diff --git a/lib/ansible/inventory/data.py b/lib/ansible/inventory/data.py
index b928a58778..fc38d29a7d 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/inventory/data.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/inventory/data.py
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
 import os
-import re
 import sys
 
 from ansible import constants as C
@@ -28,7 +27,6 @@ from ansible.errors import AnsibleError
 from ansible.inventory.group import Group
 from ansible.inventory.host import Host
 from ansible.module_utils.six import iteritems
-from ansible.module_utils._text import to_bytes
 from ansible.plugins.cache import FactCache
 from ansible.utils.vars import combine_vars
 from ansible.utils.path import basedir
@@ -104,23 +102,6 @@ class InventoryData(object):
 
         return new_host
 
-    def _scan_groups_for_host(self, hostname, localhost=False):
-        ''' in case something did not update inventory correctly, fallback to group scan '''
-
-        found = None
-        for group in self.groups.values():
-            for host in group.get_hosts():
-                if hostname == host.name:
-                    found = host
-                    break
-            if found:
-                break
-
-        if found:
-            display.debug('Found host (%s) in groups but it was missing from main inventory' % hostname)
-
-        return found
-
     def reconcile_inventory(self):
         ''' Ensure inventory basic rules, run after updates '''
 
@@ -170,26 +151,14 @@ class InventoryData(object):
         self._groups_dict_cache = {}
 
     def get_host(self, hostname):
-        ''' fetch host object using name
-            deal with implicit localhost
-            and possible inconsistent inventory '''
+        ''' fetch host object using name deal with implicit localhost '''
 
         matching_host = self.hosts.get(hostname, None)
 
         # if host is not in hosts dict
-        if matching_host is None:
-
+        if matching_host is None and hostname in C.LOCALHOST:
             # might need to create implicit localhost
-            if hostname in C.LOCALHOST:
-                matching_host = self._create_implicit_localhost(hostname)
-
-            # might be inconsistent inventory, search groups
-            if matching_host is None:
-                matching_host = self._scan_groups_for_host(hostname)
-
-            # if found/created update hosts dict
-            if matching_host:
-                self.hosts[hostname] = matching_host
+            matching_host = self._create_implicit_localhost(hostname)
 
         return matching_host
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/vars/hostvars.py b/lib/ansible/vars/hostvars.py
index 386b90ca16..f174b29690 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/vars/hostvars.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/vars/hostvars.py
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ class HostVars(collections.Mapping):
         self._inventory = inventory
 
     def _find_host(self, host_name):
+        # does not use inventory.hosts so it can create localhost on demand
         return self._inventory.get_host(host_name)
 
     def raw_get(self, host_name):
@@ -100,18 +101,19 @@ class HostVars(collections.Mapping):
         self._variable_manager.set_host_facts(host, facts)
 
     def __contains__(self, host_name):
+        # does not use inventory.hosts so it can create localhost on demand
         return self._find_host(host_name) is not None
 
     def __iter__(self):
-        for host in self._inventory.get_hosts(ignore_limits=True, ignore_restrictions=True):
+        for host in self._inventory.hosts:
             yield host.name
 
     def __len__(self):
-        return len(self._inventory.get_hosts(ignore_limits=True, ignore_restrictions=True))
+        return len(self._inventory.hosts)
 
     def __repr__(self):
         out = {}
-        for host in self._inventory.get_hosts(ignore_limits=True, ignore_restrictions=True):
+        for host in self._inventory.hosts:
             name = host.name
             out[name] = self.get(name)
         return repr(out)