In good hybrid form, when you come to a full and complete stop in the Insight, the gas engine and electric motor shut off. The idea is that a vehicle that's not running doesn't use any fuel or energy. As long as you keep your foot firmly on the brake pedal, the car remains off until you lift your foot. When the car senses that you've lifted your foot, it immediately starts back up again in preparation to moving forward.
I've noticed that the new four-door Insight is very sensitive to a reduction in pressure on the brake pedal while "auto stop" is engaged. Frequently while I'm waiting at a stoplight with auto stop engaged while driving the hybrid hatchback, I'll feel the Insight start itself back up when I don't intend it to. I must have a really light foot, or maybe I ease the pressure off just a tiny bit without realizing it. Nice to know that it's so sensitive. I wouldn't want it to be the other way around. But I'd be interested to hear if this happens a lot to other Insight drivers or if I just need to bulk up my right leg.
Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 4,352 miles
subaru123 says:
05:09 PM, 10/26/09
Bryn the engine might start up because of the battery not being fully charged. This happens in my Prius all the time. After sitting for about 45 seconds or less, the engine turns on regardless of brake pressure.
mikept03 says:
05:28 PM, 10/26/09
It's likely not the pedal pressure but instead the climate system. It has a sensitive humidity sensor that's ultra conservative and fearful of the windows fogging, that it will start the engine to run the A/C to theoretically dehumidify the air. I find it's too sensitive, and especially dumb that it does it even when the A/C compressor is switched off, so it will make no difference to run the engine. Best solution is to switch off the climate control system completely before auto-stop engages at ~7 mph, that way the engine will remain off pretty much indefinitely in my experience.
cwc1 says:
06:02 PM, 10/26/09
I wonder how this system would do in extended stop and go traffic, when it's so slow and backed up that moving just half a car lenght forward each time is all you can hope for (I found myself stuck in such a mess just this morning). That would a lot of engine restarting and shutdown just a few seconds later, and seems would wear the components out much sooner. I think it's one big advantage the Prius has, since it can move at low speeds on just electric power as long as there's sufficient battery charge.
benson2175 says:
07:03 PM, 10/26/09
Unlike a lot of cars we see on this blog, the Insight's dash looks really good close up and not el cheapo.
corey415 says:
09:46 PM, 10/26/09
The Insight auto-stop logic is very sensitive to any use of the climate control, even if only the fan is being used (AC off). The Insight uses a smaller than normal 12V battery but I think Honda goofed here. Using the fan for 30 seconds during a stop is not going to kill the battery. It is frustrating, but not so bad for me since I rarely use climate control. They really should fix this with a software update.
Regarding persistant auto-stop in stop and go traffic one can shift into Sport mode to prevent auto-stop from engaging. But the logic does account for stop and go (as in it won't auto-stop every time you brake).
grimaceboy says:
08:18 AM, 10/27/09
Does the car start up if the parking brake is on (car still in gear) and you take your foot off the the foot brake?
How many mile son the Honda? Your signature says 4,352 miles but the photo shows 7,352.
cr_driver says:
11:15 AM, 10/31/09
Sucks.
kulit says:
11:25 AM, 03/18/11
I just bought a 2011 Insight and sometimes the car starts up unexpectedly after waiting for the light to turn green for awhile. I also noticed that when I'm going uphill and have to stop on a stop sign, the car backs up a bit before moving forward. The car also chugs a bit when starting from auto-stop. Is this normal for this car? Or do I have a transmission problem?