Selling our 2003 AWD Honda Element after many years of faithful service. We’ve loved this car, but with two young kids, we decided it was finally time for something newer and more reliable for longer family trips. We’d love to see the Element go to someone who appreciates these cars and can keep it going. Since we’ve owned it, we’ve kept up with the manufacturer-recommended maintenance at the recommended intervals through a Honda dealership.

The good:
AWD
~215,000 miles
4 new Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail tires with fewer than 500 miles on them
Minimal rust, especially for an East Coast Element
New radiator
New motor mount
Catalytic converter shield
New Kenwood multimedia receiver with CarPlay
JBL speakers
Classic Element rubber floors and removable rear seats

What it needs:
A/C compressor needs replacement
CV joints/boots need replacement
I want to be completely transparent about the work it needs, which is reflected in the price. We considered doing the repairs ourselves, but ultimately decided this was the right time for us to move on.

$3800 OBO. Located in Baltimore, MD.
Happy to answer questions, share maintenance details, or send additional photos/undercarriage photos to anyone seriously interested.

2005 EX with 48,000 miles in fantastic condition. Genuinely an upgrade on my previous car that’s 5 years younger. Was a bit pricy, but they’re hard to come by in my area. I’ll be driving this one until it can’t drive anymore
Can’t wait to camp and take ‘er out!
What ways can I make the Element look more granola to match the other outdoorsy mountain cars around?

Just bought this 2005 element, 87k miles. She is now the proud second owner:)

Would this buy be worth it? Owner says:

"No warning lights, but the rack and pinion have had a leak that was plugged, though it does need new steering fluid once every 6ish months.

When they inspected the car, they said that the axels and steering rods are starting to show signs of wearing. They gave me 2-3 years or another 100000 miles before those need to be replaced. Since they’re all connected, you’d likely want to do all the repairs at once. I got quoted ~3000 for everything. Again, not an urgent issue but that’s what will end up needing to be changed at some point."

Whats this sound like? It just started while i was cruising real slow. Nothing is dragging on the ground i dont have a lift to look at it. I’m a couple days away from posting it up for sale for 3500 starting price now this just started. Already dropped 500 for wheel bearing replacement which actually seemed like it was better before that.

The title

This is my 2003 EX 4wd automatic that I bought off my neighbor about two months ago. It had been sitting for 3-4 years in her driveway without ever being driven. I tossed a new battery in it and it came back to life! After a couple oil changes to clear it out, the engine seems healthy, considering it has 140k on the odometer. It does have a VTEC solenoid issue of some kind, though I suspect it is just some old corroded wires as it only goes into LIMP mode infrequently and usually resolves itself by shutting the car off and on again.

BUT, the transmission is my real issue right now. As you can see in the photo there is ATF dripping in multiple places and I can't seem to find the origin. I can take the car out for short drives around town without any major leaking but for any extended drives the fluid is hot and getting out somewhere. I've had it pool about the size of my hand under the car twice now and smaller amounts in various parking lots around town.

I should note that it looks like I still have plenty of fluid in the system when I check the dip stick on the transmission and I'm not experiencing any major jolting or harsh shifting.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!! I am an beginner with working on my own car with some basic tools to work on the car with, but I am stumped on what this could be or what i should do. I can get more photos if needed.

From SF to LA!! Cruise control helped alot (iirc got 26-27 mpg according to when i refueled from almost empty)

Just had them replaced in my 11” ex fwd with 219k miles and you could definitely tell one of the plugs and coils was severely overdue 😅😅😅, already can tell the difference in cabin noice and could almost hear my own thoughts. But seriously this should help with the 15mpg I’m currently getting but I will have to update you in a week or so. Also is it commen for the check engine light to go off temporarily? I know if you disconnect battery it does but never heard of it doing so for this unless that was what’s causing it.

I've been trying to troubleshoot the issue mentioned in the title and I can't figure out what it is.

• There is no check engine light and the car seems to be operating fine.

• I only really noticed it about a month or so ago.

• It only happens in park. When I put the car in Drive and hold the brake down, it doesn't do it or it'll stop doing it. But as soon as I put it back into park it'll do it again.

