Got mine inspected and then fixed last week. 3 hour job to get it fixed, 1 hour to get into the car's fuel pump. The failure is due to a material used by the supplier, which can fail and absorb fuel, causing the fuel pump to fail. Not Honda's fault, supplier probably didnt correctly tread the mechanism.
Fuel Pump Recall - repair experiences
chambej5
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I skimmed through the four pages of this thread but didn't get caught up on the "fuel pump recall gone wrong" thread. My reschedule is for August and it seems I'm inclined to do it after a big road trip rather than just before and encounter problems on the road.
Maybe pumping out fuel out of the vehicle is going above and beyond to reduce fuel escape inside the vehicle contributing to lingering fuel odors. Either way, I'm going to try to make it easier on the techs by rolling in with the 1.6 gallons left in reserve.
Just wish that having schedule the appointment online through the dealer's portal (trying to do so through HondaLink failed) that they could have seen my note about the fuel pump and told me so to bring it in empty. Either way, it buys me time now so that the dealership gets very experienced about doing these before they get to mine.
Maybe pumping out fuel out of the vehicle is going above and beyond to reduce fuel escape inside the vehicle contributing to lingering fuel odors. Either way, I'm going to try to make it easier on the techs by rolling in with the 1.6 gallons left in reserve.
Just wish that having schedule the appointment online through the dealer's portal (trying to do so through HondaLink failed) that they could have seen my note about the fuel pump and told me so to bring it in empty. Either way, it buys me time now so that the dealership gets very experienced about doing these before they get to mine.
I had a fuel pump done in my Odyssey a few years ago. The dealer made it a point to tell me to bring it in with 1/4 tank or less. I would assume the same would apply for any vehicle for safety reasons. I believe, in the case of the Odyssey, they needed to drop the tank. This is not the case with the Insight.
I will definitely contact Honda and let them know what dealership did to my Insight.
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Just re-read your original post and was reminded that your original recall repair was done at one dealer, then re-repaired at a second dealer. Is the original dealer aware of the issue they created, and the incorrect step noted by the second dealer?
I wonder if the "incorrect" step relates to o-ring installation, which Honda has added / clarified in the revised repair instructions.
My vehicle was towed to a second dealership far from my home, but the second dealership didn't fix the problem. They told me to contact the dealership which did the recall incorrectly to come, pick up the vehicle and re-fix the issue. The vehicle was towed to the first dealership, and they fixed the issue. Since then, I don't have any problem, but I am worried after expiration of my powertrain warranty.
I would get something signed and in writing about this just in case. Either from Honda corporate or the dealership itself.
The gas smell in the car dissipated pretty quickly with the windows down. I don't think it was from any spillage (at least not in the interior), but just exposing the fuel tank is my guess. Not a big deal. There definitely was some fuel lost though. I think I took it in with 4 bars on the fuel gauge and got it back with 2 bars. And no mileage was added. Also I generally get around 430 to 450 miles of range on a tank (when the fuel gauge gets to 0, at which point there's still about a gallon in the tank). Looking at the range remaining at the moment, I'm going to get around 360 miles on the current tank. So by my math it looks like ~1.5 gallons of fuel was lost in the repair process.
By the way, my dealer is one of the largest in the country so I had the benefit of them having done some of these recall repairs already. They knew right away they'd need to order parts in advance, so I didn't have to wait for that, and they were able to estimate the time it would take and stuck to the estimate.
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Hi, I’m new to the forum, and thought I’d post about my fuel pump recall experience. I have a 2019 Insight Touring, purchased in August of 2019. I’m mostly a city driver and just crossed 8k miles. I had gotten my oil changed at the dealership in February and am still at 70%, but wanted them to check out a persistent rattle in my sunroof that was cramping my style. I was informed of the recall when calling to schedule a time for the sunroof investigation, last Thursday. They scheduled me for service on Monday. When I arrived, my service advisor stated, “I hope they ordered the parts for this because they’re controlled-access parts.” They in fact had not, but my SA had ordered another set for a car that was scheduled for the replacement the next day which they ended up using for my car. I dropped it off for the day (around 9, my drop off time was scheduled at 10:30 but needed to car share with my husband and get him to work) and didn’t check in until around 3:30, at which point my SA said they were just finishing up and getting paperwork together. I received the official text that it was ready around 4:10 or so.
