Problems · NHTSA complaints
2009 Honda Element problems
Owners filed 31 complaints about the 2009 Honda Element with NHTSA between Mar 2010 and Oct 2026. The most-cited component is suspension (8).
Complaints
31
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
4
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Suspension8
- Structure5
- Service brakes5
- Air bags5
- Steering3
- Vehicle speed control3
- Service brakes, hydraulic3
- Wheels1
- Tires1
- Electronic stability control (esc)1
- Power train1
- Engine and engine cooling1
- Fuel system, other1
- Electrical system1
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
5
1
1
1
0
4
2
1
2
1
3
1
0
1
3
3
2
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 5 |
| 2011 | 1 |
| 2012 | 1 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2014 | 0 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 |
| 2026 | 2 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Suspension
8 reports
“The car is extremely rusty, so much so that the driver side trailing arm detached from the rest of the frame. The driver side rear suspension components are detached from the car. The car has been garage-kept since new, yet is extremely rusty. This is just like what the Canadian Honda Element recall was all about. The local dealership refused to do anything and said the car was out of warranty.”
Structure
5 reports1 crash
“The contact owns a 2009 Honda Element. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH and approaching a stop sign, the contact observed a noise coming from the rear driver's side of the vehicle. The contact stated that when the vehicle came to a stop, he opened the driver's door and observed the rear passenger’s side tire was sideways. The vehicle was towed to a body shop where the contact was informed that the frame of the vehicle near the trailing arm was rusted through and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 152,403.”
Service brakes
5 reports
“A FAILED MODULATOR. SERVICE ADVISORY A52 MUSHY BRAKES.”
Air bags
5 reports2 crashes7 related recalls
“I WAS DRIVING MY HONDA ELEMENT 2009 ON A HWY IN SC. THE CAR WAS IN MOTION AND I HAD A GREEN LIGHT AND THE CAR WAS MOVING FORWARD WHEN A WOMAN WHO WAS DRIVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, MADE A LEFT TURN IN THE INTERSECTION FAILING TO YIELD ME THE RIGHT OF WAY. MY CAR IMPACTED HER CAR ON ONE SIDE MOST LIKELY THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR AND THE COLLISION WAS A FRONTAL COLLISION FOR MY CAR. NONE OF THE FRONTAL AIR BAGS IN MY VEHICLE WERE DEPLOYED. I HIT MY FACE ON THE WINDSHIELD AND I SUFFERED A CONTUSION/ LIGHT FRACTURE ON MY LEFT RIBS AND A HEAD CONCUSSION. CAR WAS PURCHASED AT A LOCAL DEALERSHIP ON 12/21/2016 WAS A USED CAR THAT NEVER WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION AND HAD A CLEAN TITLE AND CLEAN HISTORY. ACCORDING TO HONDA DEALERSHIP, THE CAR BELONGED TO ONE OWNER ONLY IN THE PAST. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET THE AIRBAGS REPLACED IN FEBRUARY 2017. MY BIGGEST CONCERN WHY THE AIRBAGS WERE NEVER DEPLOYED AND PROTECTED ME AS THEY WERE SUPPOSED?”
Steering
3 reports
“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, as shown in the photographs. My car is now undriveable. I had it towed to two Honda dealerships at my expense and both refused to even look at the car's rust, when I explicitly asked them to determine if the car was safe to drive. Niether dealership would confirm. Honda corporate cited that they were unable to assess the photographs that I sent to it because it does not physically inspect the cars. Honda corporate also insisted that it could not do anything about any dealership’s behavior as they are allegedly completely independent from Honda of North America. Honda corporate also looked up the history of my Hondas that I have owned and Elements that I still own and actually asked me, if I purchased them just to try to have Honda fix them for free. Just like with the CR-V, a recall for the rear frame corrosion first occurred in Canada and then in the US: see NHTSA Recall 23V-228’s…”
Vehicle speed control
3 reports1 crash1 related recall
“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). Sections of my car’s rear frame are rusty. Just like with the CR-V, a recall for the rear frame corrosion first occurred in Canada and then in the US: 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 other complaints under different VINs for my other Elements with rust problems: every Honda Element that I have ever owned, even this Element for this complaint that I am submitting right now, 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.”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.