According to 2008 statistics, out of 100,000 Insights sold, fewer than 200 batteries failed....
not sure why you guys are picking on the Insight, but for a vehicle that came out in 1999 or about 18 years ago, when nobody even new what the heck a HYBRID was, it was pretty advanced for its time with its unheard of high mileage figures, and all aluminum construction.
So, I know you picked your 200 number directly from Wikipedia since it was a near copy and paste, but there's more to the story.
You don't need to dig very far to see that the IMA batteries have been a thorn in Honda's side, so much so that Honda actually
sent out a letter to a huge portion of owners with IMA/Hybrid Hondas and insisted (starting around 2010, but persisting to this day) that they be brought back for a software update that dramatically changed how the IMA system performed in order to alleviate the battery failure issues. Many customers received this update unknowingly during other dealership warranty or non warranty service as Honda was trying to stop the bleeding, and many who received it noticed poorer performance afterwards - some received it against their will.
You also don't need to dig online into various Honda forums (specifically the insight ones) to see countless stories of people having to get their IMA batteries replaced 3 or more times under warranty...up until these software updates started to be forced on owners in order to reduce the issues, but at the expense of fuel economy and performance.
So, the story you quoted from on Wikipedia, well, if you click the citation link (which of course I know you didn't do, right?) you'll see that it leads back to a dead link. However, I dug around and found the original article (which was updated somewhat) and low and behold there's the quote you mentioned, but the quote is extremely dubious and worded carefully - "fewer than 200 have had a battery fail
after the warranty expired" - first, there's no citation for it (so I could post here that 90% of Hondas had battery failure during their life and someone else could find this and quote it as fact just as equally despite being BS) and the "after the warranty expired" is the questionable part = TONS of them needed replacement DURING the warranty period, and that IS well documented, and the software updates that were forced on the owners during the update did indeed help reduce the failures as it reprogrammed the car to keep the battery at a higher SOC.
AFTER the warranty period, given the cost (there's lots of figures of upwards of $4000) it's questionable how many people would actually indulge in a battery replacement in a car that's probably of very low value already (due to age and miles), and just because people decided not to replace them doesn't mean they haven't failed.
And coming full circle, the lack of citation makes that statistic iffy at best since not everything you read online is true.
I assume you've had a change of heart on battery powered vehicles now( given your very first comment in this thread back 40 pages ago was "batteries are due for replacement soon $$$$") given your comments, as well as the fact you've put a deposit on a Tesla now?
FWIW, the original Insight (and many of the early Honda Hybrids) were great vehicles in theory if not battery reliability - they were a good demonstration in Hybrid technology...however, although the Hybrid side contributed to the fuel economy, just downright dismal performance also contribute a lot towards it - the original Insight for example too 12 seconds 0-60. The early Prius models took upwards of 13 seconds - an eternity, and it made it borderline dangerous for highway merging.
One of the bigger complaints of pure hybrids is performance - they achieve those high MPG figures because they're underpowered. One could put a lawnmower engine in a car and it would yield spectacular fuel economy, but it might also take 60-90 or more seconds to reach highway speeds, if it every got there. BEV's have dramatically reduced these issues because of the instant torque of the electric drivetrain - the Volt for example can squawk the tires from a standstill hard launch, but good luck ever doing this on a Prius. Yet most of them achieve similar (or as good) performance figures, while yielding a far more interesting and enjoyable driving experience.
