25 battery boosts in 1 year

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by nrmehta, Nov 10, 2018.

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  1. nick mournian

    nick mournian New Member

     
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  3. Somebody send the OP $100 to buy a new battery. No one in the history of the world has had the same battery boosted 25 times. Am I missing something?
     
  4. nick mournian

    nick mournian New Member

    We just bought a2018 clarity plugin after owning the accord plugin for four years. The dead 12v battery was quite common on the accord and before that on our 2004 civic hybrid. We never got the dealer to take anything seriously about either of the cars. When we tried to test drive two different clarity plugins in Vallejo, California this past week both had dead 12v batteries in the dealership “holding lot” reserved for cars literally just driven off the delivery truck. We are kinda waiting now for the other shoe to drop and have the clarity we just bought (last night) be DOA in the morning.... we now own a battery booster just in case anyway...
     
  5. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    If his battery wasn’t bad before, it is now after 25 full discharge/charge cycles. Except for deep cycle marine/ RV/golf cart type purposely designed batteries, no lead acid battery will be very healthy after that mistreatment.
     
    ken wells and jsm like this.
  6. Mikep00

    Mikep00 Active Member

    Unless you have an old battery, or are out of warranty, you should be having Honda tow the vehicle to the dealership to ‘fix’ the issue.

    This isn’t normal and you want it on record if they can’t figure out the issue until after warranty.


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  8. rodeknyt

    rodeknyt Active Member

    Since every roadside assistance call costs Honda money, I can't imagine that they haven't done anything with 25 call-outs. I think the OP is a troll.
     
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  9. A few have mentioned their suspicions about OP's intent, so I did a little digging to verify someone wasn't just having a laugh at our expense. He appears to be quite legitimate.

    Everyone would like to know more about this problem and possible solution (I'm leaning towards DC to DC converter, as well as the need for a new 12V battery) so I may shoot him an email in hopes he can find a few moments to touch base with us.
     
  10. Vezz66

    Vezz66 Member

    I’ll put aside my own doubts about this post and add my own theories.

    First, I would imagine that once the car is running the DC-DC converter is what powers all the normal stuff like the lights, radio, ventilation etc. So that must be working fine (but I’m no expert here).

    https://happyhybridauto.com/12vbattery/

    After only a single boost I would already be very annoyed btw. It happened once with my previous CRV after 3 years, assumed it was left in IGN but not for very long.

    In addition to previous comments on the state of the battery, any technician could verify if the battery is being charged or not.

    I would clean and tighten the battery terminals.

    Perhaps a battery voltage sensor, or if there is a fuse between the DC-DC and the battery.

    The Emergency Response Guide shows the cable used for charging

    https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/web/AJA07616.pdf
     
    KentuckyKen likes this.
  11. ozy

    ozy Active Member

    I had (have) a problem like this with my Prius 2005. It has plagued me for years. 12 V battery simply dies for no reason. I have been told that the Prius is finicky and has a lot of things "working in the background". It also has a LoJack system installed which one of the earlier posts identified as a possible culprit. I have replaced the battery a few times and the pattern is always the same ie: works fine for about a year and then starts to go dead. I have had AAA over 3 times this year until I received a nasty letter from AAA threatening to raise my rates. I am now purchasing a small jumpstarter so that I can jump it myself without cables. No one has been able to really identify what the problem is and they all advise me to drive the car more often to prevent it from discharging. I will also purchase a battery checking device for it. So, yes, I can identify with the woes of this individual but am a bit stunned that this is happening with a new car.
     
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  13. Sandroad

    Sandroad Well-Known Member

    We now know the original poster was a troll and there isn't really a Clarity out there that needed 25 boosts. That person made the one negative post over 2 months ago and disappeared. I would expect your 2005 Prius to have normally needed at least 3, maybe 4 12V batteries over the last 13 years. Since they are acting up after only a year, I would also suspect the LoJack system could be enough of a load even when the car is "off" to cause a problem. I suggest checking that out in a Prius forum to see if you can get some ideas. Everything I've heard about Prius indicates stellar reliability, so 3 jump starts in a year seems unusual.
     
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  14. ken wells

    ken wells Member

    I will add my $.02 worth here, despite the thread's original purpose being dead. I also have a 2014 Honda CR-V, and I live in upstate NY (cold winters). Every year the battery would die (refuse to take a charge). Honda supplied 3 replacement Honda batteries under the 3 year warranty. Internet opinion or CR-V's around this date was high electrical load, undersized battery. The 4th battery is getting weak as we speak, and I will replace it with a Die Hard.

    That was the first cent. Here's the second: Carry a $50 lithium battery jump starter (dozens of brands available). It saved my bacon literally dozens of times in the last 4+ years. Tiny and light, it's good for 5 to 10 starts of a healthy engine with a totally dead battery, even in cold weather. I have also used it to start my wife's car, my Kawasaki Mule and my compact John Deere tractor. I bought two for my kids and remind them to charge them twice a year.
     
  15. David in TN

    David in TN Well-Known Member

    In my experience with Honda products that "beep three times" - it has meant that the car is still ON.

    Yesterday evening I went to my office. I was the only one there. I pulled to the front door. I was in EV mode. I left it ON intentionally as I wanted the lights to remain on while inside for a few minutes. The office complex is rather dark at night. As I was walking away from the Clarity, it beeped three times.

    I think there is a safety where you can't turn the car on when plugged in. But there may not be one that prevents it from charging if already on.

    If left on, I can understand why the 12v system might drain while the traction battery charges.

    Dunno. Just pondering a possibility.

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  16. vicw

    vicw Active Member

    Are you saying that the post did show up on the other 2 forums? If so, did he ever update the status on the others? It's perplexing that 2 months have transpired with no status update here, and the Op has apparently never made another post on any subject on this forum. I'm wondering if his dealer might have isolated the problem to an aftermarket device, and he was embarrassed to discuss that here. I hope that was the case - that he was not just trolling, and his Clarity is working well for him now.
     
  17. Sandroad

    Sandroad Well-Known Member

    Nope, no posts on other forums from that poster. I was simply relating experiences with trolls on other forums. He (she) is just a troll with no Clarity. Happens all the time on popular forums.
     
  18. RickSE

    RickSE Active Member

    The exact same post showed up on the hondacarity forum at the same time it showed up in this on. Same situation as here with no update from the OP.
     

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