NHTSA Safety Recalls
2004 Honda Element Recalls
The 2004 Honda Element has 11 NHTSA safety recalls on file, the newest reported on June 27, 2019.
A recall covers a range of VINs, not every 2004 Honda Element. Whether a recall on your own car is still open shows only on a VIN check; recall repairs are free.
- Recalls
- 11
- Owner complaints
- 281
- Crashes reported
- 16
- NHTSA crash test
- ★★★★★
NHTSA campaigns
filed with NHTSA
3 fires
frontal crash, no overall star before 2011
On a 2004 Honda Element, the 17-character VIN is on the driver-side dashboard, visible through the windshield, or on the door jamb sticker.
11 recalls on the 2004 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 2003, 2005–2011 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 2003, 2005–2011 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 2003, 2005–2011 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 2003, 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 2003, 2005–2011 Element, 7 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 2003, 2005–2011 Element, 11 other models
Air bags
- Campaign
- 14V700000
- Reported
- November 4, 2014
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash, injury and death
- Same campaign
- also 2003 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 2003 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 2003 Element, 2 other models
Exterior lighting
- Campaign
- 09E012000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2003, 2005–2006 Element, 57 other models
Exterior lighting: headlights
- Campaign
- 09E025000
- Risk NHTSA names
- crash
- Same campaign
- also 2003, 2005–2007 Element, 46 other models
2004 Honda Element complaints by year
NHTSA has received 281 owner complaints about the 2004 Honda Element, the newest on January 16, 2026. Of these, 16 describe a crash (6%) and 3 a fire; owners reported 19 injuries.
In complaints about the 2004 Honda Element, the component group named most often is the visibility (38%), followed by the air bags (26%) and the seats (9%).
8 of the 2004 Honda Element's 11 recalls also concern the air bags.
Where 2004 Honda Element owners gave the mileage (177 complaints), the median was 47,000 miles.
Component groups named in complaints
- Visibility106
- Air Bags73
- Seats26
- Electrical System18
- Suspension16
- Seat Belts15
Complaints received, by year
| 2004 | 55 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 39 | |
| 2006 | 18 | |
| 2007 | 11 | |
| 2008 | 13 | |
| 2009 | 9 | |
| 2010 | 15 | |
| 2011 | 16 | |
| 2012 | 6 | |
| 2013 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 10 | |
| 2015 | 18 | |
| 2016 | 14 | |
| 2017 | 13 | |
| 2018 | 6 | |
| 2019 | 8 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2021 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 8 | |
| 2024 | 7 | |
| 2025 | 3 | |
| 2026 | 1 |
Complaints about the 2004 Honda Element peaked in 2004, when NHTSA received 55. 44% arrived between 2003 and 2007, the model year's first years on the road.
Adjusted for how many complaints NHTSA received about all 2004 vehicles, the 2004 Honda Element drew 3.0× the complaints of the median Honda Element year in the same window: 2nd highest of the 6 ranked years.
That makes 2004 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
The 281 complaints about the 2004 Honda Element are unverified owner reports, and a model sold in large numbers collects more of them.
Honda Element by model year
Other 2004 Honda models
Newest record on this page: January 16, 2026. Data: NHTSA recall and owner-complaint files. How these figures are counted