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Never hose out a Honda Element

fifthelementcamping.com

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Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#221

Post by a2tech »

bombcar wrote: post #108
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's like 90% of the utility of an Astro van but it's not technically a van and it's from a manufacturer that certain demographics hold in high regard. It's a van for the people who are too proud to own a van. Edit: I sound like MCM and I don't like it.

This is likely it; 50% or more of SUVs are designed for people who refuse to be caught dead or alive in a minivan.

Which is ridiculous--if people would actually test drive a minivan or use it for a few weeks they'd end up loving them. The side doors, back hatch and fold flat seats mean a mini van is a heck of a setup. My wife makes fun of me but if we fly into someplace and rent a car I'll almost always get a minivan.

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#222

Post by dzhiurgis »

Bancakes wrote: post #191
mmaunder wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only time I hosed out a car is my uncle's car when it ended up in the ocean. Was low-tide and tons of seagrass on the boat launch. Lost traction and just slowly slid all the way into the ocean. Actually turned out OK after a serious fresh-water bath and carefully drying out everything. Hosing out a car under normal circumstances is insane. I recently worked on a Dodge 12V diesel 1994 truck. Removed all interior carpe…

What is a high-end sound system anyways? I've always wondered, and now I ask. How do you measure it - just frequency response and power draw?

One of the metric I know is sensitivity - how many dB per watts can a speaker produce. Logic is that at lower watts amp has less distortion. For best results buy an amp that's like 10x smaller than required, tho you will waste tons of power (which then goes into class A/B/C/D/E amps...)

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#223

Post by knight17 »

mortenjorck wrote: post #18
chrisseaton wrote: post #4

I don't get it - would you would think you can hose out a consumer car like this, with the fabric seats and all that plastic trim? I've hosed out Land Rovers, but they're clearly an off-road vehicle designed for wading.

The author references the "hose" comment in the 1998 unveiling of the concept car that would become the Element, but I think they greatly underplay the degree to which this idea caught on with the public and in the press, especially in non-automotive publications. I'm pretty sure it was an issue of Wired in the early 2000s where I read about this futuristic new SUV from Honda with, among other clever details, "a floo…

I think you are right, here is Popular Science (December 2002):

"The Element's rubber floors can be hosed down, ...."

https://books.google.ca/books?id=0BvVSP2ugU4C&lpg=PA47&dq=ho...

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#224

Post by jimmaswell »

gedy wrote: post #16

Random FYI, but the article shows repairs using POR15 paint. It's pretty nasty to work with, and I highly recommend MasterSeries paint as an alternative: http://masterseriesct.com No affiliation, just learned the hard way with my 1960s VW Beetle.

Nasty how? I had no trouble using it the same way on my Z31.

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#225

Post by soylentcola »

paganel wrote: post #176
RajT88 wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Truth. I recommended a Honda Element to a friend of mine who wanted a cute car, but who had a tendency of destroying cars. Among our friends, somehow the "hose down" talking point was common knowledge. This was maybe 16 years back, so I do not recall how we came to this idea. They ended up buying a stickshift VW bug. Which they abused in many weird ways. Destroyed a couple Honda Fits since the bug.

Props to your friend, I think it really takes some determination to destroy not one, but two Honda Fits (or Jazz, as it's called over here in Europe). Nice little cars, I was looking at maybe purchasing one but unfortunately their "fame" got to them so that the latest generation/variant is a little over-priced compared to other models from the same class, or so it seems to me.

Still, count yourself lucky. In the US, they stopped selling them, opting to push people toward the HR-V instead. I'm not much of a car guy, but I have a Fit which I bought used for under $10k cash, low mileage, etc. The HR-V is significantly more expensive and doesn't offer anything I particularly need for the added cost, so if I were to replace my current Fit, I wouldn't be likely to buy an HR-V.

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#226

Post by adolph »

dTal wrote: post #217
madaxe_again wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’d be amazed at what you can hose out. My house flooded in 2019 - river flood, filthy silty water up to the roofline. Everything got dunked. I decided I’d at least try hosing everything down. PC, NAS, TV, headphones, you name it, it got hosed, and then left in the sun to dry. Mud and silt had filled most of it, and I’d little hope any of it would survive. Turns out, bar two hard drives, everything survived. The TV…

Just a supplement to your point of water not always being fatal to electronics - I once found a PSP lying at the bottom of a lake. It was by a school, so I guess bullying had been involved. One thorough rinse later and it turned on. Battery and optical drive were shot of course, and the screen was seriously watermarked. But still.

The PSP is not especially ferrous, so you were not Magnet Fishing when you found it?

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=magnet+fishing

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#227

Post by dghughes »

knight17 wrote: post #223
mortenjorck wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author references the "hose" comment in the 1998 unveiling of the concept car that would become the Element, but I think they greatly underplay the degree to which this idea caught on with the public and in the press, especially in non-automotive publications. I'm pretty sure it was an issue of Wired in the early 2000s where I read about this futuristic new SUV from Honda with, among other clever details, "a floo…

I think you are right, here is Popular Science (December 2002): "The Element's rubber floors can be hosed down, ...." https://books.google.ca/books?id=0BvVSP2ugU4C&lpg=PA47&dq=ho...

I had looked at a Honda Element it was meant to be a utility vehicle of sorts meaning you could get it dirty and clean it easily.

The floors as I recall were tough, rough, bumpy plastic very thick. It was obvious the intention of the vehicle with a flat rear floor in the rear of the vehicle was meant to be used to carry things not just people.

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#228

Post by Eric_WVGG »

dTal wrote: post #217
madaxe_again wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’d be amazed at what you can hose out. My house flooded in 2019 - river flood, filthy silty water up to the roofline. Everything got dunked. I decided I’d at least try hosing everything down. PC, NAS, TV, headphones, you name it, it got hosed, and then left in the sun to dry. Mud and silt had filled most of it, and I’d little hope any of it would survive. Turns out, bar two hard drives, everything survived. The TV…

Just a supplement to your point of water not always being fatal to electronics - I once found a PSP lying at the bottom of a lake. It was by a school, so I guess bullying had been involved. One thorough rinse later and it turned on. Battery and optical drive were shot of course, and the screen was seriously watermarked. But still.

I’ve sent many desktop keyboards through the dishwasher. Pop the keycaps off and put them in the flatware compartment first; allow 48 hours to dry before re-assembling and plugging in after. Even the cord comes out looking good as new.

Re: Never hose out a Honda Element

#229

Post by dfxm12 »

guynamedloren wrote: post #151
SmallBets wrote: post #140

Funny seeing this as an Element owner, who is just dealing with the hell of having the catalytic converter stolen. With the relatively high ground clearance, these are absolute magnets for catalytic converter theft. Estimate to fix it with OEM parts ~$6k! Waiting to see if insurance totals it.

What? $6k? How much damage did the thieves do?

There's precious metals (platinum) in the catalytic converter. That's why they get targeted by thieves & are expensive to replace. $6k seems high though. I had to replace one years ago and it was less than half that.
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