2003 HONDA ELEMENT Complaints

CRACKED WINDSHIELD: CONSISTENT WITH HUNDREDS OF OTHER HONDA ELEMENT OWNERS, ON ONE PARTICULARLY COLD (BY CA STDS. ANYWAY) MORNING, I TURNED ON MY DEFROSTER AND THE WINDSHIELD STARTED CRACKING FROM THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER. THE CRACK HAS TRAVELED ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF THE GLASS IN A PATTERN THAT MIRRORS THAT OF THE DEFROSTER OUTLETS. *JB

VEHICLE LUNGED FORWARD, AND CONSUMER HAD TO APPLY THE BRAKES VERY HARD IN ORDER TO STOP VEHICLE. THIS OCCURRED WHEN VEHICLE WAS SLOWING DOWN. *AK

THE WINDSHIELD HAS CHIPPED AND CRACKED NUMEROUS TIMES OVER THE 9 MONTHS WE HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE. IT WAS BRAND NEW AND THERE IS A DEFECTIVE PART THAT THE DEALER WILL NOT REPLACE.*AK

ELEMENT BOUGHT JULY 2003. I DRIVE ALOT OF HIGHWAY MILES, ALLREADY 28,000 MILES. I HAVE PROBABLY DROVE CLOSE TO 800,000 MILES IN MY 25 YEARS OF DRIVING. ONCE THAT I KNOW OFF DID A WINDSHIELD CRACK.....MAYBE TWICE. I HAVE FOUR INCIDENTS OF ROCK CHIPS ALLREADY. ONE OF THE CRACKS SPANS THE WIDTH OF THE WINDOW. AS A STATISTICAL MANAGER FOR MY JOB, THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY A PURCHASING MESS UP WITH SUB-STANDARD GLASS QUALITY. THERE HAS TO BE A RECALL ON THIS WINDSHIELD TO AN UPGRADED QUALITY OF GLASS. IT IS NOT SO MUCH THE SAFETY FACTOR AS IT IS THE $500 REPLACEMENT AND INSURANCE COSTS. SOMEBODY MADE A MAJOR MISTAKE IN A VENDOR AND MOST LIKELY IS NOT SUPPLYING WINDSHIELDS TO HONDA ANYMORE AND IS PROBABLY OUT OF BUSINESS OR CHANGED THEIR NAME FOR LIABILITY SAKE. THIS ISSUE WILL NOT GO AWAY!! *AK

WHILE SITTING IN A HOSPITAL PARKING RAMP MY WINDSHIELD STARTED CRACKING AND SPREAD UNTIL IT WENT FROM DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE DRIVER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GLASS UP ABOUT FOUR INCHES AND ACROSS TO THE PASSENGER SIDE AND BACK DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE GLASS. BETWEEN MY WIFE AND MYSELF WE HAVE OWNED CLOSE TO TWENTY VEHICLES AND NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN. *JB

CRACKED WINDSHIELD.....AGAIN. 2ND CRACKED WINDSHIELD IN TWO MONTHS. TOLD THIS WAS IMPACT DAMAGE FROM DEALER. DEALER POINTED OUT MICROSCOPIC "CHIP" AT THE SEAL LINE. 20+ YEARS OF DRIVING NEVER HAD A CRACKED WINDSHIELD NOW HAVE TWO. *JB

AFTER A LOT OF COMPLAINING, TO SEVERAL DEALERS AND HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE, I FINALLY HAD MY WINDSHIELD REPLACED AFTER A 12" CRACK APPEARED FROM UNDERNEATH THE DRIVER'S SIDE WIPER BLADE ONE NIGHT IN JUNE 03. IT TOOK UNTIL DECEMBER 03 TO GET THIS ISSUE RESOLVED. HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE (800 NUMBER) WAS TERRIBLE AND AFTER A WHILE THEY JUST KEPT REPEATING THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. MY DEALERSHIP STEPPED UP AFTER I COMPLAINED TO THE SALES MANAGER AND LET HIM KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ASK ABOUT THE CAR AND EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING TO START TELLING THEM-THAT WE WERE GETTING TREATED POORLY BY HONDA. THEY REPLACED IT UNDER "GOODWILL". A FEW WEEKS AGO THERE WAS A SMALL DING IN THE CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD, NO STAR, AND WE TURNED ON THE DEFROST AND THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM CORNER TO CORNER BEFORE OUR EYES. DEALER CLAIMS THIS IS TOTALLY NORMAL BEHAVIOR FOR A WINDSHIELD. I LET STATE FARM KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON AND THEY'RE LOOKING INTO IT. WE ARE REALLY DISAPPOINTED--NO, IRATE--WITH HONDA, AND NOT AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT IT UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS TAKEN CARE OF FOR GOOD.*AK

