NHTSA Safety Recalls
2003 Honda Element Recalls
The 2003 Honda Element has 12 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on June 27, 2019.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2003 Honda Element. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 12
- Owner complaints
- 423
- Crashes reported
- 28
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
4 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2003 Honda Element, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
12 recalls on the 2003 Honda Element
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 19V499000
- Reported
- June 27, 2019
- Vehicles affected
- up to 3,947
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2011 Element, 11 other models
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 19V501000
- Reported
- June 27, 2019
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,657,752
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2011 Element, 11 other models
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 19V182000
- Reported
- March 6, 2019
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,101,534
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2011 Element, 16 other models
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 18V268000
- Reported
- April 26, 2018
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,335
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash and injury
- Same campaign
- also 2004, 2006–2008, 2011 Element, 9 other models
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 16V344000
- Reported
- May 23, 2016
- Vehicles affected
- up to 1,790,894
- Risk NHTSA names
- injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2011 Element, 7 other models
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 15V370000
- Reported
- June 15, 2015
- Vehicles affected
- up to 3,498,481
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 8 other models
Air bags: frontal: driver side: inflator module
- Campaign
- 15V320000
- Reported
- May 28, 2015
- Vehicles affected
- up to 6,281,043
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2011 Element, 11 other models
Air bags
- Campaign
- 14V700000
- Reported
- November 4, 2014
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004 Element, 9 other models
Air bags
- Campaign
- 14V353000
- Reported
- June 20, 2014
- Vehicles affected
- up to 133,207
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2004 Element, 8 other models
Electrical system: ignition
- Campaign
- 10V364000
- Reported
- August 5, 2010
- Vehicles affected
- up to 551,498
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2004 Element, 2 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 09E012000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2006 Element, 57 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 09E025000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2004–2007 Element, 46 other models
2003 Honda Element complaints by year
NHTSA has received 423 owner complaints about the 2003 Honda Element, the newest on November 10, 2025. Of these, 28 describe a crash (7%) and 4 a fire; owners reported 23 injuries.
In complaints about the 2003 Honda Element, the component group named most often is the visibility (53%), followed by the air bags (12%) and the electrical system (8%).
9 of the 2003 Honda Element's 12 recalls also concern the air bags.
Where 2003 Honda Element owners gave the mileage (278 complaints), the median was 24,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Visibility226
- Air Bags49
- Electrical System35
- Structure32
- Latches/Locks/Linkages27
- Suspension25
Complaints received, by year
| 2003 | 54 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 121 | |
| 2005 | 62 | |
| 2006 | 17 | |
| 2007 | 9 | |
| 2008 | 10 | |
| 2009 | 5 | |
| 2010 | 15 | |
| 2011 | 10 | |
| 2012 | 12 | |
| 2013 | 6 | |
| 2014 | 19 | |
| 2015 | 22 | |
| 2016 | 17 | |
| 2017 | 4 | |
| 2018 | 5 | |
| 2019 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 7 | |
| 2022 | 4 | |
| 2023 | 8 | |
| 2024 | 5 | |
| 2025 | 7 |
Complaints about the 2003 Honda Element peaked in 2004, when NHTSA received 121. 60% arrived between 2002 and 2006, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2003 vehicles, the 2003 Honda Element drew 6.0× the complaints of the median Honda Element year in the same window: 1st highest of the 6 ranked years.
That makes 2003 one of the Honda Element years to avoid by our method.
NHTSA crash-test stars
- Overall: none before 2011
- Frontal: 5/5
- Side: 5/5
- Rollover: 3/5
The 423 complaints about the 2003 Honda Element are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Honda Element by model year
Other 2003 Honda models
Newest record on this page: November 10, 2025. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted