Hi,
Yesterday I had to replace two right side engine mounts on my 2WD 2004 Honda Element w/ 63K (most short drives in a hilly city). The mechanic saved the old parts for me and sure enough they were really torn up. The lower left side control arm also needed to be replaced and they think the Lower right control arm will need replacing in about 3-4K.
This seems to be a fairly short life for such vital items. I’ve owned front wheel drive cars before and hadn’t had this happen. What gives ( besides the rubber)?
Honda does have a history of bad engine mounts on the Odyssey and Pilot models of the same era, so perhaps this is not so surprising. Yes, it is very disappointing, but hopefully the new mounts are of an improved design so that they will last longer than the original ones.
As to the control arms–is the pavement really bad in your neck of the woods? Usually, this type of failure is due to a lot of driving on pothole-pocked roads and/or using tire pressures that are way too high.
You might also want to check your radiator for cracks near the inlet and outlet fittings. When my motor mounts went (different fwd car) the rocking of the engine caused the radiator hoses to move, cracking the inlet tank.