I didn’t really think too much about this recall repair, and am fortunate to have had a serendipitous experience with regard to the parts ordering. I had 2-3 bars on my fuel gauge also; I wasn’t really aware that less fuel would be better, so this was another coincidence. I did notice that my MPG had dropped by .8 or so for my tank when I picked it up (someone must have been racecar driving when diagnosing or testing it), but quickly recouped some of that on my way home. No fuel smell whatsoever.
Although I only drove about 15 miles home via city streets, I noticed that my acceleration was crisper when I had to quickly merge into traffic...and maybe quieter too. Prior to the repair, I noticed my idle to be a bit funky when starting up the car, and I think that has improved as well.
I am very glad that I had this repair done, and that I didn’t overthink it and get stressed out because of others’ experiences. My dealership is well-established and has taken very good care of me, so they’ve earned my trust.
And the sunroof rattle was fixed too! It’s like I’m driving a brand-new car again!
I didn’t really think too much about this recall repair, and am fortunate to have had a serendipitous experience with regard to the parts ordering. I had 2-3 bars on my fuel gauge also; I wasn’t really aware that less fuel would be better, so this was another coincidence. I did notice that my MPG had dropped by .8 or so for my tank when I picked it up (someone must have been racecar driving when diagnosing or testing it), but quickly recouped some of that on my way home. No fuel smell whatsoever.
Although I only drove about 15 miles home via city streets, I noticed that my acceleration was crisper when I had to quickly merge into traffic...and maybe quieter too. Prior to the repair, I noticed my idle to be a bit funky when starting up the car, and I think that has improved as well.
I am very glad that I had this repair done, and that I didn’t overthink it and get stressed out because of others’ experiences. My dealership is well-established and has taken very good care of me, so they’ve earned my trust.
And the sunroof rattle was fixed too! It’s like I’m driving a brand-new car again!
following up after refilling the tank. The fuel gauge seems perfectly fine, so I think they only thing that happened was they removed (or spilled?) about 1.5 gallons of fuel while doing the recall repair. Other than that, no issues and everything is back to normal and working well.
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299 Posts
I had my fuel pump replaced last Wednesday (July 15). Took about 5 hours, had a full tank of gas. . . they didn't say anything about having to pump the gas out.
But boy, the fuel smell in the cabin lasted for 2-3 days. Driving with the windows all open!
But boy, the fuel smell in the cabin lasted for 2-3 days. Driving with the windows all open!
So I just took my 2019 insight in for the recall, let me just say, what a nightmare this has been.
First, I noticed they moved some stuff around in the back seat, thought they maybe vacuumed, but then I looked down at my feet and it was definitely not vacuumed. While at a red light, I looked at back seat and something didn't look right. After a few red lights I decided to wiggle my 5 month olds car seat and the whole thing moved! Then I looked down at the latch, and the car seat wasn't even installed!! The service guy mentioned nothing about the car seat being removed! What if I would've put my son in there and something happened!? I was gonna give them a call the next day to complain.
Then, about 2 mins later I heard a weird rattle-ish noise and thought maybe I ran over something on the road. Then 2 mins later, my engine revved up while my foot was barely on the pedal. Then I tried braking, but it was telling me I was going 40mph even though I was actively braking and slowing down. I tried accelerating a few times and it was just stuck at 40. Then it revved again. I immediately turned back around to the dealer (I was about 5 miles, if that, away from the dealer).
I explained to service manager and he drove the car from the parking lot to garage and said he felt nothing ( literally like 50 yards). I kept insisting there was something wrong and wouldn't leave until I had an answer. He had a senior technician go for a ride with me. He immediately noticed all sorts of things wrong right off the bat, and during the ride:
*engine revving up for no reason(well making the sound) and Ron going up but the speedometer staying at 40.
* Rumbling noise/ feeling (like driving over the rumbling strips on side of highway)
A few other odd things happened and he explained to the service manager everything that happened on our very very short ride around the neighborhood across the street from the dealer.
The service manager kept insisting and trying to push that it wasn't related to the recall-even stating my transmission is slipping-yea...ok... Cuz that makes sense, smh.
