Honda Insight Forum banner

Honda won't issue a Recall on the Wimpy Horn!

24K views 78 replies 31 participants last post by  IndyTom 
#1 ·
I called Honda yesterday to give a complaint on the wimpy horn that they have put in the I2. The day before I was just about in an accident because someone was trying to merge over into the lane I was in and they didn't see me. With the car being so small, I told them that it needed a much louder and noticeable horn.

I told then that having such a wimpy horn was a huge safety hazard since no one can hear it. I suggested that they issue a recall so we can get our horns replaced with something that will get someone's attention. The guy seemed very concerned and said that Honda will need a lot more complaints on the same thing before they would issue a recall.

I am writing this post to implore all of you that have any model of Insight to call, email, write and complain about the horn. It really is a huge safety hazard.
 
#9 ·
We had a Ridgeline before the I2, and while it's horn was an improvement over the current, I've never really been impressed by any Honda horn. Just get a good aftermarket product. I put a set of dual Hella SuperTone horns on my HCH II and the difference has been night and day. Best $50 I've spent in awhile.
 
#11 ·
We had a Ridgeline before the I2, and while it's horn was an improvement over the current, I've never really been impressed by any Honda horn. Just get a good aftermarket product. I put a set of dual Hella SuperTone horns on my HCH II and the difference has been night and day. Best $50 I've spent in awhile.
It's pointless to ask Honda to recall a car because consumer's don't think the horn is loud enough. First of all that's not what recalls are for. I guess you could consider the horn a safety issue but it's debatable. The cost to Honda to issue a recall and process all the paperwork would be prohibitive for something as minor as this.

I suggest Insight owners who are unhappy with their horns go to Pep Boys or similar and buy a louder horn. It's a 10 minute max job to swap them and there are only two easy electrical connections.

Thanks, Mike.
 
#18 ·
Called at my local Honda dealer and ordered the Accord horn. The case is that the latter 2008 Accord "wears" 2 horns, a low and a high pitched one. They cost 51$ each here (almost double the price you payed in the States) but concerning all safety reasons I went ahead and ordered the low pitched one.
Thanks again for your info and help
Good morning from Greece!
 
#19 ·
Wow, you guys seem serious about the horn. My previous car was a tacoma with hella horns, 4 piaa lamps with osram 65watt bulbs. I used the high beams and all 4 extra lamps if someone cut me off or signal to pass,but not the horn.

I find its pretty common to get cut of unless you tail gate. Liewise when I change lanes hear a honk or 2. I drive the same with traffic if there is a lot of it and just ignore the horns I hear.

The one time I used my horn in a scion I owned was when someone cut me off at a rail road crossing from a service road. THe person then drove 20 under the limit with a double solid yellow line. I felt rather helpless, but notice the drive behind me was honking and waving at me. I sandbagged and drove even slower and he blew by me, just to do the same to the guy in front of me. THat was kind of funny and the guy returned to the speed limit.
 
#20 ·
Well, when someone is pulling over into you because they can't see you and hitting the brakes and being rearended isn't an option, they're not going to see my lights so my 135db air horns let them know I'm there.
Nice to know that you'll ignore my horn and hit me anyway Cobb.:rolleyes:
 
#26 · (Edited)
Yeah, in NOVA, DC and MD we drive differently. If there is enough room for our car and 3/8 of an inch to spare, we are merging in between you and the car in front of you. Horns mean nothing to us. Your best defense is to be ready to brake and keep half a car lengths between you and the guy in front of you and check your mirrors incase if you need to merge in front of someone else in another lane.

Nice to know that you'll ignore my horn Cobb.:rolleyes:
 
#21 ·
Some are missing my point

Some of you are missing my point. I know that there are other options out there for horns. I know that most of them are on the less expensive side. I know that it would be relatively quick and easy to replace the horn.

My point is that Honda shouldn't have put such a wimpy horn in the car in the first place. Honda should issue a safety recall and foot the bill for replacing the horn. The horn that is in the Element would be the best for such a small car. It is very loud and will get someone's attention.

Honda already has the horns to remedy this problem. It should only be a matter of swapping them out.

