10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
68,300 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Honda Element suspension problems

suspension problem

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2003 Honda Element Owner Comments

problem #10

Oct 272022

Element

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2003 has severe rust around undercarriage mainly in the rear. The rear frame is corroded causing my drivers side trailing arm to come loose while driving on the highway. I almost lost control as the rear started to fishtail. Luckily I had no vehicles next to me which would have caused a major accident. I've done research and they do have the recall in Canada but not here in the USA. Honda should immediately have that recall before someone gets seriously hurt or even worse!

- Oaklyn, NJ, USA

problem #9

Oct 132022

Element 4-cyl

  • miles
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

problem #8

Jul 172020

Element

  • miles
Rear trailing arm mounts rusted out and the arms dropped out from under the car I had almost 3 thousand dollars worth of repair done to it this summer And I really don-€™t feel the car is safe It has 92k on it and it hasn-€™t been driven on the road in years since this happened I finally found someone who would even attempt to fix it Why are the cars being replaced and repaired in Canada but not here??

- North Port, FL, USA

problem #7

Jul 112021

Element

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I turned onto Davie Blvd from SE 32nd heading West. I heard a -€œpop-€ & suddenly car was out of control-feeling like sliding. I pulled off to side street as I thought flat tire due to -€œpop-€ noise. All tires seemed fine so tried to drive again slowly but still felt no control/sliding effect. I slowly drove on side road watching back driver tire when I noticed it was facing outward as I steered straight. I learned from tow driver the sway bar/support snapped off from frame. I had car towed to where I was staying & researched on internet and was shocked to see many other Honda elements with same exact issue - and recall but now I see no recall (only in Canada where his Honda was repaired at no cost to him just in April of 2021 for 2003 Honda Element. I am upset as this was suppose to be my long term car after I had invested over $1700 just in past months to assure long future use. Engine works perfectly.

- Lake Placid, FL, USA

problem #6

Jul 202021

Element

  • miles
The rear trailing arm of the car came off while driving. The part of the frame where the suspension connects rusted through. I looked up related cases and it seams that there is a recall only in Canada and not in the US. This is dangerous and almost sent me off the road with no warning. Everything else on the car works wonderfully and the car rand and drove great until this happened.

- Brewster, NY, USA

problem #5

Sep 182020

Element

  • 168,000 miles
I'm concerned with the amount of rust under the vehicle. My Element is from Pennsylvania and they do use salt on the streets in the winter. Took car to mechanic and was told the car was very rusted underneath. Changing parts under the car is a difficult task due to the rest. Mechanic said it was cause car was driven in Pennsylvania the cause is to how the roads are salted. I did read this is a serious problem in Canada and other places and very dangerous but in America not as much. I'm wondering how I get this looked at by Honda and the problem be fixed like other Elements are being fixed or to see if it passes to have the unforced bracket put on.

- Monte Vista, CO, USA

problem #4

Mar 042021

Element

  • 240,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Rear trailing arms causing unsafe driving rear end unsafe over bumps

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #3

Mar 192021

Element

  • 210,000 miles
The subframe is rusted near the rear control arm, there is a danger of the control arm separating which can result in a crash. The vehicle was stationary when I discovered this as I was attempting to jack the car up to change a tire.

- Lansing, IL, USA

problem #2

Apr 082016

Element

  • miles
My airbag light is on and will not go off and I also have a knocking and ticking noise on the front passenger side when turning my steering wheel.

- Garland, NC, USA

problem #1

Jan 022012

Element

  • 65,000 miles
Excessive vibration where you can see the stick shift shimmy and shake. Both driver and passenger can feel car vibrating like it has a bad wheel alignment but wheels have brand new tires and are aligned. Mechanic says it seems to be a broken motor mount. I have read on several Honda and Honda Element community forums reporting that motor mounts break with low mileage. I believe this is a defect.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

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