2005 Honda Element Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Element years
- More complaints than other years 3rd of 9 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 7 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 159 complaints with NHTSA about the 2005 Honda Element. That ranks 3rd out of 9 Element model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is air bags (76 complaints, 48%), typically at around 80,000 miles. Complaints mention 13 crashes, 5 fires, 19 injuries. There are 7 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.
- 159owner complaints
- 7safety recalls
- 3NHTSA investigations
- 13complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2005 Honda Element problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags problems | 76 | 48% | 80,000 | “air bag” (32%) | — |
| Electrical System | 16 | 10% | 80,481 | — | — |
| Suspension | 13 | 8% | 86,000 | — | — |
| Seats | 12 | 8% | 73,750 | — | — |
| Visibility | 12 | 8% | 12,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 9 | 6% | 60,900 | — | — |
| Power Train | 9 | 6% | 159,884 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 8 | 5% | 114,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 8 | 5% | 160,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 7 | 4% | 120,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 6 | 4% | 760 | — | — |
| Engine | 4 | 3% | 169,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 3 | 2% | 118,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 3 | 2% | 195,372 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 2% | 25,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 3 | 2% | 130,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 1% | 81,500 | — | — |
| Tires | 2 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 1% | 3,400 | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 1 | 1% | 50,000 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2005 Honda Element recalls (7)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: 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.
Fix: 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.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2011 Honda Element vehicles, 2005-2012 Acura RL vehicles, 2006-2012 Honda Ridgeline vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2005-2008 Honda Pilot vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2009 Acura RL and Honda Element vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles, 2005-2008 Honda Pilot vehicles and 2006-2009 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, if not included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2008 Acura RL, Honda Element and Honda Pilot vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2006-2008 Honda Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall bagan March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KD9 and KE0.
Air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module
Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Honda is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2008 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2008 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2008 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that have ever been registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Lastly, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Honda is recalling model year 2002-2004 Odyssey and model year 2003-2004 Acura MDX, Honda Element, and Honda Pilot vehicles originally sold, or registered, in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 27, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KA0, KA1, KA2, and KA3.
Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module
Problem: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: Vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to September 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or after September 12, 2014, received a remedy for a prior driver frontal air bag inflator recall already received an inflator of a different design, and therefore are not included in this recall and do not require additional servicing. Note: This recall fully supersedes recalls 08V-593, 09V-259, 10V-041, 11V-260, 14V-351 and 15V-153. Honda's numbers for this recall are JQ9, JR0, JR1, JR2, JR3, JR4, JR5, JR6, JR7, and JR8.
Power train:automatic transmission:control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)
Problem: Honda is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 accord, 2007-2010 cr-v, and 2005-2008 element passenger cars manufactured from july 1, 2004, through september 3, 2010. The outer race of the secondary shaft bearing may be broken during certain driving styles. A broken outer race may cause abnormal noise, the malfunction indicator light to turn on, and allow contact between the transmission idle gear and an electronic sensor housing within the transmission.
Risk: This could result in a short circuit causing the engine to stall. Additionally, broken pieces of the outer race or ball bearing from the secondary shaft may become lodged in the parking pawl resulting in the vehicle rolling after the driver has placed the gear selector in the park position. Engine stall and unexpected vehicle movement increases the risk of a crash or personal injury to persons within the path of a rolling vehicle.
Fix: Honda will notify owners and dealers will update the automatic transmission control module software free of charge. The safety recall began on august 27, 2011. Owners may contact honda automobile customer service at 1-800-999-1009.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA21002) — opened Sep 17, 2021, still open.
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture (EA15001) — opened Feb 24, 2015, still open, led to recall 14V668.
- Air Bag Inflator Rupture (PE14016) — opened Jun 11, 2014, closed Mar 2, 2015, led to recall 13V172000.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
On 8.31.26, while driving my 2005 Honda Element Mileage: Approximately 125,000), the front passenger-side airbag spontaneously deployed without warning.There was absolutely no vehicle collision, physical impact, pothole, undercarriage strike, or jarring event to trigger a deployment. Approximately…
Left rear trailing arm mount has rusted and trailing arm is not intact.
"Reporting a Material Compound Failure on a set of 4 Falken Wildpeak AT Trails tires (size 215/70/16) sold as 'new' but manufactured in 2021 (DOT 3921). Despite 8/32" tread remaining (75% life), from there original 10/32'' tread the rubber is failing with severe dry rot/cracking through the…
The contact owns a 2005 Honda Element. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle began to tilt sideways while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact pulled off to the shoulder of the roadway. Upon…
Air bag in drivers seat deployed when I shut rear door. Car was running at the time.
Other Honda Element years
← 2004 Element · 2006 Element →
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 Element | 11 | 10 |
| 2010 Element | 30 | 10 |
| 2009 Element | 31 | 8 |
| 2008 Element | 113 | 12 |
| 2007 Element | 112 | 10 |
| 2006 Element | 122 | 9 |
| 2005 | 159 | 7 |
| 2004 Element | 281 | 9 |
| 2003 Element | 423 | 10 |
See all Honda Element problems by year, every Honda model, or the Honda VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2005 Honda Element?
Owners most often report air bags, electrical system, suspension problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 76 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2005 Honda Element?
Yes, 7 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2005 Honda Element a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Element model years, the 2005 has more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.