Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | |||
| 12/16/2012 | 78000 | 1 | |
| I was driving on a curvy road where it had recently rained - only driver was in vehicle. the element suv skid and possibly hydroplaned a little. the suv jumped the curb and crashed into a concrete column of a freeway overpass. the front end was smashed in and the radiator was destroyed. the passenger side airbag deployed but the driver airbag did not deploy. the collision was more on the driver side and it still did not deploy the airbag. the seatbelt i had on tensed up and kept me from crashing into the steering wheel. i did bounce a little and hit my head either on the side column or the frame above the window. the airbag may have prevented that. i am shocked it did not deploy. *tr | |||
| 12/16/2012 | 78000 | ||
| I was driving on a curvy road where it had recently rained - only driver was in vehicle. the element suv skid and possibly hydroplaned a little. the suv jumped the curb and crashed into a concrete column of a freeway overpass. the front end was smashed in and the radiator was destroyed. the passenger side airbag deployed but the driver airbag did not deploy. the collision was more on the driver side and it still did not deploy the airbag. the seatbelt i had on tensed up and kept me from crashing into the steering wheel. i did bounce a little and hit my head either on the side column or the frame above the window. the airbag may have prevented that. i am shocked it did not deploy. | |||
| 01/09/2012 | 85100 | ||
| I was driving down the interstate at 65 mph when i heard a loud boom. my arm went numb and my left ear was silent. as i looked down, i noticed that my driver's side side impact airbag had deployed. there was nothing in the road. i did not hit anything. nothing hit me. there is no external damage to my vehicle. the seat ripped open when the airbag deployed and the airbag left a sizable welt and bruise on my arm. there is no reason that the airbag should have deployed. i have not taken it to the dealership yet but have had it looked at by a few mechanics and they have not been able to identify any reason that the airbag has deployed. i will be taking it to the dealership this week. from my personal research, this is not an isolated incident. honda is aware that there is an issue with a unexplanable airbag deployment and has made no action to correct the issue. as it continues to happen, it will cause an accident and someone will be fatally injuerd. this issue needs to be addressed. | |||
| 02/26/2010 | 23601 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda element. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was an unusually loud noise coming from the vehicle immediately followed by the air bag warning light illuminating on the instrument panel. while driving at speeds of 65 mph, within an hour, the driver side air bag partially deployed. the dealer could not duplicate nor determine the cause of the failure. the manufacturer was contacted but was not willing to provide any assistance. there were no repairs made to the vehicle. the approximate failure mileage was 23,601 and the current mileage was 24,704. the vin was not available. | |||
| 11/07/2007 | 20000 | 1 | 09/02/2006 |
| When: motor vehicle accident on wednesday, 11/07/2007, 1515hrs where: southbound co hwy 93 and eastbound co hwy 72; jefferson county, state of colorado; what: motor vehicle accident: 2006 honda element was struck by an suv. the accident caused the 2006 honda element to rollover, once, before righting onto its wheels. extensive damage occurred to the element automobile. notably, the airbags - front, passenger, and side - did not deploy. the safety belt restraint system protected the sole occupant from life-threatening injuries. who: colorado state patrol. jefferson county sheriff department, arvada, co police department; and arvada fire department arrived at the scene. the attending law and emergency rescue personnel were surprised that the honda element airbag system did not deploy due to the severity and catastrophic nature of the accident. issue: was the 2006 honda element air bag system defective due to the absence of deployment in this rollover accident? *tr | |||
| 05/21/2007 | 1 | 08/29/2006 | |
| A lady ran a red light (which was already red for 12 seconds) and hit me from the right side, which then caused my car to go at an angle striking a pole head-on. the airbags all deployed as they were supposed to but i did end up having second degree burns on my hands and wrists. while the bags worked as they were supposed to, i thought it wise to file a complaint for the mere purpose of requiring the auto industry to make its customers aware of the types of burns that airbag deployment can cause. i have found in talking to many people about my wreck, that a lot of people have no idea that they can get burned by these things that are installed in their cars. *tr | |||
| AIR BAGS - FRONTAL | |||
| 01/19/2011 | 39675 | ||
| I ran head on into the side of a mitsubishi montero going 40 mph. the passenger airbag deployed even though there wasn't a passenger. the driver airbag did not deploy. the police, firemen, paramedics, and insurance adjusters were all shocked when they saw the car with the airbag not deployed. i have a photo of the damage to the front of the car that i can e-mail to you which will show the amount of damage. i have a photo of the inside showing the passenger airbag deployed and the driver airbag intact. | |||
