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Total NHTSA Complaints
24
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
10 reports (41.7%)
Crash Incident Reports
1
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
1
0 fire • 1 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 24 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2021 Honda Insight. Driver Assistance & Safety Tech issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 10 complaints (41.7% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 24 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech accounts for 41.7% of submissions (10 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Brakes & Traction Control (4), Air Bags & Restraints (3).
  • • Crash Incidents: 1 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 0 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2021 Honda Insight

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech
10
41.7%
Brakes & Traction Control
4
16.7%
Air Bags & Restraints
3
12.5%
Seats & Interior
3
12.5%
Electrical System
3
12.5%
#1 41.7% SHARE

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
#2 16.7% SHARE

Brakes & Traction Control

4 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
#3 12.5% SHARE

Air Bags & Restraints

3 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

⚠️ 1 Crash 🩹 1 Injury
⚠️ 2 Associated Recall Campaigns
#4 12.5% SHARE

Seats & Interior

3 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
Federal Oversight

Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (3)

Formal engineering analyses and preliminary evaluations opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

ODI Action #EA25002 OPEN Engineering Analysis (EA)
Opened: 2025-01-17 • Active
Subject / Subsystem
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Affected Component
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Recall Linkage
No direct recall linkage
On March 7, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24008) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system in model year 2019-2022 Honda Insight and 2019-2022 Honda Passport vehicles. The complainants allege activation of the AEB system with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's path, resulting in rapid vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that it is aware of a total of 412 reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of the AEB system and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints received by ODI allege that Honda dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or state that Honda dealerships informed the consumer that this is considered normal AEB operation. To date, ODI has received a total of 106 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of AEB in the subject vehicles.In total, ODI reviewed 475 reports involving vehicles with unique VINs that may relate to the alleged defect. Of the reports reviewed by ODI, three (3) allege a crash caused by the inadvertent activation of AEB and two (2) allege injury. This Engineering Analysis is being opened to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations. Further, the scope of the investigation is being expanded to include assessment of model year 2023 Honda Passport vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
ODI Action #PE24008 CLOSED Preliminary Evaluation (PE)
Opened: 2024-03-07 • Closed: 2025-01-17
Subject / Subsystem
Inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking
Affected Component
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Recall Linkage
No direct recall linkage
On March 7, 2024, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE24008) to assess reports of inadvertent activation of the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system in model year 2019-2022 Honda Insight and 2019-2022 Honda Passport vehicles. The complainants allege activation of the AEB system with no apparent obstruction in the vehicle's path, resulting in rapid vehicle deceleration. Honda indicated that it is aware of a total of 412 reports that may relate to the alleged defect. Honda provided analysis of the alleged defect and stated that some customers possibly had an inadequate understanding of the AEB system and its limitations. However, many consumer complaints received by ODI allege that Honda dealerships were unable to reproduce the condition or state that Honda dealerships informed the consumer that this is considered normal AEB operation. To date, ODI has received a total of 106 consumer complaints of inadvertent activation of AEB in the subject vehicles.In total, ODI reviewed 475 reports involving vehicles with unique VINs that may relate to the alleged defect. Of the reports reviewed by ODI, three (3) allege a crash caused by the inadvertent activation of AEB and two (2) allege injury. This Preliminary Evaluation is being upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA25002) to further assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences of the inadvertent AEB activations. Further, the scope of the Engineering Analysis is being expanded to include assessment of model year 2023 Honda Passport vehicles. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.
ODI Action #DP22005 CLOSED Defect Petition (DP)
Opened: 2023-01-27 • Closed: 2023-08-07
Subject / Subsystem
Pedestrian alert sounds
Affected Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM
Recall Linkage
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 pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2021 Honda Insight

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Air Bags & Restraints ODI #11742632
Filed: 06/08/2026
🩹 1 Injury

"The contact's daughter owns a 2021 Honda Insight. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's and passenger-side air bags suddenly deployed without impact. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the air bags cracked the..."

Body & Structure ODI #11730558
Filed: 04/11/2026
Defect Report

"There is a massive hood flutter when large vehicle drive towards me going above 50mph. It feels and looks like the hood is not latched correctly and going to open into my windshield. This has happened since I purchase the vehicle new in 2021"

Fuel & Propulsion System ODI #11712835
Filed: 01/23/2026
Defect Report

"Went in for a typical servicing. They noted that the downstream O2 sensor was damaged by rodents. The vehicle, with around 14k has always been stored in a weather tight garage, never stored outside. There has been no rodents in the building since I owned it from 1999. This is a presumptuous..."

Seats & Interior ODI #11707122
Filed: 12/26/2025
Defect Report

"I received a 2021 Insight Seat Weight Sensor Safety Recall in September 2025 saying that recall replacement parts were now available at Honda Dealers. Ever since I received this notice, none of the Atlanta area Honda dealers are able to remedy the defect in my vehicle due to lack of parts, contrary..."

Engine & Cooling ODI #11701339
Filed: 11/24/2025
Defect Report

"Under certain circumstances, the portion of the PCU that controls charging of the 12 volt accessory battery malfunctions, sending the PCU into a "fail safe" mode, preventing battery charging and activating warning displays for the driver. This has caused my vehicle to stall while driving,..."

Multi-Year Trend

Complaint History for Honda Insight

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2019–2022)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2019 Honda Insight 97 12 8 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Honda Insight 31 3 6 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Honda Insight Current Page 24 1 3 Current
2022 Honda Insight 31 0 3 View 2022 Problems →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2021 Honda Insight

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 15 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 7 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 2 1 0 1 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2021 Honda Insight

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2021 Honda Insight

What are the most common reported problems with the 2021 Honda Insight?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2021 Honda Insight is Driver Assistance & Safety Tech, appearing in 10 records (41.7% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Brakes & Traction Control (4) and Air Bags & Restraints (3).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2021 Honda Insight a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 24 consumer defect complaints and 3 safety recall campaigns for the 2021 Honda Insight.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2021 Honda Insight?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2021 Honda Insight, 1 filing cites a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 1 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs

Has NHTSA formally investigated defects on the 2021 Honda Insight?

NHTSA ODI records list 3 formal defect investigations involving the 2021 Honda Insight (1 currently open).

Federal defect investigations are formal engineering evaluations opened when safety defect trends emerge, and do not by themselves establish a confirmed defect or mandatory recall.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Registry
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.