[Curious Dave]

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere! I tried using the search function and didn't get very far. :? Probably my bad! Can anyone point me in the right direction as to where I might find these listings, if there are any? Thanks in advance!

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Hi Dave and welcome to the forum :!:

AFAIK there are no recalls or similar _type_ TSB's for the 03 and up Insight. And since their copyrighted by Honda you'll have to get the information from them.

With that said recalls are public information NHTSA will have them for your inspection. Other TSB's do "leak" out and the "gist" of what they are about is dicsussed here. But again nothing specific to the 03 model that I remember.

Is there some point specifically about the Insight that you have on your mind :?:

Sincerely,

 

[Curious Dave]

Thanks for the nice welcome! Much oblige!

The only problems that I'm having with my 03 CVT Insight so far is a weird sound that comes from behind the steering wheel that sounds like rubber on metal or rubber on rubber whenever you turn the steering wheel. This usually gets worse when the cabin temp. is high (ie: while the car is parked outside in the sun). Anyone else having this problem?

The other problem is that the SOC gauge used to indicate a full charge (full scale) when I first bought the car and now the gauge only reads as high as one bar below full and never reaches full charge anymore at 30,000 miles. Is the battery pack starting to show signs of wear?

One other thing I've noticed is that there appears to be some valve noise coming from the engine when the engine is cold. I've adjusted the valve clearance to no avail and the light clatter sounds like it's only coming from one valve. The noise goes away once the engine warms up. I'm a mechanic and I have a hunch that the noise is due to a prematurely worn valve guide or valve stem. :? I've checked the valve clearance twice since the car was new and have only had to make very minor adjustments. Does this problem sound familiar to anyone.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

The noise behind the steering wheel may be related to the SRS clock spring. All Honda models sometimes develop the problem. Also check the column trim clearance between the steering wheel.

SoC and remaining battery service life is a tricky interpretation. Try an IMA reset (disconnect the 12v for 1 min or so then drive with the resulting forced charge til full). But the most likely scenairo is that your SoC usage is in balance with consumption. The headlights on "trick" will also help maintain and overall higher SoC if its not a "usage" problem.

Its piston percussion noise. As a mechanic you should remember that valve noise does not fade with a warm engine. Hope you haven't nudged one a bit tighter to try and eliminate the noise. It's been a "feature" of all Honda's (and most other Japanese imports) for over 20 years now. The piston skirts were shortened to reduce friction. A consequence of this is that until fully warm and expanded they "rattle" in the bores. I have owned several Hondas over the years that did this for 200K+ miles. It is of no consequence.

HTH!

 

[Curious Dave]

Thanks for the info.! I shall try the 12 volt battery disconnect and see what happens. The engine noise is much too slow in respect to RPM to be piston slap, leaving the valvetrain as suspect, but I'll listen to it again to be sure.

 

[jgessling]

TSB's and Recalls

You may search for recalls for your car at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administratiion site:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/probl ... search.cfm

You can search for TSB's here (look down the left side for "Recalls and TSB's")

http://www.ownersite.com/

Unfortunately, you can only see the summaries. There are places that will sell you the full text.

Regards, Jim
'01 #191

 

[Curious Dave]

Thanks for the links! I decided to find out what was causing the rubbing noise behind my steering wheel on my 03 CVT Insight and did the following:

1. I removed the steering column cover/trim by removing the three bolts and removed the lower cover.

2. I then took a peek at the steering column shaft by basically standing on my head underneath the dash.

3. And what did I find? Low and behold, the ignition switch wire harness was draped over the top of the steering shaft, making the rubbery wire harness sheath rub heavily against the steering shaft with the harness connected to the adjacent fusebox on the drivers side kick panel. The harness was pulled pretty tight against the steering shaft while connected to the fusebox.

4. The fix: I disconnected the ignition switch harness from the fusebox and re-routed the harness underneath the steering shaft instead of over the top of it. I then reconnected the harness to the fusebox, reinstalled the steering column cover and all is well. Plenty of slack in the harness and no more interference with the steering shaft. The steering wheel turns much more freely now without any binding.

5. I took several pics. of the fix along the way if anyone is interested.

 

[b1shmu63]

Never reaching full charge is normal for the battery indicator. Why you ask?..... :idea: When the battery is competely full you loose regenerative braking to protect the pack from overcharging. A full charge is counter productive as all the energy of braking is lost! The battery management system actually adapts to your driving style to keep the charge high but not full and to allow it to drop when needed to save fuel.

 

[Scott]

I've noticed the same noise that CuriousDave experienced lately. After reading what you discovered, if certainly sounds like what you described. I may try to take a look this weekend. Could you possibly post those pics?

 

[Curious Dave]

I've noticed the same noise that CuriousDave experienced lately. After reading what you discovered, if certainly sounds like what you described. I may try to take a look this weekend. Could you possibly post those pics?

The steering shaft/ignition harness pics.??

 

[Scott]

yes, the steering shaft/ignition harness pics.....thanks

 

[Curious Dave]

I don't currently have the capability to post pics. on the forum, but I can e-mail them to you if you like. All you really need to do is remove the lower portion of the steering column trim/cover behind the steering wheel and then look and see if the wire harness from the ignition switch is routed over the top of the steering shaft instead of underneath. Sorry for this very late reply to your post!!

 

[Scott]

Thanks for the info!