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2012 Honda Insight: excessive oil consumption

29 of the 59 complaints about the 2012 Honda Insight describe excessive oil consumption.

owner complaints
29
of this car's complaints
49%
typical mileage
72,429
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 9 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Excessive oil consumption by model year

What owners say

Filed Jan 9, 2023 · Engine · NE

Oil consumption issues. I can't drive my car 10 feet without dying. I was stuck in traffic when my car died from the issues. Look up TSB 15-015

Filed Oct 5, 2022 · Engine · 82,000 miles · NE

The contact owns a 2012 Honda Insight. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle jerked forward. The contact stated that the check engine, emissions, and ABS warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to park near a gas station. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing an oil consumption test to completed. The dealer informed the contact that the pistons needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

Filed Apr 19, 2021 · Engine · 76,883 miles · PA

Tthis car has safety problems burns oil like crazy , my daughter was driving down 81 when the dash lights came on the car was shaking so she pulled over and called the police who impounded the car 300 to get it out then we had it towed over 100miles . Honda dealer says the spark plug failed and went into the engine . Getting prices on a new engine .

Filed Nov 12, 2020 · Engine · 130,200 miles · TX

About two months ago, my car began fluttering after I started the engine and began accelerating. The power felt reduced as well. Like most people's first instinct, I began checking the oil and noticed the oil appeared low especially considering that I had received an oil change not long before this occurred. Since then I've head to check the oil incessantly and am constantly adding oil to supplement. Then I bergen noticing an oil leak in my drive way and almost anytime I parked somewhere for a short period of time. Then my engine light began coming on telling me to check the vehicle's emissions system. This was an issue I had never seen before. Now I realize this message is illuminated due to a high oil consumption of the vehicle. The final straw that broke the camel's back was, while on the highway my vehicle began losing engine power and could not get above 65 MPH. The engine began making loud puttering noises, that were especially intense while the vehicle was costing and immediately upon accelerating from a complete stop. My fear is that the engine is shot at this point. I'm even more concerned after seeing this is a chronic issue with many owners off this year - make - model. Unfortunately, I purchased this vehicle used and haven't had it even a year.

Filed Oct 19, 2019 · Engine · 89,000 miles · WA

This car is the absolute worst car I have ever owned. The oil consumption is outrageous and the car only has 89k miles on it. It also burns through spark plugs like crazy, I've probably put close to 500 dollars into it at least just in oil and spark plugs this year alone. In the two years I have owned it, it has left me stranded in strange neighborhoods, parking lots, at my job, and at my home because of it throwing the spark plugs with no warning. Upon changing the plugs, all cylinders, especially four, are filled with oil. Most recently, I changed the spark plugs in my work parking lot, and refilled the oil. A week later, I found myself repeating the same process because it killed the plugs again. I have been driving down the road and suddenly lost acceleration, in traffic, and had my dash light up like a christmas tree. To the best of my knowledge, the 2012 and 2013 engine contains experimental piston rings, which are clearly faulty. Not just by my own account, but by countless others as well. I do not have five grand to replace the engine or have it rebuilt, and I should not have to. Honda needs to be held responsible for their mistake and should be forced to recall these engines. The consumers who purchased these vehicles should not be forced to pay for something that is out of their control. These cars are ticking time bombs, I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy. I will be filing complaints with honda itself as well as the bbb in addition to this one. Please do something about this, I saw how many other complaints you have received in regards to this issue. It's time to do something about this instead of ignoring it and letting honda get away with it. If it died on the freeway, which it almost has, it would become a serious threat to my safety and those around me.

Filed Jul 26, 2019 · Engine · 68,000 miles · OK

I have a 2012 honda insight with 80000 miles and am having excessive oil consumption at 1 quart of oil per 2000 miles of driving per the dealership. Honda says this is acceptable and only a problem at 1 quart per 1000 miles driven. I have read the concerns and the vehicle has poorly seated rings due to a design defect admitted by honda. My concern is this is resulting in loss of compression and resulting total loss of power leaving people with vehicles rolling down the road and then the engine drops out totally. This is a safety issue, environmental issue and of course customer theft issue.

