Recall Alert: 2010 Honda Element

Honda is recalling 585 2010 Honda Elements due to a problem with the automatic transmission, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

In the affected vehicles, the cable that connects the shift lever to the transmission was not installed correctly. The result is the driver may be able to shift the gear lever, for instance from Drive to Low Gear, but the transmission may not change to the selected gear. 

This could eventually lead to the key being stuck in the ignition switch because the driver wouldn’t be able to shift the vehicle in or out of Park. It could also lead to not being able to shift the vehicle into Reverse or Drive, increasing the possibility of a crash. 

The affected vehicles were manufactured from April 1 through June 25. Honda has contacted some owners already by phone and arranged to fix the car free of charge. All other owners will be notified of the recall by mail. Owners will bring their vehicles to dealers to get the shift cable bushing fixed. The recall begins Aug. 9. 

For more information, owners can call Honda at 800-999-1009 or NHTSA’s hot line at 888-327-4236.

2010|Honda|Element

Comments

Sounds like a pretty serious defect. Not very good news for Honda.

This is not the only safety and design issue with the Honda Accord. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has over 1100 complaints on file about the 2003 Honda Accord. Of the 1144 complaints (as of August 7, 2010) referred to this agency, 383 fall into the "power train: automatic transmission category."

Information from the NHTSA web-site (http://www.safercar.gov) reveals that in the 2003 Honda Accord, transmission failure occurs quickly and many times at highway speeds. The complaints from NHTSA are mostly similar to each other in that the vast majority of the failures happen suddenly at higher speeds and the car's occupant(s) are often unsafely jolted forward while coming to a near stop in the travel lanes.

This is a serious safety issue. Coming to a near complete stop from 60 or 70 miles per hour, in some reported cases, has resulted in some injuries and will eventually result in someone's death.

In April of 2004, Honda issued a recall on the automatic transmissions of Honda Accords, Odysseys, Pilots and Acura 3.2CL and 3.2TL models. According to Honda's own press release, "this condition may lead to gear breakage and possible locking of the vehicle's transmission, creating a potential safety hazard." The very same potential failures cited in the 2004 recall have become frequent for owners of these vehicles in the years subsequent to the recall and the resulting "transmission lockup", referred to in the recall, that "could result in a crash" has become a reality for many.

Honda was supposed to fix the problem when it issued the 2004 recall, however, it appears the company tried to do the cheapest thing for its bottom line in an attempt to have these vehicles fail after the warranty had expired. By not fixing the problem they are putting lives at risk.

Honda's blatant disregard for the safety of its customers and the public at large is best exemplified its refusal to take responsibility for the safety and design flaws engineered into their cars. It is no wonder that Honda has 14.26% of the share of automobile fatalities in the United States.

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seth,

how come you are commenting on safety and design problems with the accord when clearly the article was for a honda element?

Looks like a poster that is just dishing on Honda in general.Frankly I consider all car companies a bunch of crooks,liars,and full of coverups.However,it seems the American companies are doing a far better job lately than the Japanese.Heck,even the Koreans are looking good.Compared to Honda and Toyota,even Yugoslavia might have a chance.

I have an 2009 Element EX, with around 4500 miles on it. I just got back from a big summer road trip. When i pulled into the driveway i heard a metallic clanking/rocks on metal, sound. I thought it was a rock in the brake rotor, or something. Then i put it in park and got this crazy clanking sound. backed up in reverse, same noise. Foot on the brake move the gear selector up and down, and i got this really awful, loose bolts in a bucket sounding noise. Now, i bought this car brand new with 12 miles on it, i treat it like a Faberge freakin egg, and it has never made any sort of funky noise. I took it to the dealer, they looked at it then drove it and they were messing with it for a good two hours. The mechanic said they could not find anything wrong and they could not get the car to make any noise. So i drove home with a feeling like i might be some sort of automotive hypochondriac.
Well the noise has vanished, and three days after all this happened i check online and find out about the recall. Plus all the early reports were for manual transmissions, Honda does not offer a manual in the Element anymore. Now it's the automatic. I wonder what they were doing for two hours. I really think my car had this cable that connects the shift lever to the transmission problem, and they just fixed it.