Clarity Issues

Lemon law does not apply because the car has not been repaired. Dealers do not know how to fix it. Updates don't work for this issue. I would say that about 6 or 7 people have had this issue. They need to start filling complaints with the NHHTA and NTSB + https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Clarity_Plug-In_Hybrid/

 

I think it’s only 2 or 3 people who have posted that this happens when the battery has sufficient charge. With no or very low charge, it’s to be expected, but of course when it happens with a charged battery it’s obviously a serious and frustrating problem. My point is that when you say “we” have a problem, please remember that the vast majority of us are not.

Hoping you get some resolution on this. Have you tried having a dealer sevice person ride with you so you replicate the problem and get them to hear it and observe it’s doing it on a full battery? Seems like that would be enough to convince them that there is a serious problem.

 

I take the opposite view. The fact that two or three folks have this issue makes it a potential for more cars to be affected.

Neither you or I sitting in our respective home towns have the clairvoyance to cipher what the problem is or how to solve it. To me it makes no difference if only a few cars have this issue...it appears to be a very serious flaw to those cars that do.

Apparently, these folks have gone to the dealers with no results. Apparently, they have gone to Honda USA and gotten nowhere...we should support their effort to ensure Honda takes this issue seriously. That is why consumers are forced to write to NHTSA about such matters...this will get Honda's attention.

With that said...maybe there is nothing to it...maybe there is. Neither you nor I have a clue since we didn't face what they faced when this situation arose. Not every thing that goes wrong with the Clarity can be blamed on the battery SOC as that seems to be the go to, standard answer. And if that is indeed the problem...then Honda engineering needs an overhaul because a PHEV shouldn't behave differently due to a high or low SOC...and all our Clarity's should get fixed proper...don't you agree?

The Honda Clarity is a nice, decent car that has typical issues with fit/trim, software, wonky door seals etc...nothing that every other make of car doesn't have as well. Good lawd...its made by humans for humans...of course things are going to wrong.

 

Has any of the few people reporting this nearly-zero-power problem said they can get it to repeat on demand? I doubt it because if it was repeatable, I'm sure it would be solved by now. It's such a dramatic problem that I wonder why it doesn't throw a code the dealer can retrieve.

 

When our Civic Hybrid acted up, it did not trip a DTC. However, the service department was able to retrieve operational information from the cars computer and send it to Honda technicians. In that case, it didn't help, because the report back was "The car is operating as intended." Since a couple of reports on here are of extremely odd drivability issues, perhaps deciphering the operational information from the computer would lead to "Oops" from Honda. That might be a specific request to make of the dealer.

 

No because it is intermittent. I told the second dealer to drive my car all day, low battery, full battery, on hills etc... They called me an hour later at work to tell me that nothing was wrong. They drove the car 20 miles and didn't even test it with full charge for the engine turning on problem. How can they duplicate the problem when they don't even try? Updates did not fix the issue either.
Sandroad, Thank you for caring.

 

Hi Ken, when i say "we", I mean us who have issues. I would love to enjoy my car like you guys do. Tomorrow I am bringing the car for the 5th time (dealer #3) after going to arbitration with 6 videos, multiple photos and a car that would not start (new issue) right in front of the arbitrator. Honda denied everything and even lied to find an excuse on the "engine turning on issue while driving on EV".
To answer your question: dealer #2, Clarity tech guy in the car with me. I showed him 4 different problems while driving and for each one he had an excuse instead of trying to figure out why. Extremely disappointing. On one side the dealers make no effort and on the other Honda denies everything.
I don't understand what they have to gain by ignoring a MAJOR SAFETY issue. Once a family gets killed maybe they will wake up?

 

I doubt Honda would reimburse a dealer for having a mechanic drive a car around for a day hoping to encounter an intermittent problem. Have you read the threads about the engine starting up if regen braking occurs when the battery is fully charged?

 

Since you were able to show him the problems and he dismissed them then that’s a very bad dealer service dept. Do you have another dealer close by you can take it to?
We’re all sorry to hear of your problems and hope you can find a dealer who will want to get to the bottom of it. I know from experience that it is very, very frustrating to spend so much money on a new car and have it act up. We’re pulling for you and let us know what happens next.
So far on one has come up with a valid explanation of why some Claritys work as they should and others have issues like yours. Hope you can find a dealer with some integrity close to you.

 

20 miles for a diagnostic test seems likevdue diligence to me. I think an independent mechanic is your best bet. You need an independent expert to verify that you either have a safety issue or that the car doesn't satisfy its use case for transportation.

I'm not sure what the arbitration process was, but if you didn't have evidence from an expert on your side, I'm not sure how your argument would be too convincing, especially if you are still driving the car.

Keep in mind that engine revving isn't a problem. Failing to start once isn't a big deal either as every ICE system does many diagnostic tests before turning on. If it happens so often that you can't use the car, that is different. Even limited power isn't a major safety issue if it happens very rarely and you still have control -- there are many potential failure points on any car starting with those balloons we call tires.

