[andrew28]

Has your snow driving adjusted at all with the Insight? Do you just drive "as normal" without trying to manage speed via offered modes (Eco) or Regen?

It hasn't really snow much or at all this winter in Boston so I can't comment on this yet. Only driven the Insight in the snow once or twice but the roads were plowed already.

 

[Insight'nAround]

16" wheel/Blizzak tire combo from the 'Rack. It's actually been a mild winter here this winter so not much snow but the times I've driven it in the snow it's been great.

 

[Jc_vt]

I have used Nokia all-weather tires before, they are pretty good. There are now several similar ones, inc. a new one from Michelin top rated, and Toyo's Celsius.

Nokian offers All-Weather tires that is approved for winter use. I'm not sure how well it does but heard good things about it from Tesla owners.
https://www.nokiantires.com/all-weather-tires/nokian-wr-g4/

I have never used snow tires living in Boston and no winter accidents the past 10 years either.

• The snow plows do a good job where I travel
• I practice defensive driving in the snow
• I leave plenty of room when following other cars
• I try not to drive above 30mph depending on conditions
• Avoid hills when possible
• Make sure tires are properly inflated weekly

Once the Michelins are due for replacement or I change my mind about needing snow tires... I will most likely replace them with Nokian All-Weather tires. Don't have space in my apartment to store the all season or winter tires.

 

[sleewa]

We received another 3" of snow this afternoon - and drove almost entirely in Normal mode through the hills of Bellevue. Didn't care about the regen - especially since I had to drive <5mph due to the other drivers creeping up the hills. The Insight handled fine on the ice, and great on the compacted snow. Rather than go into Eco mode, I just drove lighter on the gas pedal in Normal. I did see the Radar error message since there was a lot of snow/ice building up on front of the car, but that didn't cause any problems for me driving in the snow.

We're expecting another 3" tonight, and more snow this coming week - so I'll have more to report by the end of next week.

 

[Honda2019]

For those of you who haven't seen the warning messages on the console when the radar gets obstructed, see attached photo.

 

[insightfully]

For those of you who haven't seen the warning messages on the console when the radar gets obstructed, see attached photo.

Is it normal for just select areas (like the radar) to be frosted over by snow accumulation? Or was buildup already physically cleared from other parts of the car when the picture was taken?

 

[insightfully]

We received another 3" of snow this afternoon - and drove almost entirely in Normal mode through the hills of Bellevue. [...] We're expecting another 3" tonight, and more snow this coming week - so I'll have more to report by the end of next week.

Have you had any issues with the low clearance (4.29" under full load) in areas of snow accumulation?

 

[sleewa]

Is it normal for just select areas (like the radar) to be frosted over by snow accumulation? Or was buildup already physically cleared from other parts of the car when the picture was taken?

The front area just below the hoodline was covered with some snow. I just wiped the plastic sections clean with a glove and things were fine. I also wiped the snow off of the lower plastic sections. But after a few miles, it was covered again, and the radar message came back on.

Even though the error message showed up, I wouldn't use the driver assist anyway:

• No lane lines to support lane keep assist
• NO WAY I would use adaptive cruise control

The only feature that might be useful would be collision avoidance - but given the conditions, I'm really paying attention and shouldn't need the help!

 

[sleewa]

Have you had any issues with the low clearance (4.29" under full load) in areas of snow accumulation?

I haven't had any issues so far - we got another 4" last night (after 3" yesterday afternoon). I'll have to go out tonight, but by then, I would expect that some of the roads will have been driven on / plowed and it should be ok.

In my 2010 Prius, I did run into streets that had about 4-6" of unpacked snow - and couldn't go further - but going another major street that had been plowed, I was able to get up the hill to my home.

 

[insightfully]

The only feature that might be useful would be collision avoidance - but given the conditions, I'm really paying attention and shouldn't need the help!

...also the "standard braking" that collision avoidance applies may not help in snow/ice conditions, so better that you are in control as well! Thanks for sharing your perspective. Drive safely this afternoon!

 

[Honda2019]

Is it normal for just select areas (like the radar) to be frosted over by snow accumulation? Or was buildup already physically cleared from other parts of the car when the picture was taken?

