NHTSA Complaint #10039037 — 2000 HONDA INSIGHT

THE ELECTRIC MOTOR ASSIST (IMA) IN MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY AND UNPREDICTABLY LOSES POWER ON A FREQUENT BASIS. THIS CAUSES A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF POWER THROUGH A PROCESS CALLED "RECALIBRATING" IN WHICH THE BATTERIES BECOME FULLY DISCHARGED, AND THEN RECHARGE AGAIN VERY SLOWLY OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. AS THE IMA IS A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF POWER FOR THE VEHICLE, THE SUDDEN LOSS HAS ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT ON AT LEAST THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS. THE BATTERIES FOR THE IMA SEEM TO BEHAVE IN A WAY THAT SUGGESTS THE BATTERIES HAVE LOST A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THEIR ORIGINAL POWER, WHILE HONDA HAS SETUP VERY CAREFUL LEGAL LANGUAGE TO DENY OTHERWISE. *JB