EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
2001 Honda Insight
Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Overview
Our database contains 15 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2001 Honda Insight, most frequently naming the exterior lighting, transmission and electrical categories. 2 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; 1 NHTSA investigation names it; and 94 manufacturer communications are on file.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Complaint activity over time
When owners filed reports about this model year
View as table
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2001 | 2 | 2 |
| Nov 2002 | 1 | 3 |
| Dec 2002 | 1 | 4 |
| Sep 2003 | 1 | 5 |
| Nov 2004 | 1 | 6 |
| Jun 2006 | 1 | 7 |
| Jan 2008 | 1 | 8 |
| Nov 2009 | 1 | 9 |
| Dec 2009 | 1 | 10 |
| Mar 2010 | 1 | 11 |
| Nov 2011 | 1 | 12 |
| May 2014 | 1 | 13 |
| Jan 2016 | 1 | 14 |
| Nov 2018 | 1 | 15 |
What owners report
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
- Exterior lighting425.0%
- Transmission212.5%
- Electrical212.5%
- Engine212.5%
- Tires & wheels16.3%
- Airbags16.3%
- Body & structure16.3%
- Steering16.3%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Safety recalls
2 campaigns cover this model year
Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.
Check a VIN on NHTSA.govAIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Safety investigations
NHTSA inquiries naming this vehicle. An investigation is not a finding of a defect.
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
Recent owner complaints
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
LOW-BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED W/O WARNING OR EXTERNAL CAUSE. WORKED ONE DAY BUT NOT THE NEXT MORNING. NO OBVIOUS FUSE OR RELAY IS THE CAUSE. FOUND THAT THERE WAS AN INADEQUATELY DESIGNED SWITCH THAT WS PRONE TO FAILURE BY GOOGLING THE FAILURE, WHICH HWAS COVERED BY A RECALL. HONDA'S WEBSITE VIN SEARCH SAID THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THIS CAR. LOCAL DEALER SAYS RECAL WAS SATISFIED IN 2010. SEEMS THERE IS STILL AN INADEQUATELY DESIGNED SWITCH THAT CAN RESULT IN COMPLETE AND SUDDEN FAILURE OF THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS.
- NHTSA ID
- 11151848
- Incident
- Nov 6, 2018
- Mileage
- 143,000 mi
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 HONDA INSIGHT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO OPERATE PROPERLY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 04V086000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 250,000.
- NHTSA ID
- 10817606
- Incident
- Jan 1, 2014
- Mileage
- 250,000 mi
BOTH MY LOW BEAMS FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY WHILE DRIVING, BUT HIGH BEAMS STILL WORK. I CONFIRMED THAT THERE IS NO POWER BEING SENT TO THE LOW BEAMS. THIS VEHICLE HAD A RECALL FOR 2000-2002 MODEL YEARS FOR EXACT ISSUE. AMERICAN HONDA, AND THE LOCAL HONDA DEALER TELL ME MY VIN# IS OFF BY 1 MONTH (WITHIN SAME MODEL YEAR ASSOCIATED WITH RECALL), SO IT'S NOT UNDER "RECALL." THEY TOLD ME FURTHER DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR WOULD BE AT MY EXPENSE. REPORT RECEIPT DATE: FEB 24, 2004 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 04V086000 COMPONENT(S): EXTERIOR LIGHTING SUMMARY: ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE LOW-BEAM TERMINAL ON THE HEAD LIGHT WIRE HARNESS CAN OVERHEAT AND COULD CAUSE THE LOW BEAMS TO FAIL WITHOUT WARNING. CONSEQUENCE: AN UNEXPECTED LOSS OF LOW BEAMS COULD RESULT IN A CRASH. HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/ACMS/CS/JAXRS/DOWNLOAD/DOC/ACM2982889/RCDNN-04V086-3477.PDF. *TR
- NHTSA ID
- 10594214
- Incident
- May 23, 2014
- Mileage
- 150,000 mi
HEADLIGHTS GO OFF. FIXED ONCE ON RECALL. NOW SAME PROBLEM. SAME HEAT DAMAGED SWITCH & THEY WONT REPAIR. *TR
- NHTSA ID
- 10435513
- Incident
- Jun 16, 2010
- Mileage
- 175,000 mi
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 HONDA INSIGHT. WHILE EXAMINING THE VEHICLE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAD APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE AIRBAG NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THERE WERE NO PRIOR WARNINGS.THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 55000.
- NHTSA ID
- 10320280
- Incident
- Sep 9, 2008
- Mileage
- 55,000 mi
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 HONDA INSIGHT. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH SHE SMELLED A CHEMICAL ODOR, AND SAW FLAMES BEHIND HER. SHE PULLED OVER AND ATTEMPTED TO PUT OUT OF THE FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES. THE ENTIRE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. . THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL REPAIR FACILITY, AND WAS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING INSPECTED. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY WILL SEND SOMEONE OUT TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE VEHICLE DAMAGE. SHE SPECULATED THAT BATTERY FAILURE CAUSED THE FIRE. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 100000.