Filed Apr 30, 2019 · Engine · 72,429 miles · WI

My honda insight 2012 is burning oil. After an oil change I drive around 800 miles I'm 1/2 quart low on oil. This is not normal at all.

Filed Dec 16, 2018 · Engine, Fuel system · 112,000 miles · CA

Oil consumption and shaking

Filed Dec 3, 2018 · Engine · 3,500 miles · CA

My honda insight 2012 is burning oil. After an oil change I drive around 3500 mile and the red engine oil warning light comes on. First time it happened I took the car ,like 3-4 years ago, to the dealer. They replaced the piston rings under warranty but it did not solve the problem. I am dealing with this problem for the last around 3-4 years. It always happens after around 3500 mile, I get the red light. I take it to dealer and dealer starts oil consumption test and tells me nothing is wrong. They did oil consumption test 4 or 5 times already. One time they told me that they had to add 3.5 quart oil and the engine block needs to be replaced since piston rings are already replaced. I was inexperienced to not get a written document stating they added 3.5 quart oil. Then they told me that they will contact honda about it. A few days later they called me and said honda thinks it is normal. Recently due to job change I drive very little that is why it takes time for me to regenerate the problem but I know it happens. It happened like 5 times so far. The extended warranty will end in 2020. I have like a year to demonstrate it. Some people had power loss issues on freeway. I did not have that so far because I do not take long freeway rides when I reach to 2k mile after last oil change. We use my wife's car if I have to take freeway.

Filed Sep 17, 2018 · Engine · 136,113 miles · VA

My daughter's honda insight experienced the excessive oil consumption issue. Her vehicle later had severe engine problems and stalled at 6:00 am on I-64. A honda dealership diagnosed the problem as damage to cylinder, piston, cylinder head and valves of cylinder number 3. All other cylinders were within normal operating conditions. My complaint is that the notice sent to consumers omitted that the excessive oil consumption could lead to engine failure and an accident. Consumers with little or no mechanical knowledge who purchased this vehicle used, may not be aware of the problem and will not be aware of the risk and severity of the problem. Those who notice excessive oil consumption may assume that it is from age and not a design defect that could place their life in danger. The service bulletin sent by honda to its dealerships is almost identical to that provided the consumer with one exception. The service bulletin included additional information describing the potential damage to the engine from the manufacture's defect. When the natural consequences of this manufacture's defect occur it the engine immediately loses power and will not run. In my daughter's case it was early in the morning with little traffic. However, she was on I-64 about to merge onto I-95. Had the engine failed at a later time in the day she would have lost power in traffic on a major highway. Vehicles behind her would have no reason to expect a sudden loss of acceleration. The potential for rear-end collisions and/or crashes while the operator of this model honda is attempting to exit the highway with no power is very high.

Filed Jun 14, 2017 · CA

Excessive oil consumption at approximately 60,000 miles. Check emission system light on, low oil however oil light does not alert me. Have to regularly add oil between recommended oil changes.

Filed Jun 6, 2017 · Engine · 84,000 miles · FL

The spark plugs failed during driving on the highway resulting in a dangerous situation. I later learned that the spark plugs failed because 2 of the cylinders were burning excessive oil. Honda has recalled this car due to excessive oil consumption but has refused to reimbursement me after I had the car repaired.

Service bulletins that may apply

Related recalls

No recalls on record for this model year.

Questions about the 2012 Honda Insight oil consumption

Is excessive oil consumption a common problem on the 2012 Honda Insight?

29 of 59 owner complaints about the 2012 Honda Insight (49%) mention excessive oil consumption. The model year with the most reports is 2012.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2012 Honda Insight?

There are 0 recalls and 9 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2012 Honda Insight

Stalling 7Check engine light 5Engine failure 5

All model years of the Honda Insight

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