[mike_goldstein]

Got my 2000 Insight last week, it now has 47000. My wife wanted to try it out and took it to Wal-Mart. Coming home car would not go more than 7 mph. She parked it and called me. I could start it and move it a foot or so but the engine continualy died. Had it towed to the Honda Dealer. Anybody seen this? Maybe the fix is don't let your wife or husband drive your Insight. :>

 

[Holicow]

Wow, sorry to hear that...

Do you have a "check engine" light on the dash now? Or any other indicators?

I will assume there is fuel in the tank, right?

Why 7 mph? Is it stuck in first, or something?

I think we need some more details, but you are probably looking at a trip to the dealer, eh?

 

[mike_goldstein]

The tranny seemed fine, I could shift to reverse etc. I don't know why it would not go any faster. There was gas in it. The check engine symbol was illuminated and the oil level was good. I purchased a Honda Warranty when I bought it and I'm glad I did! The car is at the dealer as I write this.

Mike G.

 

[mike_goldstein]

I just remembered, my wife said there was a message about the ECM.

Mike G.

 

[Holicow]

Sorry, didn't register that you had it towed to the dealer.

Hopefully it was an easy fix. Perhaps the computer recalls had not been done, but they weren't for a problem like this. I think we would be interested in what they find and how it is fixed. Thanks.

Good luck!

 

[mike_goldstein]

Electrical Short

The dealer just called and said there was an electrical short in the car. Said it had been worked on before and wanted to know the name of the dealer where I bought it. Did I mention I'm glad a I purchased a warranty?

 

[mike_goldstein]

fuel pump bad

The dealer callled again and said the short indication was a false code. The car has a bad fuel pump, said it was very rare for those to go bad.

Mike G.

 

[Rick]

Actually that makes sense, I've heard that on the older Insight's if you run out of fuel the IMA will keep trying to start the engine so you can essentially run off of the electric motor only at low speeds. This is not good for the car though and not something I recommend you do unless in an extreme emergency situation and it's unavoidable.

 

[Tim Maddux]

I guess if you left it in gear and took the foot off the brake and started it, the spin-up from the IMA to start the engine would be enough to move the car forward.

Probably better to push it, the Insight is so light

 

[mike_goldstein]

I think the engine was getting a small amount of fuel, as it would start and run at low revs and then die. Another reason I think it was limping along under gas power was, I did not see any indicated assist bars. The service manager at the dealer I bought it from, Hendrix in Charlett, NC, called me promptly when I emailed them and falsely reported a short in the car. They are sending me all the maintenance records, a good response.

Mike G.

 

[b1shmu63]

Perhaps there was enough vapor pressure in the tank to supply a small flow of gas to the engine, but not enough to keep it running? Glad they fixed it. Thanks for sharing the experience.

 

[Yves M.]

Hi Mike G,

Have you asked to have the broken pump back or just to see it. There are locations where gas stations sell bad gas that cloged the fuel pump and also cloged the fuel meter.

I remember there was a tread here somewhere about that and we have (here, Montreal) had that 1 year and 2 years ago. The problem was bad additives and a Ford dealer had replaced about 200 fuel pumps in 2 week. It lead Shell to recognise there was a problem. All the pumps where coverered in and out with a brown goo.

The symptoms where similar to yours.

 

[mike_goldstein]

Bad Gas?

I will be picking it up today and will ask if the fuel pump appeared clogged. Thanks for the tip. It will be good to be back in the Insight. I have been driving my wife's Honda Civic Hybrid and only getting 51.4 mpg. It will be nice to be back in the 70s. :wink: