Factory build sheet
2009 Honda Element LX
Build 5J6YH283-9 · 2.4L 4cyl · Four-wheel drive · Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)
VIN positions 1 through 8 read 5J6YH283 and position 10 reads 9. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.
Every Element whose VIN starts 5J6YH283 and carries 9 in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 217 of them.
- Decoded Jul 7, 2026
- 217 known VINs
Factory specification
As filed by Honda with NHTSA for this build. Fields the filing does not record are left out entirely — a missing row means no recorded value, not a missing feature.
Engine
- Displacement
- 2.4 L
- Displacement (CI)
- 144
- Cylinders
- 4
- Configuration
- In-Line
- Engine model
- K24A8
- Valve train
- Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC)
- Horsepower
- 166 hp
- Fuel type
- Gasoline
Drivetrain
- Drive type
- Four-wheel drive
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Forward speeds
- 5
- Brake system
- Hydraulic
Body & chassis
- Body class
- Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)/Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
- NHTSA body type
- MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE (MPV)
- Doors
- 5
- Manufacturer
- AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC.
Weight rating
- GVWR class
- Class 1C
- GVWR
- 4,001–5,000 lb
Gross vehicle weight rating is the loaded ceiling set by the manufacturer, not the car's own weight.
The same build, other model years
Honda used the VIN pattern 5J6YH283 for 5 model years. Nothing but the year changes between these pages, so the price gap between them is depreciation on an identical car.
- 2004 LX 2.4L 4cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 413 vehicles code 4 $5,999
- 2005 LX 2.4L 4cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 544 vehicles code 5
- 2006 LX 2.4L 4cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 450 vehicles code 6 $7,498
- 2008 LX 2.4L 4cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 638 vehicles code 8
-
2009 You are here code 9
How this VIN pattern is read
A 17-character VIN carries two kinds of information: what was built, and which one it is. This page is the first kind — the nine highlighted positions.
| Positions | Characters | What they encode |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | 5J6 | AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC. · World manufacturer identifier |
| 4–8 | YH283 | Model, body style, engine and restraint system |
| 9 | × | Check digit — computed per vehicle, not part of the build |
| 10 | 9 | Model year — 2009 |
| 11 | × | Assembly plant |
| 12–17 | ×××××× | Production sequence number, unique to each vehicle |
NHTSA safety ratings
Crash-test results are published per model year and body style, so they cover the 2009 Honda Element as a whole rather than this build alone.
Rollover
★★★ ★★ 3 / 5
9 recall campaigns are recorded for the 2009 Element. Recalls are issued per VIN range — check the VIN of the car you are looking at, not the model.
217 vehicles carry this build
Every VIN we have decoded to 5J6YH283-9 shares the specification above.
- 217 Known VINs
Cars are filed by a fixed rule based on the VIN, so a car never moves between groups.
Neighboring configurations
Other factory configurations of the Element, each with its own build sheet. The set is fixed by the VIN patterns themselves, so it does not shuffle as prices or inventory move.
- 2009 EX 2.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · 4WD 892 vehicles · $9,991 median
- 2010 LX 2.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult 484 vehicles · $9,995 median
- 2010 EX 2.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult 644 vehicles · $10,850 median
- 1981 LX 2.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult · 4WD 264 vehicles · $9,325 median
- 2011 EX 2.4L 4-cyl · Sport utility vehicle suv mult 437 vehicles · $19,342 median
Keep going
Where this data comes from
Specification fields are decoded from the manufacturer's filings in the NHTSA vPIC database, keyed on VIN positions 1–8 and 10. We publish the filed values as they stand and leave out anything the filing does not record.
Vehicle counts come from the 217 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.