Problems with 2003 Honda Element VISIBILITY

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 honda element. the contact started the ignition and the windshield wipers failed to function when they were engaged. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated the windshield wiper motor needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. there was a recall related to the similar defect pertaining to the 2003 honda accord and the nhtsa campaign id number was 08v169000 (visibility:windshield wiper/washer:motor). the manufacturer was not made aware of the malfunction. the approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

Windshield leaked water, dealership refused to fix. windshield cracked and was cited by police officer for not fixing, dealership refused to fix. upon replacement the repair guys just laughed and said that that glass was seated improperly and asked who had replaced it. i responded that it was the original, they told me not to buy any more hondas. key would no longer work in the driver side door. replaced something at dealership for $800 as well as the driver side window as it stopped moving due to the motor dying at around 60,000 miles. now the keys don't work in the passenger side of vehicle nor does the window. in another incident the vehicle failed to stop after fully depressing the brake when traveling about 5-10 mph and drifting into another vehicle causing moderate damage. honda has not responded to any inquires made by consumer. nor has dealership. i still owe 10,000 dollars on this car, have spent over 3000 in repairs and at this point want to drive it into a tree at a high speed. *kb

Drivers side window regulator fails with loud bang and window falls into door while driving. this has happened to my vehicle twice, once in april 2008 and again february 2010. on-line research with "element owners club" indicates this has happened to many others. *tr

Stress cracks on front windshield on 2003 honda element as described by other honda owners. *tr

2003 honda element windshield cracked at bottom of passenger side while sitting in my driveway so i had it replaced. a couple months later cracked same location and eventually split all the way across the windshield blocking view. called mfg and was told due to being over 60,000 miles i will have to pay for repairs. what does the mileage have to do with the windshield. my vehicle had 63,000 miles on it at the time, which was 2008. now i find that it would have been replaced due to being within the 6 years or 60,000 miles but they withheld that information. honda should be responsible for all these defective windshields!! what is being done about this problem and why is honda not giving all the details? do we need to hire a lawyer to handle this situation? *tr

Poor heating due to restricted heater core. an identical problem was identified in the 2004,and 2005 element (ref. honda service bulletin 07-076 dated 11/28/2007) and the heater core is thus replaced under the normal warranty. although the problem began on my 2003 element in 2006 and the vehicle is still covered under warranty, honda service personnel refuse to recognize the trouble as a factory defect and will charge in excess of $1,500 dollars to replace the heater core. *tr the consumer stated a tsb had been issued regarding contamination of the engine coolant which could cause restrictions in the heater core and radiator and sometimes corrosion. updated 03/05/09. *jb

Have already replaced the windsheild once. it currently has 3 seperate cracks at the moment that were not from anything hitting plus one that is. that is a total of 4. *tr

My 2003 honda element windshield cracked with no apparent reason. the crack starts below the rubber strip near the pivot of the driver windshield wiper. the crack is migrating upwards into my viewing area. *jb

Cracked windshield...driver's side...just showed up one afternoon like an unexpected visitor...*jb

Cracked windshield in my 2003 honda element stemming from the driver side bottom corner. burns honda in cherry hill, nj says it is not their problem and will not fix it free of charge. *jb

My 2003 element with 30,000 miles was parked for 3 weeks in an indoor parking structure near the airport. i returned from my trip to find the same kind of crack in the windshield that others on this site have described. it started from the lower right corner of the passenger side and went up about 12 inches. i have no recollection of any stones having hit the windshield prior to leaving. *jb

My honda element 2003 has now had 3 cracked windows under a year. this seems very excessive and i have never had a similar problem with other vehicles. i found many people having the same problem online. please advise. thanks. *jb

2003 honda element windsheild. this will be the 3rd windshield that i have had to replace on the is vehicle. each time it cracks in the location that honda says there is a problem. i've had to pay for the windshield repairs.

My honda element had a stress fracture in the windshield and the dealership refused to replace it. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while the vehicle was pulling out, a crack formed in the corner of the front windshield. there was no debris present that caused the crack. the dealership determined the crack was caused by stress from the vehicle's structure. there were two tsb for the windshield, nhtsa item numbers 10009029 and 10001628. the vehicle is not included in either tsb because of the mileage.

Dt*: the contact stated the windshields cracked twice. both windshields cracked within the same spot on the lower level passenger side of the front window. the first incident occurred on thanksgiving of 2005 at 50000 miles. the windshield was replaced at the dealer in january of 2006. and at 4000 miles after the replacement in april of 2006, the replacement windshield suffered the same damage. the colorado regional dealer manager came out on 06/21/06 and inspected the windshield. the manager determined the windshield looked like a rock crack. there were no tools or equipment utilized by the manager to determine the final decision. the final decision was the manufacturer will not be responsible for the windshield. on june 12th, the vehicle was taken into the dealership for an oil change and the windshield crack was worse. there was a class action lawsuit regarding the windshields (filed in los angeles california superior court case # bc319600, filed in 2004, no verdict yet).

