Hi folks,
I have a 2000 red Insight that I bought used in October 2004. Except for a brief test drive of a CVT Insight last Sept, this is the only Insight I've ever driven, so my judgement of what's normal and what isn't is shaped by my limited experience.
I had noticed that it seemed that the Assist was somewhat weaker/shorter duration than what others on this list described, but hadn't thought much about it. I had also observed that the car would sometimes (often?) stall in autostop. The battery charge indicator would usually stay high (17-18 bars), but would rarely discharge below 16 or 17 except in a (rare) recal.
Then this Tuesday as I was driving to work the Check Engine and IMA lights both came on. I pulled off the road, looked in the owners manual, and decided it would be safe to drive the car the 5 miles to the Honda dealership. They hooked it up to the computers and discovered that I need a new IMA battery and a new control module! I said, that's under warranty, right?, and they checked and agreed that it was
So, they've got the parts on order, and until then, they say that according to everything they can find, it is fine for me to drive the car around without the IMA system.
This has led me to some observations and questions:
1) Is it true that it's fine to drive the car w/o IMA active? it seems to run fine but no charge and assist, and no autostop.
2) I have noticed that, in fact, the driving experience in this car since the IMA quit is almost the same as it was before. This leads me to believe that the IMA wasn't functioning well ever since I got the car. I do miss the regenerative braking and autostop that I had before the IMA quit completely, but I realize that I was rarely getting any assist anyway.
3) Mileage. Almost unchanged. I drive uphill to work in cool temps, downhill home in warmer temps. In this weather (highs 70s F, lows 40s), I usually get 55 mpg to work, 77 mpg home. The past few (warm-ish) days w/o IMA I have gotten 53 mpg to work, 81 home.
I had assumed that my OK but not stellar mileage was due to 1. cold weather (remember, I've only had this car during winter/spring) and 2. mountains (I've only driven it in Vermont and New Hampshire). Now I'm wondering if I've been basically driving a non-hybrid Insight all along.
4) So, if that's the case, what should I expect when I get my new IMA battery? I'm speculating that my downhill trip will be unaffected by the IMA battery (gravity and aerodynamics do all the work), but that my uphill trip mileage may benefit, since I'll be able to use assist rather than downshift a lot to get up the mountains. Does this make sense?
I'm also fascinated that a non-hybrid Insight can easily average 65 mpg (in the springtime, in mountains)--that I can get the EPA mileage without even having a hybrid car...
5) Has anyone else here driven their Insight without any IMA? how does this experience compare to driving a "normal" insight?
As far as the car's history: I bought it on ebay. It was a single owner car, bought by a dealer to resell. It was from southern Georgia, so the battery had been stressed with a lot of hot weather, I'm sure. When I got it, it had 36K miles, with a LMPG of 50.9 (I know, pretty bad). Prev. owner did all the routine recommended maintenance at her local Honda dealership--I have the receipts. Since I got the car I've driven about 6K miles.
So, anyway, thanks in advance for any answers, observations, or input, and sorry for the somewhat long and rambling post.
Sara White
Hartland VT
[/b]
I have a 2000 red Insight that I bought used in October 2004. Except for a brief test drive of a CVT Insight last Sept, this is the only Insight I've ever driven, so my judgement of what's normal and what isn't is shaped by my limited experience.
I had noticed that it seemed that the Assist was somewhat weaker/shorter duration than what others on this list described, but hadn't thought much about it. I had also observed that the car would sometimes (often?) stall in autostop. The battery charge indicator would usually stay high (17-18 bars), but would rarely discharge below 16 or 17 except in a (rare) recal.
Then this Tuesday as I was driving to work the Check Engine and IMA lights both came on. I pulled off the road, looked in the owners manual, and decided it would be safe to drive the car the 5 miles to the Honda dealership. They hooked it up to the computers and discovered that I need a new IMA battery and a new control module! I said, that's under warranty, right?, and they checked and agreed that it was
So, they've got the parts on order, and until then, they say that according to everything they can find, it is fine for me to drive the car around without the IMA system.
This has led me to some observations and questions:
1) Is it true that it's fine to drive the car w/o IMA active? it seems to run fine but no charge and assist, and no autostop.
2) I have noticed that, in fact, the driving experience in this car since the IMA quit is almost the same as it was before. This leads me to believe that the IMA wasn't functioning well ever since I got the car. I do miss the regenerative braking and autostop that I had before the IMA quit completely, but I realize that I was rarely getting any assist anyway.
3) Mileage. Almost unchanged. I drive uphill to work in cool temps, downhill home in warmer temps. In this weather (highs 70s F, lows 40s), I usually get 55 mpg to work, 77 mpg home. The past few (warm-ish) days w/o IMA I have gotten 53 mpg to work, 81 home.
I had assumed that my OK but not stellar mileage was due to 1. cold weather (remember, I've only had this car during winter/spring) and 2. mountains (I've only driven it in Vermont and New Hampshire). Now I'm wondering if I've been basically driving a non-hybrid Insight all along.
4) So, if that's the case, what should I expect when I get my new IMA battery? I'm speculating that my downhill trip will be unaffected by the IMA battery (gravity and aerodynamics do all the work), but that my uphill trip mileage may benefit, since I'll be able to use assist rather than downshift a lot to get up the mountains. Does this make sense?
I'm also fascinated that a non-hybrid Insight can easily average 65 mpg (in the springtime, in mountains)--that I can get the EPA mileage without even having a hybrid car...
5) Has anyone else here driven their Insight without any IMA? how does this experience compare to driving a "normal" insight?
As far as the car's history: I bought it on ebay. It was a single owner car, bought by a dealer to resell. It was from southern Georgia, so the battery had been stressed with a lot of hot weather, I'm sure. When I got it, it had 36K miles, with a LMPG of 50.9 (I know, pretty bad). Prev. owner did all the routine recommended maintenance at her local Honda dealership--I have the receipts. Since I got the car I've driven about 6K miles.
So, anyway, thanks in advance for any answers, observations, or input, and sorry for the somewhat long and rambling post.
Sara White
Hartland VT
[/b]