Consumer Reports - Clarity Much-Worse-Than-Average Reliability - Really?

There were some reports of window seal leaks in this forum. Maybe the body plugs too. I think users have to classify the problem area, so there will be some error there.

 

FWIW I just completed the fall survey for consumer reports. They didn’t ask any reliability questions regarding my clarity PHEV. They did ask many questions regarding the Honda sensing features.

 

In 1976, my beautiful but manipulative girlfriend talked me into tuning up her LeCar, which she figured I must know how to do since she saw set the timing on my old Peugeot. While goosing it in second on a test drive, I was stopped by a female traffic cop, who said, "Kind of getting it on there, aren't you?" Without thinking -- well, actually thinking of my girlfriend -- I said, "Doesn't that mean 'having sex'?" Surprisingly: No ticket. Thanks, Oakland PD!

Back on-topic: Why couldn't Honda put a decent front seat in the Clarity? They manage to do so with nearly every other car they make. I planned to buy one, but the seat was a deal killer, and the complicated user interface didn't make up for it.

 

What? The Clarity's seat isn't comfortable enough for having sex? My wife and I haven't tried that yet, but we both rate our Clarity Touring's seats as the most comfortable seats in any car we've ever owned in 50 years. I should add that the Clarity is by far the most expensive car we've ever owned, so it's the first time we expected to have comfortable seats.

 

The 12/18 print issue of CR has lots of references to the Clarity being a "14" on a scale of 0-100 for reliability. It apparently drags Honda down too, because Honda fell 9 places in their ranked list of manufacturers by reliability. Honda is now at the middle of the pack; formally much higher in the list. In all the places the Clarity shows up in that issue, it sure looks bad in print. If it weren't for the "inside knowledge" I have privy to on this forum (and therefore knowing it's basically a great car), I'd be worried about keeping it.

 

The Clarity has been one of the worst reliability (most times in for repairs) newer cars I have owned, but all fixable stuff and under warranty. I think it will be typical Honda when they work the issues out, the car has never left me stranded. My Volt was in the shop same number of times in twice as many miles.

It does worry me a bit as my general warranty will be up in 6 months (36,000 miles). Kia and others have much better warranties.

 

What have you had to have fixed?

 

Little stuff, heater fan, HV range, now it is going in for a bunch of recall related things like water valve replacement and redoing HV range fix since the first fix was evidently not enough. Scheduled an oil change and they have 4 hours of repairs.

Again, I fully trust the car and expect great long term reliability, but this is 3rd time in a year for unscheduled repairs. Have put 25,000 on it, but in other new or nearly new cars never had more than 3 unscheduled repairs in the time I owned each them.

 

Mine has had the glitches of the startup showing every error under the sun a couple of times. A couple of times with charging/check engine/range limited error and of course I have the HV stating 1000 miles. All that said, I am not sure I really care about letting Honda work on the car. I absolutely love the car, even with these "quirks". I ignore the errors when they pop up, knowing they will clear as soon as I shut down the car and the check engine will go out after about 4 drives. I can guess at my HV range with the fuel gauge pretty closely. I've never really even considered making a special trip to let Honda waste my time. In 7 months I will have the oil change and may let them update it then...

 

Very few cars are totally rattle free if you have good hearing. So I’d contend that most cars on the road start out with that same ‘one problem’.

We’ve had our Clarity for a year and only brought it in for the range issue. Thus, I would call the reliability excellent.

I’d agree with the assessment of some others, that CU should be looking at causative factors such as not understanding the infotainment system and not true failures. The Clarity is the worst car for reliability? Please.

 

What do they list as the issues?

 

Good grief, are they kidding? Let’s all put our thinking caps on for a second and read CU’s own explanation of how they assess overall reliability. Read this slowly and often and then refer back to their ratings of the individual categories on the Clarity:

“Are All Problems Considered Equally Serious?
Problems with the engine-major, engine cooling, transmission-major, and drive system are more likely to take a car out of service and to be more expensive to repair than the other problem areas. Consequently, we weigh these areas more heavily in our calculations of model year Overall Reliability Verdict. Problems such as broken trim and in-car electronics have a much smaller weight. Problems in any area can be an expense and a bother, though, so we report them all in the Reliability History charts.”

So if the Clarity received 5’s in all the categories CU says are important and much more ‘heavily weighted’ in determining their “Overall Reliability Verdict”, but was dinged in the areas that CU says carry a ‘much smaller weight’, how did it get a an overall ‘1’???

Honestly, this has nothing to do with ‘defending one’s purchase’ as you see on so many forums, but rather trying to understand a rating that is 100% inconsistent with the rating organization’s own definition of how they come up with the rating! Yikes!