One morning i got into car and windshield was cracked top center. the car is always garaged. *jb

Windshield on 2003 honda element developed a crack (without any impact) which originated from lower edge (below wiper, drivers side) and within 24 hours had spread across the entire width of the windshield. *jb

2003 honda element...front windshield is cracked from one side to the other...will have to pay for a 2nd replacement...bought the car in september 2003...1st windshield replacement april 2004...2nd replacement december 2005. *jb

2003 honda element defective windshield. easily cracks. *nm

Cracked windshield - passenger side - low area. *nm

The windshield on my 2003 honda element cracked in the center rising up from the bottom edge. the crash is 18" long approx. the dealer said it was from a rock and not covered. the "rock" chip is barely visible. it's more like a tiny pit from a piece of sand. i believe the element has a design flaw which causes cracks from the flexing of the frame or cheap glass. *jb

Hello, i purchased a 2003 honda element with a cracked windshield in february, 2006. i had the windshield replaced and now it is cracked once again in pretty much the same place. *jb

My 2003 honda element developed a crack below the driver side wiper that goes up three inches then does a 90 degree right turn then travels approxiamately two feet horizontally then does another 90 degree turn down into window bead. there is a very very slight "dink" in the windshield along the crack but your fingernail barely catches in it. i believe as do many other 2003 element owners that there is undue stress on the corners of the windshield and this is what caused the damage. i believe this is a design flkaw that should be covered by honda. *nm

Dt: consumer says that he has a cracked windshield on his vehicle. consumer says that there is a class action suit going on for this same reason. consumer found suit on internet. consumer says that windshield cracked by itself. consumer took vehicle to dealer and dealer told consumer that a pebble or rock hit window and caused crack. consumer says that place dealer pointed out on window was the size of a pin head. consumer believes that windshield was not struck by anything. consumer has no ideal what caused the crack. consumer is the only person to drive vehicle and he is not aware of anything ever striking window. consumer first noticed crack after arriving at work, going into office, and a coworker who had road to work with consumer, told consumer about noticing the crack. this was morning july 9, 2005. office is located in verona, new jersey. consumer has looked on internet to find that there are many complaints regarding cracked windshields of same make and model vehicle. consumer is not aware of where the windshield crack may have happened. *nm

For the second time my windshield has cracked on my 2003 honda element. the cracks are considered stress fractures caused by a manufacturing defect.

Windshield cracked from beneath passenger wiper blade up approximately 6 inches and then turns toward driver's side.

Honda element -- crack in windshield. started at bottom passenger side of windshield. there was a small pin size hole at the base of the crack - almost below the edge of the hood. the crack went up about 7 inches and then started spreading across the windshield. this was definitely not from a rock chip. it took 2 full days of "negotiating" with american honda to get them to cover the defective windshield under warranty.

I bought a 2003 honda element ex september 2004, have about 30k on it, no problems until i came out to the parking lot and found the windshield cracked (the now classic design, lower passenger side, no impact mark, spreading from black area, right now about ten inches long and moving straight across the middle of the windshield. i am having cascade auto glass come this morning to replace it since the crack is growing and i do not feel safe driving my car.

Dt: 2003, honda element, the windshield cracked out of the blue. nothing struck the glass, no accident. while driving, heard popping noise and a 5-6 round circle crack appeared on the front windshield. took vehicle to a dealer, and they had never seen anything like it. no repairs have been made. *ak

Dt: consumer stated that her vehicle's windshield cracked from the bottom and the crack moved up about one foot. the consumer indicated that there did not appear to be a starting point to the crack. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who said that they found a ding that consumer says is about as big as the head of a pin. dealer says this is where something struck vehicle. the consumer is confident that nothing struck window, window cracked under stress from vehicle. consumer says that she believes that windshield cracked while vehicle was in her garage. consumer said she did not notice crack until she got vehicle out of garage in the morning. consumer also states that another vehicle that is in her work parking lot, is the same vehicle but different color, this vehicle has same crack. consumer says that the crack is very close. it also starts in the same place in the bottom of window. consumer says that she takes care of vehicle, vehicle only has 12,000 miles, consumer drives 3 miles to work, consumer mostly drives on local roads, does not travel on highways much. *nm

An object hit the windshield and was too small to see. the object nicked the windshield and cracks formed. the windshield was replaced once already, and was being replaced again the day the consumer sent this letter. *ak *sc *jb

Dt: the contact states there is a crack in the windshield. the crack came up from the bottom of the window bead. it first began as a tiny crack and is now about two and half feet long. the dealership and the manufacturer explained to him there were no other related problems with this vehicle. *nm updated 12/7/2005. in late november the consumer found a honda service bulletin referencing a windshield defect. although the consumer's vehicle falls with the range of vins the dealer refused to replace the windshield. *nm

Windshield cracked in lower left hand corner down below the seal & is now bending horizontally across the windshield. no apparent rock hits (no starring), dealer refuses to cover damage under warranty.*ak

This is the second windshield that cracked in less than two years, they both apeared to be stress cracks. both times i was not in the car when crack appeared and both times the crack is on the passanger side.*ak

