2005 Honda Element Reliability Data: Problems & Recalls
Avoid The 2005 Honda Element ranks worst among 7 model years tracked, with a complaint index of 100 and 159 complaints, mostly airbags (48% share). It carries 7 recall campaigns, including multiple airbag inflator recalls, making it an Avoid year relative to other Element years.
Based on NHTSA complaints per model-year, not a reliability rating. Methodology
YearToAvoid Scorecard
- Complaint Index
- 100/100
- #1 of 7 Element years
- Verdict
- Avoid
- vs. other years of this model
- Complaints
- 159
- unique NHTSA reports
- Recalls
- 7
- distinct NHTSA campaigns
- Crashes
- 13
- reported in complaints
- Fires
- 5
- Injuries
- 19
- Top issue
- Airbags
- NHTSA overall rating
- Not rated
- EPA combined MPG
- 20.5
- 19 city / 23 hwy
- Injuries / deaths
- 19 / 0
Top 2005 Honda Element problems
Share of this year’s NHTSA complaints by component group. Groups with 15+ complaints have their own page.
- Airbags76 (48%)
- Structure & Body20 (13%)
- Electrical System17 (11%)
- Suspension, Wheels & Tires15 (9%)
- Engine14 (9%)
- Visibility & Wipers13 (8%)
- Transmission & Powertrain9 (6%)
- Seat Belts8 (5%)
- Brakes7 (4%)
- Other7 (4%)
A complaint can list more than one component, so shares add up to more than 100%. Shares are % of complaints.
What owners report
- Frontal and side airbags failed to deploy in crashes, including rollovers on highways, with median mileage at failure of 80,000 for airbag complaints.
- Driver's side airbag sometimes deployed only partially, leaving occupants with injuries despite a crash.
- Power window switches on the driver's door smoked, crackled, and in some cases caught fire, occurring at varying mileages.
- Electrical fires started near the dashboard or door panel while the vehicle was parked or moving slowly.
- Owners reported sudden acceleration incidents linked to pedal placement, in one case leading to a collision at low mileage.
2005 Honda Element recalls
7 NHTSA recall campaigns list this model year.
- NHTSA 19V501000Jun 27, 2019Airbags1,657,752 vehicles
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The vehicles are equipped with passenger frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are E5D and X5C.
- NHTSA 19V499000Jun 27, 2019Airbags3,947 vehicles
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are Q5A and Y58.
- NHTSA 19V182000Mar 6, 2019Airbags1,101,534 vehicles
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous Takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containing the same inflator type as a service part. Due to a manufacturing error, in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, these inflators may explode.
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.
2005 Honda Element fuel economy and fuel cost
- City
- 19 MPG
- Highway
- 23 MPG
- Combined
- 20.5 MPG
- Annual fuel cost (EPA)
- $3,175
- 15,000 mi/yr
- Fuel
- Regular
- Current regular gas
- $4.32/gal
- national avg.
EPA figures; median across configurations of this model year. Estimate your own cost with the fuel cost calculator.
2005 compared with other Element years
Frequently asked questions
- Is the 2005 Honda Element reliable?
- Compared to other Element model years, the 2005 ranks worst, with a complaint index of 100 (rank 1 of 7 years) and 159 complaints logged with NHTSA, mostly involving airbags.
- What problems does the 2005 Honda Element have?
- Owners most often reported airbag issues (48% of complaints, 76 cases), including non-deployment and partial deployment in crashes, followed by structure and body complaints (13%) and electrical system problems (11%), some tied to fires.
- Does the 2005 Honda Element have a recall?
- Yes. NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns for the 2005 Element, mostly for airbag inflator replacement, plus one 2011 recall for an automatic transmission control module software update.
- What is the fuel economy of the 2005 Honda Element?
- EPA rates the 2005 Element at 20.5 mpg combined (19 city / 23 highway), with an estimated annual fuel cost of $3,175.
- Which Honda Element years are better than 2005?
- All other tracked years score lower complaint indexes than the 2005 model's 100, with 2011 at 0 and verdicts ranging from Avoid (2006) to Caution (2007 through 2011).