Ford F-450 SD vs Honda Element

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Ford F-450 SD	Honda Element
Complaints on file	630	1,533
Model years covered	1991–2026	2003–2011
Worst model year	2008	2003
Best model year	2002	2010
Crashes reported	18	123
Fires reported	29	15
Injuries reported	21	101
Deaths reported	0	0
Most complained-about part	Fuel & Propulsion	Windows, Mirrors & Wipers
Share of complaints involving harm	10.8%	15.6%

Ford F-450 SD by year

19 3 5 3 2 5 9 1 76 59 28 15 18 43 47 44 19 105 5 4 11 5 2 2 2 1 1 5 26 37 9 16 2 1

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Fuel & Propulsion 146 23.2%

Engine & Cooling 134 21.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 63 10.0%

Brakes 55 8.7%

Tires 46 7.3%

Electrical System 45 7.1%

Steering 33 5.2%

Body & Structure 14 2.2%

Honda Element by year

482 329 203 154 142 129 40 39 15

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 378 24.7%

Airbags 322 21.0%

Suspension 115 7.5%

Electrical System 112 7.3%

Body & Structure 92 6.0%

Brakes 91 5.9%

Seats 57 3.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 49 3.2%