My 2011 Insight (base) now has about 27,000 miles on it and up until now it has been trouble free. However, lately I have noticed that my IMA system is acting very strange. Essentially starts out in the morning with a battery regen no matter what the charge was the night before. Then for most of the day it contributes a little and then drops to empty and starts a regen again. My MPG has dropped through the floor. I am suspecting a bad cell(s) in the IMA battery, but I was wondering if anyone has seen something like this? I have contacted the dealership (the service manager is a decades long friend and has sent a request for info into their tech support), but so far no answer. Any thoughts?
Could be partly down to the weather. Are you running front and rear defrosters, heated seats, aircon much. If it's winter where you are, how does it compare to this time last year?
I typically get a 10-20% drop in mpg on my 9 mile each way commute in the winter compared to summer.
I used to get the car starting off with a regen soon after setting off first thing in the morning too but the recent dealer software updates seem to have changed this. Now it just tends to assist less until it's warned up.
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2010 Honda Insight ES 1.3 IMA (UK)
I'd get it to the dealer or a good independent shop that has Honda diagnostic scanner and see what shows up. All parameters of the battery can be read and if there is a low or bad cell, it should show up. There may be a fault posted that doesn't set a warning light. I could be really cold weather and your driving conditions too, but it doesn't sound normal.
Besides what Cobb says, which has been reported here extensively; strange behavior with a weak under hood battery (that is under warranty by the way) I would suggest having the dealer hook it up to get the software updates. That will only be available at a dealer, not an independent shop.
I'd get it to the dealer or a good independent shop that has Honda diagnostic scanner and see what shows up. All parameters of the battery can be read and if there is a low or bad cell, it should show up. There may be a fault posted that doesn't set a warning light. I could be really cold weather and your driving conditions too, but it doesn't sound normal.
Thanks. I have already had this car through one winter and this is different. I will get it in to the dealer. The service manager is a long time friend and he won't jerk me around.
I remember discussions about this. How can I check it short of just replacing it? Someone else said that it is under warranty. I would prefer Honda replacing it to me having to fork over the cost.
You can check it like you would any other vehicle. You can use a multimeter to check the voltage before you start up for the day or go to an auto supply store to check it.
Mines was 11.7 volts the next morning before I started up. I left mines on a manual charge over nite and fixed it. It should be 12.5 volts.
When its dead-dead the remote wont work and you have to use your key to open your door. Then for some reason the alarm goes off like 5 second later.
Besides what Cobb says, which has been reported here extensively; strange behavior with a weak under hood battery (that is under warranty by the way) I would suggest having the dealer hook it up to get the software updates. That will only be available at a dealer, not an independent shop.
Not true. Updates and programming are available to any shop that has the equipment and has a subscription to Honda's service site.
Not true. Updates and programming are available to any shop that has the equipment and has a subscription to Honda's service site.
In my case my car is under warranty so I will be heading to the dealer. I will be checking the 12v battery before I get in there to see what may be happening with that.
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IMA Strange Behavior
