fleetw00d : 2007 Honda Element EX AWD

[Fleetw00d]

2007 Honda Element EX:

2007 Element EX AWD by Paul Kemme, on Flickr

Bought this for my son and daughter to take back to college after they come home for Christmas, more air bags than the wagon (stranded in FL with a bad alternator) and more luggage capacity. They have tentatively named it "Thor" (short for Thorium - gotta be an element, right?), Greek god of thunder. AWD for better go in the snow (or sand I suppose). Ordered OEM service and electrical troubleshooting manuals today.

ENGINE:

K24A8
Stock exhaust in pretty good condition

TRANSMISSION:

Stock 5 speed automatic, all wheel drive, fluids recently changed.

SUSPENSION/WHEELS:

Stock, with (2003-2006) Element EX wheels,
- fairly new tires, new TPMS sensors at all four wheels
- new pads and rotors at all four wheels

EXTERIOR:

Stock
- Polished and "Wipe New'd" the headlights
- No rust on the underbody

INTERIOR:

Stock
- no tearing at the left side of the driver seat like a lot of them.

AUDIO/ELECTRONICS:

Stock AM/FM/CD, 270 Watt

Future Plans:

Engine: looks like a small oil leak at the oil pan; watched a video today - to drop the pan you have to drop the whole lower engine cradle - ugh

Exterior: Not sure why, but I really want to add a pin stripe. Just can't decide on color (leaning toward a maroon like Ruby parked behind it) or what contour to follow.

[Fleetw00d]

Heading to Pensacola tomorrow in this to bring my son and daughter home from school for the holidays and recover the wagon. I'm hoping all it needs is an alternator (pulled the one from the wreck). We'll see what kind of fuel economy the Element gets with pure highway driving.

Front license plate bracket (you can get a ticket in Ohio for not having a front plate) and splash guards on the way.

[Straight Success]

How comfortable is driving it compared to the wagon?

[wtfisafleek]

Perfect vehicle for a couple of college kids. I was thinking about one for a while, considering I like to take my dog everywhere. I noticed the Elements have held their value pretty well.

[hiptech]

I don't understand why Honda dropped this model just as the CUV craze was taking off. My guess it was their answer to the Nissan Cube, Scion xB, Kia Soul only the Element was larger. Though all but the Soul are gone I think Honda should have stayed the course and tried to refine it for a Gen 2 version...

BTW I do prefer the body side panels monochrome like yours. Everyone seems to dig the black plastic but this looks better to me. Nice find Paul!

[Fleetw00d]

How comfortable is driving it compared to the wagon?

The seats could certainly use some more side support and the arm rests need to be higher for a tall driver(6'5"), but there is plenty of leg room - I didn't even have the seat all the way back. The wagon seat is more comfortable, but I don't have the room to stretch my legs for long trips so they start to hurt considerably. The window pillars are all quite wide and the A pillars are very far forward so they tend to block your vision more so than our Accords.

I ran the speed limit, 70, most of the way down. Got 24 mpg for the first half (hills in KY and TN), 25 for the stretch from AL to FL. We ran a little slower on the way home; I think the left axle is going on the wagon - no clunking but shakes badly at high speed under power (climbing hills); smooth when decelerating or going downhill. My son is also a stickler for speed limits, so it was 55 through a number of construction zones and city centers. With two adult kids and their luggage, it managed 26.5 mpg as calculated for one tank on the return trip.

I slept in the back Wednesday night; not quite enough length for me on the floor behind the front seat. I should have read the owner's manual first - the front seats are configured to lie flat and meet the seat cushion of the rear seat. Haven't tried that to see how comfortable it is.

I prefer the painted side panels as well, and prefer the aluminum wheels over the steelies with plastic wheel covers (2nd daughter's 08 Element LX).

[TypeG]

I've neve known much about these other than they've had a dog owners package as an option, which is kinda cool. it's one of the kind of cars I've considered owning as a DD, but never got around to it. later.

[Fleetw00d]

Couldn't resist. A little tough to see in some of the photos; added a double dark red stripe all the way around.

20190106_145445 by Paul Kemme, on Flickr

20190106_145417_Burst01 by Paul Kemme, on Flickr

20190107_170537 by Paul Kemme, on Flickr

[bjaccord]

The stripe looks good on there.

I have always liked the Elements, super practical and reliable!

[Fleetw00d]

Drove it for the first time in snow yesterday (we got about 9 inches since early Saturday morning). All Wheel Drive is great! Just have to remember that AWD doesn't necessarily mean All Wheel Stop and it still slides in turns.

[BreckAConner]

Nice buy Fleet!

My sister has a 03, and I always thought, if the trans goes out, I'd swap it to a 5 speed but didn't know if they had a 5 speed gear box setup for that. The 5 speeds I've seen of the element were FWD.

[Fleetw00d]

They did offer it with 5 speed manual transmission and 4WD (at least according to options when selecting parts on Majestic's site).

[BreckAConner]

They did offer it with 5 speed manual transmission and 4WD (at least according to options when selecting parts on Majestic's site).

Awesome, Hope for a 5/6 speed swap if it ever comes to that case!

[Night Wolf]

one of the best SUVs ever

[Fleetw00d]

Left rear caliper was dragging some, it wore out a supposedly new set of pads in 10,000 miles. Rebuilt the calipers with new seals and boots and installed new pads. Painted things while I had it apart.

20190709_184331 by Paul Kemme, on Flickr