general problems of the 2004 Honda Element

My control arm mount and frame of my Element is rusted out, it is an ongoing problem with the Honda Element as I am seeing a lot of people online with similar issues. If this fails, it could put people at risk, I also see other Elements on the road with a camber'd out back tire on the driver side. I believe these wheels would fall into the car causing an accident. There are no warning lights that pop on, this is hard to get a look at until you get under the vehicle. They have done recalls on this exact problem in canada already, we need it here as well in the USA. The crv has also had the same issues and was given a recall in USA. I am very concerned with the amount of these cars on the road that many do not know the danger they are in.

Trailing arm mount rotting out from rust.

Just like the same era's Honda cr-v (the Honda Element's sibling car with many of the same components), the undercarriage rust on my vehicle is excessive: as described in the same era Honda cr-v's NHTSA recall (23v-228). Large sections of my car’s rear frame are completely missing, and as shown in the photographs even the rear bumper fell off because of all of the rust. Just like with the cr-v, a recall for the rear frame corrosion first occurred in canada and then in the see NHTSA recall 23v-228’s chronology. The Honda Element's canadian recall is as follows: "transport canada recall - 2021024 – Honda". As of today, there is no NHTSA recall for rear frame corrosion for Honda Elements. I am submitting this complaint for this car now, and also contemporaneously am submitting complaints under different vins for my other Elements with rust problems: every Honda Element that I have ever owned, even one that had spent its entire 14 year life as a new mexico, arizona, and texas car has had rust problems. In other words, no matter what environment these Elements (which were made for the model years 2003-2011) are in, they corrode right away (within any factory warranties), and eventually become dangerous.

The trailer arm rusted at the mount. I was told it was not safe to drive. I have learned that this is a common problem with this vehicle and Honda has issued a recall in canada, but not the USA. I also learned that there is a similar issue with I believe the Honda crv and that has been in recall from Honda in I believe both canada and the us. I found a place to do the repair and he said he has seen a lot worse than mine and has done many of these repairs. . The total repair cost is $1500. I also learned that due to its design water gets trapped in the mount and causes the rust, which sounds definitely like a design flaw. The repair entails fabrication a whole new mount for the trailer arm. I discovered it on June 7th when I was doing some under body clean up.

The rear left trailing arm mounting point is completely corroded through, making the car unsafe to drive. If it were to fall off during driving the chances of it creating an accident are high. There are many other Elements with this specific spot rusting through.

Drivers side rear control arm mount is almost none distant from rust. The subframe is almost gone and there is tons of rust on the drivers side frame as well. I have seen this with a lot of people laments. Canada even had a recall on this exact problem.

The left rear trailing arm separated from the body causing the wheel to turn outward and stop moving.

The rear driver’s side trailing arm, which connects to the frame and body of the car, is rusted out to the point where it can no longer be driven safely. If the arm detaches from the body, it will cause an extremely dangerous situation which can even result in death. I can no longer drive this vehicle, even though the engine and transmission are strong. There is no repair for this without spending thousands of dollars to cut and repair the rusted area. This is an extremely common issue with the Honda Elements in areas that get snow. It needs to be addressed because it may cause serious harm to those are are not as familiar with the underside of their vehicle.

The contact owns a 2004 Honda Element. The contact stated while driving 45 mph, the rear trailing arm detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 201,000. The VIN was not available.

My air conditioner went out and I was going to put car in reverse to see if the fans were working. When I put the key in I didn't start the car because my key wouldn't go forward or backwards it was just stuck and the steering column locked up. When I first purchased the vehicle in October 2022 I had to have to front end suspension joints replaced the bar in the middle was cracked. It sounded and felt like the motor was going to fall out. I need to replace the back suspension due to very loud noises when driving like something is going to fall apart.

The fuel filler neck has rusted through. If pumping gas into the vehicle, gasoline runs onto the ground by the rear tire. The rear trailing arm of the suspension has significant rust. I am concerned this suspension part could fail and become unattached to the vehicle frame/body. The canadian transportation board has ordered a recall to repairs these issues. From transport canada: toronto, ontario — Honda is recalling all 2003-2011 Element suvs, warning of rusting rear frames that could result in the complete separation of the rear trailing arm.

Excessive corrosion rear suspension near control arm. Honda has already issued a recall in canada. I was unaware of this problem until a big piece of rusty metal fell off the bottom of my car when I closed the rear driver’s door. My control arm is ready to fall out which could have led to a fatal accident. There are Honda forums all over the internet with thousands of posts in the USA with the same issue as the canada recall.