Honda Insight problems: recalls, complaints and what they cost
The Honda Insight was sold in the US for model years 2019–2022. Pick a year below for its open safety recalls and the components owners complain about most — then, for each of those, whether it is safe to keep driving and what the repair should cost.
Choose a year to load recalls and complaints.
What goes wrong with the Honda Insight?
For model year 2019, NHTSA records 8 recall entries for the Honda Insight, counted once per model year covered. Complaint records for this vehicle are incomplete in our latest retrieval, so no total is shown rather than an understated one — use the year selector above for live figures.
Recent safety recalls
Fuel System, Gasoline
The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Free remedy: Honda will notify owners and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 22, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Electrical System
A software error may cause intermittent or continuous disruptions in communication between the Body Control Module (BCM) and other components.
Free remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the BCM software, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 22, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Fuel System, Gasoline
Free remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump assembly, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed May 18, 2021. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit. Take the campaign number to any franchised dealer. How recalls work.
Recall text above is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice, affected VIN ranges and dealer instructions.
Source: NHTSA (US Department of Transportation), public domain, retrieved 2026-10-08. Use the year selector above for the current live figures.
How does a electric or hybrid typically fail?
Electrified vehicles remove most of the classic failure points — no timing belt, no exhaust, far less brake wear thanks to regeneration — and add a different set. Complaints cluster around charging hardware, 12-volt batteries (which still strand electrified cars exactly like petrol ones), thermal management, and software. Note that the high-voltage pack is usually under a longer separate warranty than the rest of the car.
What should I check first?
For a electric or hybrid, the systems worth ruling out before anything else are charging faults, 12-volt battery age, remaining pack warranty. Match what the vehicle is actually doing to the guide below — each one opens with a safety verdict, not a parts list.
What is the difference between a recall and a complaint?
A recall is a defect the manufacturer must fix free of charge, forever, with no mileage limit and regardless of how many owners the car has had. A complaint is one owner’s report filed with NHTSA. One complaint is an anecdote; two hundred naming the same component is a pattern, and patterns are what you want before you buy or before you authorise a large repair. Read the complaint list by concentration, never by total — a model that sold three times as many units collects roughly three times as many complaints while being no worse.
What should I check before buying one?
Check the remaining high-voltage battery warranty in years and miles, and whether it transfers to you. Then check the 12-volt battery's age — it is the humble part that most often leaves an EV owner stranded, and almost nobody thinks to look at it.
Beyond that, the checks that find expensive problems are the same on any vehicle: see it started from stone cold, look under the oil cap, smell the transmission fluid, and scan it for stored and recently-cleared codes. Our used car inspection checklist walks through each one, and why cars fail explains how systemic defects emerge in the first place.
Check one before you buy it
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Does the Honda Insight have any open recalls?
Open safety recalls for the Honda Insight are listed on this page, pulled live from NHTSA's public database. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, so an open campaign is money the manufacturer owes you rather than a repair you pay for. Check by VIN for certainty on one specific vehicle.
What are the most common Honda Insight problems?
The complaint list on this page groups owner reports by component, which is the useful view: one component dominating the list is a pattern, while complaints spread evenly across many systems usually just means the model sold in volume. For this class of vehicle, charging faults, 12-volt battery age, remaining pack warranty are the areas worth checking first.
Is the Honda Insight expensive to repair?
Cost depends far more on which system fails than on the badge. Each symptom guide linked from this page carries a parts-and-labour range for US independent shops, so you can price the specific fault rather than the car in general.