Owners have filed 477 complaints on the Honda Insight, covering 2000–2022. The system named most often is Air Bags (112 reports). Worst years by volume: 2010, 2019, 2012; cleanest: 2004, 2006, 2005. 38 reports describe a crash, 4 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 4.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Honda Insight
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 477 Insight complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 112 Read
The contact owns a 2021 Honda Insight. The contact stated while driving at 55 mph, a deer jumped in front of the vehicle causing the contact to hit the deer but none of the air bags deployed. The contact mentioned that the automatic brakes were engaged during the incident. No one was injured and a police report was…
On September 16, 2022, I was in an accident where a driver hit me on the rear passenger side. I went a through a green light of an intersection on the Mopac N feeder Road and Duvall. Either both our lights were green or the other driver was dishonest and his was red. Every airbag deployed. Based on the impact, it…
Mi volsas de ahire no funcionaron y estan cobrandome por un defecto de fabrica necesito que bean mi solicitud ya que por ese defecto de fabrica me golpie mi cuerpo
Engine 63 Read
Under certain circumstances, the portion of the PCU that controls charging of the 12 volt accessory battery malfunctions, sending the PCU into a "fail safe" mode, preventing battery charging and activating warning displays for the driver. This has caused my vehicle to stall while driving, potentially increasing the…
Honda insight 2019, mileage: 2820 (new), 1.5 l (earth-dreams gasoline engine). I have noted gasoline in the oil crankcase, very strong odor smelled when I checked the oil level on the "dip" stick. Note: original owner, brand new car, broke-in engine per manual, purchased in june 2019
The contact owns a 2019 honda insight. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the collision avoidance sensor activated which caused the automatic braking system to abruptly stop the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to pohanka honda located at 1772 ritchie station ct, capital heights, md (301) 899-7800,…
Electrical System 42 Read
I was going home from work in my Honda insight 2019 and all of a sudden my car started showing all kings of warnings every single indicator was on and my car started to spin and hit the side railing of the highway i almost died that day no airbags deployed that is also an other safety function did work that day. Honda…
I was driving in a line of slow moving traffic on a two line lane main street keeping a constant speed of 22 mph when suddenly my car lurched forward accelerating rapidly making a high pitched screaming sound. As the car gained speed I swerved into the other lane to avoid crashing into the car in front of me.…
Honda insight hybrid - unpredictable acceleration combined with locking of the brakes caused the car to move forward at an accelerated rate with no control, twice in a short time span. First incident was dec.2011, second in jan. 2012. This did not happen in previous 1 1/2 yrs. I owned the car. I had an accident the…
Forward Collision Avoidance 30 Read
I was driving down the street and a car slowed down way in front of me. While I was braking my automatic braking system turned on and brought me to a complete stop. This caused my car to get hit from the back. The automatic braking does not slow down the car, it brings the car to a complete stop. Another incident, I…
The contact who is an attorney, called regarding the crash of a 2019 Honda Insight and another vehicle. The contact stated that while the Honda Insight driver was driving approximately 65 MPH with the Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control activated, the vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle.…
Twice, this car has engaged emergency brakes with cars behind me and no cars in front of me. Several other times, the "Brake now" indicator has come on with no cars nearby
Service Brakes 25 Read
The contact rented a 2019 honda insight. The contact stated that while reversing at 3 mph and making a 180 degree turn, the brake pedal was applied however, failed to respond. The contact continued to pump the brake pedal but the vehicle failed to stop and crashed into a post to a store. The contact attempted to…
The brakes failed and the yellow light that comes on as you are approaching another vehicle failed to come on along with the car not slowing down. The drivers foot was on the brake but the car wasn’t stopping. This caused the driver to rear end another vehicle causing a car crash. The dealer was asked about reading…
I drove into my friends driveway with my foot on the brake to drop her off. All of a sudden my car lurched forward damaging my friends garage door and the foundation of her house. I had zero control of the car at that point. I plan on notifying Honda. There were no warning lights, or messages prior to this disaster
Exterior Lighting 23 Read
Driver side headlight failed. Available for inspection upon request. Can't drive without headlight on at nighttime or dark days. I haven't gone to dealer yet. Not inspected by manufacturer yet. Warning and message: headlight system problem. Headlight performance may be reduced. See your dealer. First appeared on…
The daytime running lights started to fade it till there was nothing. I was told it would be over $2000 to fix
The honda insight 2013 apparently has defects in the oil consumption level. I was driving my car a month ago with my oil service renewed completely at a dealershop and suddenly a month later the car started to show me signs of (oil change need to repair) and an emission system signal on the front LED screen inside the…
Power Train 21 Read
Car was put into reverse to perform a T turn to drive in the opposite direction on 1/14. The "D" button was depressed to place the car into Drive. The car quickly accelerated backwards and crashed into the mailbox. Service Advisor at the David McDavid Honda Dealership was contacted yesterday regarding the issue but no…
The vehicle has on-going "oil consumption" issues that american honda neglected to address. As a result, the oil goes up exhaust pipes to caused engine over heat and blow up during driving on highway. American honda issued an "internal memo" to extend engine warranty to 8 years without notifying car owners. However,…
We purchased a new 2013 honda insight.the car had excessive oil consumption from the very beginning. It required one quart of oil to be added every 2-3 weeks. We repeatedly voiced our concerns in at least 5 occasions. Each time we were told by the the dealership that the oil consumption 'was normal'. Our complaints…
Structure 20 Read
On 2/16/23 I was driving on the highway when I heard a loud pop/bang like an explosion or loud crash on the top of my car. There were barely any cars around, no trucks spewing debris, I wasn’t going under an overpass, and I didn’t see anything fly up from the road. I had a passenger in the car who was looking out the…
The contact owns a 2022 Honda Insight. The contact stated while driving approximately 60-75 MPH, the front end of the hood raised up. The contact continued to drive at a slower speed. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving at high speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed…
There is a massive hood flutter when large vehicle drive towards me going above 50mph. It feels and looks like the hood is not latched correctly and going to open into my windshield. This has happened since I purchase the vehicle new in 2021
Insight years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 12 | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 17 | — | |
| 2006 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2005 | Suspension | — | — | |
| 2004 | Electrical System,exterior Lighting | — | — | |
| 2003 | Electrical System,vehicle Speed Control,fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 2002 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | — | 2 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 216 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.2 |
| Worst single series | 11 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.3 years |
A model average of 2.2 hides a worst series at 11. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Insight?
By complaint volume, 2010, 2019, 2012 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Insight years are the cleanest?
2004, 2006, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Honda Insight have?
477 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2000–2022. Of those, 38 describe a crash and 4 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.