sorry new member
but i heard from somewhere i cant recall, pre facelift Insights (up to 2011) does not have any oil consumption issues as much as FL Insights.

 

Specifically effected 2012& 2013 only. 2014 models seem to have gone back to normal piston rings. I do not recall (so far anyway) any 2014 Insights reporting this problem, but those are only three years old.

 

Finally Fixed!

Hi All,

My insight has been burning oil since about 30-40k miles. We did our first consumption test at 63k and got the run around from the dealership.

Last month we received a letter from Honda stating that they were extending the warranty to 8 years or unlimited mileage! We were ecstatic. We found a new dealership that we have been going to lately and have been really wonderful to work with. They did the test, said it was consuming 1.1 quarts/thousand miles, and that they'd fit in this week. They even offered a loaner!

 

Good going stabi. Too bad it has to burn so much oil to get fixed, but it's better than nothing. I've never had a Honda that burned any oil. I did receive the letter of warranty extension. Definitely a good move on Honda's part.

For some reason now, I do find myself checking the oil level more often than I normally would, but the letter does make it easier to think about keeping the Insight and not jumping ship.

 

I'm so happy for you. This post gave me hope. Yesterday I bought my insight knowing the oil consumption issue but not sure if it was burning oil.

The car have 108k miles, 2012. Interior are in excellent condition and paint is good.. I end up paying 5.5k for the car! Pretty good for here (Puerto Rico)

When testing the car I used a scanner to read the codes and the codes are P171 and P420. Usually a problem with leaks or oxygen sensor. It wasn't a big deal and I purchased it.

Now, today I have the same issue with the lights.. VSA, hill-assist, check emission, check brake lights all on. Following I check the oil and looks good. I'm assuming the owner knew this and add oil very often.

I will put a few miles on the car and monitor the oil to schedule a appointment with Honda so they can fix this. Im pretty sure is burning oil and those lights came because of it.

I have been reading this forum for hours for about a week before getting my insight.
Thank you all for all the knowledge!

 

First thing to do is have the 12V battery LOAD tested.

HTH
Willie

 

It always is the 12V battery. You can test it before you replace it, but count on replacing it anyway.
If one system fails that will produce a single error on the MID display.
If the battery voltage drops low most or all systems will malfunction and produce a string of error messages.

 

What’s the battery that the manufacturer recommends? It is a special one since it is a hybrid??

 

BTW battery is giving me 12.6V....

 

Engine running? Or engine off, headlights and radio on?

When my battery turned bad and almost left me stranded at a traffic light my garage tested it engine running and concluded it was fine.
I told them to test it again engine off, they refused.
I called Honda Netherlands, they talked to the dealer, they tested the battery engine off and hey presto - it was bad after all, I got a new one under warranty. Which was hardly any better and gives me 11.6 Volt engine off, decreasing within 5 minutes of running the lights to 10 Volt and lower...
I monitor its voltage daily (one view on my UltraGauge) and will replace it at first sign of further deterioration.

As for my experience with OEM batteries, I'd go with anything Honda does NOT recommend.

 

If you just bought it and it had been sitting around, that is probably the root of any issues you had. Keep exercising the IMA pack and all should be well.
Just keep in mind that a weak 12 volt under the hood battery can cause all kinds red herring issues. Even though that battery rarely actually starts the car, it does run all the IMA electronics. Also, there is no alternator on these cars, the IMA system charges that battery.

Now get the CVT fluid changed...

 

You could do a test, running the lights and radio engine off while monitoring the voltage.
If it stays above 12 Volt for over 10 minutes you're good. If it drops early then the battery is off balance and may give you problems soon. Don't let it drop below 10 Volt or it may not use the IMA system to start anymore...

I got myself this Li-Ion compressor and jump starter which is no bigger than the original electric pump provided with the tire-sealant kit with my Insight (which has no spare).
My battery worries are slightly lessened now, not to mention the fiddling with the stubborn wire to the 12V plug on the Honda compressor which is very stiff when cold.

