The 2000-2006 Honda Insight is a great car, but sometimes a bit of rainwater can leak through a side molding clip that has aged and cracked. I have a 2002 Insight which gets a wet driver-side seatbelt after a typical Florida afternoon driving thunderstorm.
I ordered the new clips and gave the repair a go, with help from
www.insightcentral.com Insight geeks...
Above: broken clips after removing upper molding... inevitable. Seven of these needed new. (Rear-ward one is larger and different)
Bought a spare large retaining clip, but as you can see, it remained intact upon removal. It needed some silicone sealant all around the base, as this one is the BIG leaker.
Some factory goop....(I removed it, and re-siliconed ALL the holes right before replacing the trim with the new clips installed on it.
Trim with all the clips removed. A couple of the straight "fins" (which insert into the metal retaining clips) broke... but I still re-installed, and it's fine.
New clips installed onto the old trim.
Close-up of new clip and new rubber washer installed on the trim.
The pesky rear retaining clip that leaks... so gooped it up well with clear window silicone sealant. It's dry as a bone now!
Forward clip (which usually does NOT break upon trim removal... so you probably won't need to order it. I did just to be sure.) Also shown is the retaining bolt... the only thing holding your trim on your car when all the clips are broken!!! Remove the bolt, repair the trim, and re-install the bolt as your last step. The forward clip shown is the beginning point of reinstalling the trim... it fits into a groove on the front of the trim piece.
Trim reinstalled with a great gap line.
Closeup of the re-installed fender/trim bolt.
Forward view of the trim re-installed and the trim gasket firmly in place against the windshield.
I used my local dealer, who matched internet pricing (with the shipping/handling):
Honda part numbers for the clips:
91503-S3Y-003 - {img 33} you need 7 per side
91511-S3Y-003 - {img} 38 you need 1 per side (rectangular clip at the rear... attached to the trim)
These two usually don't break upon removing the trim:
91504-S3Y-003 - {img 34} you need one if you break it (lower windshield side)
91505-S3Y-003 - {img 35} you need 1 (this is the large square retaining clip attached to the car body which you need to seal with silicon if you have the seatbelt leak)
Note: "{img 33}" (et cetera) is the image of the small part in the Honda Parts Manual.
Good luck!