| 07/01/2009 | 26000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda element. while driving 15 mph, the front driver's side air bag deployed without warning. the air bag light illuminated after the deployment. the manufacturer stated that they never heard of air bags deploying without an impact occurring and would not assume liability. the vin was unknown. the current and failure mileages were less than 26,000. | |||
| 02/14/2009 | 21800 | 1 | |
| While sitting behind a car waiting to make a left hand turn 2006 honda element was struck from behind by a car traveling approx. 45 mph. 2006 element then struck the car in front of it. driver's side airbag did not deploy, nor did the seat belt grab, resulting in driver smashing face and ribs against steering wheel. *tr | |||
| 01/21/2008 | 26500 | 1 | 09/30/2006 |
| My 2006 honda element was involved in an accident. my front end impacted the passenger side of the other vehicle. the entire front end of the element was crushed and part of the frame damaged beyond repair. the driver's airbag failed to deploy while the passenger's airbag did inflate. driver has suffered bruising in the chest area from the seat belt. car is currently in an autobody shop in arlington waiting for the insurance company to declare it unrepairable. *tr | |||
| 10/23/2006 | 5300 | 3 | |
| Driver ran into stopped car in front of him. speed was sufficient to flatten the car up to the front of the engine - little damage behind that. car is 2006 honda element. air bag did not deploy. safety belt did not lock up quickly - driver struck the steering wheel, and chest was bruised by top of steering wheel. passenger seat moved to the full forward position, almost touching the dashboard. no significant injuries resulted, but safety systems did not work as expected. | |||
| AIR BAGS - SIDE/WINDOW | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.my wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as mine have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.myy wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as min e have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.my wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as mine have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.myy wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as min e have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.my wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as mine have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.myy wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as min e have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.my wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as mine have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.myy wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as min e have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.my wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as mine have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 09/07/2010 | 69786 | ||
| On 9/7/10 while driving southbound on i-15 south of las vegas, nv the right front.paassenger airbag on my 2006 honda element indadvertently deployed. there was no impact or collision of any kind.myy wife was sitting in the right fron passenger seat when the incident occurred. the right front passenger side airbag deployed with such force that it blew a hole through a blanket my wife had wrapped around her injuring her right arm and shoulder. upon returing to my home in ventura, ca i contacted a local honda dealer in oxnard, ca. they were very circumspect in their discussions with me and i was asked to visit them on 9/13/10 with any additional information i may have. i have done some research since the incident in question and have discovered that other incidents such as min e have occurred in the past and have been reported to your agency, but with little or no results. it is my understanding that north american honda has refused to acknowledge any responsibility for what seems to be a defect in their airbag system(s). so far as i can tell from my research no one has been killed yet by previous incidents in a honda element such as mine. it is my contention that it is only a matter of time before you can put an x in the death or fatality box on your form. it's time your agency stepped up to the plate and did something to force honda to take responsibilty for this defect. | |||
| 07/01/2009 | 25450 | 1 | |
| I was driving my 2006 honda element down the road to get out of the neighborhood. the car only has 24,000 miles on it. it was in arrowhead honda in peoria, az on june 30th 09 for a oil change. as i was driving the driver side airbag(seat airbag) deployed. it was an extremely load bang. i pulled over to see if it was my tire or what had happened. there was no debris road at all. the airbag deployed on its own. i took it back to arrowhead honda, and they said they would not fix it. they said i had to file an insurance claim for this. i did some research and found out i am not the only person that this has happened to. honda needs to fix this. *tr | |||
| 06/30/2009 | 28000 | 1 | |
