waited to buy 04 thinking we
would be safe from windshield issue.
have registered complaint with nht site.
see regional service rep on thursday.
even if they replace with/without allot
of armtwisting, am fully expecting glass to
fail again in future at some time.
really like the vehicle/concept,
but accept we made mistake.

very disapointed.
have owned AT LEAST 10 cars,
never had cracked widshield.
never owned honda before,
never will again.

Are you serious? You're done with Honda because a new vehicle has growing pains? I don't even OWN an element yet (6 weeks hopefully) and the windshield thing isn't going to bother me one bit. You want ownership pains, try owning a Land Rover for a while. I had two Range Rovers in my driveway until last month when one got traded for a CR-V.

Vehicle leaked engine oil from the factory, new, zero miles. Electrical system known to be problematic, things rattle like crazy, and parts that last a lifetime on other vehicles are maintenance items on these vehicles. Parts are 3-5x more expensive too. $1200 for a new Radiator, $525 for a new alternator, key blank for $38.

How about the original Lexus LS400 wiith a leaky power steering reservoir located above the altenator? Costs about $1k to replace both the reservoir and the alternator.

I have never owned a Japanese vehicle, much less a Honda, until we got the one we have now, a 1998 CR-V with about 94k miles. But based on my ownership experience, and my experience with my local dealer, we have traded one Range Rover, I will be mothballing my Range Rover in favor of the element, and I will be buying a Civic or Accord for the kid to replace her BMW (my former daily driver).

I suppose I have a different expectation than you, but I currently drive a $60k vehicle that burns more in gas per quarter than a replacement windshield would cost in an Element. I see buying the Honda as a significant upgrade, and mine can't get here soon enough.

Best of luck in your search for a replacement.

I'm personally not going to be worried about the windshield cracks until my 3 year warranty is up. Yes, it appears I might have to argue with a service department, go to a different dealer or deal with a district representative, but after all that I'm 99% sure it'll get fixed under warranty.

At or near 3y/36K, with the years of experience on this issue, it may effect my decision to purchase a 7y/100k (or similar) warranty.

-brendan

Zeee, please buy an 02 LR Freelander :twisted: , then you will understand what reliability or lack thereof is. The E is the best vehicle I've ever purchased.

hehehe... the Freelander is a low maintainence vehicle compared to my ride! Did you have one of those? All the unreliability of a Land Rover, with much less off-road ability to mitigate it.

"Are you serious? You're done with Honda because a new vehicle has growing pains? I don't even OWN an element yet (6 weeks hopefully) and the windshield thing isn't going to bother me one bit"

Egad, such loyalty. Defending Honda with more fervor than a Crusading Knight wearing a hair shirt. Hilarious. Growing pains? Honda?? And minimizing the windshield problem by comparing even worse examples of poor mfg quality is of little solace. It's like saying, "you think you have a bad marriage?" "Well let me tell ya about mine.."

Loyalty? I don't even OWN a Honda yet. What loyalty are you talking about?

I didn't offer the comparison to excuse Honda of a manufacturing problem. That is clearly an issue that needs to be resolved. And I have no doubt it will. I offered the example to highlight MY tolerance for issues, and the tolerance of millions of people who own vehicles that are not as well regarded for mechanical reliability than Hondas.

In fact, I think it's almost humorous, simply because this vehicle has a couple of glitches that wouldn't ever bother people buying other makes, but because its a Honda, people expect it to be perfect. Honda's typically ARE just about perfect and it's an enviable record of reliability.

But I could never see not purchasing a vehicle because of something like this. It'll either be covered by warranty, class action suit, or insurance. Pretty simple.

Today I was at a local mall,and near the main entrance they had 5 brand new Dodge vehicles sitting on display that mall patrons could win through a drawing. I had to laugh when I looked under 3 of the 5 and there were small puddles of oil near their pans. Now that's quality

...i'm on my third windshield and Honda has not covered one yet.

You know it's sad. It seems that Honda has REALLY dropped the ball on this. I understand that people are upset and a lot of people are spending real money.

So, I think that in my contract purchase I will have a clause added to protect me from this. I guess if you can't get satisfaction from the service department AFTER the sale, you can try to protect yourself on the purchase side.

I do appreciate everyone's comments on this, and I didn't mean to marginalize anyone's problem. I just would never consider not buying a certain car because of a design issue with a piece of glass. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I was paying a few hundred bucks every few months for new ones.