Selling a worn-out Honda Insight

Which Insight you own matters more than usual, because Honda sold three very different cars under the name. Their problems, recalls and battery bulletins are below, one generation at a time.

Three cars called Insight

Each complaint is a report an owner filed with NHTSA. We counted them from NHTSA's flat files on October 10, 2026. No recall crosses a generation, so the column adds to the 24 campaigns on file.

2000-2006: the two-seater

Honda calls the first Insight the first hybrid sold in the US. About 16,000 were sold, and NHTSA has only 60 complaints across its seven model years. Exterior lighting is the top category on the 2001 and 2002, with 4 and 8 complaints. Those cars also carry a headlight recall, 04V086: on 2000-2002 cars, among 440,000 Hondas, the low-beam terminal in the headlight harness could overheat and kill the low beams without warning. A smaller recall, 02V196, covered 2001 cars whose passenger air bag modules were not welded properly.

Honda gave the IMA battery a longer warranty on these cars. Bulletin 06-057, revised December 8, 2012, extended battery module coverage on 2000-2004 Insights to 10 years or 150,000 miles in 43 states. Cars in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada and Texas fell under a separate bulletin, 06-027. And 2002-2004 cars bought or leased between April 13, 2002 and November 7, 2006 got 10 years or 157,500 miles. Ten years have passed on every car under 06-057. The terms of 06-027 are not spelled out in 06-057, so a Honda dealer is the one to ask about a car registered in those seven states. The bulletin also drew a hard line: the extension "does not apply to any vehicle that has ever been declared a total loss, or any that has been issued a salvage, branded, or similar title under any state's law."

2010-2014: air bags and battery software

The second Insight was a five-seat hatchback, and about 73,000 were sold. It holds 269 complaints, and the 2010, with 119, has more than any other Insight year. Air bags lead the 2010 (54 complaints), the 2011 (28) and the 2014 (3).

Ten inflator campaigns, all filed between 2016 and 2019, also cover those years. The complaint counts alone don't show which complaints, if any, involve these recalls:

• Driver inflators (Takata): 16V061 covers 2010-2014 cars, and 19V500 covers 2010, 2011 and 2013 cars. NHTSA's notice warns that the inflator could rupture and send metal fragments at the driver.
• Passenger inflators: 16V346, 17V030, 18V042, 18V661 and 19V502, spread across the 2010-2014 model years.
• Repairs done wrong: 17V545, 18V268 and 19V378 cover passenger inflators installed incorrectly during earlier recall work, which may not deploy properly.

Engine is the top category on the 2012 (35 of 59) and the 2013 (27 of 45). The file holds counts, not descriptions, so we can't tell you whether those complaints involve the hybrid battery.

What Honda did document is a battery software fix. Bulletin 14-064, issued October 3, 2014 and revised November 27, covers every 2010-2012 Insight. Older control software could let the pack develop a "memory effect" that shows up as lost capacity, and code P0A7F (battery module deterioration) may be stored. The fix is a software update for the battery control module. Honda told dealers the update restores full capacity "within a few driving cycles" and that the problem does no permanent harm to the battery. Honda then ended the Insight before the 2015 model year.

2019-2022: the Civic-based sedan

The third Insight came back as a sedan with a two-motor hybrid system, 187 complaints and 11 recall campaigns. Forward collision avoidance is the top complaint category on the 2020, 2021 and 2022; on the 2019 it's the fuel system (15 of 98).

• Loss of drive power: recall 20V798 updates software on 2020-2021 cars whose DC-DC converter could shut down and stop recharging the 12-volt battery.
• Electrical glitches: 20V771 fixes body control software on 2019-2020 cars that could knock out the wipers, defroster, rearview camera or exterior lights.
• Fuel pumps: 20V314, 21V215 and 23V858, for pumps that can stop and stall the engine or prevent a start.
• Restraints: 18V664 replaced a faulty air bag control unit on a small batch of 2019 cars; 23V158 replaces front seat belt buckles on 2019 cars that may not latch; 21V900 covers a rear center belt on 2022 cars that may not hold a child seat; 24V064 and 26V332 replace passenger seat weight sensors that can crack and fire an air bag unintentionally.
• Camera: 18V629 reprogrammed the display on 2019 cars whose back-up camera image might not work.

Honda dropped the Insight after the 2022 model year and replaced it with a Civic Hybrid.

Complaints and recalls by model year

NHTSA's files, as of October 10, 2026. A campaign counts in every model year it lists. Fuel pump recall 23V858 also shows up under the 2022 in the file, but the December 2023 defect report we checked lists 2019-2020 cars.

There were no 2007-2009 or 2015-2018 Insights.

Worth repairing?

Compare the written estimate with what a working Insight of your year and mileage sells for. When the fix would take most of that amount, you get more by selling it broken. A few Insight-specific checks come first:

1. Run the VIN through NHTSA's recall search, above all on a 2010-2014 with ten inflator campaigns against it.
2. Battery warning on a 2010-2012? Ask a Honda dealer whether update 14-064 has been done.
3. 2020-2021 that lost power on the road? Recall 20V798 is the first thing to rule out.
4. Branded title? Every buyer will value the car differently because of it. Our salvage title guide explains how that plays out, and what a junk car is worth covers the rest of what moves an offer.

Selling yours whole

1. Note the VIN and mileage, what's wrong, and whether the car starts, moves or neither.
2. Request an offer online, or phone (877) 421-6008.
3. Say where the car is: a driveway, a carport, a street or a shop's back lot. Pickup is free anywhere in the US.
4. Tell us up front about anything missing, including the hybrid battery if it has been taken out.
5. When we collect the Insight, give the driver its title and show your ID. After you sell covers plates, insurance and the title, state by state; no title at all? See the no-title guide.

Other Hondas with batteries or a Civic connection: the Civic, CR-Z and Clarity.