| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 003285519 | Incident Date: Sep, 29 2003 |
| Consumer's City: MILTON | Consumer's State: MA |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: MAN | Manufacturers Name: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) |
| Model Name: ELEMENT | Model Year: 2003 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Visibility:windshield |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 5J6YH27593L | Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Jun, 25 2004 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Jun, 24 2003 |
| Was Original Owner: Yes | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 4 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: 2003 honda element windshield cracked in the middle. crack appeared after a loud pop with ~4,000 miles. the honda dealer examined the crack and found a small chip from the surface of the glass. the service manager informed me that honda has issued a service bulletin to its dealers, instructing them to roll a ball point pen along the crack searching for indentations. if one is found, a rock strike is deemed to have caused the crack. the service manager said honda will not warranty windshields that have evidence of a rock strike (no matter how minor). honda will fix windshields that meet tsb03-028 which addresses cracks in the lower corners. the fragility of the windshield in the honda element is unusual and abnormal. honda motor co. is in denial and is costing consumers and insurance companies. in 30 yrs of driving i have never experienced windshield failures like this. the body of this vehicle is quite flexible. warranty work has been required on the body to eliminate squeaks caused by a rubbing at a welded seam under the windshield cowling. the dealer spread the seam (between each weld point) with a screwdriver and filled the cavity with a flexible compound. the squeaks stopped, but, there appears to be a bigger problem. is this windshield going to withstand airbag deployment and keep the bag in the vehicle to cushion occupants? considering the large number of complaints seen in forums, honda motor co. needs to come out of denial and start addressing the design flaw in this vehicle that causes windshields to fracture under normal use. *jb |
