Problems with 2003 Honda Element VISIBILITY

Front windshield cracked in lower driver side corner and curved up and over towards center of drivers view. dealer says rock impact caused collision and will not honor technical service bulletin 03-028 even though my vehicle's identification number is within the tsb call out. *ak

Large crack in lower-right corner of windshield 6 days after purchasing vehicle. numerous accounts of similar cracking issues among owners of same vehicle (2003 honda element). *la

This is a 2003 honda element, purchased may 22nd, 2003. the mileage is now 752 miles.i am currently in the process of having the windshield replaced for the second time. the first replacement was at 150 miles on the odometer. both were because of damage from small stone chips that would not normally damage the glass on most other vehicles. the 733 miles i have driven this car was on paved urban local roads at speeds between 35 and 50 mph. it appears to me that one of, or both of, the following, could be responsible factors: a) the windshield glass is possibly thinner and mor fragile than others. b) the aerodynamics of this vehicle possibly causes a higher rate of debris hits to the windshield area than other vehicles. whatever the cause, i would consider it a safety issue warranting investigation. additionally, if the trend were to continue, requiring windshield replacements, who could afford the maintenance on this vehicle? *ak

Due to defective manufacturer(honda) safety related product, this new honda element has had two windshield failures in just 750 miles on the odometer due to cracks because of defective honda windshield materials and basic defective honda design & engineering of the windshield mounting and installation. the windshield failures on my element happened on june, 3, 2003, at 140 odometer mileage, and july 9, 2003 at 748 odometer reading. honda will not pay for the repairs. total cost for both added up to $1047.00. honda is being allowed to continue to produce and sell a vehicle, for which they are aware contains a basic safety related design and engineering flaw, and for which they are making customers pay for all repairs and related expenses, ie, rental cars, because the honda windshields are in such demand and are backordered because of the number of failures. if all the honda element owners who have had defective windshield failures had filed complaint forms with the nhtsa, the number of complaints would be overwhelming, surely in the thousands. there are many posts on web sites, ie, edmunds.com , elementownersclub.com, plus others. the nhtsa has a responsibility to stop honda from furthur sales of the honda element to unsuspecting buyers, because such a sale is a violation of federal laws governing sale of a product with a designed-in safety defect and not informing the customer of the defect. such a sale also constitutes fraud, for misrepresenting a product as safe and without defects, when the manufacturer and seller are completely aware of the defects. additionally, honda must be made to reimburse element owners who have had to pay for windshield replacements. honda is profiting in the billions of dollars at customer expense and unawareness of the existense of the windshield defects. honda is profiting not only on the sales of the element, but on the sales of windshields, windshield mounting parts, windshield installations labor and rental cars. *ak

Leased this vehicle may 27, 2003. rattles, popping noises at windshield area. popping noise at driver's side pillar. had windshield replaced, framework welded, dashboard removed twice, foam installed, and windshield molding replaced. pillar adjusted. noises continue. very fearful when driving this vehicle knowing that frame has been repaired and there are problems with the windshield. the noises are distracting. honda service tech, service manager,and factory representative heard all sounds. honda willing to attempt pillar repair only. *la

My windshield has a tiny 1mm spot where a tiny pebble must have hit it and from that i now have a 18" crack stretching from the lower left hand corner to the center of the windshield. i'm certain that the tiny spot would not have spread into that size of a crack if there wasn't so much stress placed on the windshield by the "uneven windshield flange surface" that honda itself admits to on their service bulletin 03-028. my element vin #falls into the range on the service bulletin but honda will not cover it because of the impact that started the crack. i've had rocks hit other vehicles i've owned and they have never spread into a crack, much less one this size. if honda element owners have to replace their windshield everytime a pebble hits it, our insurance companies will end up raising our rates. honda needs to come to a resolution to this problem. *ak

Windshield cracked, according to a service release from honda cause is stress related, but service rep at dealership says it is from impact...no chip...no star.*ak

Very small rock chip caused the window to crack all the way up. i didn't hear anything hit the windshield but the dealer said that it was a rock chip and wouldn't fix it under warranty. the window cracked immediately - didn't even have time to see about getting the chip fixed. if the window cracks this easily i'm afraid to see what would happen in a crash!!! see hondaelement.org - lots and lots of complaints about the windshield. honda needs to address this problem!!!! this is the first honda i've owned. would think twice about buying another one.*ak

