The 2002 Honda Insight has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 440,000 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 12 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the exterior lighting. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE LOW-BEAM TERMINAL ON THE HEAD LIGHT WIRE HARNESS CAN OVERHEAT AND COULD CAUSE THE LOW BEAMS TO FAIL WITHOUT WARNING.
Consequence
AN UNEXPECTED LOSS OF LOW BEAMS COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE HEAD LIGHT SWITCH AND COUPLER FOR SIGNS OF HEAT DAMAGE. IF HEAT DAMAGE IS PRESENT, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE SWITCH AND COUPLER. IF NO HEAT DAMAGE IS PRESENT, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE HEAD LIGHT SWITCH AND ONE MATING PIN IN THE COUPLER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON APRIL 5, 2004. …
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 honda insight. While driving at various speeds, the low beam headlights failed without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the wiring harness melted and caused the low beam failure and that the light switch…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 honda insight. The contact stated that while driving at 50 mph, the vehicle loss exterior and interior lighting. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 04v086000 (exterior…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 honda insight. The contact stated that whenever the headlights were activated they would fail intermittently at unknown, intervals at random.. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the headlight switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 honda insight. The contact was driving approximately 55 mph with the low beam headlights activated when they suddenly failed to illuminate. Immediately, the high beams were activated. The contact replaced both low beam bulbs and the failure continued. There was a recall…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 2002 honda insight. While driving 35 mph, the low beam switch burned out. The contact smelled a burning odor when the headlights blew out. The dealer state that the vehicle was not included in recall 04v086000 (exterior lighting: headlights). The vehicle had not been…”
“Tl*the contact owns a 2002 honda insight. While driving approximately 50 mph at night, the high beams were activated. When the contact attempted to activate the low beam lights, they completely dimmed. The vehicle was returned to her residence and her husband replaced the bulbs and checked the…”
“When measured with a trifield meter, the electromagnetic field (emf) impacting the driver and passenger are dangerously high. The driver is receiving up to 135 milligauss (mg) at the hip, and up to 100 mg in the upper torso and head area. (under 10 mg is considered safe.) see…”
“While driving on the freeway my low beams went out... Smoke was coming out from the steering wheel... Conducted research and found this recall: id 04v086000 from feb, 24 2004. Called honda and they mentioned that there is no problem with this issue. This is the second time it happens to me. First…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP22005 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2023-08-07
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2002 Honda Insight as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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