A CRACK DEVELOPED IN THE PASSENGER'S SIDE LOWER CORNER AT THE BASE BEHIND THE WINDSHIELD WIPER THAT EVENTUALLY SPREAD UP 8 INCHES AND ACROSS 8 INCHES AND BACK DOWN TO THE BASE. THERE WAS NEVER ANY TYPE OF EVIDENCE OF ANY TYPE OF ROCK CHIPPING OR DAMAGE. I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN TO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP, AND THEY ASSURED ME THAT IT WOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD. THE DAY IT WAS TO BE REPLACED THEY CALLED AND SAID THERE WAS A PROBLEM. NOW THERE IS EVIDENCE OF SOME MAGIC "ROCK CHIP" AND THEY WENT AHEAD AND INSTALLED THE NEW WINDSHIELD ANYWAY WITHOUT MY CONSENT. NOW THEY WANT THEIR $553.00. GO FIGURE. I ALSO WANT TO MENTION THAT THIS IS THE THIRD SUCH CRACK IN UNDER 7 MONTHS OF OWNING MY HONDA ELEMENT. MY VIN FALLS UNDER THE HONDA SERVICE BULLETIN # 03-028 AS HAVING THE DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELD AS WELL. IT'S ALL A SCAM! THEY WANT YOU TO CLAIM IT ON YOUR INSURANCE SO THEY DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL OF THESE REPAIRS. THEN THEY TRY TO HOLD YOUR VEHICLE HOSTAGE IF YOU DON'T PAY THEM IMMEDIATELY. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THESE GESTAPO TACTICS. THEY KNOWINGLY SOLD ME A DEFECTIVE VEHICLE, AND NOW THEY WANT TO PASS THE BUCK TO WHOMEVER WILL PAY EXCLUDING THEMSELVES. *JB

WINDSHIELD ON 2003 HONDA ELEMENT FOUND IN GARAGE WITH A CRACK NEAR THE BOTTOM CORNER ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. THE HONDA DEALER AND REGIONAL SERVICE MANAGER REFUSED TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD UNDER WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO DAMAGE FROM ANY IMPACT. THIS HAS BECOME A GROWING PROBLEM WITH MANY OF THESE VEHICLES WHICH HONDA HAS THUSFAR NOT TAKEN CARE OF. *JB

I PURCHASED A 2003 HONDA ELEMENT IN OCT-03 AND CURRENTLY HAVE 4400 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. ON 1-24-04 A VERY SMALL PEBBLE "NICKED" MY WINDSHIELD ( NO STAR) AT THE BASE ( JUST UNDER THE DRIVERS SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADE) CAUSING A WINDSHIELD CRACK THAT HAS GROWN TO ABOUT 12 INCHES IN LENGTH. I HAVE DRIVEN VEHICLES OVER 35 YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD THIS EXPERIENCE WITH SUCH A MINOR PEBBLE HIT. I CHECKED THE HONDA WEBSITE - SEE TECH ADVISORY( 03-028) BUT HONDA AUTHORIZATIONS ARE ONLY FOR WINDSHIELD CRACKED WITHOUT ANY TYPE OF IMPACT. I DON'T BUY HONDA'S EXPLANATION. GLASS STRESS IS JUST THAT & STRESS ON GLASS THAT IS NOT PROPERLY INSTALLED, FITTED, OR DESIGNED WILL LEAD TO CRACKS FROM MINOR IMPACTS AT A HIGHER RATE. I VISITED THE HTTP://WWW.HONDAELEMENT.ORG/SHOWTHREAD.PHP WEBSITE AND NOTED THAT 25 TO 30 % OF NEW ELEMENT OWNER COMPLAINTS HAD TO DO WITH CRACKED WINDSHIELDS. IN SOME CASES OWNER HAD ALREADY REPLACED THEIR WINDSHIELDS TWICE ($500.00 A POP). HONDA'S CURRENT POLICY IS TO SIDE STEP THE PROBLEM. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. THIS IS A BRAND NEW VEHICLE AND HONDA HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO STEP UP AND WORK TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I AM ALSO GREATLY CONCERNED ABOUT HAVING THE WINDSHIELD REPLACED BEFORE THE PROBLEM IS IDENTIFIED AND SOLVED. THERE ARE ALSO A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS REPORTED ON THE WEB SITE NOTED ABOVE REGARDING PROBLEMS WITH IMPROPER INSTALLATION/FIT OF NEW WINDSHIELDS (SEVERAL ATTEMPTS, PERSISTENT RATTLES, & CRACKS) AFTER REPLACEMENT. IF HONDA ISN'T GOING TO STEP UP - SOMEONE ( HOPEFULLY NHTSA) WILL. ACCORDINGLY, I AM SURPRISED AT HONDA'S "HEAD IN THE SAND" ATTITUDE ABOUT THIS ISSUE. I WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK FROM NHTSA ON THE EVOLUTION OF THIS PROBLEM IF THAT IS WITHIN YOUR POLICY. *JB