Element

[Eye of the Tiger]

I have


Element in its element.


700lbs of flammable cargo, no prob.


RIMz, and tires with maximum gremlins.



Interior: all blue, all the time.


Shifter with TWO buttons. Maximum driver involvement: ENGAGED.


Top speed of 120? Sure, maybe in meters per second, or whatever Canada uses.

[Laconian]

You're in your Element, Donny

[Laconian]

Pictures of hose-out interior or shins.

[ifcar]

Plenty of space to carry Summit pieces.

[Rupert]

Possibly the entire Summit, in pieces.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Pictures of hose-out interior or shins.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Because I have such great luck, shit broke about 50 miles into my drive home. Cruisin at 70, the engine cuts out and the CEL pops on. At about 60, engine works again. I stop at an AutoZone and have it scanned. It's a bad VTAK oil pressure switch. $66. Not critical. Drove 60 all the way home.

[Soup DeVille]

Because I have such great luck, shit broke about 50 miles into my drive home. Cruisin at 70, the engine cuts out and the CEL pops on. At about 60, engine works again. I stop at an AutoZone and have it scanned. It's a bad VTAK oil pressure switch. $66. Not critical. Drove 60 all the way home.

You have oil? Not having oil will do that.

[Eye of the Tiger]

You have oil? Not having oil will do that.

Yes. I checked that and the connector before I bought the switch. Now, I don't know what kind of oil it is, but it is oil.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Element people say this is a common problem. Sometimes the switch is bad, and sometimes the strainer gets clogged with oil sludge. Should be an easy fix. No Summit.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Much grunting and a moderate headache later....
Oil pressure switch is replace.
Mesh screen filter is clean.
Element is run.

[280Z Turbo]

Pictures of hose-out interior or shins.

Do you really want him to short out his entire dashboard?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Do you really want him to short out his entire dashboard?

I believe the entire vehicle is water resistant to 50m

[280Z Turbo]

I believe the entire vehicle is water resistant to 50m

Only one way to verify that 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Only one way to verify that 

It rained so much today that the sunroof leaked. At least it's over the back seats.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Hmm... the trans dipstick is missing. Also there was just NO bulb in the left tail light. Fuckin cheapass dealers.

[shp4man]

 

[Soup DeVille]

Hmm... the trans dipstick is missing. Also there was just NO bulb in the left tail light. Fuckin cheapass dealers.

Ummm...

Did you look at this vehicle before you bought it?

[Eye of the Tiger]

Ummm...

Did you look at this vehicle before you bought it?

It drove fine, so I figured the tranny must have enough fluid. Didn't check the tail lights, though.

And the oil pressure switch didn't fix the VTAK. Must  be a bad spool valve, or wiring.

[Eye of the Tiger]

In lighter news, I have a Hickory Farms Summer Sausage and a wheel of French Brie sitting in front of me. Not for long.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Other than some minor issues, Element is good for many reasons:

1. Huge, easy to use cargo hold. Huge room in the back seats. Huge head room. But so small on the outside.

2. Gas mileage in the low 20s. All day, evr day.

3. A good stereo with factory subwoofer. Never had a sub  in a car before. It's bumpin'.

4. Honda reliability and serviceability. Ok, so the VTAK solenoid is broke. But it's easy to fix. So much aftermarket support, too.

5. Real-time 4wd. It works. Floor it from a stop while turning on a wet road. Fwd would just spin one wheel or barely move while traction control fucks around and torque steers like hell. Real-time 4wd does a slight slip from the front inside wheel, then it hooks up and takes off without any drama, and only slight torque steer. I did this several times and was pleased.

6. Four-speed automatic. Honda makes an automatic that shifts quickly, firmly, and exactly when I want it to. It doesn't have any fuzzy logic adaptive crap trying to choose from nine different speeds while it ignores what my right foot is doing. Four speeds are all that the Element needs. This is not fun, but agreeable and easy, as an appliance should be. ChryslerFiat, Toyota, BMW, and others do it completely wrong.

7. Four wheel disc brakes. Feel good. Nuff said.

8. It's really a car, so it rides and handles like one. Seriously good, actually.

9. Hydraulic power steering. It has real feels. Fuck electric steering.

[Madman]

Is this one of the early Elements?  You know, the ones they forgot to finish painting?

[ifcar]

It's basically van, but car. And not too broken. Sounds like a winner!

[Eye of the Tiger]

Is this one of the early Elements?  You know, the ones they forgot to finish painting?

Very much grey plastic. Yes. I will get pictures when the weather isn't complete shit.

[Madman]

Very much grey plastic. Yes. I will get pictures when the weather isn't complete shit.

Ask your Honda dealer to finish painting the damn thing since the factory couldn't be bothered to do it in the first place.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Ask your Honda dealer to finish painting the damn thing since the factory couldn't be bothered to do it in the first place.

Not sure, but think the warranty is expire.

[Rupert]

I think this is a good car. I think that dealer is a shitheel. I think it's not actually that abnormal to have to fix a few things on a used car.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I think this is a good car. I think that dealer is a shitheel. I think it's not actually that abnormal to have to fix a few things on a used car.

I gave the dealer five stars. That was before I found it didn't even have a tailight bulb. It is likely that the VTAK worked fine for them, as it did on my test drive. They didn't dick me around on the price. I was out of there in about an hour. They made it easy to take my money.

[Rupert]

Well, the line between skeezebag and shitheel is fine and easily crossed by car dealers, IMO.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Well, the line between skeezebag and shitheel is fine and easily crossed by car dealers, IMO.

It's all relative. 5/5 stars for a car dealer is only 1/5 stars for a human being.