Hello all!! Newbie owner 2000 Insight 5M

[ls40095]

2000 Insight 5M
196k
Orig battery (as per seller)
Lifetime MPG is 44.1 (I would guess not bad with A/C blowing in Florida Keys)

I may have lost my mind but I really wanted to buy an Insight and after reading this site for months, Ive taken the plunge.......

I would very much appreciate all feedback........Im actually from Ohio, bought the car in Florida, picking it up Sunday and plan to do as much going over, maintenance (clean EGR plate/valve/plugs/Fluids/Brakes/tires/NEW 12V) within the week before the BIG drive....

The car runs OK but the IMA light is on so do you guys think I should just turn off the IMA switch and disconnect BCM for the ride home????

Also, Is that tough job to disconnect BCM?

Im sorry for being such a newbie but I gotta start somewhere.

[Leeper]

Congrats and welcome.

Regarding your battery, I wouldn't worry about it as it either is going to work or not, disconnecting I don't think will make much difference at this point as you likely are looking at a new one.

Good idea on all the fluids, 12v, etc. Check the air pressures INCLUDING the spare tires. Sounds like you're doing the right things and do those a bit before the big drive so you can hopefully find any mistakes before distance driving.

Do a lot of reading and search the archives as there is a TON of info regarding the batteries, getting the best mileage, DIY's, pretty much everything you'd want to know.

Good luck

[ls40095]

Originally Posted by Leeper

Congrats and welcome.

Regarding your battery, I wouldn't worry about it as it either is going to work or not, disconnecting I don't think will make much difference at this point as you likely are looking at a new one.

Good idea on all the fluids, 12v, etc. Check the air pressures INCLUDING the spare tires. Sounds like you're doing the right things and do those a bit before the big drive so you can hopefully find any mistakes before distance driving.

Do a lot of reading and search the archives as there is a TON of info regarding the batteries, getting the best mileage, DIY's, pretty much everything you'd want to know.

Good luck

Thanks so much for your reply, I guess my major concern and question with the 144v battery throwing codes is the possibility of shutting the car down completely during the long drive.

[Eli]

Just watch for the red 12V battery light to come on. As long as it stays off, you're fine.

[Eli]

I guess I should elaborate.

If the red 12V battery light does come on, you'll have to disconnect the BCM.

The job is very easy, you just need the proper tools to open the IPU - a 10mm socket and a T30 torx bit.

[TopFuelTim]

Best of luck to you, and welcome to the forum. I bought mine in August from Miami, FL (from JTB2 on this forum). Drove home to North Georgia in 13 hours, taking frequent short breaks.

Hope you got a good deal on the car, as IMA batteries are not cheap. You will definitely want one, as it really helps when taking off from an intersection (or climbing my driveway). Being that it is out of warranty, the Better Battery you can find on this site is a good deal, and you don't have a dealership telling you that you have to replace the other boxes with it.

You should be getting a lot better gas mileage with it. I got 51mpg running the A/C from Florida to South Georgia, and then 55mpg after turning it off. All this with an improperly installed O2 sensor mod. I fixed the sensor mod after I got home, and after learning the quirks of the car, got 70mpg average over three tanks. Getting colder and darker now, so it is down to 67mpg average.

Tires are very important (Bridgestone Potenza RE92s are the only choice for optimizing gas mileage). Learning how to take advantage of Lean Burn also helps a lot.

I've had to do without my Insight for two days now, and am starting to go into withdrawal. It's at the Honda dealership getting a new ECM (under a recall) and should be home tomorrow, so I can quit driving my "gas hog" Corvette, that "only" gets 25mpg average : ).

Tim