Rehabbing a Tiny Minivan in Disguise: 2005 Honda Element

Hmmm, perhaps you know someone in the car business with experience swapping a V6 into one of those?

I'd really like to get another, but considering that prices are higher now than five years ago when I bought my old one it's a bitter pill to swallow.

Besides the dream of the V6, if I were to get another the first thing that I would do would be to place the rear seats on craigslist, fab some brackets and install  decent bucket seats back there. Very uncomfortable for periods longer than an hour or so.

Just occurred to me, the Element is the Miata of cheap SUVs.

mtn said:

Danny Shields (Forum Supporter) said:

 The lone exception to that was the guy who totaled his at 140k miles, and replaced it with another. 

Funny you say that, I went through a rough year during which I totaled my Element, replaced it with a Ridgeline, totaled that, replaced it with another Ridgeline, and now am jonesing for another Element. And I don't even consider myself a Honda fanboi!

mtn said:

Danny Shields (Forum Supporter) said:

Everyone who has ever had an Element seems to have nothing but fond memories.  It is one of those cars that makes you wonder why they discontinued it.

My uneducated guess is that they discontinued it because almost everyone who was a prospective buyer already had one, and didn't get rid of it so they weren't replacing them with new ones, because there is nothing wrong with the old one. Seriously, look at the prices of these things and the mileage. Everyone I know who has one has run it up to over 200k miles with extreme reliability. The lone exception to that was the guy who totaled his at 140k miles, and replaced it with another. 

I think they discontinued it because it didn't sell enough copies to be worth updating. And, honestly, it needed updating by 2011. It definitely feels a generation older than that era of cars, which is good and bad in my opinion, but generally bad if you're Honda and trying to sell against the Toyota dealer across the street. And these didn't sell all that well, especially towards the end. The people they were designed for (me) were graduating into a horrible recession, which meant buying a brand new SUV (especially a brand new SUV that was pricier than cars with better specs on paper) just wasn't happening. A decade later with so many 20-somethings buying new cars with 7-year-long loans because buying a house is out of the question and they want to own something major before they die, I think you could make a case for a second-generation Element, but Honda kind of did that with the Passport.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/replacement-for-an-element/182843/page2/

4/17/21

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

There is no suitable replacement for a Honda Element. 

In reply to Tom Suddard :

As I read it back at cancellation it was projected as an entry level life style vehicle, and the purchasing demographic skewed much older so purchasers weren't trading in on a CRV, Pilot, or Ridgeline so the Element was cancelled.

Congrats! It's a cult vehicle, and one that earned that cult by being really good at what it is. And good call on the plastic. Bumpers should be unpainted plastic or chrome plated steel. Painted bumpers are a stupid idea.

I suspect it was probably canceled because they didn't sell well enough to bring up to date on emissions - that can be really expensive on vehicles with aging engines. 

Every day when I walk the dog, I see a girl who has a very successful dog walking business (multiple employees). She drives a very recognizable Honda Element... which always seemed like a great choice for moving dogs around. 

About a week and a half ago, I saw an Element with front end damage on a flatbed and I was afraid that it was hers. I hadn't seen her around since.

This morning, I saw her pull into the dog park with a different, newer Honda Element.

So...

I guess there really is no suitable replacement for a Honda Element, unless it's another Honda Element.

I love mine. I got mine earlier last year for $3.5k. An 03 with now 133k miles on. Little bit of body damage though

I like the idea of doing a nitche market so well that competitors rarely even take flyers at you. I think that Honda had that idea as well with the Element and Ridgeline. Problem is, there's a lot of extras you can add to a Ridgeline to crank up its profit margin, whereas part of the Element's charm is that it's something of a stripper by its very nature, and if you pimp it up too much, you no longer have an Element, you have a conventional SUV. 

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Honda did a special dog friendly edition of the Element with one feature being a ramp. I know City of Vancouver has an Urban Rescue Dog he shares an office with his handler at Manitoba Yard he is co-driver in his handler's Element.

Beware the gigantic A-pillar. Enormous blind spot that is practically vertical. 