| My daughter was driving on the highway to school when suddenly the driver's air bag exploded into her side. she hadn't hit a pot hole and hadn't run over anything. she pulled off the road and checked to see if she had been shot. she said smoke or a gas released from the airbag. she took it to the closest honda dealership the next day. the dealership did an assessment of the sensors and examined underneath the car. they said that the car must have run over an object that set the sensors off because they said there was a small gash that ran parallel to the car;s body. my daughter did not notice any debris on the road. even if she did run over road debris, why are sensors placed in this spot under the sidestep where any little bump causes the sensors to make the airbag explode. they offered to have the sensors and seat airbag replace at a cost to us. we declined as we feel that honda should pay for this since the sensors are placed in a dangerous accident causing position where any bump can set it off causing the airbag to explode without necessarily being in an accident. this could have caused a serious accident. *tr | |||
| 07/15/2008 | 40100 | 1 | |
| Accidental side airbag deployment: the side air bad has deployed twice (~12 months apart) without any side impact. *tr | |||
| 07/24/2008 | 89500 | 1 | |
| Air bag went off while driving down the freeway... air bag went off for no reason just driving drivers side air bag burned and bruised arm..car at the honda dealer they are deciding to fix or not to fix the car. don't know if honda will fix the car. *tr | |||
| 03/28/2008 | 40000 | 1 | |
| Driver's side airbag deployed after minor non-damaging bottom impact. the car was driven over a pile of asphalt at a very low rate of speed (>5mph) and when it came down it bottomed out on the pile. the side (passenger seat) air bag deployed. there is no external body damage to the vehicle other than some shallow scratches on the bottom frame at the point of impact. i don't deny impact, but complain that a $1000 repair and the potential for passenger injury (no one in seat at time) resulted from a non-damaging, non-severe, non-injury threatening bottom impact. an airbag should not deploy with such minor impact. my bag system is now inoperative and my side bag is blown out of the passenger seat back. airbags are there to protect flesh from crushing metal and shattering glass. why did a bag go off when no protection was necessary? the only protection needed at that time was protection from a needlessly exploding air bag! now my entire system is inoperable in the event it is needed for a valid impact. *tr | |||
| 09/05/2007 | 11740 | 1 | 08/11/2006 |
| I was driving my 2006 honda element on a dirt road at 25 mph when the side airbag in the drivers side seat spontaneously deployed. i took it to the dealer and they said that it was not covered under the bumper to bumper warranty because the airbag did what it was supposed to do. the side airbag on a honda element deploys as the result of a single sensor being activated. the front airbags deploy when 2 out of 3 sensors are activated. i was told by the dealer that this has happened on other honda elements, not as the result of an accident but because of the sensor indicating a need for deployment. *jb | |||
| 05/27/2007 | 9139 | 1 | 06/01/2006 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2006 honda element. while driving 65 mph, the vehicle was involved in a crash. the air bags failed to deploy. the dealer was unable to determine the cause of failure and advised the contact to call the manufacturer and nhtsa. the contact sustained an injury to her collar bone. a police report was filed. the engine size and # of cylinders were unknown. updated 08/16/07. *jb | |||
| 09/23/2006 | 21550 | 1 | 04/13/2005 |
| I was driving at low speed along a gravel road at approximately 10 mph in a 2004 honda element ex when the side airbag deployed on the driver's side of the vehicle. i did not hit anything and i can find no reason why this airbag would deploy without any impact. *jb | |||
| 07/28/2006 | 65 | 1 | 12/30/2005 |
| July 28th 2006 @ about 3 pm. i was driving home on the freeway @ normal rate of speed (65 or so mph) with the flow of traffic. i was driving in the second from the fast lane. it was a normal southern california day, sunny, clear and hot. after about 40 minutes of my 1 hour commute the drivers side airbag suddenly and without any warning deployed with a extremely loud and disorienting bang! i was quite startled by the deployment but was able to maintain control of the vehicle. when the bag went off my left arm was resting on the window ledge. i received a nasty welt on my upper forearm as a result of the bags sudden deployment. i then pulled off the freeway to inspect my vehicle. i found no signs of damage on the exterior and none on the interior except for the rather large rip in my drivers side seat and the now deployed airbag hanging off the side of my seat. i took the car to the dealer on saturday left it for the tech to evaluate. i was called that afternoon and informed that i would need to bring it back and leave it during the week so they could consult the corporate advisors/specialist in the matter. i returned the car on tuesday aug 1 2006 for the evaluation. i received a call later in the day informing me that honda would not be repairing the vehicle as i had hit or run over something causing the deployment. as i said earlier there was no impact and nothing was run over prior to the deployment. i have owned the car since mile 7 on the odometer and have been the only driver for it's 18000 miles. i want to make it clear this was a very dangerous occurrence. i was able to control the vehicle and avoid an accident. maybe the next person this happens to wont. i don't want this to go undocumented for future victims. also, i don't think a sensor should be placed anywhere under the vehicle where it could be struck and cause an accidental deployment anyway!*jb | |||