Quote:
Originally Posted by alam99
Hello All,
I'd like to hear about your experiences with the 2nd generation Insight.
How reliable is it?
1) I previously read on this forum about problems with the weather stripping coming off. Has this been redesigned?
2) Also from this forum, some users replaced their 12 volt batteries to improve MPG. Is this a needed fix or were the users trying to modify their cars to get the highest fuel economy they can.
3) And that brings us to the question of how reliable is the Honda hybrid system?
I don't mind a 98 HP car. my current car is only 100 HP. I drive 99% in the city mostly to and from work during the week. It's usually just me or just one other passenger. I anticipate the car carrying 4 people on a few occasions, and very, very rarely 5.
I'd love to hear from everyone, even if it is just to say "I've had the car for 2 years, 10,000 miles, no problems so far, etc". And if you repeat something that someone else already said, that's ok, I'd like to hear how many people like, dislike, or had trouble with the same thing. If you want to write an in-depth review, I'd surely appreciate that as well.
My thanks to everyone for reading this post.
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We got one of the first I2's in Southern California and have put over 40K on the car. First, let me say the car has been very reliable so far. The only lingering problem has been the "weather stripping" issue. We are on our 3rd pair of parts from Honda (no charge) and I still don't believe Honda has addressed this issue. The dealers seem to have no solution. The best approach I have had is to crimp the metal clips on the end.
You asked about replacing the 12 volt battery that comes in the car. This
is not needed to get good mpg. We did "upgrade" the "thin" Dunlop tires that came with the car fairly early on (To Nokian WRG2 185/60R15). As the 2012 car has wider and, I expect, better tires than the 2010/2011 models, this is probably no longer issue. Also the 2012 has an improved suspension. This is something you will need to check before you buy the car. The main criticism of the 2010/11 ride is that it is a bit choppy on non-smooth roads and tends to track not straight under certain conditions. We have modified the suspension on our 2010 and the ride and handling is much improved. The cost of the upgrade parts was about $600 with a few hundred dollars cost of labor from the Honda dealers (we used 3 different ones). The upgrade consisted of a rear sway bar (from Progress Technology), a front strut tower bar and lower front arm bar (both from Cusco). The ride and handling difference compared to the stock 2010 car is quite amazing and the tracking now is straight as an arrow.
The front seats are indeed very comfortable and we regularly use the car for 600 miles trips (10 hours driving). The rear seat head clearance is okay for passengers that are less than 6 feet tall. Above that height you will likely have issues. The 2012 supposedly adds another half an inch head clearance.
One flaw in our car was optical distortion on the rear hatchback window, which appears near the bottom of the top glazing. Probably this is not a common problem but may have been the case with our car being one of the first in the US. Also you should check to see if there is any optical distortion on the outside rear view mirrors. One of ours had a problem (which was replaced with a good one due to an accident repair).
Also, please be aware that the mpg of the car increases dramatically after the engine has been broken in. It really takes around 2000 miles to get the good mpg. I think this may be one reason why the EPA mileage numbers are lower than the numbers on
Fuelly | Share and Compare Your MPG.
I would definitely wait for the 2012 to come out. Aside from the improvements I have mentioned, my guess is the car will get more than stated 1 mpg improvement over the earlier models (according to the EPA sticker).
I would also point out that the suspension on the I2 is essentially identical to the FIT, yet the Fit gets high marks on handling and suspension while the I2 does not from such reviewers as CR. My guess is the 2012 model will address this issue.
Personally, my wife and I really like our I2. In fact the last Honda technician who drove our car was shocked as to how sporty and tight the car felt. Granted it is not as smooth over a bumpy road as a third generation Prius, but it will certainly outperform the P3 on curvy roads. Also, we have not found that the car is too slow as CR and others have complained. In the Motor trend tests the I2's 0 to 60 and 1/4 acceleration times were within a few tenths of second the same as the P3. Also the complaint about the noise level being too high is grossly exaggerated by some of reviewers. We found the putting in the carpets and adding a K&N air filter pretty much eliminated the issue for us except under high engine load conditions (accelerating up steep hills).
Hope this helps.
