2020 Honda Insight problems & reliability
31 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Honda Insight, alongside 6 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
2 complaints report injuries (2 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2020 Honda Insight vehicles were involved in 3 fatal crashes with 1 occupant death. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Forward Collision Avoidance → | 12 | 39% |
| Electrical System | 7 | 23% |
| Power Train | 5 | 16% |
| Engine | 4 | 13% |
| Service Brakes | 3 | 10% |
| Structure | 3 | 10% |
| Unknown OR Other | 3 | 10% |
| Steering | 2 | 6% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 1 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I was driving to Pilates class and everything was normal but as I reached a railroad crossing the car suddenly and for no reason stopped dead on the tracks. Luckily for me there were no vehicles in front or behind me and there were no trains coming. I was terrified and wasn’t sure what to do but I pushed the Drive…”
Forward Collision Avoidance · filed Aug 2, 2026
“The vehicle unintentionally accelerated while pulling into a parking space. I was depressing the brake to slow down while making the right turn into the space. The engine suddenly revved up (as though you were depressing the gas and brake at the same time) and it accelerated forward (a though you suddenly released the…”
Forward Collision Avoidance · filed Jun 30, 2026
“At approximately 148,000 miles the steering would have an intermittent notchy, or sticky, feeling while driving straight. While driving straight at cruising speed, I noticed that the resistance on the left side of the steering wheel was greater than the right side, then the resistance would decrease suddenly…”
Steering · filed Apr 1, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Engineering Analysis EA25002 · opened Jan 17, 2025 · open
- Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Preliminary Evaluation PE24008 · opened Mar 7, 2024 · closed Jan 17, 2025
- Pedestrian alert sounds
Defect Petition DP22005 · opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000
Technical service bulletins
50 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2020 Honda Insight. The 10 most recent:
Service Bulletin - The ACC system error message comes on while driving when outside temperatures are low/near freezing due to snow and ice getting stuck to the front of the millimeter wave radar. This can cause DTC…
A21-068 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 25, 2023
Service News - If an Adaptive Cruise Control System Problem comes back on when the vehicle is driven in freezing conditions, inform the customer it is likely due to snow or ice buildup on the radar. Advise the customer…
A21080A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 17, 2023
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below. Qualifiers AHM is interested…
ATI&03272023904 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 27, 2023
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below. Qualifiers AHM is interested…
ATI&03102023904 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 10, 2023
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below. Qualifiers AHM is interested…
ATI&02232023903 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 23, 2023
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below. AHM is interested ONLY if the…
ATI&02072023904 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 7, 2023
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below.
ATI&01182023903 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 18, 2023
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below.
ATI&01032023902 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 3, 2023
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below. Qualifiers AHM is interested…
ATI&12132022901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 13, 2022
Dealer Message - American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) is searching for any & all 2018-2022 Accord Hybrids, 2020-2022 CR-V Hybrids & 2019-2022 Insights that match the criteria listed below. Qualifiers AHM is interested…
ATI&11282022907 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 28, 2022
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2020 Honda Insight has 6 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2020 Honda Insight?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.