"How reliable is the 2004 Honda Element?"

"Based on 329 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Honda Element has a median complaint mileage of 60000 miles. The most common issue is VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Honda Element?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Honda Element is VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD, accounting for a significant portion of the 329 total complaints filed."

2004 Honda Element: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 329 complaints

329

Total Complaints

60,000mi

Median Mileage

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

11,312 25th Percentile

60,000 Median Mileage

108,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

100

AIR BAGS

SEATS

SEAT BELTS

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

SUSPENSION

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

STRUCTURE:BODY

STRUCTURE

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CRACK STARTED GROWING FROM LOWER LEFT CORNER OF WINDSHIELD. IS NOW ABOUT 12" AND GROWING. NO IMPACTED MARKED VISIBLE. *LA"

"04 HONDA ELEMENT EX WITH SIDE AIRBAGS AND 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. WINDSHIELD CRACKED OVERNIGHT WHILE PARKED IN OUR DRIVEWAY. VEHICLE IS LESS THAN 2 WEEKS OLD WITH ONLY 450 MILES ON THE ODOMETER WHEN IT OCCURRED. *LA"

"THE FRONT WINDSHIELD DEVELOPED A CRACK IN THE DRIVER'S SIDE CORNER NEAR THE BOTTOM. *AK THE CRACK OCCURRED SPONTANEOUSLY WITHOUT AN IMPACT FROM AN OBJECT. *SC"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28