2021 Honda Insight reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2021 Honda Insight has 25 complaints with NHTSA after 6 years, or 4 per year. That is about even with the other Insight years here. Their median is 4 complaints per year. NHTSA has 3 recalls on file, including Front passenger seat weight sensor and DC/DC converter.

2020 Honda Insight Touring — Photo by Kevauto, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Forward collision avoidance (8 of 25), then Service brakes (4) and Air bags (3). Complaints that include an odometer have a median of 4,250 miles. Those filings include 1 that reports a crash and 1 that reports an injury.

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 Insight has 31 complaints, 6 per year, and the 2022 has 32 complaints, 6 per year. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2022.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2021 Honda Insight. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (3)

Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2026-05-21 · NHTSA campaign 26V332000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2018-2021, 2023 Acura TLX, 2019-2024 RDX, 2017-2020, 2022-2026 MDX, 2017-2021, 2023, 2025 Honda Ridgeline, 2017-2022 Pilot, 2019-2021 Passport, 2018-2026 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Insight, 2019-2021 HR-V, 2018-2020 Fit, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrid, 2017-2022 CR-V, 2017-2018, 2021 Civic Type R, 2017-2021 Civic hatchback, 2016-2020 Civic coupe, 2016-2022 Civic, 2017-2022 Accord Hybrid, and 2016-2022 Accord vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, which can cause the air bags to deploy unintentionally during a crash.

Remedy Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 7, 2026. Owners may contact Honda's customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are BOL, WO9, OOA, WOM, XOH, NOC, POD, BOE, UOF, POB, EOG, AOI, QO8, TOJ, DO7, and SOK. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 24V064. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning May 29, 2026.

Vehicles affected 98,892

Recall Front passenger seat weight sensor 2024-02-01 · NHTSA campaign 24V064000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Pilot, Accord, Civic sedan, HR-V, Odyssey, 2020 Civic coupe, Fit, 2021-2022 Civic hatchback, 2021 Civic Type R, Insight, 2020-2021 CR-V, CR-V Hybrid, Passport, Ridgeline, Accord Hybrid, 2020 Acura MDX, 2022 Acura MDX, 2020-2022 Acura RDX, and 2020-2021 Acura TLX vehicles. The front passenger seat weight sensor may crack and short circuit, failing to suppress the air bag as intended.

Remedy Dealers will replace the seat weight sensors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 28, 2024. This is a phased recall. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for these recalls are XHP and VHQ.

Vehicles affected 750,114

Recall DC/DC converter 2020-12-17 · NHTSA campaign 20V798000

Summary Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2020 CR-V Hybrid, Accord Hybrid, and 2020-2021 Insight vehicles. The DC-DC converter may shut down and prevent the 12-volt battery from recharging, possibly resulting in a loss of drive power.

Remedy Honda will notify owners, and dealers will update the power converter unit (PCU) software, free of charge. The recall began February 12, 2021. Owners can contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is K9E.

Vehicles affected 27,838

NHTSA's count is every vehicle in that campaign. A campaign can cover other model years and other models.

Complaints by component (25 total)

Forward collision avoidance

Service brakes

Air bags

Electrical system

Seats

Engine

Exterior lighting

Fuel and propulsion system

Lane departure

Powertrain

Speed control

Structure

Show 4 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Of the 4 complaints that include an odometer reading, the median is 4,250 miles.

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"The Honda infotainment screens have a history of "Phantom Touches". I have replaced my infotainment system once under warranty. The problem is that while out in sunlight the vehicle's infotainment system will randomly…"
Unknown or other · filed 2026-09-21
"The contact's daughter owns a 2021 Honda Insight. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's and passenger-side air bags suddenly deployed without impact. There…"
Air bags · filed 2026-06-08
"There is a massive hood flutter when large vehicle drive towards me going above 50mph. It feels and looks like the hood is not latched correctly and going to open into my windshield. This has happened since I purchase…"
Structure · filed 2026-04-11
"Went in for a typical servicing. They noted that the downstream O2 sensor was damaged by rodents. The vehicle, with around 14k has always been stored in a weather tight garage, never stored outside. There has been no…"
Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2026-01-23
"I received a 2021 Insight Seat Weight Sensor Safety Recall in September 2025 saying that recall replacement parts were now available at Honda Dealers. Ever since I received this notice, none of the Atlanta area Honda…"
Seats · filed 2025-12-26

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2021 Honda INSIGHT 4 DR FWD	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars	5 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim	Engine	Transmission	Drive	City	Hwy	Combined	Annual fuel cost
Insight	1.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	55	49	52 MPG	$1250
Insight Touring	1.5L, 4-cyl	Automatic (variable gear ratios)	Front-wheel drive	51	45	48 MPG	$1350

Specs and fitment

3rd generation, 2019–2022

Body styles Sedan

Oil 0W-20 , 3.5 qt capacity

Tire size 215/55R16 (LX/EX) to 215/50R17 (Touring)

Known issues for this generation

In December 2020, Honda recalled 2020-2021 Insight hybrids alongside the 2020 CR-V Hybrid and Accord Hybrid (NHTSA 20V-798, 27,838 vehicles across all three models) for a DC-DC converter defect: transistors with an out-of-spec dopant concentration could raise output voltage in cold weather and shut the converter down, which prevents the 12-volt battery from recharging and can cause a loss of drive power. Dealers update the power converter unit software free of charge. Separately, 2019-2020 Insights are covered by NHTSA recall 20V-314 and its expansion 21V-215, both for a low-pressure in-tank fuel pump that may fail; the impeller can swell and seize, producing a stored P0087 code, a stall while driving, or a no-start. Dealers replace the fuel pump assembly at no charge. NHTSA also has an open engineering analysis, EA25002, opened January 2025 after upgrading preliminary evaluation PE24008, into the automatic emergency braking system activating with no apparent obstruction on 2019-2022 Insight and Passport vehicles. ODI has logged 106 consumer complaints and reviewed 475 reports, of which three allege a crash and two allege injury.

Compare

Previous year 2020 Honda Insight Next year 2022 Honda Insight See every Honda Insight model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Honda Insight reliable?

What are common problems with a 2021 Honda Insight?

Is the 2021 Honda Insight more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2020 Insight has 31 complaints, 6 per year, and the 2022 has 32 complaints, 6 per year. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has fewer complaints per year than the 2022.

Has the 2021 Honda Insight been recalled?

The 2021 Honda Insight has 3 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2021 Honda Insight?

Owners have filed 25 complaints about the 2021 Honda Insight with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Honda Insight get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 Honda Insight is 50 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

How many generations of the Honda Insight are there?

This database covers two: a 2nd-generation hatchback (2010-2014) and a 3rd-generation sedan (2019-2022), with a four-year gap between them.

Does the Honda Insight have hybrid battery problems?

2010-2012 models are covered by Honda service bulletin SB-14-064 for an IMA battery software "memory effect" that can show up as reduced capacity or a stored P0A7F code; the remedy is a free control-module software update.