I have had my element less than 1 year, at 1000 mi i developed a stress crack in the windshield that dealer said was from a "rock", but there was no evidence to support it - they did after protest replace it "one" time. at 10000 mi i now have another crack in almost the same place that seemed to come on with out any impact - we are in the negotiating stages. *ak

A six-inch crack seemed to spontaneouisly appear one morning in the windshield of our 2003 element dx. we made an appointment and specified that we didn't want it fixed unless it was covered under warranty, we soon received a call informing us that there was a pebble that hit the windshield under the hood, and since there was an impact, it was not covered under our warranty. the point of impact is so miniscule it is ridiculous. we still haven't had it fixed, it's not growing very much, and we won't fix it until honda owns up to the defect and replaces the windshield at their expense. *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

While driving windshield cracked. was not following any traffic at the time. crack originated from under driver's side windshield wiper and runs vertically eight inches and then turns horizontal for another eight to ten inches. *ak

Windshield cracks extremely easily. i've replaced mine twice in three months, and the latest one has three cracks on it already.*ak

Defective windshield is now cracking. the dealer, classic honda, refuses to correct the problem, stating that the manufacturer, honda, does not warranty glass. i have filed a complaint with the manufacturer, american honda, case # n01200-06-0401190. the vehicle is a new 2003 honda element. the odometer reading is 147 miles.*ak

Cracked windshield lower passenger side. *ak

Honda element, model 2003, purchased april 2003, has severe windshield issues. it creeks, pops and taps. many honda element owners report cracked windshields due to a design problem. i cannot go on any long trips for fear our family will be stranded. i have called honda's dealers and they play as if they don't know. i've called honda's customer service hotline and, at first, they said they hadn't ever heard of the problem, then after digging in my heals with them, they found a honda tsb about the problem. they want me to bring my car into the dealership, but admit the dealer may just take it apart and charge me for it. i wrote honda corporate a month ago and have not received even a form letter reply.*ak

I want to report a sudden crack in my windshield of my honda element. it is in the bottom right hand corner. *la

Cracked windshield by small pebbles. windshield has to much stress.

Windshield cracked with 900 miles on the odometer. location of crack: left side, mid-height. small pebble struck windsheid with no chip or indentation noted.*ak

Windshiled crack. origion of crack is bottom of passenger side of windshiled. windshield had been replaced 2 months prior due to identical crack in identical location.*ak

2003 honda element windshield cracked three times within 12,000 miles. first crack appeared on the passenger's side, starting from the lower edge approximately centered with the wiper blade straight up six inches with a sharp turn outwards to the right. went to dealer for replacement (metro honda, johnston ri) representative said crack was caused by stone or foreign object and was not covered by the warranty. there was no sign of impact. representative, under very close inspection found the smallest speck within crack. it is tiny, i'd say the size of a grain of salt. about three weeks later the second crack appeared on the driver's side from the lower edge centered within the wiper blade. after close inspection, i found an identical salt grain size spec within the crack. this was not caused by impact! i knew this windshield was defected and researched the problem on the internet. there are thousands of element owners describing the same problem. the third crack appeared about two weeks after the second, this time it appears a rock did cause the crack. located on the driver's side left edge eye level continuing across about 18 inches. the impact was slight, leaving a round mark the size of a pea. i read hundreds of complaints, there all the same. this is a huge problem and something must be done. does honda expect me to replace my windshield with every oil change? please look into this as soon as possible. it's wrong and honda needs to not only acknowledge the problem, but rectify it. everyone who is experiencing this problem should file a complaint, not just read about it. *nm

Dt: the windshield has 3 cracks, one was on he first day of owning the vehicle. got it on sunday and huge crack was down the middle. there was crack on the passenger's side that started about 8 months ago. have not contacted the dealer. there is another crack eye level on the driver's side. this started on december 22, 2005. *ak

Windshield cracked while vehicle parked. dealer said windshield crack was "probably" from road hazard. initially, said it would not be covered under warranty, but could find no mark from debris impact and agreed to replace under warranty. *la