Honda Element Recalls

The Honda Element has 19 recalls covering the full 2003–2011 production run, with the most serious being Takata airbag inflator defects affecting all model years, where both the driver and passenger frontal airbag inflators can rupture and send metal fragments into the cabin, causing serious injury or death.

The airbag inflator issue is the dominant recall story for the Element and spans the entire production run from 2003 to 2011. Multiple filings cover the same underlying defect: the propellant inside the inflator can degrade over time, particularly in high-humidity and high-temperature environments, causing the inflator to explode with far more force than intended. Both the driver-side and passenger-side inflators are affected across 2003–2011 vehicles, with some filings specifically calling out vehicles registered in hot, humid regions. A separate but related concern covers 2003–2011 vehicles where a replacement passenger airbag may have been installed incorrectly, causing it to deploy improperly in a crash.

On the structural and chassis side, 2008 models have a rear suspension trailing arm where a bushing bracket weld can fail, releasing the lower wheel hub and damaging the brake system in a way that can cause loss of control. The 2003 model year, specifically vehicles from heavy road-salt regions, has a rear frame corrosion issue where the trailing arm can separate from the vehicle entirely, also resulting in loss of control.

The 2010 model year with an automatic transmission has a shift cable that may not have been correctly set at the factory, meaning the transmission may not actually engage the gear shown on the shifter, which can prevent shifting into or out of park or into reverse. The 2003–2004 automatic transmission models have an ignition switch interlock lever that can deform or wear, allowing the key to be removed while the transmission is not in park and letting the vehicle roll away.

Braking on 2007–2008 models can be affected by air entering the stability control pump during the system's startup self-check; over time, accumulated air can reduce braking performance. Going back to the earliest years, 2003–2004 models also have the ignition interlock concern noted above.

Two lower-severity recalls cover trailer hitch wiring: 2005 models with a trailer hitch kit have an incorrectly wired connector that can cause trailer brake and turn signal lamps to malfunction or blow a fuse, and 2007–2011 models with an accessory trailer hitch harness have the turn signal and stop lamp wires reversed, so trailer turn signals only illuminate when the brakes are applied.