I just bought my new Element EX 2WD 6 days ago. It now has exactly 360 miles on it. This afternoon, while driving, a 5 inch crack appeared spontaneously on the windshield in front of me. The crack starts at the driver side edge at about eye level and it extends out approximately 5-6 inches horizontally towards the center. No rock or any debris hit the windshield. Of this I am sure. I live in Southern California and it has been quite hot out here, so the A/C was on. I have been driving on smooth, paved city streets all the time.

I immediately called the dealership, but the service dept. people had left for the day. So I will have to wait till tomorrow to take it in and get a resolution, if any. I am expecting all kinds of problems with them, with denials, refusals and blame shifting to occur. I am not looking forward to it.

I checked the Honda Element windshield Service Bulletin 03-028, posted elsewhere in this website, and my VIN number unfortunately falls outside of the range specified for the 2WD (although if it had been a 4WD, it would have been included). Hopefully the dealer will still fix it under warranty, but I won't hold my breath.

I already submitted a complaint form with the NHTSA website (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/), as suggested in another posting.

Depending on what happens tomorrow at the dealership, I will pursue the matter, if necessary, with the State and local consumer advocates and the BBB. I will also send mail to the Honda president. I am not giving up easily.

Boy I am pissed!!!!

keep us updated!

sounds like you're covering all bases when it comes to this problem.

CONTINUATION from my earlier post:

Today I took off from work early and went to the dealer to show them my cracked windshield. I have had the car for 380 miles and 7 days so far. Of course they gave me the proverbial raised middle finger. The Service Manager said that the crack was due to an outside impact. If you look at it with a magnifying glass you could see a very small star along the crack at one point at about one inch from the glass edge next to the driver's side vertical post. If you ask me, that indentation could have been from the inside out due to a high rivet or a high point along the rim of the windshield. I say this because there is no cratering at the star. Normally when the windshield is impacted by a small rock it would leave a small indentation crater in addition to the star. No indentation here, just a small stress star.

Anyway, I called American Honda Motor Co. this evening and registered a complaint. They dutifully and very curteously took my complaint and it will be 5 days before I get a call back from a case manager. I fully expect them to also give me the midle finger, just like the service manager at the dealership.

The dealership said that the Element windshield will crack easier when impacted by a small pebble due to: 1) a thinner windshield design to save weight, and 2) a more vertical windshield angle, which cause the impacts to absorb the full force instead of glancing off at an angle.

While this may be true, it is still a bad design, (i.e. bad seating of the windshield) or a faulty PPG glass. I can show you several other brand vehicles with equally thin windshields and similar angle that don't crack when hit by what amounts to a grain of sand. If the windshield cracks so readily, then it is because it is highly stressed (perhaps very slightlly bent or resting on a high point)) after it is installed, thus becoming very brittle.
The other Honda models' winshields are not cracking nearly as much as the brand new Element, that's for sure.

This will show me not to go against my instincts again. "Thou shalt NEVER buy version 1.0 of anything, for it will have bugs". I should have waited for the 2004 year models. (I still like the car.)

If I get no positive resolution from the American Honda Motor Co., next will be the Consumer advocates, the BBB and the Consumer TV shows and letters to the editors of car magazines and Consumer Reports magazines. I will cause them ten times as much grief as they have caused me. A lot of people will know about this.

The saga continues.

My cracked windshield was replaced under warrantee and the TSB fix was done to the high points on the windshield frame.

However, I always am now always waiting for the next crack to appear. My last car (Mitsubishi Montero / Dodge Raider) had 5 cracked windshields in 15 years.

Except for the fix on the windshield frame, I do not expect any great changes (windshield wise) on the 2004 models. Time will tell, but Honda does have to correct this situation as soon as possible. Honda is very good at correcting problems and keeping customers happy. The problem seems to develop and escalate with poor dealerships.

One of the great points being made here is that even IF a windshield has been impacted, it will inevitably have a greater proclivity to crack if it is stressed, mounted on an uneven frame or of substandard quality, and thus the dealers who are examining the damage and spot what they claim to be impact damage are still denying what may be perfectly valid claims under the warranty.

The odd thing is that my own windshield, well inside the TSB VIN range, has been hit several times by stones with sometimes very alarming noise, and shows absolutely no damage at all. I almost wish otherwise since some delightful vandal deliberately scored the windshiled on the drivers side with what must have been a key or knife blade the other weekend!

The cracking windshield issues are not something I'd expect Honda to deal with in the 04 model particularly, since they are almost certainly material and fitting issues that can and should be cured in routine manufacture. The fact that some winshields seem to crack with almost no provocation and others withstand impacts as well as other vehicles suggests Honda could resolve this properly by tighter control of materials or build quality rather than by making a design change. I am aggrieved that a company with Honda's reputation appear not to have done so well before now.

CONTINUATION:

Success!!

After filing my complaint over the phone directly with American Honda Motor Co. (Torrance, CA) last week, they called me back today and said that they would replace my cracked windshield free of charge, at the delership of my choice, as a one-time goodwill gesture.

So there you have it folks... Honda Motor Co. (Corporate) came through for me. :D , even if the dealership didn't.

However, I will not do any further business with the dealership that denied my claim. :evil:

Hopefully this is my first and last cracked windshield on this car.

Now..on to the aftermarket accessories goodies section... 8)

END OF STORY.

They are responsible for a poor design. It's called Product Liability, a term i'm sure they are familiar with. Also "Implied Warranty of Merchantibility" that comes with every American product...i.e. the product will perform reasonably well (is 'fit') for it's intended purpose. A windshield with a proclivity to crack after just a few hundred miles is NOT fit for it's intended purpose. Honda is liable and they know it. They just don't want to admit anything they can avoid admitting. Next time (when they refuse another 'good will gesture') also try the California State Automotive Repair Bureau or maybe Consumer Affairs

Doubspeak? Yeah, saying one thing and meaning another. "Here's a plausible explanation, valued customer, but if you think it drivel it does'nt matter." "Either way you're screwed."

""The dealership said that the Element windshield will crack easier when impacted by a small pebble due to: 1) a thinner windshield design to save weight, and 2) a more vertical windshield angle, which cause the impacts to absorb the full force instead of glancing off at an angle."


Read E-Rich's msg. He nailed it. A sample:

"Honda is liable and they know it. They just don't want to admit anything they can avoid admitting."