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Honda Insight, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

7,942 Honda Insights are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 67.7% of initial MOT tests, 4.6 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific Insight? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Honda Insight at the MOT

67.7% of 8,497 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Insight 391st of 575 models. Honda Insights aged 6 to 10 years passed 81.5% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 67.4%.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Honda Insight67.7%
  • All Honda modelsThe Insight is 4.8 pts behind72.5%
  • All cars72.3%

Pass rate by age at test

Honda Insight tests in 2025.

  • 6 to 10 years162 tests81.5%
  • 11 years and over8,297 tests67.4%

Where Insights fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Honda Insight tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment38.3%
  • Suspension16.1%
  • Brakes15.4%
  • Tyres9.4%
  • Visibility7.5%

The items testers recorded most often were position lamp not working (9%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5%) and wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (4.4%).

The MOT page lists every common Insight MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Honda Insight MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Insight's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.38.3% of Insight failure items

  2. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.16.1% of Insight failure items

  3. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.15.4% of Insight failure items

Honda Insights in the UK

7,942 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 16% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−16%from 9,509 licensed
Typical year of first use
2010half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2010 or earlier
Declared off the road
4395.2% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Honda Insights since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20149,509
End of 20159,363
End of 20169,342
End of 20179,273
End of 20189,147
End of 20199,069
End of 20208,901
End of 20218,862
End of 20228,757
End of 20238,613
End of 20248,389
End of 20258,101
End of June 20267,942

How old they are

Licensed Honda Insights by year of first use.

A further 72 were first used before 2002.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
2014216
2013385
20121,125
20111,523
20102,496
20091,819
20080
20070
20060
20052
20041
20031
200224

Insight engines and fuel

1.3 litre engines made up 59% of Honda Insight MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.4 litre at 25%. Hybrid electric accounts for 98% of licensed Insights and petrol for 2.1%. Electric examples were 13.7% of tests.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 8,487 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.3 litre59.1%
  • 1.4 litre24.7%
  • 1.0 litre2.1%

Fuel type, licensed Insights

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol1702%
Battery electric1<0.1%
Hybrid electric7,75098%
Other fuels210.3%

Honda Insight recalls

7 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Honda Insight. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Insight is affected.

  1. Aug 2019 R/2019/245

    Possible air bag inflator rupture

    Insights built Dec 2003 to Nov 2011 · 43 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Driver air bag may not deploy correctly.
    Remedy
    The inflator inside the drivers airbag module is to be replaced.

  2. Aug 2019 R/2019/243

    Possible air bag inflator rupture

    Insights built Nov 2000 to Dec 2014 · 122,397 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Passenger air bag may not deploy correctly.
    Remedy
    The inflator inside the passenger's airbag module is to be replaced.

  3. Jan 2019 R/2018/342

    Takata passenger airbag inflator may rupture

    Insights built Feb 2010 to May 2015 · 119,827 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Passenger airbag inflators may not operate as intended.
    Remedy
    Replacement of Airbag Assembly on affected vehicles.

  4. Feb 2018 R/2018/029

    Passenger airbag may fail to deploy correctly

    Insights built Jan 2009 to Jun 2010 · 20,298 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    The propellant used in certain air bag inflators may degrade over time due to heat cycles and exposure to moisture. In the event that the airbag is activated it may overinflate due to overly aggressive combustion of the propellant. The excessive internal pressure may cause the inflator body to rupture and metal fragments may pass through the cushion material possibly causing severe injury to the vehicle occupants.
    Remedy
    Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and replace the airbag inflator unit.

  5. Apr 2016 R/2016/018

    Driver's airbag may fail to deploy correctly

    Insights built Jan 2012 to Nov 2013 · 913 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Abnormal deployment pressure may lead to rupture of the driver's air bag inflator case. In the event of an inflator rupture metal fragments could be propelled into the passenger compartment
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace the inflator inside the driver's air bag module.

  6. Oct 2015 R/2015/143

    Drivers airbag may rupture if deployed

    Insights built Jan 2007 to Dec 2011 · 52,991 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Due to abnormal pressure the driver's air bag inflator case may rupture during deployment. In the event of an inflator rupture metal fragments could be propelled into the passenger compartment potentially causing injury to a vehicle occupant.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace the inflator inside the drivers airbag module.

  7. Jun 2015 R/2015/104

    Passenger side airbag may fail to deploy correctly

    Insights built Dec 2003 to Dec 2008 · 242,653 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    Abnormal deployment pressure may lead to rupture of the inflator case. In the event of an inflator rupture metal fragments could be propelled upward toward the windshield or downward toward the front passenger's foot well potentially causing injury to a vehicle occupant.
    Remedy
    On affected vehicles replace the inflator inside the front passenger's airbag module with a new one.
How to check a specific Insight for recalls

Other Honda models

The most-tested Honda models in 2025, against the Insight's 67.7% MOT pass rate.

All 12 Honda models

Honda Insight FAQs

How many Honda Insights are there in the UK?

7,942 Honda Insights were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 439 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Honda Insight reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 67.7% first-time pass rate for the Honda Insight across 8,497 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Honda Insight had any recalls?

7 DVSA safety recalls launched from 2010 to July 2026 name the Honda Insight. The most recent was published in August 2019. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Honda Insight?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Honda Insight's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found an Insight?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Honda history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Honda VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to July 2026. Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.