Clarity Issues

We noticed the loud ICE yesterday evening. We had depleted our electric range and had arrived at the movie theater. Upon leaving, the ICE roared up (it was 6F at the time) and was the loudest I had heard it aside from putting it in 'recharge' mode on New Year's Eve.

I suspect once our temperatures warm up, the ICE noise in situations like this won't be as bad.

 

Was the car sluggish like barnesgj reported? The noise might be annoying, but as long as Honda designed it so that the engine is not harmed, it is an annoyance I could live with. If it is true that the car will not accelerate normally, then it is a serious safety issue and I don't think I could live with it. The Chevy Volt does get noisy sometimes, but I have never noticed any performance loss.

 

This issue is with the remote Climate Control feature in the HondaLink app. For some reason, whenever I use it to warm the car, XM Radio doesn't work. AM, FM, Bluetooth and other sources work, but not Sirius XM.

When I start the car without preheating the interior, Sirius XM works fine.

Has anyone else noticed this problem?

 

Snice the initial charge, the acceleration has been fine. I've run the battery to 0 several times and even activated the HV charge mode, and no more sluggish behavior. The temperature has warmed up here, so it could have been related to the cold.

 

John, most of us have had exactly the problem you've experienced. It's some kind of glitch with the Sirius XM in conjunction with the remote climate control. Hopefully there will be a fix in the future, but we'll have to bring our cars in to have it updated via software...assuming such a fix is available.

 

Thanks very much, Ken7. Good to know it's now only my car.

 

Just wanted to provide an update: I have tried different modes multiple times since then (with the battery depleted) and haven't seen this come up again. Looks like it was the combination of pretty cold weather and hilly roads that caused it. Even range of the battery is so much better when the temps cross 50deg.

 

A couple days after getting my Clarity PHEV (approx 100 miles driven), I started to hear knocking sounds coming from the front driver's side. It was more noticeable whenever I drove over a bump or old road but the noise was persistent. I took it back to the dealer and they said the sway bar was loose so they tightened the bolts. Everything is quiet again.

Just wanted to mention this here in case someone else encounters this issue. I was impressed that I was able to make a same day service appointment using the HondaLink app.

 

It happened again this weekend, just as the battery charge depleted. It was also on a hilly road and in the 40's, but seemed to level out as I drove. Still loving the car, though.

I had my first 'parking lot' conversation today. Is always cool to be the first kid on the block with the latest toy.

 

I had one of those the first week I got it, but at a red light on the road. This big SUV pulls along side me and honks its horn - passenger side windows roll down and its a mom with three teenage looking kids in the car; passenger asks if that is one of those "electric cars" thinking it is a Tesla, and I tell them (In about ten seconds) it goes all electric for 50 miles, then drives like a Prius - I get four thumbs up and one That's cool! and away they went.

THAT is cool.

 

I had the XM / remote climate control issue today. Not sure what to make of it or whether anyone at the dealership would even care. Since the car doesn't technically even have to go in for maintenance for almost a year … doesn't seem like enough of an issue to go in, but if no one goes in with the issue then how does Honda even know there's a problem? Wish there was a place to send these questions!

 

You can always call Honda and have them log the issue.

 

I'll give that a try. Not sure whether that will get the observation where it needs to go - but we'll see.

 

Anyone else notice this car leaves an awful lot of water on the floor of the garage when it is parked? I know all cars do, this just seems like more than my previous car.

 

I don't see any water under my car. Why do you see water? Are you running the AC?

 

funny, I definitely noticed that too. Not sure if it just picks up more snow than other cars, or if it actually has pockets of water somewhere that drain later. I remember once in the driveway on a warm day, it seemed to drain water for an especially long time, don't remember the circumstances (rain, wash water, or melting snow).

 

You should see all the water that collects after a car wash. Open up the trunk and the water is all over the place.

 

I just washed mine the other day, before a grocery run, and there was no water in the trunk when I loaded out the basket.