I am sorry for my strong language, but when you are driving in a mountainous area like North East Tennessee, you need everything at your disposal to stay safe.;)
 
#30 ·
If you believe it to be safety issue, which I sort of agree with you - it is crappy and hard to hear, then Honda isn't who you go to. You file a complaint with NHTSA - though, I assume Honda has made sure the horn complies with any laws. You can file that here: Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), File A Safety Complaint



Some of you are missing my point. I know that there are other options out there for horns. I know that most of them are on the less expensive side. I know that it would be relatively quick and easy to replace the horn.

My point is that Honda shouldn't have put such a wimpy horn in the car in the first place. Honda should issue a safety recall and foot the bill for replacing the horn. The horn that is in the Element would be the best for such a small car. It is very loud and will get someone's attention.

Honda already has the horns to remedy this problem. It should only be a matter of swapping them out.

I am sorry for my strong language, but when you are driving in a mountainous area like North East Tennessee, you need everything at your disposal to stay safe.;)
 
#22 ·
I think the point is well taken and sympathized with - me personally, I feel 10 times cooler swapping my own horn than getting honda to do it for me.

When I was swapping mine, someone raised a fun point - the horn likely has a pitch adjustment screw (citation needed) and if you want to split some ears, you should mount two and tune them a couple cents apart for some shrieking dissonance.
 
#23 ·
Funny.. I don't think I've even tried the horn yet. And I've had the car for months. I'm just not a horn-honking type person. In my experience people who honk are usually doing it more for the purpose of throwing an insult than for any safety reason. For example, when I see somebody coming into my lane on a collision course, my first reaction is to examine escape scenarios, such as changing over a lane myself, or slamming on the brakes. Honking the horn would take much longer because it relies on the other driver to hear your horn, then make a decision to stop whatever they are doing. I can respond quicker since I am aware of the problem before them. So honking never crosses my mind until after the situation is over. At that point it only serves the purpose of conveying my irritation and by then most drivers already know they screwed up, so I usually don't bother. Sometimes the squeel of my tires locking up as I try to slow down is enough to get their attention.

I've never found the horn to be particularly effective on animals in the road either. I've had dogs, ducks, and other animals loitering in the road as I come to a stop and I'll honk and they don't even care. I've had to get out of the car to scare them away.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I used a horn for anything, it was probably years ago.
 
#24 ·
I have to take exception with your comments on people who use horns. I almost always use the horn in conjunction with other measures to avoid an accident. When hitting the breaks isn't an option or changing lanes isn't an option then the horn is the next best thing and most of the time for me the last resort. I absolutely never use my horn for insulting purposes. I use it for safety and for fun when I see someone I know or see another Insight owner.

Secondly, I live on a road that is very, very narrow and winding. Whilst coming around bends in the road I and all of my neighbours that live on the same road honk their horns to let on coming cars know that there is someone on the same path. Oh did I say that the road I live on is literally one car at a time. If one encounters another car (depending on where you are on the road), someone is backing up. There is no way for 2 cars to pass at the same time.

Most of the bends in the road are very blind turns. Even cars with DRL's aren't seen. In this case the horn is the only option to let someone know you are coming around the bend. We have one mirror on the most narrow and sharp bend, but that is really useless because you don't see around the bend until you are almost there.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I haven't had an issue with it yet, as I'm one of those people who thinks "damn, why didn't I use the horn?!?" after the fact. So no matter what horn I have, I won't be able to think fast enough to use it :-?
I honk more at people who are being idiots, like when someone cuts me off and I have to slam on the brakes not to hit them. Or, my favorite, at this intersection where I have the right of way, and for some reason 3 cars cut me off to make a left. Though, that's not really helping the situation as I'm sure they'll just do it again to someone else.
My nicer honks are to other Insights and people I know :D

By the way, is it the same horn as the Fit or Civic? Anyone know?
 
#27 ·
LMAO...I think the horn is fine...in fact, it got me PULLED OVER BY A COP just the other day.

