-5mph collision? i noticed that you have released steller front collision ratings on this vehicle, it would help me tremendosly if you could confirm that this particular design makes sense. i am currently too nervous to drive the vehicle and have left it (repaired back to it's original no bumper support form) at the dealership. please oh please oh please respond so we can put this behind us and move on. we do have photos on disc if that would help my words make sense. thank you so much, diane munizza goodnight. *jb | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - DOOR | |||
| 08/10/2011 | 90000 | 1 | |
| Like many others, driver side door key was difficult to insert. then it inserted and was unable to turn; despite greasing lock. now using passenger side door lock. i am hoping this does not get stuck on me too like it has happened with many others. lock costs ~$33 on ebay and $55 from dealer, but this does not include installation and it lock will have a separate key. i was quoted around $350-375 to have a matching lock installed. i am worried to even do this because it sounds like it is a recurring problem even after replacement. this needs to be made a recall. *tr | |||
| 0 | 1 | ||
| Driver's side door has about a half an inch opening between the rubber and the door. this lets air and debris in.*ak | |||
| STRUCTURE - BODY - HOOD - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS | |||
| 07/21/2012 | 137400 | 1 | |
| I pulled the hood release latch and it broke. it almost hit me in the left eye. *tr | |||
| STRUCTURE - FRAME AND MEMBERS | |||
| 03/11/2005 | 1 | 02/20/2003 | |
| I have a honda element with windshield that consistently cracks. i have the 5th cracked windshield on my car and ive had this car just 2 years now. this is not normal. i have had many other cars that could sustain road conditions and have never raplaced a windshield this often. this windshield cracks upon an immediate impact of a rock, and always comes out of one of the lower corners. i believe that there is defect in the framing of the windshield and honda as well as the dealerships wont do anything for me unless i pay. i have replaced the windshields 4 times through insurance because honda will not accept insurance claims. due to that fact i have to use the company that my insurance co. sends to me. i assume geico ins. co. does not use glass companys that use faulty glass, as i was told by the honda dealership. i believe that honda should assess the framing of the windshield free of charge to determine the problem. there have been windshield recals fro 2003 elements and honda states that my 2003 vehicle is not one of them. i find it too coincidental that i am having such similar problems. the incident date listed below just indicattes the date of the most recent crack after just being replaced to pass nys inspection on 2-23-05.*ak | |||
| 07/07/2003 | 2100 | 1 | 05/26/2003 |
| Leased this vehicle may 27, 2003. rattles, popping noises at windshield area. popping noise at driver's side pillar. had windshield replaced, framework welded, dashboard removed twice, foam installed, and windshield molding replaced. pillar adjusted. noises continue. very fearful when driving this vehicle knowing that frame has been repaired and there are problems with the windshield. the noises are distracting. honda service tech, service manager,and factory representative heard all sounds. honda willing to attempt pillar repair only. *la | |||