There are 4 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2008 Honda Element in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 4 of 4 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION: #1- DIFFICULTY ENGAGING SHIFTER INTO ANY GEAR (NOT IN MOTION). #2- SHIFTER/TRANSMISSION POP OUT OF GEAR TO NEUTRAL WHILE DRIVING (CITY AND HIGHWAY). #3- DIFFICULTY UP AND DOWN SHIFTING SMOOTHLY. THERE ARE LOTS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT MANUAL SHIFTER ISSUES WITH HONDA ELEMENT. THIS PROBLEM CAUSES LACK OF MOTION OF THE CAR AND TEMPORARY DISTRACTION WHILE DRIVING.
HEAVY SNOW CONDITIONS (CT FEB. 6, 2015) CAR TRANSMISSION LIGHT APPEARED, PULLED OVER, READ MANUAL WHICH INSTRUCTED DRIVER TO PROCEED MODERATELY, WITHOUT RAPID ACCELERATION, TO EITHER A SERVICE GARAGE OR SAFE PLACE. DROVE HOME (4.5 MILES) BUT DRIVE IS STEEP. SOME WHEEL SLIPPAGE THEN CAR STALLED AND WOULD NOT START. TOWED FEBRUARY 6 TO CHAMPAGNE MOTORS OF MANSFIELD, CT. RESEARCHED PROBLEM ON LINE AND DISCOVERED A RECALL FOR TCM THAT WAS NOT PERFORMED ON CAR. CHAMPAGNE COULD NOT DO REPAIRS AND CAR ENDED UP AT HONDA OF MANCHESTER,CT. AFTER 4 WEEKS CALLED HONDA TO MENTION THE RECALL (NHTSA # 11V-395) AND SERVICE CLERK SAID THEIR REPAIRS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PROBLEM UNLESS I WAS SHIFTING FROM D-N-R TO ROCK THE CAR IN SNOW. I SAID I WAS IN DRIVE UP A HILL, SLIPPED, SHIFTED TO N THEN R TO BACK UP, THEN D, AND IT FAILED. DEALER NEVER CHECKED FOR OPEN RECALLS WHEN CAR (BOUGHT USED) WAS PURCHASED. NOT SURE IF THEY ARE REQUIRED TO BY LAW. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 HONDA ELEMENT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING 60 MPH THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE THROTTLE BODY WAS CLEANED; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE TOWED BACK TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER REPLACED THE THROTTLE BODY AND THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO OCCUR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 86,883 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 94,000. *TR
ALL THE TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAKED OUT OF VEHICLE. VEHICLE WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR. VEHICLE ONLY SLID BACKWARDS UNTIL PLACED IN PARK. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. DEALER PUT IN TRANSMISSION FLUID, CHECKED PRESSURE AND RETURNED TO OWNER. IN 5-7 DAYS VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK BACKWARDS FORCEFULLY. RETURNED VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. VEHICLE HAS BEEN AT DEALER FOR 4 DAYS NOW. DEALER FIRST REPLACED SOLENOID SWITCH. HONDA WOULD NOT RELEASE TO DEALER NEW TRANSMISSION UNTIL SOLENOID WAS REPLACED. NOW DEALER HAS TO KEEP CAR LONGER TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.