Clarity Issues

Well, I guess my complaints to the dealer and Honda have fallen on deaf ears...

 

As an update to this, I demonstrated the problem to him (since it is easy to replicate) and he was completely puzzled. I asked him if he thinks it is "supposed to work that way."

He then said he would report the problem as a new problem that "customer was reporting." He then called me back and said the whole audio unit needed to be replaced. He has ordered one from Honda and will call me when it comes in for an audio unit replacement.

 

Let us know if it fixes the problem(s)...

 

Charging issue (Check Engine Light, Failure)
2nd day of owning the car, I had it plugged in at a free charging station at a local shopping mall. It charged to about 50% then sent me a notification on the Honda Link app , telling me the charging had stopped. Puzzled, I initiated charging again, but then got the same message 2 minutes later; I kept re-attempting, but again the same thing. After I attempted several times, the car just didn't seem to want to stay charging so I walked out to it in the parking lot to see what was going on. Manually starting charging with the FOB didn't work, nothing worked, then I got in the car and I notice there is a CEL and a "Recharging Failure" message on the dashboard. After a visit to the dealer and attempting to charge it else where, because it was Sunday and the dealership had no "mechanics" on-site, the CEL eventually went away and the car started charging just fine on other stations. I read about this on the forums, and attributed it to the "fail-safe" behavior the software seems to exhibit when it encounters sporadic voltage. Either way I logged the issue with Honda, they witnessed the CEL (but not the message claiming "Recharging Failure", but I have it all on video).

Audio was muted
I did experience a silenced audio channel recently when I turned the car back on, I don't remember if I had started the A/C on the remote or any particular sequence of events, but I remembered reading about this issue and how people remedied it by turning the car on and off. In my case Apple CarPlay was playing and could be seen as playing, but no sound was coming out of the speakers, I then switched to SiriusXM and had no sound coming out of the speakers. I pressed the On/Off button a couple times for the Audio on the top left corner of the infotainment and audio came back!

A/C Remote Start
I noticed some people claiming the A/C Remote was not working as intended. I was in the same boat for awhile, but upon actually reading the owners manual I noticed there is a special sequence of pressing the lock button first, and within 5 seconds then pressing the A/C button on the FOB. Hopefully anyone who's too lazy to read the manual *like me* will find that useful.

Just wanting to log my experiences with everyone else, cheers!

 

Yes, this is the problem I continually have with the charging station at work. I'm working with @ChargePoint on this issue and they think it is the connector and cable from the charging head to the vehicle that is the problem. They're actually going to work with my workplace to replace the cable and connector to see if that resolves the problem. It is possible that this cable/connector problem afflicts several ChargePoint stations.

 

What a joke. His illogic is phenomenally laughable. And I thought carch22 was only in fictional books and movies.
You should have had him look up the bulletin where Honda admits all Claritys have an HV range calculation error and made him speechless.
One more of the many reasons why I interact with dealerships as little as possible.

 

In my experience it was a "Volta" free charging station. Later on, on my way home, I tried using a free chargepoint station that was on my way home, but it actually seemed to have a faulty cable, since it would say so whenever it attempted to charge. On the contrary the chargepoint stations here are my work seem relatively new, and they have thankfully been working fine so far.

 

I think that was his point. He told me that the HV range problem WAS in their system as a recorded problem. He refused to believe there was a problem that affected all Claritys that was NOT recorded in their system as a known problem.

When I demonstrated the problem to him. He acknowledged it was a problem (one of which Honda was unaware) and agreed to report it as a new problem. Later, he came back and said Honda had asked him to replace the entire audio unit, which is now on order.

 

Great to hear those stations at your office are working out for you! Now, regarding that faulty cable you encountered, please take a moment to report it using the ChargePoint app when you get a chance! Although we don't own the stations on our network, we do our best to work with the station owner to resolve the issue. You'll find the “Report” button on the station details page.

 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences!

I have had my Clarity base model for about 1 month, and have had mostly positive experiences similar to what others have described.

However, I do have one annoying problem that seems like it should be a simple solution, but apparently it is not.

I am new to Hondalink--have never owned a Honda vehicle that was equipped, and I was quite excited to download the APP and try out some of the remote features....

I have a Galaxy S7 (Verizon).

Day 1: I downloaded the APP on the day that I took delivery of the car, and then launched the APP and tried to authorize my phone to the car. Hondalink sent the 6-digit code to the car, and I entered it into the phone. It then asked for a 4 digit PIN, which I entered. Immediately the APP kicked back to the authorization screen and gave me the "Invalid Code" message. I shrugged this off, thinking that maybe it was a paperwork issue that would resolve in a couple of days.

