2003 Honda Element problems & reliability
423 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2003 Honda Element, alongside 10 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
20 complaints report injuries (23 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2003 Honda Element vehicles were involved in 32 fatal crashes with 24 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | 226 | 53% |
| Air Bags | 49 | 12% |
| Electrical System | 35 | 8% |
| Structure | 32 | 8% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 27 | 6% |
| Suspension | 25 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 16 | 4% |
| Power Train | 12 | 3% |
| Exterior Lighting | 6 | 1% |
| Seats | 6 | 1% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 25,500 miles (middle 50% between 7,925 and 85,750 miles), based on 270 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2003 Honda Element. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact discovered that the rear trailing arm was severely corroded. The…”
Structure · filed Nov 10, 2025
“The trailing arm connection that connects to the subframe has completely rusted make the car unsafe to drive. Parts will break and driver will lose control of the car. These same parts were recalled in Canada many years ago.”
Unknown OR Other · filed Oct 5, 2025
“Rear driver side trailing arm separating from body non repairable. Needs professional inspection. Northern state purchased Michigan driven in salt conditioned roadways. Canadian recall for same issue. Recall Details Transport Canada Recall Number2021-024 Recall Date2021-01-26 Last Updated2023-07-07 Notification…”
Suspension · filed Aug 19, 2025
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA21002 · opened Sep 17, 2021 · open
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Engineering Analysis EA15001 · opened Feb 24, 2015 · open · led to recall 22V945
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture
Preliminary Evaluation PE14016 · opened Jun 11, 2014 · closed Mar 2, 2015 · led to recall 15V226000
- Ignition Shift Interlock
Engineering Analysis EA09001 · opened Jan 5, 2009 · closed Oct 14, 2010 · led to recall 10V364000
Technical service bulletins
172 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2003 Honda Element. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
A18-051 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 30, 2026
"Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"
A07-030 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 23, 2021
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-014 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service Bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A20-009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A18-051 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 1, 2018
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A18-049 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 25, 2018
Service bulletin - This bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. American Honda is offering a Customer Support Program (Warranty Extension) to cover any manufacturing defects…
A18-046 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 24, 2018
"service bulletin - as the result of takata defect determinations and nhtsa directives, american honda has moved the 2003-05 accord, 2003 05 civic, 2003 04 civic gx, and 2003 05 civic hybrid from this airbag inflator…
A14-046 - 7-1-15 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 21, 2017
Posters sent to hawaiian independent repair facilities, automotive part stores, car washes, and gas stations to remind owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_HAWAII PO · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 7, 2016
Flyer circulated to the residents of hawaii to remind owners of the takata recall and to schedule an appointment at their earliest convenience.
TAKATA_HAWAII FL · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 7, 2016
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2003 Honda Element has 10 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2003 Honda Element?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 25,500 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.