Myself and service tech repeatedly said it needs to be looked at as in seems to be related to recall.
They gave me a loaner 2020 accord, and they will look at my car today.
I will have to say, the tech was upfront that he was not well versed on his the insight/hybrids drive normally, specially since they don't have many around being worked on.
I'm glad I found this topic as reference when they call me later today. I will keep you all posted.
First, I noticed they moved some stuff around in the back seat, thought they maybe vacuumed, but then I looked down at my feet and it was definitely not vacuumed. While at a red light, I looked at back seat and something didn't look right. After a few red lights I decided to wiggle my 5 month olds car seat and the whole thing moved! Then I looked down at the latch, and the car seat wasn't even installed!! The service guy mentioned nothing about the car seat being removed! What if I would've put my son in there and something happened!? I was gonna give them a call the next day to complain.
Then, about 2 mins later I heard a weird rattle-ish noise and thought maybe I ran over something on the road. Then 2 mins later, my engine revved up while my foot was barely on the pedal. Then I tried braking, but it was telling me I was going 40mph even though I was actively braking and slowing down. I tried accelerating a few times and it was just stuck at 40. Then it revved again. I immediately turned back around to the dealer (I was about 5 miles, if that, away from the dealer).
I explained to service manager and he drove the car from the parking lot to garage and said he felt nothing ( literally like 50 yards). I kept insisting there was something wrong and wouldn't leave until I had an answer. He had a senior technician go for a ride with me. He immediately noticed all sorts of things wrong right off the bat, and during the ride:
*engine revving up for no reason(well making the sound) and Ron going up but the speedometer staying at 40.
* Rumbling noise/ feeling (like driving over the rumbling strips on side of highway)
A few other odd things happened and he explained to the service manager everything that happened on our very very short ride around the neighborhood across the street from the dealer.
The service manager kept insisting and trying to push that it wasn't related to the recall-even stating my transmission is slipping-yea...ok... Cuz that makes sense, smh.
Myself and service tech repeatedly said it needs to be looked at as in seems to be related to recall.
They gave me a loaner 2020 accord, and they will look at my car today.
I will have to say, the tech was upfront that he was not well versed on his the insight/hybrids drive normally, specially since they don't have many around being worked on.
I'm glad I found this topic as reference when they call me later today. I will keep you all posted.
The seat cushions are removed to access the fuel tank below. It sounds like the tech working on your Insight botched the repair and your fuel pump is not providing the correct amount of fuel when requested like @Bezhan's Insight.
Fuel Pump Recall - repair experiences
Got mine inspected and then fixed last week. 3 hour job to get it fixed, 1 hour to get into the car's fuel pump. The failure is due to a material used by the supplier, which can fail and absorb fuel, causing the fuel pump to fail. Not Honda's fault, supplier probably didnt correctly tread the...
www.gen3insight.com
I took my 2019 Insight EX to the dealer recently to complain about the wind noise on both the passenger and driver's side window. They had an Insight LX in the shop that they took me for a ride in to compare. It made the same wind noise, so they decided it was just normal for the car and not anything wrong with mine. I really didn't want them changing seals for no reason cause it could make things worse.
Anyway, the reason the LX was there was for the fuel pump recall and the technician told me they could only replace it after it was less than half full of fuel, so he'd been driving it home and back and around during lunch to burn up fuel. I noticed we were driving in ECO mode and I suggested to him he drive it in SPORT mode to burn fuel quicker. He was shocked and did not know that was even an option and it was right there in the middle console. Note to self: Don't let him work on my car. But seriously, wow. I guess they don't see many of those vehicles in the garage.
Anyway, the reason the LX was there was for the fuel pump recall and the technician told me they could only replace it after it was less than half full of fuel, so he'd been driving it home and back and around during lunch to burn up fuel. I noticed we were driving in ECO mode and I suggested to him he drive it in SPORT mode to burn fuel quicker. He was shocked and did not know that was even an option and it was right there in the middle console. Note to self: Don't let him work on my car. But seriously, wow. I guess they don't see many of those vehicles in the garage.
