2010 August

The Honda Insight has been seen driving around the United States for about a decade now. Although the Insight was out of production for a few years, it is back on the market now. This article will speak on several subjects such as the transformation of the Insight over the past decade and give some “insight” into the Honda Insight’s gasoline-electric power.

The first generation of the Honda Insight was introduced to the market in 1999 (model year 2000). Edmunds’ opinion of the 2000 Insight is, “Some cars make you feel like a champion. This one makes you feel like a hero.” Consumers even gave the 2000 Insight a rating of 9.1. The Insight was the first gasoline-electric hybrid sold in the United States, even North America as a whole. The first generation Insight is only a two-seater and available in three different models: one with a manual transmission and no air conditioning, one with a manual transmission and includes air conditioning, and finally one with a CVT (continuously variable transmission) and includes air conditioning.

The Insight has a key feature known as Integrated Motor Assist under its hood. Integrated Motor Assist is special because it is composed of both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. The ECA series, gasoline engine in the first generation Insight is a one liter, three-cylinder engine with about 70 horsepower. The electrical motor assist gives the Insight a little extra power, adding an additional 13 horsepower. Another positive of the Integrated Motor Assist is that when the car is not moving, the engine can shut off and the car can still operate with the electric motor acting as a generator.

Despite these positive features, the Insight had problems with sales. In the 2005, Honda sold less than 2,000 Insights. The sales in 2006 were worse, as Honda sold fewer than 1,000 Insights through September of 2006, and at that point, Honda decided to pull the plug on the Insight. In 2008, Honda revealed that it would be selling the Insight again. Since the beginning of this year (market year 2010) the Insight has been back on the market and is available in two options: LX and EX. This marks the second generation of the Insight, and the first noticeable improvement in this generation of the Insight is that it is larger. It now is a four door vehicle that is considered a mid-sized vehicle based on its interior and now appears to seat up to five people. Under the hood of the current Insight there is now a 1.3 liter engine with four cylinders. The current engine now has about 98 horsepower and the electric motor still adds an additional 13 horsepower.

Honda is hoping that the improvements that it has made to the Insight will spark huge sales. In the United States, Honda is expecting sales of around 100,000 vehicles. Despite these sales forecasts, the current Insight has not received all positive reviews. Consumer Reports has the Insight ranked 21st out of 22 tested comparable cars. Edmunds, which as stated earlier, said the initial Insight would make a consumer feel like a “hero” in 2000, but now, it is stated that the 2010 vehicle did not perform well in Edmunds’ opinion, although Edmunds is still performing tests in an attempt to develop a better opinion.

Overall the Insight has shown to be an innovative vehicle. As the first gasoline-electric hybrid in the United States the Insight burst onto the scene with blazing reviews. After about six years on the market though, the Insight’s lack of sales caused Honda to stop producing it. Almost three years later, the Insight is back on the market with a larger, more up-to-date look and a little more power. With these improvements, Honda expects big sales but the experts are not quite sold on the Insight. It looks as if only time will tell whether this version of the Insight will succeed or fail

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There is one thing I recommend to each customer who purchases a used engine from us: that they thoroughly inspect the cooling system on their vehicle and replace anything in that system that isn’t functioning perfectly. An engine in a vehicle with a failed or failing cooling system has about as much chance of surviving as a fish dropped in the sand in the middle of a desert. Don’t believe me? More than 50% of engine failures are caused because of a malfunctioning cooling system. Not high miles, not no oil – just getting too hot.

Your engine puts out a tremendous amount of heat by design. Part of this is so it can burn up pollutants and meet the requirements the EPA has put on the automakers, ans so you can pass your vehicle inspection, and part of this is because of the thermal dynamics of power transfer: most of the energy an engine produces is lost to heat.

Most people nod their heads when I preach on this, but if you’re not a gear head or a mechanic, you may not know what to you need to do. That’s what this specific blog is about. Read on, learn, and do.

The most neglected fluid in a vehicle is the coolant. It is nasty stuff – corrosive and poisonous. I once forgot to clean off a screwdriver that had come in contact with coolant, and a few hours later, it was pitted and rusty. Brand new coolant contains an “organic corrosion inhibitor” that is supposed to keep it from eating the insides of your radiator, hoses, and engine cooling channels for up to five years or 150,000 miles (if you have “long life coolant). I don’t think they know what five years means, because the corrosion inhibitors don’t seem to do their job well for that long. When the inhibitor goes past the point of doing its job, it starts to eat everything it comes in contact with. GM and Chevy owners have been plagued with gaskets getting eaten through. 3.1L, 3.4L, 3.8L, 4.3L, 5.3L and 5.7L engines are well known by mechanics for leaky intake manifolds which allow coolant and oil to mix, destroying the engine. This is not the fault of the engine or gasket. This is a maintenance issue – the fault of the owner! I do a complete machine flush of my coolant every two years, and my engines and cooling system love me for it. You should do the same thing every 12-24 months as well. In my experience, this will eliminate over half of all cooling system problems. Not only will it keep your coolant from terrorizing your car, it will clean sediment out of your radiator and keep it doing its job more efficiently.

The second most common cause of cooling system failure is low fluid. This is easy to deal with – check your fluid once a week. It is easy. On most vehicles, you just pop the hood and glance at the coolant reservoir to make sure there is liquid between to hash marks on a bottle.

The third most common cause of cooling system failure is a non-functional water pump. This can be caused by the pump locking up, the belt that drives the pump failing, or degradation of the gasket sealing the pump against the engine. Fix this problem by following the replacement guidelines of your vehicle manufacturer for these parts. You’ll lessen the chance that you’ll need to call me for a used engine.

Fifth is a faulty thermostat. Go ahead and replace these every two years. The part is $15-30. An engine is $1200-$5000, depending on what you have.

The last common cause of cooling system failure is electrolysis. Electrolysis is caused by a an electrical current being added into the cooling system. This only happens when your vehicle has a fault in the electrical system. You’ll know when it happens because the radiator it destroys looks like someone dumped acid all over it. You should have your mechanic check the current in your electrical system when he does your annual vehicle inspection. It only takes about ten minutes, and it can alert you to many other problems.

Your radiator, even when properly maintained, will eventually lose its ability to cool because mineral deposits will coat it inside, reducing its ability to release heat – the mineral deposits act like an insulator. If you want to be sure your radiator is working, you should check for two things.

Flow. Your mechanic should check to make sure enough coolant can flow through the radiator.
Temperature. Your mechanic should use an infrared thermometer to check the top hose and bottom hose. The top hose should be around 20 degrees hotter than the bottom hose.

If you have enough flow, but not enough temperature reduction, you’ll blow up your engine. If you have enough temperature reduction, but not enough flow, you’ll blow up your engine.

I hope this article will be of great help to you as you strive to maintain your cooling system. A small expense on the front end can have big payoff for you down the road – the continued low cost operation of your existing vehicle.

If you need an engine, please call us at 901-266-9996. We’d love to be of help to you.

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The Honda Insight

A Guide to Maintaining Your Cooling System

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