2010 Honda Insight. Consumer writes in regards to defective braking system. The consumer stated the brake was depressed, but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The vehicle traveled through a stop light at an intersection, over a barrier, dropping approximately 30 ft and was struck by oncoming traffic.

- Watertown, MA, USA

Approaching stop sign at low rate of speed-I applied brakes and instead of stopping car reved up and went forward into path of oncoming car. Other person received minor injuries, I received bruises and soreness (2 of my airbags deployed) my car is a total loss, complete front bumper off, frame bent, hood bent

- Carthage, NC, USA

Unexpected acceleration when braking, this is a recurring problem. I was driving about the speed limit on secondary roads ~40 mph no traffic and the roads were clear of ice and snow and the engine was warm, the instrument panel indicator for cold engine had extinguished. I approached a red street light I press the brake pedal lightly, there were no cars in front of me (foot clearly not on the gas pedal) I expected the car come to a leisurely stop by coasting with little braking help. The brake pedal felt stiff, resisted the pressing of the foot. The engine began to rev up and I also noted the battery ima charge/assist gauge went higher into the blue (ima assist). I applied more pressure to the brake pedal the engine accelerated more and assist gauge increased further into the blue area. I repeat: The brake pedal feels hard like putting your foot on a rock, no give. I now know this is the first sign there is going to be a braking issue. It happened every time the problem occurs! but the problem did not occur every time I stopped on this trip. When I brake and the car and the car goes into auto-stop mode there is no issue. When the unexpected acceleration occurs I can shift the car out of drive (D) and into neutral (N) the engine will momentarily race, exceeding 5000 RPM, almost red lining, and then return to a normal idle. It should be noted that the problem persisted thought the trip with the car being shut off and parked for a short time (2 occurrences) restarted and driven again. Only when the car was left for hours including overnight did the problem go away, my guess is 19 hours.

- East Lyme, CT, USA

Unexpected acceleration when braking. While attempting to stop at a traffic light I experienced an acceleration surge while braking. This happened numerous times on this trip. Almost every time when I was coming to a stop and I applied the brakes the engine would increase rpms. This gave me an opportunity to analyze what was going on with the car. The revving of the engine was directly affected by braking. Simply removing my foot from the gas pedal and coasting did not result in the engine surging. When I shifted out of drive and into neutral, the engine would momentarily exceeded 5000 RPM almost red lining and then return to a normal idle. I stopped the car, turned the engine off and opened the hood looking for ice on linkages, fouled air filter or anything unusual. There was nothing that looked out of the ordinary. I then proceeded to drive the car home experiencing the same issue with every braking action. The next morning the car acted normally.

- East Lyme, CT, USA

I was driving on an road with no traffic and came upon a red light. As I applied the brakes, I experienced an acceleration surge while braking. I could feel the brakes working but the engine began to rev up and was trying to overpower the brakes. In desperation I pushed the shifter into neutral (N). The engine continued to rev for a moment then returned to normal. Then I was able to proceed and the Insight acted normal.

- East Lyme , CT, USA

The car was traveling at a very slow speed (<10 mph) in a parking lot with the driver attempting to maneuver the car into a parking space. The driver was applying no pressure on the gas pedal; the car was in deceleration. When the driver stepped on the brake pedal to stop, the engine accelerated and the car lurched forward unexpectedly. As a result, the car went over the parking barrier into the base of a parking light causing significant front end damage to the car ($6,000). The driver has experienced a few other situations where the car acted in a similar manner. We believe this unexpected acceleration issue poses a serious safety hazard. We are working with the local Honda service department to isolate and fix the problem.

- Vail, AZ, USA

While parking the 2010 Honda Insight in my garage, I have to veer to the right and then back the car to get into the garage. As I was veering to the right and close to the house the Insight suddenly accelerated, and when I put the brakes they did not respond, instead they locked and the vehicle continued to accelerate it hit the side of the house, part of the air conditioner pipe on the brick wall, hit shrubs and a plastic fence & the 4X4 poles buried in the ground bent and were sheered/ the impact deployed the air bag which hit me in the face and the leg causing an abrasion.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

Honda Insight hybrid - unpredictable acceleration combined with locking of the brakes caused the car to move forward at an accelerated rate with no control, twice in a short time span. First incident was Dec.2011, second in Jan. 2012. This did not happen in previous 1 1/2 yrs. I owned the car. I had an accident the first time going very slowly up a hill at 10:am with clear roads. The light was red and I braked to slow down and when crawling, slightly released the brake to roll forward, but the car accelerated 6 feet from a small truck in front of me.I felt like I was being pushed from behind. I pumped but the brakes were locked. Car went forward very slow uphill. I tapped the truck. My damage was a small chip in my plastic plate cover. His fender fell down. We reported the accident and will impact my insurance. I then decided to get snow tires. Second time was in front of a college, in rush hour traffic, slowing down for a red light. There were kids, cars all around etc., everyone slowing down, coming to a stop. There was snow and ice on the road. I had new snow tires, I brake, the car slowed down, I released the brake a little, instead of maintaining the slower speed, the car accelerated. I brake again quickly, but I was on ice and the brakes locked. I slid as if being pushed. I turned into a small snow bank just in front of the sidewalk and the car stopped. I took it to the dealer who checked for 3 wks. They said no problems. Suggested the floor mats? several other 2010 Insight owners had similar problems all who said the dealership could find nothing wrong. If it was the floor mats it would have been happening all the time! I asked the dealership to buy the Insight back from me. I took a $10,000. Loss. I am so relieved it's worth it. Note: I'm in Canada so I had to put your address in order for my complaint to go through. All car problems in na sb together.

- Washington , DC, USA