2009 Honda Element Problems, Recalls & Reliability
40 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2009 Honda Element, alongside 9 recall campaigns and 3 defect investigations. It scores 9/100 on the trouble index — one of this model's quieter years.
One of the quieter years. Relative to its siblings, the 2009 Honda Element has drawn well-below-average complaint volume with at least four years on the road.
Better year
Where 2009 sits among all Element years
What owners report
Recalls (9)
Dorman Products, Inc. (Dorman) is recalling certain Accelerator Pedal Assemblies part numbers 699-114 and 825-5029-1, sold as replacement parts for 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2004-2008 Acura TL and TSX, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2007-2011 Honda…
Fix: Dorman will notify owners, and qualified service facilities will replace the affected accelerator pedal assemblies, free of charge. The recall began December 9, 2019. Owners may contact Dorman…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2012 RL, 2003-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal airbag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic,…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2010-2012 Acura RL, 2010 Honda Element, and 2010-2013 Honda Ridgeline vehicles ever registered in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas,…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Acura MDX and Honda CR-V vehicles, 2005-2011 Honda Element vehicles, 2005-2012 Acura RL vehicles, 2006-2012 Honda Ridgeline vehicles, 2007-2008 Honda Fit vehicles and 2005-2008 Honda Pilot…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall bagan March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2003-2006 Acura MDX, 2005-2011 Acura RL, 2005-2006 Honda CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007-2008 Fit, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2006-2011 Ridgeline vehicles originally sold, or that…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began June 27, 2016. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at…
Honda is recalling certain model year 2007 through 2011 Element passenger vehicles equipped with an accessory trailer hitch wiring harness. The wire that supplies power to the trailer turn signal lights was inadvertently switched with the stop lamp wire. As…
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will repair the vehicles free of charge. The safety recall began on September 20, 2012. Owners may contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009.
Federal defect investigations
Still open as of the last data refresh. An investigation is not a recall; it may close with no action. All open investigations →
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade,…
Model years named: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their…
Model years named: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Technical service bulletins
49 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, the biggest share on airbags and electrical — are on file for the 2009 Honda Element. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
See the 2009 Element TSB list →
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2009 Honda Element reliable?
The 2009 Honda Element drew 40 complaints in federal safety records — one of this model's quieter years. Its trouble index is 9/100, scored against the model's worst year (2003).
What are the most common 2009 Honda Element problems?
The top reported problems for the 2009 Honda Element are brakes & stability (8 complaints), suspension (7), and airbags (5).
Does the 2009 Honda Element have recalls?
9 recall campaigns apply to the 2009 Honda Element. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.