High mileage "jitters", owner that is.

[revinger]

I bought my 2000 insight in September of 2000. I now have 121,000 miles on it. The battery pack was replaced late last summer/fall under warranty.

The only other non-warranty issue I have had was at abou 105,000 the primary O2 sensor went out. I changed it myself, ordered it through napa and saved a considerable amount at least looking at what honda wanted for the part, something like 60% of the cost honda was claiming for it. I think it was still $280 for that sensor.

i did also have to replace the front rotors last winter. I am a very light touch on the brakes and apparently so much so that the front pads wore ina fashion that the "squealers" never made any noise but the other end of the pad wore down and finally chewed into the rotors. The back shoes still look practically new though.

My jitters come from the fact that I have had the insight "UFO" twice as long as any other car I've ever owned and way more miles than anything.

The catalytic converters make me nervous. The thought of spending 1400 for new cat's just gives me the shivvers. Just wondering how many on here have actually had to have their converters replaced. I've heard of a few people. is there any mileage constant formula for expecting the converters to fail?

I'm at 121,000, with 59.2 lmpg.

I started out being able to get 70-80 mpg easily. Now days I'm lucky to get 55.

I'm not sure I've posted this in the right spot now and have edited. If a moderator can move this to general discussions(if that is the right place) go ahead and move it.


bob evinger, marshall, IL

[budomove]

bob, I know what you mean, owning my 2000 5spd 101k I feel uncomfortable about the car as a whole in terms of potential repairs. I think that the 5spd is more prone to cat failure due to lean burn creating more nox that gives the second cat (i believe) more of a workout. I have seen several users on this site talk about cat failures right around the 120-150k mark. We just have to chalk it up to the fact that our gas savings and repairs will balance one another out if the car is driven enough, and accept that we will likely not save money, and more likely lose money owning an insight. I am all for saving the environment, and knew what I was getting into, but I long for simpler design...and only wish my 91 civic hatchback had a few more mpg, and airbags. They crammed so much technology into these cars it makes them unnerving to own. To fix the civic I could stop off at the junkyard and pick a part that was very easily replaced with a spacious engine bay, but this thing is so cluttered and non user friendly to work on, i hate the whole experience...But, I love driving It, and owning it!
I feel your pain.

Frank

[budomove]

Assuming your car is a 5spd and not a cvt, your mpg prob may be your egr not allowing lean burn to properly engage, does it buck excessively at lower rpm, low load? If so the egr may be clogged, or electronically worn.
a radiator block will also help lean burn engage more easily.
I cleaned out my egr, and it seems to have worked.
I cycled it by applying 12v to the plug once the egr was removed, with carb cleaner then wd40, and soaked it in both. search for "egr clean" and you will find instructions on cleaning.
Or it may be electronic, in which case the egr needs to be replaced. $157 at majestic honda.
frank

[Guillermo]

Owning an older car that is already fully paid for is more economical then owning a newer car where monthly payments are still neccessary.
Even if the cost of maintenance and repair averages about $1000 per year (that's easy) then it's much cheaper then replacing the car or making payments on a newer car.
Relax

[budomove]

Originally Posted by Guillermo

Owning an older car that is already fully paid for is more economical then owning a newer car where monthly payments are still neccessary.
Even if the cost of maintenance and repair averages about $1000 per year (that's easy) then it's much cheaper then replacing the car or making payments on a newer car.
Relax

true.

[b1shmu63]

Welcome to the forum Revinger.

A few on this forum have over 250,000 on their Insights. At your present rate that will take you another 10 years. By then gasoline will likely be over $7.00 a gallon, which is roughly what the British are paying for it now. The aluminum in your Insight will possibly be worth a third of what the Insight cost new, and hopefully by then there will be a few other cars that get 70 MPG US.

[revinger]

My commute is mostly highway, but yes when I am in town traffic I have experienced bucking. Has been more noticeable this year.

I'll look into checking the EGR. Would be nice if it were that simple and got a few mpg back.

When I got the car I pretty much planned on keeping it till the wheels fall off, or a very major repair was needed. Whether I can keep my promise to my self is yet to be seen. I find myself drueling over newer cars on honda and toyota's website quite often but then looking at the mpg I just cant justify it. Since the only 2 that come close to meeting my criteria are the prius and civic hybrid.

My wife and 2 kids when we need 4 seats use my wifes non hybrid civic. I wouldnt mind having a 4 door hybrid but I seem to spend the money on other things.

In regards to the 91 civic... I had a 92 VX when they came out, it was nice getting mid 50 mpg range easily w/o hybrid and without much work. it was kind of a mini-station wagon for me. I have for the most part always been a small engine car guy(with one diversion into a thunderbird but got fed up and traded it for the VX). My first car was a 1967 Morris Minor 1000. It was one of the last Minor's to be imported into the US.

bob


bob

[atlaw4u]

I agree you should keep driving your Insight. Even if you ultimatley need 1 or 2 expensive repairs it will be cheaper than replacement. The Insight has proven itself to be very reliable well above 200,000 miles.

I also drive a 2000 and hope to still be driving it for many more years to come.

If the car is paid for you may also consider a savings plan for future repairs by setting aside a few dollars each month.

Enjoy & keep on driving.

[Dougie]

Plus, when gas hits $10 a gallon next summer, your Insight will suddenly be worth a fortune even if it's not perfect!

[joecvt]

Since you already got your battery pack replaced and since yours is a 2000 model, Honda replaced your BCM and MCM (IMA controller modules) with a newer design for better battery management. There was also a recall for the ECM to be replaced on yor car related to the high number of catalytic converters that the ECM reports as failed. If you had all of this work done (for free by the way), then you should be pretty much all set for the typical replacement components of the IMA system.

Now for the other stuff, your light use of brakes means that you didn't have to replace them as often compared to a car with no regen. When you got the car inspected, they probably should have caught that the pads were worn so much to eat into the rotors. The required rotor replacement would have happend on any car that had brakes so worn down. But even considering that amount plus your O2 sensor replacement. I think that you are still ahead considering that you did not have to fork up the money to replace the timing belt at 90,000 miles...Besides some of the electronic stuff that some mechanics are nervous about touching, the Insight engine design makes the mechanincal replacement of parts pretty much straight forward with easy replacement of parts. If you get a bad water pump...not too hard to replace compared to other cars (less labor hours). By the time you consider how much money was saved on gas over those miles compared to other cars (and how gas prices will be in the future)...I think that you are still way ahead of the game.

Buying a new car now when you virtually have new IMA components installed does not make sense to me since you will end up probably spending more money overall when all factors are considered.

By the way....I just love all of the car commercials I see today for American cars drivng past gas stations then claiming that they get a whooping 35MPG (and this is for a small car)


JoeCVT - Just your average CVT owner