There are 4 owner-reported tires & wheels complaints for the 2004 Honda Elementin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I'm am told the component that failed is the "lower control arm." The vehicle is available for inspection. At the onset of this problem was a loss of control of my steering. At first I felt a play in the steering wheel when I made a small adjustment in my turn and felt the car move more than what it would normally do. I thought it was the waves in the road due to frost heaves. Then within about 3/4s of a mile the left "lower control arm" separated from where it was being held and fell to the ground. I heard a dragging noise in the back left area of my vehicle and was fortunate to be in front of a parking lot and was able to immediately pull in out of traffic. The car was towed to our auto repair shop where I was told it was unfixable. I also called the Honda dealership and explained the issue, and was confirmed that the car is unfixable, and was told that presently the part causing this issue is being recalled in Canada, but not yet in the USA. I wanted you to know that this happened here in the USA as well. I did not receive any warnings that there was an issue until it happened.
I KNOW THAT THE CORRECT TIRE SIZE FOR THE HONDA ELEMENT IS 215/70-R16. I DECIDED TO TAKE MY BUSINESS TO SEARS AUTO CENTER, WHERE THEY INSTALLED THE MICHELIN HYDROEDGE 215/65-R16 TIRES. I WAS WONDERING IF THIS SIZE IS SAFE FOR THE PASSENGERS AND FOR VEHICLE PERFORMANCE. *TR
215/70 16 WRANGLER HP VERY NOISY LAST 10,000 MILES. SUSPECT SAFETY OF TIRES. *JB
GOODYEAR TIRE (SIZE- P215-70-R16) WRANGLER-HP-99S STOCK ON 2004 HONDA ELEMENT -4WD-EX-4AT. FLAT TIRE ON INTERSTATE,TRAVELED LESS THAN 1/4 MILE AFTER TIRE DEFLATED. CHANGED TIRE WENT DIRECTLY TO RESIDENCE ABOUT 2.5 MILES. I INFLATED THE TIRE ONCE I REACHED MY RESIDENCE TO OBSERVE ANY AIR FLOW COMING FROM A FOREIGN OBJECT THAT I MAY HAVE ENCOUNTERED ON THE INTERSTATE. NOTHING NOTICEABLE IN TREAD AREA. I TURNED THE TIRE OVER TO LOOK AT THE BACK SIDE OF THE TIRE AND NOTICED 6 RIPPLES(BUBBLES) ON THE TIRE. TIRE DESTROYED. I ACTUALLY CALLED 14 DIFFERENT TIRE STORES AND EVERY STORE INFORMED ME THAT THIS TIRE WAS NOT A STOCK ITEM AND ASKED ME "WHY WOULD I PUT THESE TIRES ON MY VEHICLE?" I SAID I DIDN'T,THIS WAS A STOCK TIRE WHEN I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE IN MARCH,2005. ANYWAYS, TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT( NO ONE) HAD THIS TIRES. NOT EVEN THE CAR DEALER CRISWELL HONDA." EVERYONE," "EVERYONE WILL HAVE TO SPECIAL ORDER THEM." SO MAY I ADD IF YOU BUY ONE OF THESE VEHICLES MAKE SURE ANY TIRE IS AVAILABLE -AFTER MARKET- SO YOU DO NOT GET STUCK IN THIS DILEMMA. *JB
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026