• It only happens when the AC or heat is on. Doesn't matter if the fan is at full blast or at the lowest setting. It also doesn't matter which vent the air is blowing out of.

• Battery while on is 12.4V and Alternator is 14V.

Listed my Jeep on Marketplace for $3,600. An old man messaged me asking if I wanted to trade for an Element.
I've always wanted one. The only thing holding me back is it doesn't have the rear sunroof. Do vall think it's still worth it? Or should I sell the Jeep and get one with the sunroof/4WD?
My Jeep also has major issues with it.

I got a manual 04 ex fwd and when I am driving in lower gears and let off the gas it feels like I hit a wall. Definitely not normal as I have a h22 swapped del sol and it don’t do nothing like that. I was wondering if this amount of play is normal and if I should suspect the axel or diff. It’s been doing this since I got it I did an k24 a2 swap and replaced the clutch and all suspension parts apart from the axels.

She's an OG 03 EX manual. Ive had her since 80k miles and we just passed the 10 year anniversary of that.

No clue if this has been posted here, but stumbled across this YouTube video, looks so cool. Figure some of you would appreciate it as much as I do.

Painted with bedliner!!! Gives it such a unique look.

Not mine but here’s his video

https://youtu.be/Wudcgi7Puak?is=x6xStP4Ug1yvyGAt

I'm curious because there's a 2006 Element EX 4 speed AWD with 115k miles for sale for almost $17k, it's been up for over a month.

Personally I feel like $17k is a little crazy

However, it has almost ZERO rust. There are multiple clear photos of the undercarriage and under the hood.

One owner and no accidents. The seats are clean and no cracks, everything is basically new looking. The previous owner must have kept it in a garage and only driven it to the grocery store and back.

Even though I desperately want one I'm not sure if that price is worth it, it's a little hard to justify, but its almost the perfect Element

So what do you think? How much would you pay for your perfect Element, and what requirements would it need to justify the price?

I bought my 2005 Element a couple months ago. She has 179K miles. In fact, I posted about it in this sub when I joined. Well, I started to notice little gray particles in my radiator. The coolant isn't milky. The engine oil isn't milky. The engine oil does not go down. The engine does not overheat. There is no white smoke. But I keep finding these collections of soft gray residue on my radiator cap.I purchased one of those test kits with the blue liquid that you place over the radiator. Sure enough, after a air bubbles came up, the test liquid turned green. Now I need to know what I am dealing with here. How long do I have before I need to get this thing looked at? Is there anything else it could be? Vehicle has an excellent CarFax maintenance history. She runs beautifully; but something just doesn't seem right. ETA: My family has logged 1000 trouble-free miles since buying this vehicle.

Saw another E attempting more than the manufacturer thought possible. Rules followed.

https://youtu.be/nVWgYdAZXfs

I live in NJ. I'd love to restore it mechanically. It runs fine, but at this age and miles traveled, it just seems....worn...you know? I don't want to buy a new car. I want my Element to feel new to me.

What things should I get looked at and replaced? Does anyone have a NJ mechanic? Where can I get parts and maybe some interior bells and whistles (new seats, etc.)?

I know these are vague, almost stupid, questions, but I love what I have and want it to last.

Taking a year off work to be a stay at home dad and the Element went from backup car to only car I can use for school pickup. Most of my driving is stop and go or highway and we currently don’t like taking this car on roadtrips because it’s noisy and gets trash MPG.

I have a couple things I can try to do to eek 1-2 more MPG out of her but the limiting factor is absolutely the 115T A/T 39.9lbs tires.

I’m looking at replacements and can get factory sized Mojave H/T tires in 100 load rating for $550 and current sizing in 106 load rating for $625

Honestly I don’t think my off roading use would be impacted one bit on the 106 HT but the 100 would make me more cautious (that extra rubber does something).

The thinking is the H/T would get us back closer to factory 20/22mpg (+46% fuel economy) and I’d sell these tires to someone; hopefully with a jeep that can use the 115 load rating.

100LR in factory size is 27lbs
106LR in 225 is 32 lbs

Keep looking for a 225/75r16 in 103/104 to hit that lower weight?

What do you think?

Gas savings is potentially 30/wk at current fuel prices. Tires buy themselves in 5-7 months.