2005 Honda Element problems
NHTSA has received 204 complaints about the 2005 Honda Element, and 38% of them involve air bags. After that come electrical system (8%) and suspension (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 204 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 22 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 80,000 miles 142 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 23 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 18 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 15 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 13 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 15 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 7 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 13 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 7 |
What the data shows
Among the 142 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 80,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (55 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 22 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2005 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Honda Element with enough data (72 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 7 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was driving my honda element down a fairly busy street at 45 miles an hour. A man pulled out of a strip mall parking lot right in front of me. Although I honked my horn and slammed on the brakes, I could not avoid hitting him. My car has extreme front end damage and it was a high impact crash, however the air bags did not deploy. I am still waiting to hear if it will be determined to be totaled, but if it isn't, I do not feel safe driving this car in the future.
I swerved to avoid hitting a car and hit an embankment. My car lifted off the ground and rolled 3 times. I got the element because it had very high safety ratings. It also had side airbags which I found especially important for an SUV however none of them deployed.
I rolled my 2005 honda element (2x drive) on I-95 at least four times according to fhp. My front airbag did not deploy, although my windshield was crushed in. And my drivers' side airbag deployed only partially (1/4). I was extracted from the vehicle and life-flighted to shand's emergency room in jacksonville, florida. I suffered multiple contusions; internal bleeding and severely fractured sternum. Had my drivers side airbag deployed, I probably would have been spared much of this trauma.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 honda element. The contact stated that the key did not fit into the ignition without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The technician advised the contact to check for possible recalls. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 16v344000 (air bags) and15v320000 (air bags).