Bought a 2000 Honda Insight ! ! ! - Page 5 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Tango Charlie · 03-30-2012, 03:19 PM

I jinxed it. Time to eat crow.

Tango Charlie · 03-31-2012, 01:58 AM

Windshield wiper position does indeed have an effect on how much wind noise is generated. Another thing added to the "to-do" list.

Wipers "up"; i.e., where they come to rest after being operated (=more wind noise):

Wipers "down"; i.e., pushed down manually (=less wind noise):

Tango Charlie · 04-03-2012, 09:50 AM

Did an oil and filter change last night.

I figured the Insight, being aluminum and all fancy 'n stuff, deserved a new hydraulic service jack. So I picked up a nice aluminum 1-1/2 ton Craftsman. I purposefully bought a smaller one so that when the wife volunteers me to do a free brake job on somebody's Explorer, I can say, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, but I can't do it- my jack can't lift your FREAKING TANK!"

Anyway, the oil change provided my first opportunity to poke around underneath the car. While loosening the drain plug, it seemed the entire engine swung and rocked quite a bit. Which got me looking at the mounts. Yup, the rubber insert is sheared in the aft mount. Dang, another $83.

I knew the belly panels were not installed, the seller had put them in the back of the car after she had run over a coon and ripped them off. Man, that must've been one hard-headed coon! The front mounting brackets for the panels are all boogered. I'll have to either straighten them or get new ones before I can fab up some coroplast replacements.

Oh, one more thing; I buffed the headlight lenses. A coworker swore that avocado was the best thing to use, so I tried it. They're cheap and the wife loves guacamole, so what's to lose, right?. After rubbing for ten minutes, I quit. It sorta worked, but left a lot to be desired. I was actually surprised how much it did work. But I finished them off with a Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer kit, and they look awesome. Then I went inside and had chips and guacamole.

I'd post pictures (of the headlights, not the guacamole), but the home computer is kaput, and I forgot to get the SD card out of the camera this morning. Bugger!

Tango Charlie · 04-04-2012, 02:46 PM

First fill-up...(drumroll)... 58.2 mpg.

Daaaaaaannnng.
539 miles on 9.25 gallons? Are you kidding me?
Don't tell Olivia, but I think I'm falling in love.

Daox · 04-04-2012, 02:50 PM

Nice job! I'm sure that'll go up too as you get more comfortable with the car and learn new driving techniques for it.

MetroMPG · 04-04-2012, 02:51 PM

How close was that to the on-board fuel consumption gauge?

Did you reset one of the A/B trip gauges when you got it? I also reset my car's "lifetime" fuel consumption tally when I started driving it.

Tango Charlie · 04-04-2012, 03:13 PM

Thanks, Daox. I agree. Definitely still on the learning curve.

Metro, that's the rub. The Trip buttons don't work. Well, the Trip button works; I can toggle between A and B (if I push reeeeal hard), but the "-" and "+" don't. I've tried Silverinsight2's suggestion of wiggling them to clean their contacts, but no joy. I have yet to install the electric window switch that the previous owner had bought but not installed. When I have that apart I'm hoping I can access the trip function buttons. I know you've been asking around for feedback on the accuracy of the on-board meter, and I've been wondering too. Sorry I'm of no help. Yet.

MetroMPG · 04-04-2012, 03:24 PM

Does the "segment" reset button on the extreme left side of the dash (outside of the cluster) work? You could use that as a trip meter as well. The car really has four meters: lifetime, A, B and "segment".

silverinsight2 · 04-04-2012, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tango Charlie

Thanks, Daox. I agree. Definitely still on the learning curve.

Metro, that's the rub. The Trip buttons don't work. Well, the Trip button works; I can toggle between A and B (if I push reeeeal hard), but the "-" and "+" don't. I've tried Silverinsight2's suggestion of wiggling them to clean their contacts, but no joy. I have yet to install the electric window switch that the previous owner had bought but not installed. When I have that apart I'm hoping I can access the trip function buttons. I know you've been asking around for feedback on the accuracy of the on-board meter, and I've been wondering too. Sorry I'm of no help. Yet.

Try these links
Long writeup of trip button repair - Insight Central: Honda Insight Forum
Trip button doesn't work - Insight Central: Honda Insight Forum

Highwater is fixing these for free, but I can't find a link.

Tango Charlie · 04-04-2012, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Does the "segment" reset button on the extreme left side of the dash (outside of the cluster) work?

You mean the FCD button? Yes, it works fine. Before leaving work, I checked the owners manual regarding the trip meter. Turns out you hold down the Trip button (not the "-" button) to zero it out. So I did that. Ouch, my poor thumb!

Boy, this car sure has a lot of buttons. And a butt-load of TLA's. My A&P experience in GA is a help. Reminds me of the time when a VLJ was on the ILS at EKM. It was IMC but the PIC and ATC knew that an SNJ with GPS had just made their ETA, so they used the VOR and ADF. Which was good, because then the CAP didn't have to look for their ELT...

I could do this all day...