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Air bagsPart report

2011 Honda Element Air bags Problems

Complaints
6about this part
Share
55%of 11 total for the year
Median mileage
122,500miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 6 complaints about the air bags of the 2011 Honda Element, 55% of the 11 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 122,500 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 9 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Takata recall: I was advised that it would possibly take longer than a 3 month wait until the repair kit even arrived at the facility due to the fact that they don't make that vehicle any more and was told to have my family of 4 ride in the rear seats for safety issue. It is a 4 seat vehicle. Have left message with service manager an no response. This time frame is unacceptable and if in an accident, according to the video on your website, could cause injury or death to my family.”

NHTSA complaint #10898282, filed 2016-08, 80,000 miles

“Takata recall my complaint is that we received the letter from Honda in july 2016 about the air bag recall. The letter advises us to avoid having a passenger sit in the front seat. That it's not yet repaired is just aggravating. For six months, we've had to avoid a front seat passenger, or feel guilty about them sitting there. This has curtailed our use of and enjoyment of our vehicle. The letter shifted responsibility from takata and Honda -- to us, the car owner. This is not right.”

NHTSA complaint #10937472, filed 2016-12

“The contact owns a 2011 Honda Element. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, she had noticed that an extension ladder and debris had landed in the middle of the road. In order to avoid the objects, the contact and the driver behind her attempted to make the same turn at the same time into the right lane which caused a collision. The driver and passenger air bags failed to deploy upon collision. The driver side seat belt also failed to release upon depression of the driver seat belt button. …”

NHTSA complaint #11377818, filed 2020-12, 165,000 miles

“Takata recall: replaced driver side airbag 2 yrs ago when news broke. Dealer would not replace passenger side as Honda america refused to pay for it. Now Honda issues recall on passenger side airbag, stating no one should sit in passenger seat until repair. Called dealer, Honda america has not stocked parts. So essentially they ignored danger two years ago, and by saying don't sit there, are trying to blame vehicle owners and duck lawsuits. And didn't stock enough parts? Sounds like they want cars off the road, do not want to fix, and are putting people in danger.”

NHTSA complaint #10887518, filed 2016-07

“The contact owns a 2011 Honda Element. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16v344000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.”

NHTSA complaint #10896532, filed 2016-08

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Air bags: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2011655%
2010723%
2009516%
20082421%
20072724%
20065545%
20057648%
20047326%
20034912%

Other parts of the 2011 Honda Element

Other or unknown
2 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
2 complaintsSeat belts
1 complaintsSteering
1 complaintsSuspension
1 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
1 complaintsWheels
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2011 Honda Element

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology