Honda element how long last

Acceleration is adequate from the 2. Earlier versions had antilock brakes only on the EX trim; ABS and stability control became standard for A classic nameplate returns as a more upscale five-door hatchback. Smart SUV Alternatives. Finding your dream SUV can be tough now, but there are other vehicles that may deliver the functionality you need. Consumer Reports explains the difference between intermittent and sustained lane keeping.

Latest Honda Videos. Popular at InsideHook. Chicago Los Angeles New York. The Goods Deals Subscribe Account. Vehicles October 18, am. If the Honda Element could have stuck around, maybe it would have found its audience. By Cam Vigliotta. Honda Model X Concept. More Like This. Recommended Suggested for you.

The InsideHook Newsletter. News, advice and insights for the most interesting man in the room. Email Please enter a valid email address. Both engines meet those specifications at 5, rpm and lb. It is not the strongest engine, and times were in the eight to nine seconds range. Towing capacity is 1, pounds, good enough for your twin Sea-Doos or Harley-Davidsons. But this car was not built for straight-line speed, and people did not buy the Honda Element to tow their Sea-Doos to the beach.

People bought the Honda Element for its huge cargo capacity. It has a cargo volume of around cubic feet with the rear seats removed, which is about the same as a Chevrolet Suburban or a Ford Expedition Extra Long. Drivetrain options for the car were two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, and they could be mated to an optional four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmission. In , Honda upgraded the automatic transmission to a five-speed, which would be worth holding out for if you can find a later model year.

And if you can find the four-wheel drive Honda Element, we suggest that as well, because of the additional safety. But the two-wheel drive would be just fine if you add snow tires. Also, with two-wheel-drive, there are fewer things to break and it will get slightly better mpg: 19 in the city, and 24 mpg on the highway. Overall, the Honda Element is going to be a very reliable car.

According to Car Complaints , the years to avoid are and , which is interesting because is the first model year, and is the first model year of the refresh. A few of the complaints about the Honda Element are: In models, the speedometer gauge is known to just fall off while driving. Some of the major ones to look out for are exploding airbags , accelerator sticking, and the trailer hitch wiring harness.

There were also some windshield issues on the and model years, it seemed the windshield would crack easily because of a manufacturing defect. The biggest and most talked about features of the Honda Element are its suicide side doors and rear clamshell hatch doors. If you are a parent of a toddler, clamshell doors cloud be your worst nightmare.

But if you are using the Honda Element to load large items inside, it could be a dream come true. So, it can be a pain for entering and exiting from the rear of the car. The clamshell rear hatch can actually be a nice feature because it makes accessing your gear quite easy, and it gives you a nice workspace when it is open.

The Honda Element is easily cleaned and accessible for dogs. So, this gave Honda the idea to start selling a dog package for the Honda Element in its final years of production. A worthwhile option to look for in a used Honda Element that you could specify was a moon roof that would allow you to stand up in your car and would give you the ability to add a camping tent to your roof.

In stability control and ABS was made standard, and side-curtain airbags were made standard, this improved the IIHS crash tests to good. In the higher trim models would come with a rearview camera. Some people thought you can just hose down the interior of the Honda Element and this part is unfortunately not true. If you can get over the design and poor highway driving, the Honda Element is a great car. And if you are still interested in buying a Honda Element after all those quirks and features then we think it would be best to look for a late model year like to with the five-speed automatic transmission, stability control, front and side airbags, and four-wheel drive.

Honda Element Features Honda Element The biggest and most talked about features of the Honda Element are its suicide side doors and rear clamshell hatch doors. Photos: Honda. Why did they stop making Honda Element? At the end of , Honda decided to discontinue the Element because it was one of their poorest selling vehicles.

After 8 years of production, the Element was dated and ready for a refresh, but the lack of sales made it not worth it to redesign it. The Honda Element was a very specialized vehicle that appealed to a limited group of people and that led to it not selling well.

There are now people that love the Element because it was such a quirky small SUV and was something unique when all vehicles were pretty much the same. The Element overall was a good experiment by Honda. They took the risk to try something different, and although it was not a massive financial success it did bring some interest to the brand since it was something so unique compared to what people were used to. Why are Honda elements so expensive?

The Honda Element is more expensive than a lot of other small SUVs from the same era because there are so few of them out there. The Element did not sell well when it was brand new and that leads to there being a shortage of them for sale on the used market. That shortage of vehicles drives up the value of them, especially when you look at low mileage all original versions that have been well cared for over the years. The Element has an enthusiast following now because it was such a quirky SUV.

Many of the most unique cars on the market develop a following and the Element is no exception to that rule. If you want to find an Element be prepared to pay more than comparable small SUVs, like a CR-V, because you are in competition with people that are very interested in this vehicle due to its unique characteristics.

Do Honda Elements last long? Honda Elements are known to be able to last a very long time. At their core, they are still a Honda that has a reliable four-cylinder engine and they are very well built.

You should be able to get over , miles out of an Element with no issues, but if you take care of it and get your maintenance done on time you can get , miles or more out of one. The Honda Element still has the legendary Honda Reliability that people have come to know and expect. Overall there are not many problems reported about the Element. The most common complaint is that the door locks may not work due to worn-out tumblers, but aside from that, there are not a lot of mechanical issues that pop up with them.

The redesigned Kia Soul is available in the model, putting the interior electronics and accessories of the Element to shame. The Mazda 5 is a hatchback that boasts lower headroom than the Honda Element and a fraction of the cargo space. Though smaller than a minivan, a Mazda 5 has decent fuel economy, and is built with a Mazda motor that can last , miles.

Though the Mazda 5 looks like a classic van, it seats 6. The Mazda 5 had problems in with suspension. Like most other boxy vehicles, they were discontinued in due to the change in aesthetics required by the marketplace. Designed and launched in , there are only 2 models released. As the Forester is new, it beats the Element in most of the categories mpg, cargo space, interior space, emissions, towing capacity.

The Honda Element is ranked on RepairPal as 4. CarComplaints keeps track of complaints in vehicles over the different models. The worst year for the Honda Element is The majority of the complaints in 68 total is due to the interior accessories, with the highest complaints revolving around the key not going into the outer lock or the ignition.