- NHTSA ID
- 10296694
- Incident
- Nov 23, 2009
- Mileage
- 100,000 mi
MONDAY MORNING I HAD AN APPOINTMENT TO BRING MY CAT TO THE VET. I PUT HER IN A PET CARRIER AND PUT THE CARRIER IN MY 2001 HONDA INSIGHT WITH THE PET DOOR FACING FORWARD. I GOT ON THE 101 N. IN LOS ANGELES AND HAD DRIVEN ONLY A FEW MILES WHEN I SMELLED A STRONG CHEMICAL ODOR. THINKING THE SMELL WAS COMING PERHAPS FROM ANOTHER VEHICLE I CONTINUED. THEN MY DOOR OPEN LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR FILLED WITH A THICK SMOKE. I LOOKED BEHIND ME AND SAW FLAMES COMING FROM BELOW AND BEHIND THE CAT CARRIER. I QUICKLY PULLED ACROSS THE HIGHWAY LUCKILY THERE WAS AN EXIT WITH A VERY SHORT EXIT RAMP. I STOPPED THE CAR AND OPENED MY DOOR AND THREW MY PURSE OUT OF THE CAR, OPENED THE DOOR TO THE PET CARRIER AND REMOVED MY CAT. BY THIS TIME THE FLAMES AND SMOKE HAD INCREASED. I TRIED TO OPEN THE BACK HATCHBACK HOPING TO SMOTHER THE FLAMES WITH A COAT BUT THE DOOR COULD NOT BE OPENED AND THE INTENSITY OF THE FIRE HAD ESCALATED. I MOVED AWAY FROM THE CAR AND YELLED FOR HELP. I WAS ABLE TO CALL 911 AND THE FIRE AND POLICE ARRIVED IN A FEW MOMENTS. I TOOK MANY PICTURES WITH MY CELL PHONE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT PUT OUT THE FIRE WHICH COMPLETELY MELTED THE HOOD OF THE CAR. THIS CAR HAS NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT AND MY HUSBAND AND I ARE THE ONLY OWNERS. WE HAVE ALL SERVICE RECORDS AND HAVE REPLACED RECALLED ITEMS INCLUDING THE BATTERY AND THE OXYGEN SENSOR. THE CAR HAS BEEN TOWED TO OUR MECHANIC. *TR
- NHTSA ID
- 10293334
- Incident
- Nov 23, 2009
- Mileage
- 107 mi
BOTH DOORS ON OUR 2000 THE HONDA ODYSSEY GET STUCK AND POSE A SAFETY THREAT. *TR
- NHTSA ID
- 10215563
- Incident
- Jan 21, 2008
- Mileage
- 50,000 mi
Manufacturer communications
A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.
EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER
"Service Bulletin - There are several A/C leak detection tools available. -Refrigerant Gas Leak Detector -Ultrasonic Leak Detector -Leak Dye"
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:COOLING UNIT AND LINES
SERVICE NEWS ARTICLE - PLANNING ON USING A LEAK CHECK DYE TO HELP FIND A LEAK? HERES THE CURRENT LIST OF VEHICLES THAT YOU SHOULDNT USE DYE ON.
AIR BAGS
Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, American Honda announced three recalls for various 2001-11 Honda models. As of August 4, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and VIN status inquiry has been updated.
AIR BAGS
Dealer message - On Monday, June 23, 2014, American Honda announced three recalls for various 2001-11 Honda models. As of July 23, 2014, affected VINs have been identified, and service bulletins 14-040, Safety Recall: Accord, Civic, and Others ? Front Passenger?s Airbag Inflator Can Be Over-Pressurized, 14-045, Recall: Front Driver?s Airbag Inflator May Produce Excessive Pressure After Long-Term Exposure to High Absolute Humidity Recall, and 14-046, Recall: Front Passenger?s Airbag Inflator May Produce Excessive Pressure After Long-Term Exposure to High Absolute Humidity have been posted to ISIS. However, due to the large number of affected units, American Honda is still in the process of populating the VIN status inquiry function on iN, which is expected to take several days. When this process is complete, American Honda will notify all dealers again via iN message. Until that time, the existing acknowledgement procedure must be used for all potentially affected vehicles.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE; FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:PRESSURE RELIEF DEVICES
HONDA: TROUBLESHOOTING OF DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC) P1456 AND P1457. DEALERS ARE TO RUN EVAP FUNCTION TEST TO FIND IF THERE IS A LEAK SO THE VEHICLE CAN BE REPAIRED. *KB
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
HONDA SERVICE CAMPAIGN: SEE DOCUMENT SEARCH BUTTON FOR OWNER LETTER. WARRANTY EXTENSION: INSIGHT IMA BATTERY MODULE. CSC WAS RECEIVED. *NJ UPDATED 3/8/13. *PE
Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Compare model years
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.