Honda Insight Forum banner

Checking in with fellow Insight owners

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  rogerp 
#1 ·
Well, here we are. It's been a while, ok several years, since I've checked in here but my 2010 Honda Insight has now topped 408,000 miles. I'm no longer driving the distance I used to but the car still manages to run great and get me to work daily. Ok, almost great, the other day it just gave up the ghost and I limped into my works parking lot. Had the car towed to the dealer to find out 4 coil packs were out, it needs spark plugs, and the gasket cover is leaking. Needless to say, I was about ready to donate the vehicle to NPR and give up my dream of 500,000 on my beloved Insight. Hell, I don't even have the snow tires off yet. After doing some research, and talking to those more knowledgeable than myself, the task of replacing some coil packs and spark plugs didn't seem all that daunting. At least not as daunting as the $3000.00 price tag the dealer quoted. I've decided to tackle this surgery on my own, at least determine the cylinders misfiring and replace those plugs and coil packs. As far as the gasket leak goes, what's adding a little oil here and there, I don't believe I have the expertise to tear down the engine to replace a gasket. If anyone has any advice or has experienced some of the same diagnosis' as I have, I'd enjoy hearing your stories and would definitely take your advice to heart. I can barely picture my life without my Honda Insight.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Well welcome on activating your InsightCentral membership. ;)

That is an amazing amount of mileage, so congratulations. If you are going to start tinkering the car, and no reason you shouldn't, then InsightCentral is certainly your friend. You can also buy a used Service manual on eBay at a reasonable cost. The manual may still be available from Hahn. Sometimes there is an order form in the back of the owner's manual.

Certainly take a whack at the coils and the plugs. You can save a ton on money. iirc, the Gen2 did not have lean burn capability so any "equivalent" plug would probably be just fine. Iridium plugs last a long time but cost a bit more.

If you are changing plugs, you might as well do a compression check at the same time. iirc there are two plugs/cylinder. So procedure would be to turn off the IMA battery, remove one plug per cylinder, and have someone hold throttle open while cranking on the 12V battery. This would be a general procedure, but I'm not experienced so stand ready for correction.

Re the oil leak, I'm not sure whether you are talking about a head gasket leak or a valve cover gasket. The cylinder head is probably outside most folks capabilities, but the valve cover is pretty easy to replace. I'd clean the top end of the engine real good, and then watch it closely and see where the oil is coming out. Fix might be cheap.
 
#3 ·
There is a really good how to on doing the plugs:

 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top