Maxims of 1st Gen (ZE1) Honda Insight Ownership

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  1. Nobody should own a G1 (ZE1) Honda Insight.1
  2. Any NiMH battery is to be considered dead/useless/75-pound-paperweight UNLESS it has an active, transferable warranty.2
  3. Cut the white/green wire on the corner of the DC/DC converter.3
  4. Your carpet is wet.4
  5. Replace all your clutch pedal and brake pedal switch bumpers before your car leaves you stranded, multiple times.5

These are shamelessly lifted from a humorous thread on InsightCentral.net.

Some additional ones I would add after several months of ownership:

  1. Your ground straps are corroded.6
  2. Also your brake & fuel hard lines.7
  3. Being able to exceed 70mph (112kph) in 2nd gear is a feature, not a bug.8
  4. Did VTEC just kick in, yo?9
  5. That rattle was definitely there yesterday.10

Read more on my recent 1st gen Insight ownership adventures.

  1. In regards to parts being hard(er) to come by and there aren’t many specialized technicians around to help you out.↩︎

  2. However, if you get a lithium battery those generally add the value to the vehicle.↩︎

  3. This keeps the 12v battery always charged, like in a traditional vehicle with an alternator.↩︎

  4. There’s oh so many water ingress points. At least the chassis is aluminum so it doesn’t rust?↩︎

  5. My strategy was to buy a pack and keep ’em in the glove box for the inevitable.↩︎

  6. Mine were. Not sure how it kept running in a seemingly happy state.↩︎

  7. Another project for this season.↩︎

  8. At least you really only need to shift once until you’re at cruising speed.↩︎

  9. Unironically, VTEC happens about 2500rpm.↩︎

  10. I fixed the donut exhaust gasket and floppy spoiler, but the glove box still seems a bit rattly.↩︎

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