Body problems of the 2005 Honda Element

Rear unibody rust through allowing the drivers side rear trailing arm to become detached. Pulling up to stop sign very slowly luckily. At speed this failure would have assuredly led to a crash from loss of control. Calls have been placed to local Honda dealer as well as american Honda where I was informed there was no recall for this problem in the USA.

Defect where rear controller arm connects to frame is rusted out. This would cause the rear tires to fall off. The rest of the car isn’t that bad. Canada there is a recall for this but not in the USA.

I have a 2005 Honda Element, undercarriage and suspension components have severe rust. I tried to get an inspection from virginia and it failed immediately due to the rust. The mechanic lowered the vehicle as quickly as he could because of it falling off the lift. Ultimately he told it is unsafe to drive. After doing some research I found out that Honda canada has done a recall on Honda Elements from 2003-2010 due to this common issue and here is what they wrote. Issue: on certain vehicles, the rear frame could rust. In extreme cases, this could result in a rear trailing arm separating from the vehicle. This recall applies to vehicles originally sold or currently registered in areas of heavy road salt usage (ontario, quebec, new brunswick, nova scotia, prince edward island, and newfoundland & labrador). Safety risk: a rear trailing arm that separates could cause a loss of control and increase the risk of a crash. Corrective actions: Honda will notify owners by mail. Owners will be instructed to take their vehicle to a dealer for an inspection of the rear trailing arm front mount bolts. If the vehicle passes the inspection, the dealer will apply corrosion protection and install support braces. Honda will offer to repurchase vehicles that do not pass the inspection. In the event the repurchase is declined by an owner, a secondary inspection and body shop repair method may be possible.

I was driving around 12:15 in am, a vehicle from right came out of street and I could not avoid hitting the car. My Honda hit the car, described as a t bone hit. I had no passengers,and was wearing seat belt. My passenger side front air bag activated, my driver side air bag did not activate. My Honda car had severe damage on the left driver side, less on the right side. My head light was gone from the left side and right side was intact. My car was totaled as a loss by insurance company. The sensor located on my driver side did not react to deploy the air bag. The frame bar was bent and damage right next to the sensor. I received neck bruises, swelling and neck pain. My knee was cut and swollen. There are significant breaks in the plastic on both sides of the interior steering column, proving the intense of the force of the hit. The car was towed to an independent repair shop. My questions were not answered by Honda as to why my driver side air bag did not employ. I spoke to Honda customer service, with no satisfactory results. Thank you, with much appreciation.