The car was being driven at a low speed across a school parking lot when there was a loud bang, the car dropped in the back and stopped movong. The rear trailing arm came apart from the body causing it to be inoperable. If I the car wasn't in a school zone and traveling at a high rate of speed this could have been a very serious accident. If there was a vehicle behind they would have rear ended the honda. If this happens on going down a hill it would have rolled over. If this happened on a busy highway it would have caused a multi car accident. Honda is aware of this issue in Canada but has done nothing to address it here in the United States. The vehicle is available for inspection for now. I can't have a vehicle sitting in my driveway that's inoperable due to city codes. The safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians walking and other vehicles on the road are in danger. This is a very top heavy vehicle that could easily flip and roll over causing seriously injury even death. I had the vehicle towed from where it broke, the tow truck driver is a mechanic who looked at it. He said what broke. I had another mechanic stop and look because he is a welder and said it can't be repaired at this point. There were no warning lights or signs of this happening. Unless you live in Canada where they sent owners a recall in the mail as long as they live in areas that have high salt usage on their roads.......not sure why that just pertains to Canada because, Michigan, New York, Vermont, new hampshire, Maine all get bad winters where salt is used. A vehicle should not disintegrate and fall apart like the hondas are. They are a danger on the road right now. This is the recall for this exact same problem in Canada https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/7/VRDB-BDRV/search-recherche/detail.aspx?lang=eng&mk=1954!4785!35936!42257!39379&mkName=HONDA&md=ELEMENT&fy=2003&ty=2003&ft=&ls=0&sy=0&syName=All%20Systems&all=0&rn=2021024&cf=SearchResult&pg=0

- Gloversville, NY, USA

This car was recalled in the past for a faulty ignition switch. I had the recall done, then paid for one from the dealer a second time as it happened again, and now I am having the issue a third.time. I believe the replacements are also faulty.

- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA

The door lock cylinders for the driver/passenger/tailgate will not accept a key to unlock the doors. The locks are immovable from the outside and inside, requiring a locksmith to open the doors or complete removal of the doors to safely enter and exit the vehicle. The key, when inserted into the lock in attempt to enter the vehicle, often will not release from the seized lock cylinder resulting in the key firmly lodged in the lock of the door, rendering it impossible then to drive the vehicle. The above mentioned cylinder locks are safety hazards for the following reasons: Children and adults entering and exiting the vehicle may be prone to injury from oncoming traffic due to door cylinder locks not operating properly and causing the door to jam requiring forceful pressure to be applied from the interior and exterior of the vehicle in order for the door to open. Infants and elderly individuals incapable of the motor skills necessary to open doors and locks may be locked inside of the vehicle with uncontrollable in cabin temperatures resulting in excessive heat/cold for an extended amount of time that could result in injury or death. Quick and safe entry and exit to and from the vehicle is impossible, resulting in an increase of the probable instances of theft or damage to persons/property attempting to enter/exit the vehicle in less than perfectly safe conditions. The fee involved with servicing the replacement of this door lock cylinder is exorbitant. A quote from the dealership put me at $200 just for them to open the door panel and look at it. To replace the cylinder and re-key it would cost upwards of $400 more. $600 to replace a cylinder lock on a car door. There are many other 2003 Honda Element owners who have had this issue as well, often paying the money to have the cylinders replaced, only to have them fail again a year later.

- Blaine, WA, USA

The lock on the driver side door does not work with the key. This is a 2003 and a remote locking device was not offered by the manufacturer according to the local dealer. This problem that has been getting progressively worse since we own this vehicle dating back to 10/2015. The ability to reliably lock and unlock your vehicle is a fundamental component to automotive safety

- Palmyra, PA, USA

Driver side door lock no longer working when alarm is activated. Key gets stuck sometimes in the lock. I then have to go around to passenger side to get in to open driver side door from the inside.

- Concord, CA, USA

Door locks are defective- cannot insert my key in driver's side door. My remotes don't lift the locks any more. Lights flash ok, but I have a feeling that the driver's side door lock is involved. I understand that this is common in this vehicle

- Buffalo, NY, USA

Dealerships rolling the milage back 3000and scams disable people out of thousands of dollars and 28% lawsuit crimmal and civil please call me.

- North, SC, USA

Door lock on the drivers door stopped working. Honda said I needed a key fob. It worked for a while. Now my key fob will not open drivers door. The only way to lock or unlock my door is to pull up on the handle and push lock down and to go to the other door and crawl across to unlock it. I have read of many owners being locked out of their cars totally. A repairman thought it was the actuator. When he went to install it, it was not. I have spoken to several Honda service departments and they have no clue they said.

- Salem, AR, USA

The door locks on the Honda Element are faulty. So faulty in fact that a year after the Elements were advertised, a technical service bulletin (06-068) was issued for "door lock cylinder binds". this tsb applied to 2003-2004 civics, 2002-2003 CR-V, 2003 Elements. The tsb includes the affected VIN numbers. Once the door cylinder stops working you cannot gain entry into the vehicle through the affected door. For me it was the drivers door and I was forced to enter the vehicle via the passenger door. The Honda site stated that you should contact the dealer and ask for re numeration as this was a known failure. The Honda dealer local to me stated that since it wasn't a recall they wouldn't "give me a break" on the cost to fix the problem. Honda should be made accountable since they knew this was a problem. The safety issue here lies in the fact that you can't enter your vehicle quickly in a dangerous situation. Climbing over seats is certainly not a safe thing to do either.

- Cream Ridge, NJ, USA

The driver's side outer lock and automatic lock fails on the car. Passenger must enter through passenger side only. Intermittent problem with multiple instances of this occurring

- San Antonio, TX, USA

The problem is with the windshield. I have had to replace it twice since January and it needs to be replaced again due to cracks. I checked around and I am not the only one with this problem. It seems that the windshield in the Element is very susceptable to cracks due to the flange creating too much stress which renders the glass very prone to cracking by road debris. I got hit by a tiny pebble which should never have cracked the glass. And in my 18 years of driving various vehicles, I have never, ever had this type of problem, so I know it is not just "bad luck" as the dealer has told me.

- Newburyport, MA, USA

Complaint regarding Honda american motors and the purchase of a 2003 Honda Element. Consumer stated experience at the dealership was less than good. His vehicle was sprayed with "armor oil type grease" all over the door panel with spray sprinkles. All over the front and back seats and console. They sprayed stuff all over the place to the point where his hand slipped off the steering wheel and the seats were destroyed. Dealership promised the perma plate, low jack and keyless entry. Consumer was told he wouldn't receive his keyless entry despite it being part of the deal. Consumer stated the dealership jacked up his vehicle.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

Bought the car with 264 miles on it on Aug. 15th, 2003. On Aug. 23rd, a noise began consistantly from the rear part of the vehicle each & every time when making turns.

- Plano, TX, USA