I love that cartoon. It was very funny. But "The Ambiguously Insight Duo" does not flow well. I do need a name for my Insight. My Prius name is Infrared. I also need a good vanity license plate. Since I have BOO GAS for the Prius I'm thinking HATE GAS for the Insight. Or try to get two plates that go together for both cars. Would people get GAS BOO if I put it on the Insight?
Well I got the bill from Honda. Here is what they said. Found that battery control module and control unit (motor control module) needs to be replaced. Battery control module is under extended warranty but MCM is not. Total to replace $1028.10 + tax. I seen where Ron said he sold the the MCM for $200. I sent an email off to him to see what I should do.
Overall, that sounds like good news. I suspect the MCM is not really bad, but just updated out of warranty.
Hmm, and I sold my spare pair to somebody who wanted to sell them on Ebay. I got $100 for the pair. I say, leave the old ones in place. Nothing wrong with them but the programming, as I understand it. The 2000 programming burns through battery packs faster but gives you better mpg than the newer programming.
So the MCM is not covered under the 10/150 even when it says it needs to be replaced under the service bulletin? I would think this should all be covered since they are all related. Ron mentioned to me in a email about if I get tired of the new BCM to let him know because he as some older computers. I asked him about that but he never responded. I'm wondering if I can have them just replace the in warranty parts? Is there any down side to the MCM thats in there now if it does not really need to be replaced?
OK so I have been searching for hours and I cannot find any information on why the BCM is covered under the 10/150 and the MCM is not. Can anyone here tell me this information? The way I read the service bulletin is that the battery, BCM, and MCM will need to be replaced and according to the sample letter to customers these items will be replaced free of charge. Implying that all three are covered under the 10/150 warranty.
I will try to find my work order, but I am pretty sure the MCM was changed out too at 135,000 along with the BCM and battery for free.
Jay, your reading is correct. For later model (like mine), only two of the three need to be replaced (and only two were replaced in mine). It sounds to me as though someone hasn't noticed there is a difference between the the earliest models and slightly newer ones. I suggest you point this out to the SM as the service bulletin spells this out specifically. Compare the section for an '02 to the one for a 2000 and you'll see the difference.
Yeah I'm guessing the service manager either read it wrong or they are just trying to screw me out of $1000. I'm going to call them first thing Monday.
Well I just got back from my local Honda dealer and I got some good news. First off they wont replace the MCM under warranty because of this updated service bulletin. Service bulletin 04-028 updated april 30, 2010 http://stuff.jaygroh.com/insight/04-028.pdf Now I could have argued with them about that and got the MCM replaced but from what I understand there is nothing wrong with my current BCM and MCM its just that the new ones more aggressively protect the battery. I'm not worried about protecting the battery with the new computers because I only have about 5 months left on the battery anyway if I get it replaced. Here is the good news. I asked them if they would just replace the battery and they said they would. So now I'm just waiting for them to get the battery and schedule an appointment to get it installed.
So I take it your MCM PN is one of the 3 listed in the linked PDF? If this is the case, why are they insisting it needs to be replaced in the first place? In any case, it sounds like you've determined a satisfactory resolution.
I dont know what the part number is on mine but they said it needed to be replaced. I still don't understand why they claim the BCM is covered but not the MCM. Even if they did replace the BCM and MCM I would have replaced them with the older versions anyway. As long as they replace the battery I'll be happy.
Got the battery replaced today. On the way there I got 72.5MPG. Thats without the battery and I dont know how to drive a stick. On the way back I was only able to get about 63MPG. Mainly because I did not know how the auto stop function and stalled the car a few times. Anyway I made it back home with a full battery and a full tank of gas. Now I just have to lean to drive it. Then learn how to hypermile it.
I say if I can get 72.5MPG with out the help of a battery on about same roads as my normal commute I should be able to get pretty close to 100MPG if I learn to exploit the car. My best in a regular Prius was around 70MPG. The insight was just easy. I did not even try that hard to hypermile because I was concentrating on not stalling the car.
Jay, the battery isn't going to help your mileage unless you install a plug and MIMA. Otherwise the same pitfalls as usual apply -- it costs more in terms of efficiency to charge the battery back up than if you never use it at all.
Well it should help me out with the auto stop since I dont know how to fully exploit the Insight. I think it might take me a year or two before I'm comfortable with the manual transmission and can start doing more advanced things. I plan on buying MIMA before he runs out of them. Dont know when I will install it. Might be after I'm use to driving it first but I want to get it soon before they are all gone. As far as plugging in I dont know if I want to turn it into a PHEV or not. I'm thinking if I do add a plug I will turn the car into an EV. I just dont know if I could do that if the car is still in working condition. Its such a great highway car I would hate to turn it into a local commuter. Although I think I could fit about 150 miles worth of batteries in the thing.