I made a separate thread for it: http://www.insightcentral.net/forums/honda-insight-lounge/120147-li-ion-compressor-jump-starter.html#post1390369

 

Update: Lights are now gone since Saturday. A change to the brake fluid and CVT were made to the car that day. I read about a change in brake fluid could fix this issue and for now it's working, the manual state at least change the brake fluid every 3 years for the Insight. I will update this info if I see any changes.

 

2012 MY High Consumption

summary: bought used May 2018, 73K miles. 75,500 threw CEL on 7/1. Checked codes 7/3: P128A, P128C & P1286. Have added 2.5 Qts of Mobil 1 0W-20 since to get dip stick to 'full' (top circle) in 45 miles of driving since. 2666 miles since last oil change at Jiffy Lube. Submitted case to AHMC; have dealer appt for consumption test today (7/5). But going to get details on how full they fill crankcase, other details of testing and loaner car policy before I actually go in for this first appt.

Prior visit to a different dealer for airbag recall in June. Service ticket said I "refused service" on 4 different services of which 3 were never mentioned and 4th (change trans fluid) was only mentioned in passing when service adviser was taking my information. Not ethical in my opinion so no plans to return to that one.

 

Keep copious notes, documentation, receipts and pictures for your "INSURANCE", in case you get static from the dealers.

 

And do get the transmission fluid changed. Don’t let Jiffy Lube do it.

 

Tranny fluid change

was planning go get that done when they do the repair(s)... are most dealers reliable about having / using the correct CVT fluid ?

 

was planning go get that done when they do the repair(s)... are most dealers reliable about having / using the correct CVT fluid ?

Had a talk with the parts manager at my Honda dealer. I just bought CVT fluid for a change. He said the only sold 9 quarts in a 18 months. I bought 6 of those. The service dept used the other 3 qts.

I suspect most of the time the service dept does not actually change the fluid.

 

High oil consumption can lead to other issues?

I believe that a lengthy amount of time of burning excessive oil may mess up the catalytic converter. Possibly the downstream O2 sensor as well. Other posts I've read also mention EGR valves and intake manifold possibly getting oil residue. Has anyone had issues with any of these related issues in the '12 - '13 engines? And if 'yes' has your dealer been willing to concede damage from the oil consumption issue?

 

Hello everyone. I picked up a 2013 Insight with 47k miles four days ago. I didn't see an introduction forum or thread, so figured I'd jump in here.

Will admit, I haven't made it through all 40 pages of this thread yet.

Will say I have not noticed any unexpected noise, smell, hesitation, smoke, or anything else to indicate this specific 2013 model is burning oil.

I asked my local dealership about my VIN and the consumption bulletin. To my surprise, they said the VIN does not qualify for the program, but if I have concerns, they'll run the consumption test and "take care of it."

I've only put about 200 miles on her so far, and no engine weirdness to report. I have the non-Honda dealership oil and some "bulk" filter on it right now, so I'm gonna dump the mystery garbage soon and use OEM filter and oil next to check for the next 1,000 miles.

My VIN is x3981, so I wonder if it's a LATE 2013 and they figured it out at the factory before production. Wikipedia has only 4801 units sold in the 2013 calendar year, so maybe a possibility? (Sorry I haven't read through yet!)

 

Will say I have not noticed any unexpected noise, smell, hesitation, smoke, or anything else to indicate this specific 2013 model is burning oil.

While this is still true, I've been receiving P0303 Cylinder 3 misfire codes for a couple weeks. Haven't noticed anything, and at the same time, an ABS code 83-01, ECM/TCM Failure, code appeared. Cleared it, and went back about my business.

15 warm-ups later, the same codes reappeared.
Pulled the plug on cylinder 3, and yup, it looks terrible. Plugs for cylinder 1-3 look really bad, and 4 is only "not great."

