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I was pretty heavily involved in the G1 Insight community, and still admin the Facebook page. In my decade of ownership, I never had a battery issue. However, it had received a new hybrid battery from Honda under warranty a few years before I bought the car. I eventually sold the battery from my 250k mile car for around $800 and put in a high performance (non-hybrid) engine to goof off with for a few years.
- It's pretty much to be assumed when buying a (2000-2006) Insight that it has a bad battery, or will have one soon.
- Heat kills batteries faster. I would think twice about owning a hybrid in an extremely hot climate.
- Aftermarket batteries are as good as their warranty. The owners of many of the aftermarket battery companies are also enthusiasts and are involved in the communities, so there is a degree of trust there - even knowing the batteries are only good for 4-5 years.
- Brand new aftermarket Chinese cells don't seem to hold out much better than 15-20 year old OEM cells that have been handpicked.
- Bumblebee sells a decent battery. $2000 for a Camry, $1400-2000 for an Insight.
- To my knowledge, Honda's IMA system is the only one that will run with a completely failed or absent hybrid battery.
I briefly had an electrical issue (caused by a water leak, caused by my own tinkering) that disabled my hybrid system, and I found it difficult to live with how much slower the car was. Fuel economy was down maybe... 10%? Later, I drove the car for around a year with a voluntarily removed battery, and found that, under the condition of having consciously removed it, I really didn't mind driving the car without it. Sure, it was slower, but more like "normal 80's economy car" slow. In other words, context was key.
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This time around, I purchased a non-hybrid, but not because I wouldn't trust owning one. However, this being the newest car I've ever owned (at 7 years old), I actually view a lot of the electronics in it rather dubiously. For instance, if the infotainment system dies, I have no idea how affected the rest of the car would be. A lot of critical settings reside in it, and I'm not sure if needs to be functional for them to work.
Off the top of my head, this car's complex electronics include:
-Infotainment
-Keyless entry and start
-Push-to-start button
-Light sensing headlights
-Headlights that follow the steering angle
-Automatic wipers
-Lane detection
-Backup radar
-Backup camera
-Blind spot detection
-Automatic rolldown of the windows when latching and unlatching the top
-Automatic equalizer depending on if the top is up or down
-Traction and stability control
The engine controls are also wicked sensitive. It has a 14:1 compression ratio and gets away with this by controlling ignition timing very reactively, and to a tenth of a degree. How is that going to age?
So much of this is controlled by a nest of computers and relays. While electronics don't seem too bothered by miles, they DO fail with age. I can see it becoming a basket case once gremlins begin, even without a hybrid system.
That said, I don't see the alternative. With any luck the car will last until car ownership is no longer the standard. Meanwhile there are plenty of 34 year old Miatas still on the road, because they're less complex than a modern toaster oven.
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