Assist/Charge Indicator

This display indicates the operational status of the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system. There are three modes:

• Motor Assist: The IMA is using battery power to help propel the car, the amount of assist is indicated by the illumination of amber colored bars on the right side of the display. When more bars are illuminated, more assist is being used.
• Battery charging: The IMA is recharging the battery pack, using energy from vehicle momentum / the gasoline engine. The amount of recharge is indicated by the illumination of green colored bars on the left side of the display. When more bars are illuminated, the battery is being recharged at a higher rate.
• Inactive: No bars illuminated. Note that since the IMA motor/generator will generate electricity whenever it is turning, slow charging can take place even when no bars are illuminated. The rate of charging will depend on how many other accessories are turned on.

Battery State of Charge Indicator

The battery State of Charge bar graph display represents the current state of IMA battery charge. The indicator is operated by the Battery Condition Monitor module (BCM), which constantly calculates the battery state of charge.

The BCM maintains the IMA battery state of charge in a range of 20% to 80%, which optimizes battery life. It never allows the battery to reach 100% charge or 100% discharge. When the BCM has determined that the battery should not be charged any more, the display shows full charge. When the BCM will not let the IMA battery discharge any further, the display indicates a zero charge. The display provides the driver information about the amount of electrical assist available at any time.

The display is not linear. As with many fuel level gauges, the top half of the display range covers considerably more than half the capacity range.

Upshift/Downshift Indicator

The upshift indicator will illuminate when better fuel economy can be achieved by shifting up to a higher gear.

The downshift indicator will illuminate when the Insight is unable to maintain the current speed, even with full assist. This light will sometimes illuminate when climbing steep hills at highway speeds. When driving in less hilly areas, this light may never illuminate at all.

At the left side of this display, average fuel economy is shown. This average is updated once per minute. To the right of this average, is the odometer / trip distance display. The driver can select the lifetime odometer for the vehicle, or switch between three resettable trip meters: "Trip A", "Trip B" or "segment". The average mileage display always shows the average for the distance that is selected. That is, if trip meter A is selected, the average mileage is shown for that trip. "Segment" mode is toggled on and off by touching the FCD button. The current segment is reset by pressing and holding the FCD button while in "Segment" mode. The normal mode display can be switched between the odometer and the two trip meters by pressing the Trip button.

At the lower portion of the display, a bar graph shows the instantaneous fuel economy, which changes in real time based on the amount of fuel that the fuel injectors are currently delivering, and based on the current speed.

When the speedometer is set to mph, odometer / trip meter distances are displayed in miles, and fuel efficiency is displayed in miles per gallon. When the speedometer is set to km/h, odometer / trip meter distances are displayed in kilometers, and fuel efficiency is displayed in liters per 100km.

Both the instantaneous bar graph and the average fuel efficiency number can be turned off at the driver's discretion. To turn off the bar graph, press and hold the FCD button until the bar & legend disappear. To also turn off the numerical average, press and hold the FCD button again, until that disappears.

Idle Stop Indicator

When the Insight goes into Auto Idle Stop mode, a green "Auto Stop" LED at the base of the tachometer illuminates to indicate that the engine is not moving at all, but to remind the driver that the car is still in the "on" mode.

If the engine cannot be restarted because the clutch is not entirely depressed, the Auto Stop LED will blink. The LED will also blink and a buzzer will sound if the driver's door is opened when the car is in Auto Stop mode, so that the driver cannot easily mistake this condition for key OFF and leave the car.