MY HONDA INSIGHT HYBRID SUCKS!
OK! Here we go again! MY HONDA INSIGHT HYBRID SUCKS! I HATE THIS CAR!
Ahem…Now that that’s out of my system, here is the latest Honda Hybrid drama. My car crapped out again after the IMA light came on…AGAIN!
IMA is Honda’s name for the hybrid gasoline/electric system employed in the Insight. The IMA system incorporates the electric motor/generator, the battery pack, and a lot of control circuitry that controls when power is supplied to or taken from the electric motor, controls charging of the high-voltage battery pack, and converts the electricity from one form to another.
They had to swap out the battery pack…AGAIN! This is the big battery we’re talking about. This is the third time since 2002. These batteries are supposed to be good for 80,000 miles at least. WTF? This supposedly GREEN car has now polluted some landfill or some recycling plant somewhere with two humungous batteries.
The cost to replace these battery packs run from $3,000 to $8,000 dollars. (Which I screamed bloody murder about and didn’t have to pay) Any savings you make on gas (Oh I’ll get to that later) is totally wiped out. It’s not just the Honda hybrids that are having these problems…
I refer you to this article as just one example: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/07/used_hybrids.html
Now for the gas mileage. It’s nowhere near what they said it would be. At it’s peak performance, my car never got better than 43mpg. It’s average these days is around 37mpg. Which is good but not the 53mpg we were sold on. A Mini Cooper gets 34mpg highway and it’s a lot more fun!
So what do we have here? A plastic car (petroleum product) that has the worlds worst suspension system, that is totally computerized, needs parts that cost twice as much as other cars, the parts aren’t standard, it doesn’t get the gas mileage it was supposed to, has been through two transmissions ($7,000 transmissions) and is crapping battery packs all over the planet! Oh yes, and the radio is the cheapest piece of shit too. And as usual, the parts weren’t in stock so it took 5 days to get the car out of the shop.
That about sums it up.
If you’d like to read my previous post about the car, go to:
http://themommydaddy.com/2009/08/a-very-expensive-day/
I hate cars, they are a nessesary evil as far as I’m concerned. We drive an old Fiat which is rubbish and costs a fortune in repairs each year but we don’t have enough saved to buy a ‘new’ car. I have a fabulous book to give away on my Chez Aspie blog from Sunday so please stop by and join in the fun.
Just kicked $10 into the Zoot pile, keep the work up there. I love it.
As for the green car, GADS, when will people learn. Green technology
is wonderful but still not practical. I work as a parts peddler for Toyota.
The boys and girls up front have the Prius Hybrid. Great car for 5,000 miles.
But, just like your Honda, it is an experimental car. Second generation.
Parts are effin spensive. If you want something out of the norm, IE, gas
burners, you WILL pay for it. Sorry, I’m from Texas, own a big honkin’ Chevy
truck, have 200 miles a day for work, and pay through the nose for gas.
BUT it is reliable transportation for my work and me and I don’t have to
drag around a contract with a towing service. Get a Corolla. They have
an ECM problem. BUT they have few if any other parts break. Get the
extended warranty and you’ll putter around for years. Best, Phil
Nice post, I must say that I strongly agree with your opinion.