Plugs 1, 2, 3, 4:

Got a borescope. The tops of the pistons are all pretty bad, and here's number 4:

Oil's a quart down. Only 2,000 miles since the last change.

Guess it's my time to do battle with my local dealership.

 

Yes it is quite possible Honda stopped using their “experimental” piston rings by your VIN & build date. It is also young for the issue to show up. Most report this with over 65k. The only symptom is low oil. I wouldn’t even worry about the oil in there now, just wait until the MID says to change it. The oil life % is real, you can use it. In fact, you should, because the MID will not set codes for other service until it reaches 15%. But do check the oil level in between changes.
Now if you do want to be proactive, change the CVT fluid. Use only Honda branded fluid. It is quite possible it never has been changed. The MIDwould have set the code for that around 30k. Around here we like to change it every 18-20 k or every other oil change.

 

I wouldn’t even worry about the oil in there now, just wait until the MID says to change it. The oil life % is real, you can use it. In fact, you should, because the MID will not set codes for other service until it reaches 15%. But do check the oil level in between changes.

I do trust the oil life prediction from my years with a CR-Z. I was able to get the Insight's service history from my local dealership, and they replaced the oil+filter about a month ago.
So, dealer replaces oil+filter, a couple weeks go by and the car is sold to a non-Honda lot, who then dumped the OEM oil+filter for whatever bulk mystery stuff they use. Would rather jump back on the OEM parts train while the original service was fresh anyway. I don't even see a brand on the current oil filter. :|

Now if you do want to be proactive, change the CVT fluid. Use only Honda branded fluid. It is quite possible it never has been changed. The MIDwould have set the code for that around 30k. Around here we like to change it every 18-20 k or every other oil change.

Definitely seeing where diligence in CVT fluid changes helps in a number of ways.
Looking at the dealership records, I'm seeing "A123" was performed at 23,400 miles, so being around 47,000 miles now, in keeping with the "around here" schedule I'll pick up some CVTF. Easy peasy.

 

so far so good! 165,000 km with 85% oil life left and no burn in sight! It just above the full mark on a cold soak in the morning and I hope the engine stays that way until 500,000 km!

 

The "experimental" piston rings where only used in the 2012 & 2013 Insights, your 2010 is not involved in this.

 

Yup, Brand new Short Block

I have excessive oil consumption on 2013 EX Insight bought brand new with 3 miles on it

First found issue at 60k miles. Which was rather quick cuz I drive 50k a year.

Fought with Honda dealer but eventually after doing oil consumption test they gave me a new engine at 80k miles and I didn’t have extended warranty. At the end of testing I was burning 1qt every 800 miles.

This is a common issue across other Honda Models. Check the service bulletins.
I suspect it’s from a vendor whom supplied crap piston rings that were hard or out of tolerance and cut up engine sleeves.

Free engine at 80k and now I sit at 225k and don’t burn a drop of oil every 10k with the new revision short block

 

Another HUGH screen. Please readjust.

Documentation and pictures will do you no harm.

Willie

 

Pics look fine to me?

 

We had another similar thing happen the other day and it was solved by the OP.
(Possibly using a cell phone for posting)

Its not me, as all the other threads are normal.
Willie

 

Well I'm late to this discussion but we have a 2012 Insight with a bit over 100k miles now and it started to use more oil around 65-75k miles and now uses about 1qt/2k miles, about double what it was new to roughly 50k miles.

So apparently our's is one of those 2012-2013 models with low tension rings or ??? Sux and we plan to replace the car with something else a bit later this year after this stupid virus BS blows over.

 

 

I am late to this dance as well, but I have a 2012 that went through a lot of oil. There is a service announcement for this, as others mentioned. Did the oil consumption test with the dealer (threshhold was more than a quart/1000 miles) and after burning about a quart, they brought my vehicle in under the announcement and basically rebuilt the engine.