Well I purchasesd my 2003 Silver 4WD Auto EX Element back in January. Before I could get 500 miles on it I had the Winshield crack ( about 3 inches above the bottom stretching horizontally all the way to the lower right hand corner), had the drivers seat rocking issue, the alignment pulled to the right, and to top it off had a very annoying clunk (almost like the rear struts were bottoming out) over most bumps. Took it in to the dealer I purchased it from and they fixed 3 of the 4(they even paid to have the winshield replaced). They replaced the left rear strut and said it was fixed. It wasnt. Noticed it while driving home. The dealer is 45 miles away from my home so I decided to take it to a dealer less than 10 miles from my home. The service advisor got in my vehicle and took a test drive with me. Acknowledged the loud clunky noise over bumps and said no problem we will take a look. They replaced both rear struts and said they could not figure out what was making the noise. Here is where it gets good. They call and said they decided to test drive 3 other Elements on their lot. Low and behold they all have the noise. I said really, because I happen to have another Element (another 2003 exactly like mine except only SOP in color that we purchased for my wife a week after purchasing mine because we liked it so much) and it doesnt make any noise at all over bumps. They say can you bring it up to the dealership so they can ride in it? I say NO PROBLEM. I bring it up there....they ride in it....yep no noise in hers. They say they cant fix it. I should have ridden in their Elements to see if they were lying about the noise. Anyway, I called the Honda Customer Service number and get a case started. The regional case manager calls me back and says that a Honda Field Rep and the service manager will meet me at the dealership to ride in my vehicle so we all know what noise we are talking about and to discuss any possible solutions. Here is my only acceptable solution: I want a NEW Element! The noise is not acceptable and is very annoying. I mean I purchased 2 brand new Elements and one makes the noise and the other doesnt. Now I am just waiting to find out when this all important meeting will take place. Wish me luck!!!

Good luck!

Just one more thing: try a test drive with the seats, hinge covers, tire cover, tire and everything in the tire well removed, just to rule out something related to loose items in the cabin?

-brendan

Is there an independant shop nearby that specializes in evaluating vehicles before final purchase? A friend, now retired, had such a reputation and saved my butt a couple of times. Once with an S-10 trunk/junk that GM finally paid for repairs because they couldn't bs me as my friend put his evaluations in writing and was willing to back me up. He was a pro and would take on anything, domestic of foreign. "Some guy put it together so I should be able to take it apart." And he did.

How about the yellow pages or contacting your states mechanics association?

I have a '04 Element SOP and I hear the same exact noise you're referring to. It sounds as if the shocks/struts are out and it's bottoming out. If this is NOT normal (of which this noise was not there when I first purchased my E) then I'm definatly taking it to the dealer and having this check it out. IT'S UNDER WARRENTY! :D

No bump in mine and for the dealer to say all of them do it is just BS. But I would check the spare tire area for loose items! Or maybe some hungover Honda guy on the line left a wrench in your fuel tank!

Good Luck!!!

And I agree with Brendan, check all loose items in the back compartments.

I heard an annoying noise in mine that I thought was coming from the front dashboard, until my wife pointed out some CD that we had left in the overhead compartment was rolling around loose and making the noise!

I could have sworn it was coming from the dash.