What are the common problems with the 2012 Honda Insight?
Owners of the 2012 Honda Insight have filed 59 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine (36) and the airbags (11). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 39 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 59 owner complaints on the 2012 Honda Insight. Owners named the engine most often: 36 complaints, and half of the 32 that list a mileage came after 69,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 59 complaints, 1 reports a crash, none reports a fire and none reports an injury. These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2012 Insight
NHTSA's file holds 59 owner complaints on the 2012 Honda Insight. Owners named the engine most often: 36 complaints, and half of the 32 that list a mileage came after 69,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 36 | 32 | 70,000 |
| Air Bags | 11 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 3 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 3 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Seats | 2 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 59 complaints, 1 reports a crash, none reports a fire and none reports an injury. These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2012 Insight
The 39 mileages owners gave run from 400 to 136,113 miles. A quarter are at or under 55,600 miles, half at or under 69,000, three quarters at or under 95,000 and nine in ten at or under 119,000; 7 (18%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2012 Insight wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 32 of the 39 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2012 Insight can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 400 miles |
| 25th percentile | 55,600 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 69,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 95,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 119,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 136,113 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 7 (18%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Is the 2012 Insight a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2012 is a good or a bad Insight: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2012 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 59 complaints, the 2012 ranks 2nd of the 4 Honda Insight model years from 2010 to 2013 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2010 (119). The fewest: the 2011 (41).
NHTSA files the Honda Insight name for 2000–2006, 2010–2014 and 2019–2022. A gap of three or more model years means the name covers different vehicles, so the 2012 is compared only with the 2010–2014 model years.
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Insight | 119 | 56 | 40,000 |
| 2011 Insight | 41 | 16 | 20,000 |
| 2012 (this page) | 59 | 39 | 69,000 |
| 2013 Insight | 45 | 31 | 60,000 |
2012 Honda Insight recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 8 recall campaigns that name the 2012 Honda Insight. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 19V502000 | Jun 27, 2019 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 19V378000 | May 16, 2019 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 18V661000 | Sep 27, 2018 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 18V268000 | Apr 26, 2018 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
| 18V042000 | Jan 9, 2018 | AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2012 Insight lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2012 Insight.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 20 of the 59 complaints on the 2012 Honda Insight give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: INSIGHT. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: INSIGHT.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2012 Honda Insight questions
What are the most common 2012 Honda Insight problems?
NHTSA's file holds 59 owner complaints on the 2012 Honda Insight. Owners named the engine most often: 36 complaints, and half of the 32 that list a mileage came after 69,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 59 complaints, 1 reports a crash, none reports a fire and none reports an injury. These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2012 Honda Insight?
Of the 39 complaints on the 2012 Honda Insight that list mileage, the middle half came between 55,000 and 95,000 miles; 7 (18%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2012 Insight can cover.
Is the 2012 Honda Insight a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2012 is a good or a bad Insight: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2012 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 59 complaints, the 2012 ranks 2nd of the 4 Honda Insight model years from 2010 to 2013 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2010 (119). The fewest: the 2011 (41).
How many recalls does the 2012 Honda Insight have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 8 recall campaigns that name the 2012 Honda Insight. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2012 Honda Insight before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2012 Honda Insight.