Honda insight check brake system wont start

If You own a Honda Civic, You may someday encounter an issue with Your car refusing to start. There are a couple of reasons this might occur. First, You will need to check the brake system. If the electronic parking brake has become stuck, You will also see a light that says "check brake system". You will find that pushing down on Your pedal is very difficult. In some cases, a dead battery is actually the culprit that set off the warning. In that case, You will need to either use jumper cables to recharge Your battery, or get a replacement. You can expect to pay between $80 and $285 for a new one. If You have it replaced by a professional, it will cost between $40 and $184 for labor.

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Judy October 25, 2020

How do you unlock the anti theft system?

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Ken October 10, 2020

Ok so how do you unlock it

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Salvador V. April 10, 2020

When the honda civic won't start with the check brake system on, the brake is likely locked in place by the anti theft system.

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Brenda July 28, 2022

When your car won’t start and the check break system shows up

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Brandan Green July 27, 2022

What do I do it won’t start

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Your Honda Insight‘s brake light indicator is there to let you know that there is an issue with the brake system. It is different than the anti-lock brake system, which gets its own ABS warning light. The brake light indicates that there is a problem with the physical braking system itself.

If you are reading this article trying to figure out whether you should drive your vehicle, check the emergency brake first. If it’s engaged, the brake light will stay lit. If the handle isn’t all of the way down, it’ll cause the brake warning light to stay on. Check to make sure that there isn’t the little bit left that it needs to turn the brake light off.

Now if the emergency brake didn’t fix the situation, it’s time to look into what is causing your Insight’s brake warning light to stay on. The brake light is perhaps the most important warning light of all. We do not recommend driving with this light on at all. Doing so may lead to injury when the brakes fail.

The brake warning light indicates that your Insight has detected that one of its major brake components has failed, typically detected through a loss of pressure. You’ll feel a loss of pressure that manifests itself in the form of a “mushy” brake pedal.

If the brake light is only coming on when you push the brakes, that’s a definite indication that the pressure in the brake system is too low. Either the brakes need bled, or there is a leak.

Brake Fluid Leak

Since you’ve already checked the emergency brake handle, now it’s time to check the master cylinder and see if the brake fluid is low or not. Now if it is low, but not empty, adding more may provide a temporary fix.

If the brake fluid looks like it is all the way out, you’ll need to add more, bleed the brakes, and ideally fix the problem so that you aren’t repeating all of this again. If the brake fluid is leaking out over the brake pads and shoes, it means poor brake performance.

Just remember, it had to leak out somewhere, and that adding fluid without fixing the problem is just a temporary solution. The leak can get worse over time and lead to brake failure.

Pressure Differential Switch

Your brake system is divided into two circuits. These circuits cut the brake system in two. That way, if the brake system gets a leak or fails, you still have brakes on half of your Insight’s wheels.

The pressure differential switch measures the difference in pressure between the two circuits and will report that there is a difference by turning on your Insight’s brake warning light. In most vehicles this switch is located in the master cylinder. You’ll see a harness plug in somewhere around there.

Check the Brake Lights

Some vehicles will now activate the brake warning light on the dash if the actual brake lights behind it go bad. Check to see that both of them are lighting up. If not, try replacing the bulb and see if that solves the problem.

How to Turn off Your Insight’s Brake Light

The only way to turn the brake light off is to restore proper line pressure to both brake circuits when the pedal is pushed. If your Insight is having trouble stopping, or noticeably leaking fluid, don’t drive it. Just have it towed to a mechanic. If you mess up fixing your engine, the vehicle does not move. If you mess up fixing the brakes, it doesn’t stop. That’s infinitely more dangerous.

Conclusion

If your Honda Insight’s brake warning light is on, and you’ve checked the emergency brake, you’ll need to look for a leak in the lines, calipers, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, etc. Good luck diagnosing the issue. If there is anything that you would like to add, please leave a comment below.

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