Element windshield crack document 1. thursday (3/24/05) noticed crack in windshield that had not been there the previous night. crack appears to have started at point where windshield meets car body and goes up about 3 inches, was not able to see a dived where a pebble or rock could have impacted it 2. friday(3/25/05) took vehicle to joyce honda for evaluation. was given an info sheet regarding windshield cracks that stated (basically) if you can feel anything on the glass itself it is caused by rock, if not could be flaw service manager looked at windshield. ran a pen at the point of initiation and stated he could feel a dived. after 10 minutes of trying i still could not feel. he stated that it was not warranty problem and anyway he ?did not do glass unless forced to when it is warranted?. he did not offer any info regarding price, i asked him if there any requirements from honda regarding replacement (i.e. brands, who should do it, etc). he said ?no anyone who does auto glass is fine? 3. monday (3/28/05) called honda customer service 1-800-999-1009 spoke to chris to whom i related the events so far including the fact that the crack has now traveled almost completely across the windshield. i mentioned the tsb that includes my vin number (03-028) he opened a case number so this situation can be evaluated by a district manager. he stated i would be contacted in 24-48 hours by a honda district manager. *jb

Windshield cracking from passenger side corner, edge, approx. 18". happened overnight as vehicle sat. honda service manager claims crack was caused by an impact whose site is barely visible and the size of a pin point. honda would not replace under warranty.

Windshield stress crack with no evidence of impact located on lowers driver's side. went out to the car one morning and the crack was had appeared over night. started about three inches long and has since branched off and extended to over 12 inches. *ak

Windshield is cracked twice. one crack in front of passenger seat, makes an arch to lower passenger corner. oticed second crack in march, begins in front of driver, very bottom of the glass, extends to middle of windshield.*ak

Windshield cracked from lower passanger side corner and is spreading rather rapidly accros teh entire windshield. this was not instigated from any impact.*ak

2003 honda element windshield cracked on its own. *jb

As i got in my honda element, the windshield cracked from the bottom of the drivers side, up 16 inches almost to the middle of the windshield. nothing hit my windshield. this is a stress crack that is probably poor design on honda's part. *jb

A windshield problem. there was a crack on the left side just 5" above the lower corner of the windshield. there was no impact mark at the crack on the windshield. however, dealer claimed there was an impact mark, and refused to repair it! there are several bigger debris chips in the middle of the windshield which did not cause crack! i have on the car just 13 000 miles and this is unheard off. i have over 10 years of driving and nothing like this ever happened to me with any of my cars before. i will continue to drive my car with the crack on until the dealer or american honda motor co. decides to replace at their own cost. they have to admit it is a manufacturer's defect and do a national recall. i am ready to sue american honda motor company if my safety is jeopardized due to that particular defect !!! *ak

Windshield on my element 2003, developped a crack. dealer would not replaced under warranty. no sign of hit by rock or other. was parked at work all day then when leaving work noticed that crack? *nm

Windshield cracked for no apparent reason. *ak

Cracked windshield initiating in the passenger side of the car with no cause such as rock chip damage, etc. crack continues across windshield just above dashboard level.*ak

My 2003 honda element has developed a stress crack in the lower right corner in that is similar that reported by hundreds of element owners. this occured while the vehicle was parked and is consistent with the description of a honda tsb addressing cracked windsheilds due to a manufacturing defect. two honda dealerships arrogantly dismissed it as being caused by a pebble chip; however the alleged "chip" was a small pit the size of a grain of sand. the first dealer indicated he located a small dicontinuity in the path of the crack that was pin sized. the second dealership alleged that he located six pinholes, none of which were visable to me or detected by the first dealerhip! the inspection technique and resulting dismissal of the claim appeared to be coached from some honda factory issued directive to avoid documentation of this widespread defect. dozens of website postings are available which documents similar experiences with many also describing the alleged detection of a pinhead size pit on the surface of the crack directly under the windshield wiper arm. it is obvious that honda is attempting to cover up this defect to avoid a recall or a"secret warranty" situation.*ak

Broken winshield. *jb

The infamous window crack appeared on my honda element. just woke up one morning and found a 3 inch crack. it has since expanded.*ak

My car was parked at work during a snow storm and at the end of the day i came out to the car brushed the snow away and my windshield was cracked in the lower passenger side corner the car had 7300 miles on it. it was fine when i left in the morning . 2 days later i took the car to the dealer and they stated that it was due to a small pit in the windshield the size of a grain of sand and therefore honda would not the repair. i have had cars (hondas) with large stone chips 1/4 inch in size not crack the windshield - the size of this pit is barely visible. i told my dealer that i felt this was a defect in the windshield or installation and he said that honda would not address it since there was a pit in the windshield. he said my insurance would cover it. after checking on the web and the number of complaints my suspicions were verfiied. i have owned 6 hondas and this is the first time that i have any problem with honda - to me this is dangerous, an obvious defect and they need to address the problem!!! a member on the honda elements owners web site stated that he had his windshield replaced by another firm and they could not believe how thin the original windshield was. *ak