We bought a new Honda Element in 2004. Since 2004, we have put 180k miles on it. Lots of it highway travel. Since it is an auto owned by me, it gets good PM according to the book, except I don't trust the book on oil changes and have kept them more frequent at ~3000 miles.
We bought the 2WD flavor, not the AWD flavor. You know, the AWD one that shows folks driving it on the beach, in the mountains, along rocky trails, near lava flows with arty simulators, etc. We didn't do that. Oh, it went on a few gravel roads and once on a somewhat less well-maintained gravel road at Big Bend NP.
It has had an easier life than my wife's 1995 Honda Civic, which she drove 180k miles before giving it to her dad, who put on another 220k miles as of last month.
I mention limits of engineering & design because we are in the process replacing almost every bit of front suspension bits on the critter. Pretty much everything inward of the rotors/wheel bearings to where it all mates up the the unibody, toss in a motor mount for good measure.
By the time all is said & paid for, we will have spent what it is worth on the used auto market. Given where we are financially and how my wife wants to allocate her time between kids/work/school, that is the smartest answer.
I have gawked at the old parts as they have come off and look at the bits still on that need replacing. Yup, they are toast. Right now we have gotten to the point it is no longer dangerous and merely unpleasant to drive. We need new front tires so that we see how the rest of the front suspension lines up.
I suspect this has occurred because the Element pushes the limits of design. See, the Element was developed from the CRX which was developed from the Civic, which is a spunky little 4 seat people-mover. You know, the one favored for fart-box modification by the adolescent crowd. Honda decided to beef it up and blow it out a bit into the CRX. The CRX & Element also got the bigger & heavier Honda Accord I4 motor & tranny. Then, it decided to go all-out and blew the platform out to the maximum and created the rolling breadbox Element. The Element ended up at 3600+ lbs dry weight, what with all the reinforcing of the cabin area to stiffen it up.
No, I haven't done a thorough analysis of the design, but I have a good idea what things look like when they are pressed beyond their design limits. Like the Ford Ranger one employer used to haul a tractor on a tandem axle trailer. Or the Ditch Witch used to trench in rocky soil. Or my Kel-Tec P-40(1). Also, this is not the only Honda product to get into trouble pushing its design limits. The Honda Ridgeline is notorious for having its suspension self-destruct when pushed a bit.
I compare these to my late, lamented 1997 Nissan Extended Cab Pickup(2), also in the 180k mile range when it was "totaled." Body on frame construction. Torsion bar front suspension. Longitudinally mounted I4 motor, RWD, 5sp manual (with original clutch). That truck was stoutly built and I never outrageously pushed it past its design limits.
(1) .40S&W in a 14oz package. There is a reason I only take t to the range every 6 months. I don;t expect it to digest thousands of rounds like my SW1911.
(2) IT LIVES! I saw it on the road three times since I signed it over to the insurance company, "totaled." Same exact tires, trim, and paint dings, excpet the front passenger side that got crunched. Somebody bought it under a salvage title and fixed it up.