Day 5: I decided to try again. So, I went to the authorized screen and requested to re-send the authorization code. It asked for the 4-digit PIN and then immediately kicked me back to the authorization screen with "Invalid Code". I tried once or twice more then called Hondalink support. Their explanation was that the "Retail Delivery Report (RDR)" had not been entered into the system by the dealer. So I hung up and called the dealer, and they assured me that the RDR would be entered tomorrow. OK....

Day 10: Tried again. SAME. Called Hondalink again and they confirmed that RDR was entered for my car. Opened a ticket with "Engineering".

Day 12: No response. I try again--FAIL. Call Hondalink and learn that "Engineering" had put a note in the system to try it again. Step thru the process with the rep. and still a NO GO. Back to "Engineering".

Day 19: Get a return call from Hondalink. Ask me to reset Factory Defaults and try again from scratch. Stepped thru the process with the rep. and another FAIL.

Day 24: Get a call from Hondalink that "Engineering" is exploring another solution but wanted to test it first internally. They claim that they have a similar issue with other vehicles not authorizing the Hondalink APP.

Day 29: Here I am still waiting....

I really like the car, and I have always been a Honda enthusiast. I still drive my '97 Civic LX which was purchased new in March 1997. I often brag to my friends that even though it was a simple car, it has a number of neat features and every one of those features worked as promised. This experience with Hondalink has me feeling differently.

 

My experience, documented on the thread “Hondalink Registration Frustration” is the same as Large John’s. I never got them to admit it’s a known problem; they keep bouncing back pointless messages from “Engineering” to try it again, or download the app again, which I’ve done many many times.

I’ve been transferred around to many different reps. The priority at customer service seems to be to pass the buck, not necessarily to satisfy the customer.

 

Same thing. I purchased my Clarity 2 weeks ago and I've been getting the same run-around from In-App support and their "engineering" team. This is really getting frustrating and I never had this problem with my previous chevy volt of all brands.

 

Happy to report resolution on my registration problem.

Hondalink remote apps began functioning on July 3. No contact from Tech Support yet, so I have no idea what the problem was.

 

I have the same problem. Any solution from dealer?

 

SB 18-069 is a software update that fixes this problem. Contact the dealer so they can apply it. More info in this thread:

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/hv-range-fix-is-out-and-ready-for-dealer-install.2375/

 

Thanks

 

Hi guys,
I am having the same issue with extreme high revs, loss of power and speed down to 30 mph first time, 10 mph second time. Happened twice when battery was low (each time battery display actually went down to 1 bar which I’ve been told is impossible) and on slight incline. Super scary and dangerous. I also have range display error, engine turning on when battery is full and now no charging on HV charge. 1st dealer drove car 300 miles, did update and told me that there was nothing wrong with the car. Took car 3 times to Dealer#2 who said they cannot help, to deal with Honda. Opened ticket with Honda, they say to contact dealer, did not do anything and ended up telling me to get a lawyer!
I called a lemon law specialist yesterday, he says the important is the service receipt. As of now it seems like it is my only hope.
Please let me know if there is any other option. Tks

 

I've had my Clarity 2 weeks and am interested in the loss of power issue some have noticed. If there is no battery power at all, then you've got a 4100 pound car with a gas engine that only makes 103 hp at 5500 rpm. And doesn't Honda say its only a single speed transmission? (I would think it would really be a CVT but maybe with a narrower range than others)? That is an almost unheard of low power to weight ratio especially with 1 speed. Anyone ever own a fifties or early sixties VW Microbus? Given these conditions the car SHOULD be a total slug if there's no battery left. I would be surprised if it could accelerate at all up even a slight incline.

So I think the only solution is to plan ahead for hills, use the long push on the HV button to recharge the battery BEFORE you get to the hilly area. If you're not sure of upcoming hills, then just drive in the long push HV mode all the time. And save the EV mode for the end of the drive rather than the beginning. Does this all make sense to others?

 

The single-speed transmission is in effect only when you're cruising above about 45 mph in HV Mode, when the Clarity's clutch can (at the computer's discretion in the interest of efficiency) connect the output of the engine to the gears driving the wheels (Engine Drive mode). Most of the time, the i-MMD system is performing as an eCVT, where the battery along with the engine driving the starter motor/generator provide exactly the amount of power for your driving needs. Because the engine speed is not directly proportional to the road speed when not in Engine Drive mode, the collection of mechanisms Honda calls an eCVT performs much like a conventional CVT.