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4,843 Posts
Uh, no way I'd leave my car at dealer for them to burn fuel down; I can put miles on and burn gas myself. And if they insisted on keeping it, I would pull out the fuel pump recall instructions for the Civic, which mentions lifting the front end and not needing to drain the tank even at 90+% full.
I hope he realizes the recall is for the fuel pump which they can pull out even if the gas tank is full.
Finished a road trip where I got the range down to 30 miles (half gallon before the 1.6 reserve for me). Got 60+ mpg for two hours driving at 60+ mph without ACC following a truck. (must have been tailwind since I have a Touring and usually can't get that kind of MPG on highway though my gas tank was light).
So with that little fuel, I rescheduled my fuel pump replacement. Continued to run the tank down until I rolled into the dealership with 5 miles in range left. Came in at 9:30 a.m. appointment and intended to wait rather than bus back home (no shuttle due to COVID). Original estimate of 2 hours came to be closer to 3 hours. Slight smell of fuel dissipated after opening windows and not noticed the next day. Might have lost some fuel, but not enough to knock it down past 0 range. Will see what kind of performance impact if any I get out of the new tank of fuel - felt like it ran pretty much the same as before.
![5616]( "5616")
So with that little fuel, I rescheduled my fuel pump replacement. Continued to run the tank down until I rolled into the dealership with 5 miles in range left. Came in at 9:30 a.m. appointment and intended to wait rather than bus back home (no shuttle due to COVID). Original estimate of 2 hours came to be closer to 3 hours. Slight smell of fuel dissipated after opening windows and not noticed the next day. Might have lost some fuel, but not enough to knock it down past 0 range. Will see what kind of performance impact if any I get out of the new tank of fuel - felt like it ran pretty much the same as before.
Honda just called me back and said that it is indeed the Fuel Pump like the 2019 recall, they said they contacted Honda of America to order the part and HoA called them back immediately asking why they needed this part for a 2020 and asked them to look over a TON of other stuff on the car (guessing to see if they need to issue another recall)
My car didnt show up on any recall VIN search and even the dealership said it didnt show up any recalls on their system. they ordered the part and it should be here and installed tomorrow so hopefully It will be done by tomorrow.
I will ask them how they pinpointed it was the fuel pump when I pick up the vehicle and asked if they checked anything else, I did mention another user had this issue and it was the SRS and they said they checked that and it wasn't the issue on my vehicle
and yes they did tell me all 3 were Hybrid 2 being an Accord and one being a Insight
My car didnt show up on any recall VIN search and even the dealership said it didnt show up any recalls on their system. they ordered the part and it should be here and installed tomorrow so hopefully It will be done by tomorrow.
I will ask them how they pinpointed it was the fuel pump when I pick up the vehicle and asked if they checked anything else, I did mention another user had this issue and it was the SRS and they said they checked that and it wasn't the issue on my vehicle
and yes they did tell me all 3 were Hybrid 2 being an Accord and one being a Insight
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4,843 Posts
Glad they were able to find the issue quickly. And honestly, almost 'better' that it's mechanical than something else, as it can be quickly (and permanently?) fixed with a part.
Some things that strike me as interesting:
- Honda only reported 10 units of 2020 models affected by low density metal on the impeller. But there's always a caveat that the scope of the recall can be expanded later. 183 cars were repaired for fuel pump issue before the recall was officially issued. Both these factors make me think Honda may not have a full handle on the magnitude and root cause of the recall issue...
- Your issue is diagnosed as fuel pump, but may or may not be due to impeller metal quality. Hopefully they send yours in for testing to see if it's part of the recall or separate 'random' failure.
- Hybrids aren't the most abundant car, so for 3 to be at dealer with same issue seems more than coincidence. I still wonder if there's some sort of temperature effect at play, even if not the battery (e.g. high temperature = high fuel vapor in gas tank?)
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392 Posts
Thanks for the info. I would like to ask you to answer a few questions and apologize for my curiosity. ))).
1. What gas stations (brand) did you usually refuel and what type of fuel?
2. Have you filled up to a full tank? Refilled when the column stopped?
3. Did you drive with an almost empty tank? (how many divisions of fuel were on the scale when you usually stopped in for refueling?).
I ask to understand how the gasoline or the level of the tank affects the occurrence of situations with the pump.
THANKS!
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