2008 Honda Element: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 127 complaints
127
Total Complaints
26,500mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS
Top Issue
4
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

10,375 25th Percentile
26,500 Median Mileage
102,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS
23
SUSPENSION
22
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
22
STRUCTURE:BODY
10
SERVICE BRAKES
7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
5
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR
3
TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS
3
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
3
POWER TRAIN
3

Severity Assessment

4
Crashes
0
Fires
2
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ALL THE TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKED OUT OF VEHICLE. VEHICLE WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR. VEHICLE ONLY SLID BACKWARDS UNTIL PLACED IN PARK. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. DEALER PUT IN TRANSMISSION FLUID, CHECKED PRESSURE AND RETURNED TO OWNER. IN 5-7 DAYS VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK BACKWARDS FORCE..."
"I JUST NOTICED I HAVE A CRACKED WINDSHIELD ON MY NEW 2008 HONDA ELEMENT. I DON'T RECALL ANY DEBRI OR ANYTHING HITTING MY WINDSHIELD BUT I NOTICED A CRACK? IN MY 37 YEARS OF DRIVING I HAVE HAD ONLY 1 CRACKED WINDSHIELD AND IN THAT CASE I SAW AND HEARD THE ROCK HIT MY WINDSHIELD BACK IN 1995ISH. *TR"
"THE TPMS LIGHT ON MY 2008 HONDA ELEMENT EX WILL NOT TURN OFF. IT HAS BEEN THIS WAY SINCE NOVEMBER OF 2007. AFTER FIVE VISITS, THE HONDA DEALER CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS THE TIRES AND NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR TPMS. THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS 2,000 MILES ON IT. AT 500 MILES I REPLACED THE ORIGINAL TIRES WIT..."

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