Ok, so here is the scoop on my list of issues with my 2001 Insight;
I've been complaining to my Honda dealer for a lengthy amount of time now that my Insight makes a 'crunching' noise when going over bumps such as speed humps or transitioning up/down a driveway to the roadway. I told them that I believed the problem was suspension bushing related and told them that while the car was still under factory warranty. They could not hear it. Now the problem has become very noticable. Factory warrenty is over (95,000km on the car now), but I still have an extended warrenty to 140,000km. Dealer tells me that the cost is $74.80. When I asked why I bothered to purchase extended warranty they told me that actually the price is $25.00 as the part is partially covered by warranty. (Note prices are in Canadian dollars. Current conversion rate is about .90cents = 1 US dollar).
The next problem is that my Insight pops out of gear upon downshifting from 3rd to 2nd. You must hold pressure on the gear shift in order to keep it in gear. Once you are rolling in 2nd, you can take your hand off the shifter and it will stay in gear. Dealer tells me that the problem is a seized shifter bushing. Price is $135.00. When I asked why I bothered to purchase extended warranty they told me that that part is not covered, but they will reduce the price to $113.00 as a goodwill gesture. I have owned many vehicles; the last 6 being Hondas, and all of them manual shift. I have never had to replace a shifter bushing. This part is defective either by bad design or bad components. Yet it is not covered under extended warranty. Honda themselves when contacted refused to cover the price of the part.
Upon brake inspection the dealer found that the right slider pin boot is split. Price is $67.00 and is back ordered from Japan. No known ETA. When I asked why I bothered to purchase extended warranty, they told me that that part is not covered.
I have been complaining about the engine becoming noisier and noiser. When I first purchased the car, you had to listen very closely to even hear the engine running. Now it sounds more like a sewing machine. I have been complaining about this since well before the car was out of factory warranty. The dealership always said that it sounded normal. Since there is never a new Insight on the lot, I could never prove the point by doing a back to back comparison test. Anyway, the dealer now agrees that the car is noisy and is recommending that they try the following two things: Adjust valve lash ($147.00) and also perform what they call an 'injector flush' (put a GM made cleaner into the cylinders and let it sit overnight in order to disolve any carbon buildup that might be in the ring seats) $120.00. Surprise! Neither are covered under extended warranty.
Tranny flush $63.00 Not covered under extended warranty.
Type 4 service for which I brought the car in in the first place is $390.00
Finally, I noticed that the paint is bubbling up in a small area on my roof. It almost looks like a little worm has been crawling around under the paint. I brought this to the dealers attention. They contacted the body shop. I spoke to the body shop 'expert'. He went into a fair amount of detail about how the hydrostatic pressure forces water under a chip in the paint, thus causing iron oxide to form, thus causing the paint to bubble. I told him that "the fluid dynamics portion of the story sounded very good" but that "to the best of my recollection rust does not form on aluminum". Further I explained that if this is the case then every stone chip on the leading edge of the hood should exhibit the same lifting of the paint especially "since the hydrostatic pressure would always be greatest on the exposed leading edge of any pressurized surface".
After an akward silence on his part he said that he would photograph the paint and send the pictures to Honda for review. I have not heard back at this point in time as to Honda's decision.
I purchased the extended warranty but so far absolutely nothing has ever been covered except for the $50.00 reduction on the suspension bushing discussed above.
I have always loved the car but, now the shine it starting to disappear for me. This could be a costly car to maintain. I've been fortunate in the past that after complaining about repair costs that I believed should be covered by warranty, either the dealer or Honda Canada has covered a portion of "out of factory warranty" repairs. Note: So far, the extented warranty purchase has been waste of money, since nothing ever seems to be covered. Anything that you think should be covered has small print that magically excludes it.
Ok, sure I'm saving money on gas, but I'm starting to think I'll be loosing any savings on repairs! I still really, really like my Insight, and maybe after I pay off the credit card bill and some time has passed I'll start loving it again...