Are you able to share any videos or photos you have of the loss of power? I speculate that this could be a sensor issue -- the guys here might be able to provide some ideas on that.

 

I have had problems with power loss. Most recent (and worse) loss of power in highway- car went down to 1 bar- engine revving got up to 43 mph and had to limp off highway, then pulled over and restarted car- still sluggish and revving but eventually got back to normal. Went to work and left at end of day and did same thing- could not get above 30 mph until I pulled over and restarted. Seems to at times loose power and drive sluggish and other times work fine. Taking to dealer today.

 

My car did similar to that yesterday- battery power depleted and change to gas engine and car went from 70 to 43 (revving and pushing accelerator to get to 43). Pulled off highway- restarted car- still sluggish for a while but eventually came around and got to work, leaving work did the same thing- could not initially get above 30 mph. Works fine on electric battery charge tho. Taking to dealer today- and my fear is that it will work fine. I am going to try to take a video of it struggling to perform. I have also noticed when it is doing the revving thing - or after an episode it reads that it is getting 53 mph on info screen, but cleary it is sucking down the gas- on performance screen with actual present milage I can see its getting 15-35 mph.

 

Thanks for info- taking my car to dealer today. Trying to get a video of this issue. I have had sluggish highway performance using gas engine on highway- thought this was normal- but maybe not after reading some good reviews. But have a few issues with high revving and extreme loss of speed past week or so- worst yesterday. Works great until the battery charge gets to 2 bars.

 

I don't think its expected that your car go from 70 mph down to 43 mph on highway ( and that's 43 mph flooring it to keep from dying). My car depleted its battery which was expected and then wanted to kill me.

 

If that ever happens to me, I'll be driving at 43 mph straight to the nearest Honda dealer (even if the speed limit is 25 mph). This behavior is completely untenable.

 

With the battery depleted I would say that is expected especially if you're going up any kind of hill. 100 hp for a 4100 pound car does not go fast at all. The rational thing to do is put the car in HV charge mode (long push) and pull over for 15 minutes till you get a few bars on the battery. Still easier than finding and waiting for a chargeup. And then in the future make sure you keep enough charge in the battery for your trip.

 

I didn’t mean to belittle this problem for those that are having it happen to them; just to say that it is not happening to most of us. I absolutely agree with @insightman that it is NOT normal or acceptable behavior and I would demand a warranty fix and that Honda pay for a rental car. It’s definitely a safety problem and not just a drive ability problem which would be bad enough by itself.

I can say that the 3 times I have let the battery deplete to 2 bars, 0 EV range, and auto HV switchover, that it maintained 60 mph with no power drain, no high reving and the switchover was seamless. That is what I consider to be normal behavior. Anything less calls for a warranty fix.

Best wishes to those having this problem and I hope you’ve got a good dealer and that Honda corporate is owning this. Keep us updated.

 

This sounds a lot like behavior some owners have experienced in the Volt. As the Generation 1 Volts have aged, the "buffer" at the bottom of the range has declined. Thus, some of the older cars have struggled to run on gas once the battery is fully depleted (as soon as the battery depletes and the gas engine kicks on, the car complains that the battery is too low and limits propulsion power so that charging power is diverted to the depleted battery). This is "fixed" by taking the car into the dealer and they limit the usable portion of the battery so that when it is "depleted", more is left in the buffer. This of course limits the useful portion of the battery and cuts EV range. All this makes me believe strongly that planning ahead to avoid driving in HV mode with the battery depleted is very encouraged. Even if that means being too careful and holding a couple of EV miles that you didn't use when you recharge. I think erring toward leaving some charge in the battery is very prudent for a happy driving experience in HV mode. I know this wouldn't explain other's posts that they have had the power loss and high rev ICE even with significant or full battery conditions, but it might be that for some reason the car "thinks" it is in HV charge mode or "thinks" the battery is in critical need of charging, thus limiting propulsion.

 

We (or maybe just I) have been using the term "depleted" loosely. I've assumed that when someone says its depleted they've gone well below the 2 bars left by driving up some big hills. If you do this does the the gauge show just 0 or 1 bar? Or does it stay at 2 and you really don't know if there's any left?

Anyway when posting please be specific about the battery conditions you are driving under. If you hit 2 bars and then went up a lot of hills, especially around highway speeds, be specific and say so.

Its clear the car car does need at least a warning light, "Recharge Battery", if all the problems mentioned here are due to going below the normal 2 bar minimum.

 

One poster has reported seeing 1 bar, but no one else has reported seeing less than 2 bars. It has been proposed earlier that Honda wants drivers to know there's always some battery charge left even if you can't use it. I personally think it's a waste of two bars because it reduces the resolution of the gauge and makes the two gauges behave differently. The gas gauge goes to zero bars, so should the battery gauge. Why should we have to be reminded there's a bottom-end buffer that prevents damage to the battery by preventing a complete discharge?