Congrats!  I had one for 11 years and it was everything from small camper to heavy hauler.  And you got one that still has upholstery on the driver's seat!

Made some progress and added about 30 miles to the Element today.

First up: Registration! It's now legal, which isn't that interesting. What IS interesting is that the starter just clicked when I got in the car to leave the tag office. Oops! I guess I know why the seller said "I think it needs a starter" and gave me a new one to install. I turned the key again and it started fine, but I'll swap the starter just to be safe.

I needed a win, so I decided to roll the dice and see how bad the steering wheel looked under that horrible cover. In my experience, these things are only added when the original wheel starts falling apart. Drumroll please....

Success! Apparently whoever installed this actually wanted it? Weird. Anyway, I found a perfect steering wheel underneath. Score! And one less thing to buy from eBay.

Then I plugged the scan tool in to figure out why the airbag light is on. The seller said it was caused by the stereo installation, which I assumed was a lie and haggled assuming I'd be replacing the clockspring. Turns out he was right! The code basically said "somebody unplugged the driver's seat!" So I cleared it and it hasn't come back. I'm assuming they pulled the seat to run the amplifier wiring and didn't have a code reader that could reset the SRS system.

I ordered some parts, too: First things in the shopping cart were a sun shade for the dash, a CarPlay head unit, and a pair of door checks. 

Overall, it was a solid first day for the Element. I even carried a TV home from Best Buy just to prove how useful it is. 

Really like the color!!!  Up here they all seem to be Honda grey/silver. 

I took the Element by the dealer this morning to see if it needed its airbags replaced. Looks like they've both already been fixed, which is nice because bombs aimed at your face are bad. 

We had our '05 AWD auto for years.  The rear diff is very sensitive to how long you run the fluid and only likes the Honda factory blend.  We installed the Honda wiring kit for a trailer hich installation to pull our son's kart trailer. A very complete blend of parts and instructions. I would not want to pull lots with the car, the gas millage suffers.

They do need an old fashion valve adjustment.  It was very straight forward to do and had a positive effect on how the car ran and helped with MPG.  The starter is no fun to install, that might be why he handed it to you.  It will continue to "ghost"until you need it, when it's raining. 

Getting the rear doors open in tight parking lots, might not happen!  It's part of the learning curve of the ownership experience. The car will swallow an amazing amount of stuff, fold up the rear seats and start packing! 

On the starter, because I've had similar symptoms with two different Honda's now ('98 Accord, '07 Odyssey) that were both remedied by the same solution: I would start with replacing the battery terminals. Or do it at the same time you're in there doing the starter. 

Me (who buys K-Mart Special Bikes):

Why worry about someone stealing your mountain bikes? 

(Looks at prices of real mountain bikes)

OH.

In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :

Yeahhhhhh. This is a really old photo, but here's the Leaf with probably two leaves' worth of bikes on the back. Couldn't really leave that parked at a charger in a city parking lot. To be fair, the pricey FS bike in this photo is my neighbor's (I rode my Surly Pugsley that day), but riding with people who have fancy full-suspension bikes means you have to go out and buy a fancy full-suspension bike. It reminds me a lot of another hobby I have where a lot of it is an arms race of the latest and greatest vehicle....

I rode my brother's mountain bike up in VT. Man, is a high-end bike an amazing thing. The pneumatic seat post was wild, and the brakes were a revelation.

Tom Suddard said:

I took the Element by the dealer this morning to see if it needed its airbags replaced. Looks like they've both already been fixed, which is nice because bombs aimed at your face are bad.  

http://www.safercar.gov is a good fast way to check

 https://www.checktoprotect.org/ is another good one for the lazy, you can snap a picture of your license plate and get instructions on getting an appointment to get it fixed. 

It's good to check every year or so. Repairs are free on all recalls.

I really need to put the internet down. Or do I need to open up the Tire Rack website? I can't tell....

That looks outstanding. I've always liked these.

I expect this to be the kryptonite you can't avoid...

Tom Suddard said:

 

I really need to put the internet down. Or do I need to open up the Tire Rack website? I can't tell....

I need that rack for my Element.

Can anyone steer me towards where I can get one ? I can't read what it says on the side of it.