I've been complaining to my Honda dealer for a lengthy amount of time now that my Insight makes a 'crunching' noise when going over bumps such as speed humps or transitioning up/down a driveway to the roadway. I told them that I believed the problem was suspension bushing related and told them that while the car was still under factory warranty. They could not hear it. Now the problem has become very noticable. Factory warrenty is over (95,000km on the car now), but I still have an extended warrenty to 140,000km. Dealer tells me that the cost is $74.80. When I asked why I bothered to purchase extended warranty they told me that actually the price is $25.00 as the part is partially covered by warranty. (Note prices are in Canadian dollars. Current conversion rate is about .90cents = 1 US dollar).
The next problem is that my Insight pops out of gear upon downshifting from 3rd to 2nd. You must hold pressure on the gear shift in order to keep it in gear. Once you are rolling in 2nd, you can take your hand off the shifter and it will stay in gear. Dealer tells me that the problem is a seized shifter bushing. Price is $135.00. When I asked why I bothered to purchase extended warranty they told me that that part is not covered, but they will reduce the price to $113.00 as a goodwill gesture. I have owned many vehicles; the last 6 being Hondas, and all of them manual shift. I have never had to replace a shifter bushing. This part is defective either by bad design or bad components. Yet it is not covered under extended warranty. Honda themselves when contacted refused to cover the price of the part.
Upon brake inspection the dealer found that the right slider pin boot is split. Price is $67.00 and is back ordered from Japan. No known ETA. When I asked why I bothered to purchase extended warranty, they told me that that part is not covered.
I have been complaining about the engine becoming noisier and noiser. When I first purchased the car, you had to listen very closely to even hear the engine running. Now it sounds more like a sewing machine. I have been complaining about this since well before the car was out of factory warranty. The dealership always said that it sounded normal. Since there is never a new Insight on the lot, I could never prove the point by doing a back to back comparison test. Anyway, the dealer now agrees that the car is noisy and is recommending that they try the following two things: Adjust valve lash ($147.00) and also perform what they call an 'injector flush' (put a GM made cleaner into the cylinders and let it sit overnight in order to disolve any carbon buildup that might be in the ring seats) $120.00. Surprise! Neither are covered under extended warranty.
Tranny flush $63.00 Not covered under extended warranty.
Type 4 service for which I brought the car in in the first place is $390.00
Finally, I noticed that the paint is bubbling up in a small area on my roof. It almost looks like a little worm has been crawling around under the paint. I brought this to the dealers attention. They contacted the body shop. I spoke to the body shop 'expert'. He went into a fair amount of detail about how the hydrostatic pressure forces water under a chip in the paint, thus causing iron oxide to form, thus causing the paint to bubble. I told him that "the fluid dynamics portion of the story sounded very good" but that "to the best of my recollection rust does not form on aluminum". Further I explained that if this is the case then every stone chip on the leading edge of the hood should exhibit the same lifting of the paint especially "since the hydrostatic pressure would always be greatest on the exposed leading edge of any pressurized surface".
After an akward silence on his part he said that he would photograph the paint and send the pictures to Honda for review. I have not heard back at this point in time as to Honda's decision.
I purchased the extended warranty but so far absolutely nothing has ever been covered except for the $50.00 reduction on the suspension bushing discussed above.
I have always loved the car but, now the shine it starting to disappear for me. This could be a costly car to maintain. I've been fortunate in the past that after complaining about repair costs that I believed should be covered by warranty, either the dealer or Honda Canada has covered a portion of "out of factory warranty" repairs. Note: So far, the extented warranty purchase has been waste of money, since nothing ever seems to be covered. Anything that you think should be covered has small print that magically excludes it.
Ok, sure I'm saving money on gas, but I'm starting to think I'll be loosing any savings on repairs! I still really, really like my Insight, and maybe after I pay off the credit card bill and some time has passed I'll start loving it again...
