Most common 2011 Honda Insight problems
Share of the 41 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Honda Insight complaints by model year
Best Insight years: 2014. Years to avoid: 2010, 2019, 2012, 2011, 2013. Compare all years →
2011 Honda Insight recalls (10)
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013 Acura ILX, 2015 RDX, 2005-2010 and 2012 RL, 2009-2014 TL, 2010 and 2012 ZDX, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2011-2013 and 2015 CR-Z, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013 Fit EV, 2010-2011 and 2013 Insight and 2007-2014 Ridgeline vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2014 TSX Sport Wagon, 2010-2013 ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic and Civic Hybrid, 2008-2010 Civic GX NGV, 2012-2015 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2014 Fit EV, 2010-2014 Insight, and 2009-2015…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2014 Acura TSX, 2011-2013 TSX Sport Wagon, and 2010-2012 ZDX and 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, Civic Hybrid and Civic NGV, 2012-2014 Crosstour, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2013 Insight, and 2009-2015 Pilot vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the inflator installation and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 5, 2019.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2014 Honda Insight and Acura TSX and TSX Wagon, 2014-2015 Honda Crosstour and Pilot vehicles nationwide, as well as certain 2014 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina,…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began November 6, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003-2012 Honda Accord and Pilot, 2010 Accord Crosstour, 2001-2011 Civic, 2002-2011 CR-V, 2003-2004, 2006-2008 and 2011 Element, 2007 and 2009-2013 Fit, 2010-2012 Insight, 2002-2004 Odyssey, and 2012 Ridgeline vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began June 22, 2018.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Acura TSX, ZDX, Honda Accord Crosstour, Fit, Insight and Pilot vehicles, 2011-13 Acura TSX Sportswagon, 2010-2012 Honda Accord,, 2010-2011 Honda Civic, Civic NGV, Civic Hybrid and CR-V vehicles and 2013 Honda FCX Clarity and Fit EV vehicles ever registered in the…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began February 16, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Show 4 more recalls
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2008-2012 Accord, 2010-2012 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2009-2012 Fit and Pilot, 2010-2012 Insight, and 2009-2012 Acura TSX vehicles that received replacement passenger frontal air bag inflators.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 30, 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2009-2012 Acura TSX, 2011-2012 Acura TSX Wagon, 2010-2012 Acura ZDX, 2008-2012 Honda Accord, 2010-2012 Honda Accord Crosstour and Honda Insight, 2009-2012 Honda Fit, 2009-2012 Pilot, 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2012 Honda FCX Clarity and 2006-2011 Honda Civic, Civic Hybrid, Civic…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag inflator, free of charge. The manufacturer has mailed an interim notification, and will send a second notification when parts are…
Air bags › Frontal › Passenger side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2009-2011 Acura TSX, 2011 TSX Wagon, 2010-2011 Acura ZDX, 2008-2011 Honda Accord, 2010-2011 Accord Crosstour, 2006-2011 Civic, Civic Hybrid, and Civic GX, 2007-2011 CR-V, 2010-2011 FCX Clarity and Insight, and 2009-2011 Fit, and Pilot vehicles originally sold, or…
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
Air bags › Frontal › Driver side › Inflator module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Honda CR-V, 2011-2015 CR-Z, 2010-2014 FCX, and Insight, 2009-2013 Fit, 2013-2014 Fit EV, 2007-2014 Ridgeline, 2013-2016 Acura ILX, 2013-2014 Acura ILX Hybrid, 2007-2016 RDX, 2005-2012 Acura RL, 2009-2014 Acura TL, and 2010-2013 Acura ZDX vehicles.
Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the inflator, free of charge. The recall began March 2017. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into a possible defect involving the 2011 Honda Insight:
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles.
