Honda missed the mark with the Element’s youthful target demographic when it debuted in 2003. But today, it’s more popular than ever on the used-car market.
The Honda Element was designed for young people to go camping, hiking, surfing, and biking, but nobody in their 20s actually bought one. Part of the reason that it wasn’t a smash hit with the younger demographic was its design, which wasn’t exactly award-winning.
And after its first year of production, studies were showing that the majority of buyers were over the age of 35, and the median age of buyers was 42 years old. Older buyers didn’t seem to mind the looks and enjoyed the practicality.
Sales for the Honda Element were good for the first few years, selling over 50,000 units each year till 2006. Sales dwindled to about 11,000 units in its last year of production in 2010, when Honda decided to no longer produce the compact sport utility vehicle.
Although you won’t be seeing a new Element debut anytime soon, the compact SUV is now in demand on the pre-owned market because of its utility.
There are many additional reasons why the Honda Element remains a popular choice in the used car marketplace. But there were also many reasons that led to Honda deciding to discontinue the Element. Let’s go through all eight of the model years and find the best Honda Element year for your budget.
Honda Element: A Cult Classic
Introduced in 2003 for the “active lifestyle” demographic, the Honda Element was not originally a very well-liked car. Its design was quite polarizing and most people would just end up buying a Honda CR-V instead.
The Honda Element is essentially a box on wheels. But this unique layout is what made it different from its competition, like the RAV4. The Honda Element could practically fit anything you wanted in the back when you folded up the seats or removed them.
The Honda Element’s chassis is based on the CR-V platform, but shortened in length and taller in height. The spacious and roomy cabin is what separates the Element from the CR-V, you can fold all four seats flat to make a bed, and fold up the rear seats for more cargo capacity.
However, with the center of gravity a bit high, the car was reportedly hard to drive on the highway when there were strong crosswinds.
The Honda Element’s drivetrain certainly was not something to write home about either, but it was reliable and owners do not have many complaints. The engine that spanned the entire production of the Honda Element was a 2.4-liter dual-overhead-cam inline four-cylinder engine with 156 horsepower. And starting in 2007, it got a bump up to 166 horsepower.
Both engines meet those specifications at 5,500 rpm and 160 lb.-ft. torque at 4,500 rpm. It is not the strongest engine, and 0-60 times were in the eight to nine seconds range.
Towing capacity is 1,500 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 130 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 2007, Honda upgraded the automatic transmission to a five-speed, which would be worth holding out for if you can find a later model year. The most fun drivetrain option would be the Honda Element in a manual transmission, as it is a well-made five-speed manual — but it’s hard to find in good condition.
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.
Honda Element Problems & Recalls
Overall, the Honda Element is going to be a very reliable car. According to Car Complaints, the years to avoid are 2003 and 2007, which is interesting because 2003 is the first model year, and 2007 is the first model year of the refresh.
When car shopping, it’s always best to avoid the first model year of the production of a new car. A few of the complaints about the Honda Element are: In 2007 models, the speedometer gauge is known to just fall off while driving. And the key doesn’t fit into the door locks and won’t go into the ignition for the 2003 model year.
You can also find an informative article on Vehicle History on how to reset your Element’s immobilizer so you can make copies of your key if this issue affects your model.
Car and Driver bought a Honda Element for their 40,000-mile long-term test when it was new, and it proved to be a reliable car that C&D said “easily gets our wholehearted endorsement.”
There are several recalls on the Honda Element and check your VIN number on Vehicle History to see if your Honda Element has any potential open recalls. 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 2005 and 2006 model years, it seemed the windshield would crack easily because of a manufacturing defect.
Honda Element Features
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.
The trouble with suicide doors and why most modern cars don’t have them is because you have to open the front doors before you can open the rear doors. 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.
If you checked the “Dog-friendly” option box, you would get a water bowl for your dog; a ramp for easier entrance and exit; a small electric fan to cool your dog; and a special webbed kennel so your dog wouldn’t get hurt during transport.
Other fun options you could get are a 270-watt audio system with a subwoofer, a 12-volt accessory plug in the back, an overhead compartment, and an Element Lifestyle package that “outfits your automatic-equipped vehicle with a roof rack, door visors, a driver-side armrest with storage, and a handy tailgate seatback perfect for lounging.”
The original MSRP range when the Honda Element was new was $16,100-$20,850. And has some cool color options such as “Galapagos Green Metallic” and “Sunset Orange Pearl.” You could choose between two trim levels of the DX and EX, and the LX was added in 2004 and the SC model was added in 2007.
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 2007 stability control and ABS was made standard, and side-curtain airbags were made standard, this improved the IIHS crash tests to good. In 2010 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. While the interior is easy to clean because of water-resistant cloth seats, you shouldn’t take taking a hose to the interior after your muddy mountain bike ride.
Best Honda Element Year
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 2009 to 2011 with the five-speed automatic transmission, stability control, front and side airbags, and four-wheel drive.
Prices for a 2009-2011 Honda Element are quite reasonable and can be had for $6,000 to $13,000 for a good condition example.
Photos: Honda