I'm driving back to New Bern from Roanoke Rapids...talking to a co-worker in the car and we miss the exit from 95. We finally realize it by Kenly! :rolleyes: I get the NAV to get me in the right direction (shoulda been using it to begin with - LOL) and as I drive in the little town of Kenly, suddenly a Ford Explorer SportTrac truck pulls out of a parallel parking spot (I really believe the driver just didn't see me coming) and I slow not to hit him/her...and then the driver of the Ford decides to make a SUDDEN right turn and well, then I decided he/she deserved an IDIOT award which translates to a long extended HORN... :D

I held that horn for a good 5 seconds which is pretty lenghty...but I was frustrated missing my exit and driving an additional 15 miles and then this loser...well, low and behold, a cop was sitting right at that little intersection and immediately came after me!

When the cop approached, I actually said to him, "Officer, do YOU know why YOU stopped me?"

LMAO! It made him chuckle a little and then he allowed me to explain what happened...he then said, "Well, sounds like good driving to avoid an accident, have a good night." :cool:
 
#28 ·
break transitive verb 1 a : to separate into parts with suddenness or violence b : fracture <break an arm> c : rupture <break the skin> d : to cut into and turn over the surface of <break the soil> e : to render inoperable <broke his watch>

Fact is, I'd rather NOT break anything. I'd not want to brake with someone 3/8" off my bumper for fear of breaking something. Glad I don't live back east. If it's that bad of a rat race it sounds like a swine/avian flu mutation can't come soon enough.
 
#32 ·
I ordered the horn for $15 from my local dealership (Zimbrick in Madison has been great) and installed it in about ten minutes. It was really easy and I had no issue with cord length - it easily fit facing down like the DIY video showed. It sounds like an actual car now. Well worth the small price.
 
#40 ·
You guys don't have to be mean and criticize people's driving just because you don't mind the soft horn.

Actually, after having lived in different parts of the US, I've noticed uses of horns tend to be a regional thing. Like, in New York City, drivers use horns a lot more and differently than in Minneapolis or LA. Here in San Francisco, we have a lot of those lane mergers that are both entrances/exits at the same time, and merges where the left lane of one interstate merges into the same lane of the right lane of another interstate. Turns out, I've had a few incidents over the years that horns helped avoid some nasty accidents - both when someone didn't see me until I beeped at him, and embarassingly to admit, I almost rammed into someone until they beeped at me.

So, I was a little surprised myself when I used my horn for the first time on Friday, and it was as if my car said "excuse me over there Expedition, but would you mind pretty please if you don't kill me when you shift lanes?" Seriously, I wasn't sure my car even beeped at first, could barely hear it over my radio.. which led me to believe that certainly no one else heard it. I think I will give Honda the feedback that the horn is too weak. I also think I'll look into ordering that Accord upgraded horn - thanks for the tips guys.
 
#41 ·
I looked at the video on replacing the stock horn with the Accord horn.

Anybody consider ADDING the Accord horn to the stock horn instead of replacing the stock horn? (I think it would be a shame to let that stock horn go to waste, since it's already "paid for".) Obviously there is only one wiring harness for one horn, but it would seem that it would not be to difficult to splice a second horn connection.

In the video, it looks like there is enough room to add a second horn and I don't believe the added current drain from two horns would be significant enough to cause an issue.

Now, I would guess this "two tone horn" (at roughly twice the decibels of a single horn) would hopefully get attention you want when it's really needed!
 
#44 ·
Anybody done that? I'm more than interested! Is there a splitter of the original wiring end "pipe" to two of the kind? I am sure I can find/make a thin metal holder to hold the two horns together. Maybe an extra fuse relay should be added though to be on the safe side, no?
Any info-ideas?
 
#45 · (Edited)
how about...

YouTube - SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT HORN Vs PIAA DUAL COMPETITION HORN

I bought a pair of sports horns (400+500) for the Nissan Pathfinder... In the case of the Pathfinder, I actually had two horns, so it didn't require any rewiring.. just bending the mount was a hassle.

Anyway, my actual point is... in the instruction sheet, it has multiple diagrams. One of which is showing the two new horns replacing only one stock horn. But it was only showing wiring, not the actual mount (since there's so many different cars out).

Whether it's actually twice the decibel... is a whole other story. I dunno.

edit: or...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EULa7m4Kr5Q&feature=related

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do7mczZYHE8

or

http://www.insightcentral.net/forums/modifications-technical-issues/14886-horn-question.html
 
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