What 2011 Honda Insight owners say
Air bags all 28 →
This morning (aug 6, 2016), myself and my dad met with an accident and was driving Honda Insight 2011 lx model. Note that my dad was sitting in the front passenger seat. Let me describe the accident. I was about to park my car in front of sprouts grocery store in the parking available spot just facing sprouts. So you can imagine that I was about to park my car and the speed was around 5mph. All of a sudden, I could feel my Insight engine experiencing sudden acceleration automatically and then I was trying to apply the leg brake to make sure it doesn't speed up. Suddenly, the Insight started speeding up and didn't stop even after slamming on the brake and it jumped on the parking curb and finally hit the concrete pillar in front of sprouts resulting in deploying the driver air-bag and the passenger air-bags. …
I got a notice that both airbags on my car were faulty and that Honda would fix them for free. The parts didn't come in for 3 or 4 months. I was commuting 400 miles a week for work and asked them to provide a rental car for me until then. They would furnish the car but I was responsible for the insurance on it. They told me to get it insured by my own personal auto insurance company. My insurance company told me they would not do that and neither would any other. Since I could not afford to pay the $20.00 a day for the rental car insurance I had to just take my chances of serious injury or even death in the event of my airbags going off. My 82 year old mother rode in that car to her doctor's appointments and the grocery. We both have copd and I have a pacemaker. The stress the situation caused was staggering and certainly not good for either of us. …
Engine & cooling
The contact owns a 2011 Honda Insight. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, there was a loud clunking sound coming from the vehicle while depressing the accelerator pedal. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the motor mounts had failed and needed to be replaced. The motor mounts were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the warranty might be honored. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.
This is an update to odi # 10628879, created in aug. 2014. Insight hybrid is stopped at intersection--auto idle stop. Suddenly engine races wildly, tachometer registers greater than 3,000 r/min. Usually occurs within the first 5 minutes of driving and first 3-5 miles of driving. If I my foot would slip off the brake the car would lurch forward, creating a risk of a collision with the car in front of it. The Honda dealer speculated that the weathertech floor mat under the accelerator might be causing the problem, and an independent repair shop agreed with this hypothesis. I chopped off a large piece of the floor mat from under the accelerator. The problem did not recur for several months, but recently has resumed. So the floor mat is not the cause. Because the racing still occurs unexpectedly from time to time, I am concerned that this is a dangerous condition. …
Speed control & acceleration
This morning (aug 6, 2016), myself and my dad met with an accident and was driving Honda Insight 2011 lx model. Note that my dad was sitting in the front passenger seat. Let me describe the accident. I was about to park my car in front of sprouts grocery store in the parking available spot just facing sprouts. So you can imagine that I was about to park my car and the speed was around 5mph. All of a sudden, I could feel my Insight engine experiencing sudden acceleration automatically and then I was trying to apply the leg brake to make sure it doesn't speed up. Suddenly, the Insight started speeding up and didn't stop even after slamming on the brake and it jumped on the parking curb and finally hit the concrete pillar in front of sprouts resulting in deploying the driver air-bag and the passenger air-bags. …
This is an update to odi # 10628879, created in aug. 2014. Insight hybrid is stopped at intersection--auto idle stop. Suddenly engine races wildly, tachometer registers greater than 3,000 r/min. Usually occurs within the first 5 minutes of driving and first 3-5 miles of driving. If I my foot would slip off the brake the car would lurch forward, creating a risk of a collision with the car in front of it. The Honda dealer speculated that the weathertech floor mat under the accelerator might be causing the problem, and an independent repair shop agreed with this hypothesis. I chopped off a large piece of the floor mat from under the accelerator. The problem did not recur for several months, but recently has resumed. So the floor mat is not the cause. Because the racing still occurs unexpectedly from time to time, I am concerned that this is a dangerous condition. …
2011 Honda Insight engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3L 4-cyl hybrid | CVT | FWD | 39 / 41 / 40 |
EPA ratings. Class: Compact car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2011 Honda Insight a good car?
Based on 41 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2011 Insight rates avoid: 2.0× as many complaints as a typical year of the Insight at the same age. It is one of the Insight years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2011 Honda Insight?
The air bags — 28 complaints, 68% of all complaints for this model year. Next are the engine & cooling (5) and speed control & acceleration (3).
How many recalls does the 2011 Honda Insight have?
There are 10 recalls for the 2011 Honda Insight, the most recent from June 27, 2019 (inflator module). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Honda Insight?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2014. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2010, 2019, 2012, 2011 and 2013. See the full Honda Insight years comparison.
At what mileage do 2011 Honda Insight problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 25,000 miles; 75% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.