(Topic ID: 299087)

Honda Element. Awesome or not for pins

By Llabnip1972

2 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 24 posts
  • 17 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 1 year ago by dpapclare
  • Topic is favorited by 2 Pinsiders

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic poll

    “Honda Element. Awesome or not for pins”

    • Awesome 8 votes
      67%
    • Nawesome 4 votes
      33%
    • Elements are unreliable in my experience 0 votes

    (12 votes)

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    IMG_20210823_201756 (resized).jpg
    e4 (resized).JPG
    e3 (resized).JPG
    e2 (resized).JPG
    e1 (resized).JPG

    You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider Llabnip1972.
    Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.

    #1 2 years ago

    I would like to hear any thoughts on the Honda Element. I've been eyeing one of these for a while but have never really had the opportunity to inspect one up close. Typically I stick with NIB vehicles to avoid hassles with repairs but I'm thinking about stepping outside my comfort zone as this thing on paper looks like the ultimate pin mover. It would not be my daily driver but I would be using it for long hauls. Most curious to hear how sturdy the tailgate is for supporting the weight of a pin(looks wimpy in pics). Also wanting to hear thoughts on the overall reliability and repair issues you may have had. I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences and opinions. Thx.

    #11 2 years ago

    Awesome info. I may pull the trigger and go used. Single owner 2006 for 7500 here. Thanks all

    #12 2 years ago

    I wonder whats the closest thing to it still in production?

    #13 2 years ago

    Probably the transit connection panel van. Thats on my radar as well and my distro has some

    #23 2 years ago
    Quoted from megadeth2600:

    I bought one NIB in 2005. Still have it.
    You can fit one pin in it comfortably. I've moved two older Bally SSes with it ... removed backboxes, fit both in side by side, but had a setup similar to the person above that had a plywood sheet to make loading easier ... mine rose a bit to clear those "bumps" near the rear strut access area. You don't have to do any of the above for a single pin though.
    You can also move an arcade game quite easily in one though you may feel a bit cramped. I fit a Pole Position in there and was able to close the tailgate. I had to remove the plastic cup holder on the floor and push the passenger seat all the way forward, but it fit!
    //<![CDATA[
    window.__mirage2 = {petok:"fc3e33b1afd23247a5523975eaff45e3def40863-1630163468-1800"};
    //]]>

    .
    The rear tailgate is strong. FWIW, Honda made a 'backrest' accessory for the rear tailgate for tailgate parties ... it was designed to hold weight.
    It's pretty good on gas on the highway ... I get about 23MPG.
    It's pretty easy to work on compared to other cars from the era. Parts are not that expensive if you shop around on the internet (assuming you are one to only purchase OEM parts).
    You can tow up to 1500 pounds with it easily if you have a trailer (if you plan on using a trailer, get a lighter one).
    A couple of things to look out for ...
    If you buy one that was in the Northeast, inspect it for rust ... I've seen some get fairly rusty underneath though I've yet to see one that would fall apart. The rust does make removing bolts and the like a complete pain in the ass. That could be said for a lot of cars, but the Element seemed to be a little bit worse overall.
    Mine started to need a few things serviced/replaced around 130K miles. Nothing major, but crap that's annoying ... like an alternator, a few suspension components (mainly sway bar links and bushings), one power steering line. If you know how to work on cars, nothing in that list is difficult to replace, but, again, road salt in the northeast can make it a bit annoying to remove bolts and stuff like that. I've since started to do that annual rust proofing spray that seems to do a great job preventing anything rust related (I forget the name of it ... I'm sure I'll remember it as soon as I hit "post". ).
    Many Element fans call them "Toasters on Wheels" ... keep in mind that it is basically a big box on a Civic chassis. Handling when it is windy out is fun to say the least. It is nowhere near as bad as the old VW "Terrorist from Back to the Future" Vans, but you'll feel it .
    Overall, I dig the thing ... its a very utilitarian vehicle. I plan on keeping it for a while. There are rumors that Honda will be bringing it back though I've been hearing that since 2017 or so ... I think they're the Tron VE of the car world.

    Sweet. I'm going to hold out for awhile and see if a new one comes out. Luckily we only get a rain here for 4 months a year so my truck should do the job while I wait for something new to drop.

    You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider Llabnip1972.
    Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/honda-element-awesome-or-not-for-pins?tu=Llabnip1972 and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.