NHTSA (USA)Critical
At a glance
This page covers 10 recalls, 118 owner complaints and EPA fuel economy for the 2010 Honda Insight.
41 mpg combined
5.7 L/100km
Compact Cars
Fuel economy data from fueleconomy.gov (EPA / U.S. Dept. of Energy). Annual cost based on 15,000 mi/yr at 55% city driving and current fuel prices. MPG is U.S. gallons; L/100km converted. Ranges reflect the 2 tested variants for this model year.
Complaints about the 2010 Honda Insight cluster most heavily around two areas: airbags and rear structural corrosion. The airbag complaints make up the largest share of reports by a wide margin, with owners describing unexpected deployments, non-deployments during collisions, and concerns about airbag system behavior in crashes. The structural complaints center on the rear subframe area, where multiple owners, particularly in rust-belt and northern states, report severe corrosion at the points where the rear trailing arms attach to the subframe. Owners describe the deterioration as significant enough to fail state safety inspections, with inspectors flagging the possibility of rear wheel collapse. Several owners note the corrosion appears after normal use and road salt exposure, and the issue has been confirmed at dealerships and inspection stations in multiple cases.
118
Total Complaints
21
Crash-Related
7
With Injuries
By System
The 2010 Honda Insight has 10 recalls, all involving the frontal airbag inflators — the most serious being defective inflators on both the driver and passenger sides that can explode and send metal fragments into the cabin, causing serious injury or death.
The core danger covers both airbag positions: passenger-side inflators on certain vehicles can rupture violently during deployment, and driver-side inflators carry the same risk. These are the same class of inflator defect affecting both sides of the front seat, meaning either occupant can be struck by metal shrapnel in a crash that triggers airbag deployment. Prior repair attempts did not fully resolve the issue for all affected vehicles, which is why multiple rounds of recalls exist for the same underlying problem.
The remaining recalls address a related but distinct concern: replacement airbag inflators that were installed incorrectly during earlier repair visits. In some cases, a dealership may have fitted the wrong or improperly seated passenger-side inflator, which can cause the airbag to deploy incorrectly in a crash rather than exploding outright, but still raising the risk of injury to the front passenger. These installation-quality concerns span several separate recall filings, each targeting vehicles where a prior replacement may not have been performed correctly. The result is that some vehicles may have gone through a repair cycle and still have an airbag that will not perform as intended when needed most.
At a glance
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Complaints are owner-reported and reflect individual experiences, not confirmed defects. They are distinct from recalls. Data sourced from the national vehicle safety complaint database. See trending complaints →
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator may explode due to propellant breakdown from long-term exposure to high humidity, heat, and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The driver frontal air bag inflator may explode due to propellant breakdown from long-term exposure to high humidity, temperature, and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The front passenger air bag inflator may have been installed incorrectly during a previous replacement, potentially affecting its ability to deploy properly.
What the fix does
Dealers will inspect the inflator installation and replace the passenger front air bag module assembly if needed, at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator may explode due to propellant breakdown from long-term exposure to humidity, heat, and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger front air bag inflator at no charge.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The front passenger air bag may have been installed incorrectly during replacement, potentially affecting its ability to deploy properly in a crash.
What the fix does
Dealers will inspect the passenger air bag and replace the module assembly if needed, at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger frontal air bag inflator may explode due to propellant degradation from long-term exposure to high humidity, temperature, and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
Replacement passenger front air bag inflators may have been incorrectly installed at one dealership, potentially affecting proper deployment.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the passenger front air bag module assembly at no cost.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The front passenger air bag inflator may rupture during a crash due to propellant degradation from long-term exposure to humidity and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator at no cost when parts become available.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
The passenger front air bag inflator may rupture during a crash due to propellant degradation from long-term exposure to humidity and temperature changes.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.
At a glance
What can fail
Moisture can seep into the dual-stage driver frontal air bag inflator over time, potentially causing it to rupture.
What the fix does
Dealers will replace the air bag inflator at no cost to you.
Summarized — see the official notice for exact wording, dates, and contacts.