I agree with Sleewa that most of the safety features of the Insight shouldn't be relied on in snowy conditions, which is probably why they designed the radar to easily turn off with slow accumulation on it. It was snowing fairly well the day I took the picture above, but not blizzard conditions. Kinda of a wet thick snow. I wasn't on the highway for more than a 5 minutes before the radar turned off all the safety features that it works with. Initially I was wondering why Honda didn't tie in a heater to the radar to melt any snow accumulation, but again I think it is probably safer that they aren't on as they probably weren't designed to be used in snowy and icy conditions.

 

[insightfully]

It was snowing fairly well the day I took the picture above, but not blizzard conditions. Kinda of a wet thick snow. I wasn't on the highway for more than a 5 minutes before the radar turned off all the safety features that it works with.

Thanks for the description. I saw your post this picture in a couple threads and wondered whether it was a true after-drive representation, or if certain parts of the car had already been cleared before the picture was taken.

 

[sleewa]

Driving to downtown Seattle last night, the most difficult part of the drive was the 1 block from my driveway through my cul-de-sac to the road that had been plowed. There hadn't been much movement on the street, so there was about 8" of snow accumulated. I heard some snow rubbing on the underside of the car, but the car behaved well. Where the plow had piled up snow was higher, but I just had to bust through.

I did get a more serious error message showing up on the screen - saying to go have the dealer check out the road mitigation, lane check and braking - all of the same systems that indicate the radar was blocked - but wiping away all of the snow off of the plastic area under the hoodline *and* the bottom air dam seemed to make the error go away.

In general the Insight handles well in snow/ice - but I have to think that much of it is due to the Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 studless snow tires. No slipping, no sliding - driving past the parked cars on the side of the hills that likely have all season tires, but no traction.

 

[insightfully]

I did get a more serious error message showing up on the screen - saying to go have the dealer check out the road mitigation, lane check and braking - all of the same systems that indicate the radar was blocked - but wiping away all of the snow off of the plastic area under the hoodline *and* the bottom air dam seemed to make the error go away.

Is the bottom air dam the full horizontal area below the fender? Or just the area below the radar?

 

[sleewa]

Is the bottom air dam the full horizontal area below the fender? Or just the area below the radar?

The part that I was referring to is the area under the front license plate - the other areas I had cleared earlier were the areas on each side of the license plate and just above the license plate.

 

[sleewa]

OK - after another 4" of snow, and then rain/snow mix that made the existing snow heavy - the Insight met its match. The lack of ground clearance meant that I couldn't get out of the cul-de-sac that I live on - there was just too much snow scraping the underside of the car. Hopefully I'll be able to get out tomorrow.

 

[KlumzyDriver]

I have a hilly driveway which presents challenges during winter weather, especially in icy conditions. At times when conditions were especially slippery, my old GEN 2 Insight had to be left at the bottom of the driveway.


This past week we received snow, followed by sleet and freezing rain and unfortunately I was caught out in the weather. I knew this was exactly the conditions that would mean my old GEN 2 would be unable to make it up the driveway.


I was very pleasantly surprised my GEN 3 Touring made it up the driveway without any issue at all (and with stock tires)!

 

[andrew28]

I was very pleasantly surprised my GEN 3 Touring made it up the driveway without any issue at all (and with stock tires)!

I drove in a slushy snowstorm 2 days ago on the highway at around 40-45mph with stock tires (EX). The car was stable and didn't lose traction once. It did better than my drive on a sunny and windy day to New Hampshire. :grin:

 

[insightfully]

I have a hilly driveway which presents challenges during winter weather, especially in icy conditions. At times when conditions were especially slippery, my old GEN 2 Insight had to be left at the bottom of the driveway. [...] I was very pleasantly surprised my GEN 3 Touring made it up the driveway without any issue at all (and with stock tires)!

This is great! The Gen3 is 'only' ~270 lbs heavier; the new weight distribution (due to high voltage battery placement?) makes a difference.

Gen2 EX = 2727 lbs @ 58/42 % weight distribution
Gen3 EX = 3000 lbs @ 61/39 % weight distribution

 

[KlumzyDriver]

This is great! The Gen3 is 'only' ~270 lbs heavier; the new weight distribution (due to high voltage battery placement?) makes a difference.

Gen2 EX = 2727 lbs @ 58/42 % weight distribution
Gen3 EX = 3000 lbs @ 61/39 % weight distribution

Wow, you caught me by surprise- the car drives much more solidly than the GEN 2 and I just incorrectly assumed therefore it was MUCH heavier. I have a Touring version and I think the wheels add some extra weight over the EX version, but I do appreciate the feedback!