 

Climate control, Fuel/emission system, Body hardware

 

I'll be honest- I have been seriously considering the Clarity- but it scares me. In no particular order: (1) Multiple visits to the shop mean time off work. The Clarity would be my only car. (2) I respect CR and they dinged the Clarity on handling, braking, emergency handling and turning radius- not just reliability. (3) I have test driven the car three times- and everytime something bothered me. In no particular order: rear visibility, seating position height, collision avoidance false warning, interior noise (first test drive), and an acceleration curve that seems a bit unnatural. Finally, while the exterior is fine for me (other than low ground clearance and slightly bulky dimensions), many might consider it ugly- that could effect resale value. And finally, (4) Reports of loss of power when driving. There are numerous reports of this on NHTSA. While this can happen on any car- I don't see this issue for the Prius Prime- and more importantly- from what I understand of Clarity propulsion tech- it somewhat makes sense if for some reason the battery is drained and the car tries to aggressively charge it while going up an incline. It's weak ICE engine doesn't help.

As a 45 mile commute mixed highway/city commute car- the Clarity seems fine. But as a main, snow or sleet car- I am not so sure.

As owners, our perceptions are skewed by our personal experience, tolerance for issues, expectations and driving habits. We cannot be objective. Which is why when a very highly credible organization such as CR is so clear in their assessment- I take note.

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My advice: go buy something (if you can find it) that you really like and will be happy owning and driving every day. But, please, don't try to tell everyone else how wonderful CR is, because most people who read their "reviews" of products we already own simply know better.

 

I like my Clarity a LOT and highly recommend it. My Clarity definitely does not scare me! But, in your case you should buy something else. You have posted so many perceived negatives and no positives in this and other posts; it’s clear the car is not right for you. IMHO you should find a car you really like for your daily use. There’s one out there! Keep looking.

 

I've owned many cars in my 53 years of driving. My 2018 Clarity Touring is one of the best cars I have ever owned. I don't put too much stock in CR. I've taken my Clarity to the dealer exactly once, to get the HV range issue corrected. Here are my observations:

For my wife and myself, the seats are comfortable. You have to decide if they are comfortable for you. Don't rely on others for this decision. There seems to be a difference in comfort between the touring model seats and the base model.

The car handles well and is quiet on the highway. It gets good gas mileage in HV mode, 43 mpg for me on a long trip.

The acceleration curve is typical of an electric vehicle. The Clarity is at its heart an EV with ICE backup. The 181 hp motor gets 121 hp from the battery and under hard acceleration another 60 from the engine. The only quirk is that between 45 and 65 mph the ICE can directly couple to the drive train to provide a bit more passing power, 212 total hp.

Electric vehicles lose up to 40% of their range in cold weather. The Clarity is heavy at 4,000 pounds. All EVs have problems in the cold; the Clarity is no better or worse than any other EV.

The turning radius is fine; it is no different than the Accord.

Don't buy a car based on specifications. Test drive numerous cars. Sit in numerous cars. Don't buy a car for "resale value". A car is not an investment. Over a 5 year period, at 15,000 miles per year, a driver can expect to sit in the driver's seat for some 1,700 hours. It doesn't seem like the Clarity is for you, but it is your money and decision.

 

Wait, you went out with her too?

 

From what you've written, I'd say the Clarity isn't the right choice for you. Also, if you have doubts after three test drives of anything, that ought to tell you something. For simplicity (relatively speaking), a Volt would be a better choice; for driving in the snow, you might wait for the upcoming Subaru PHEV Crosstrek, which will have Prius Prime plug-in tech plus a nearly-normal Subaru engine, although it might go only around 20 miles without the ICE; or Prime itself, which is admittedly smaller and has only half the electric range of the Clarity, but seems to be trouble-free. Or, if you have the time and the money, wait for the 300-mile Tesla Y. I'm planning to get a 6.2kW Leaf Plus when they become available, but I'll still have an ICE car as backup.

I wanted to love the Clarity but couldn't get comfortable in that ridiculous front seat and couldn't find anything to like about the user interface, beginning with the lack of radio knobs. Also, with that size and shape, I'd rather have a hatchback, but that's not a deal killer: a bad front seat is.

 

I have had my Clarity for over a year now- 15K miles- I only had one issue and that was the accuracy of the milage gauge that was common. It was not a big deal because the dials were accurate. Nevertheless I had it corrected when I brought the car in for its first checkup. Nothing more. I previously owned an Acura, a Prius and a Hyundai Sonata 6 cylinder sedan. This car is far and away more enjoyable and more comfortable to drive as well as more eco friendly than any. Driving in pure EV which we do 90% is "serene". And on the highway unless the road is rough the car is remarkable quite and handles very well. I found driving around town in Sport mode hardly affects EV miles and I recommend you test the car again with a full battery in this mode before you make up your mind. Also, invest in the Touring model, the power memory seats to me are the most comfortable among all my previous cars, and on long trips prevents back stiffness because of the many variations in seating position. So while not perfect, I think many of your concerns from the CR review will be irrelevant.