2007 Honda Element problems & reliability
112 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2007 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.
4 complaints report injuries (6 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2007 Honda Element vehicles were involved in 17 fatal crashes with 9 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 27 | 24% |
| Electrical System | 22 | 20% |
| Suspension | 14 | 13% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 11 | 10% |
| Engine | 7 | 6% |
| Unknown OR Other | 7 | 6% |
| Visibility | 7 | 6% |
| Structure | 6 | 5% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 5 | 4% |
| Power Train | 5 | 4% |
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 71,500 miles (middle 50% between 28,500 and 114,000 miles), based on 67 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2007 Honda Element. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V436000 (Electrical System, Trailer Hitches) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The contact was advised by the local dealer that the vehicle was not eligible for recall repairs due to the…”
Electrical System · filed Dec 27, 2024
“While driving up my driveway on the way home the left swing arm seperated from the unibody allowing the left rear wheel to move aft jamming the left rear tire into the rear inside fender effectively locking that wheel at about a 20 degree angle.”
Suspension · filed Sep 3, 2024
“The rest frame has rusted from the inside out, frame actually broke when going in for repairs. Was raised on lift for basic brake repair and the frame separated on the rear driver side. Same exact issue that was recalled in crvs of same year.”
Power Train · filed Aug 13, 2024
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
- Air in brake system
Engineering Analysis EA09014 · opened Oct 19, 2009 · closed May 11, 2010 · led to recall 10V098000
Technical service bulletins
50 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2007 Honda Element. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - Warranty Extension: Customer Support Program For Front Passenger's Airbag Inflator.
A18-050 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 30, 2026
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…
A20-015 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 3, 2022
"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…
A20-015 · 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…
A20-010 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2020
Tech line summary article - Is the MIL on with DTC P2271 (secondary HO2S [sensor 2] circuit signal stuck rich)? What's likely causing this is the PCM is misinterpreting the A/F sensor (sensor 1) signals, causing the PCM…
ATS 180604 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 14, 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…
A18-053 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 7, 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…
A18-050 · 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…
A18-047 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 24, 2018
Service bulletin - all of the listed vehicles have a type 4 immobilizer system that disables the vehicle unless a programmed ignition key is used. The type 4 system is different than previous systems in that the…
A02-053 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 20, 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 2007 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 2007 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 71,500 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.