Something I wish I had known before I purchased the vehicle

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by Aaron, Apr 7, 2021.

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  1. No mention of hills. It would be interesting to know if there were any.
     
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  3. Recoil45

    Recoil45 Active Member

    [QUOTE="Landshark, post: 127765, member: 17174"It’s on the buyer to learn these things and there is, and has been, plenty of information available on the subject..[/QUOTE]

    Sort of.., there is a ton of information on this forum. Much of it is from the EVs-are-perfect-for-everyone" crowd and not honest. That was the point of the OP. Real life expedite should be posed here and not be dismissed so other can learn.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  4. Sort of.., there is a ton of information on this forum. Much of it is from the EVs-are-perfect-for-everyone" crowd and not honest. That was the point of the OP. Real life expedite should be posed here and not be dismissed so other can learn.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

    Where have I suggested that anything should be dismissed?

    The OP thought he could drive the car at 75mph and get the claimed 47 miles of EV range. There’s are standards for establishing EV range estimates and MPG estimates. Drive like the test and you’ll hit the magic number. This is not a recent development.

    I’ve exceeded the 47 mile estimate far more times than I have fallen short. I drive like an old lady. My apologies to any old ladies that I may have offended.

    Battery degradation over time is well known as is reduced battery performance in cold temperatures. This isn’t a secret where the answers can only be found on this forum.

    I’ve been pretty open about my feelings on BEV’s. I won’t be traumatized if my 17kWh battery only has 12kWhs after 8-10 years. I know it can happen because the information is available. I knew about it before I knew about the Clarity or this forum.
     
  5. TomL

    TomL Active Member

    Where have I suggested that anything should be dismissed?

    The OP thought he could drive the car at 75mph and get the claimed 47 miles of EV range. There’s are standards for establishing EV range estimates and MPG estimates. Drive like the test and you’ll hit the magic number. This is not a recent development.

    I’ve exceeded the 47 mile estimate far more times than I have fallen short. I drive like an old lady. My apologies to any old ladies that I may have offended.

    Battery degradation over time is well known as is reduced battery performance in cold temperatures. This isn’t a secret where the answers can only be found on this forum.

    I’ve been pretty open about my feelings on BEV’s. I won’t be traumatized if my 17kWh battery only has 12kWhs after 8-10 years. I know it can happen because the information is available. I knew about it before I knew about the Clarity or this forum.[/QUOTE]

    That's it! I'm switching to old lady mode. I want to keep up the love affair with my Clarity and not dwell on the loss of those pleasures we had when we first got together.
     
    ICanBreakIt likes this.
  6. This is getting weird. Now the quote from Recoil45 is showing as my quote on the above post by TomL.
     
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  8. dnb

    dnb Active Member

    I drive mostly EV only, but mostly freeway / 60mph+ roads, so I too also get ~34mpc (miles per charge :D). Its ~50-60f year round here as well.

    The lack of EV range is the only thing that really bothers me with the car and wish had been improved in newer models as battery tech and EV in general *should have improved*. But looks like even 2021 models are similar to my 2018.
     
  9. I find that adding quotes here is not the easiest. I often have to redo posts with them.
     
  10. Lack of improvements is no surprise. The Clarity is basically a car built to meet standards in states like California. It's quite possible they lose money on every one they sell so there's no incentive to make major changes.
     
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  11. Agzand

    Agzand Active Member

    I think intermittent driving during the COVID has also had a negative impact on range. Maybe the car incorporates charge loss due to sitting in the garage into EV range calculations. But I have not seen 50+ mile range that I used to see before COVID.
     
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  13. At what speeds do you typically drive on those 60mph+ roads?

    Have you always obtained 34 EV miles since the car was new, or has range decreased over time?
     
  14. And is it hilly? We get hammered because we live 1000 feet above everywhere we drive. Coming back up that hill eats battery.
     
  15. dnb

    dnb Active Member

    I drive same as everyone else, since its usually freeway 65-70 with the flow of traffic, and 60+ on non-freeway but other roads I travel often where that is the speed limit.

    I've always gotten under 40, very rarely has it shown 40+ and that was with mix of HV so not really 40 on an actual battery charge.
     
  16. That is disappointing. We’re you given the full PDI report that included the battery capacity at the time of delivery? Have you had a dealer provide you with a battery capacity reading recently? Typically they’ll want to charge a diagnostic fee if $140. You may be able to persuade them to do it at no cost by voicing your concerns, or if it’s the dealer from which you purchased the vehicle, they may provide the information at no cost.
     
  17. dnb

    dnb Active Member

    I've asked them to do updated (service bulletins) and to check the battery when I've taken it in for the A01 service (2x now), and they failed to do either both times.
     
  18. rodeknyt

    rodeknyt Active Member

    I can remember back during the late 1960s when Volkswagen was advertising their bugs and Karmann Ghias were rated somewhere near 30 mpg, which sounded reasonable for that size of car/engine combination. But, of course, they never got that in "real world" driving. In the fine print that the mpg numbers sent you to at the bottom of the advertisement, they clearly stated that the estimate was based on the DIN standard—level ground, ½ payload at a steady ¾ of top speed. Hardly real world.

    Same goes for testing today. There is a specific routine of simulated driving that is the same for all cars in a particular category (e.g. ICE v BEV/PHEV). Perhaps if you drove every single time in exactly the same sequence as the test, you'd get the number on the sticker.

    Bottom line is that all of the mpg and range estimates serve no purpose other than to let you know how the mileage/range of different cars will compare in YOUR specific type of driving—but not what that number will be.
     
  19. Johnhenkles

    Johnhenkles New Member

    [​IMG]

    In defense of the old VW's everywhere, the add above only claimed 25mpg. I just drove my '72 300 miles and averaged 27mpg, but it was flat I-5/hwy 101 going 60-65mph which is probably 110% the typical top speed.
     

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  20. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Eventually, VW showed off their MPG might with the carbon-fiber, diesel-plug-in-hybrid XL1 that could achieve 240 mpg. They made only 200 of them between 2015 and 2016 and sold them only in Europe and the UK for the equivalent of $150K. To maximize hip-room in the narrow, ultra-aerodynamic (Cd=0.186) car, the passenger's seat was set back a bit from the driver's seat.

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  21. Aaron

    Aaron Active Member

    They respond noticeably better actually. I was very surprised by the difference. I will quote the tire guy here as I believe it is accurate...."Those EV tires are trash."
     
  22. Aaron

    Aaron Active Member

    I used to get 44 EV miles at 75 MPH when I first purchased the vehicle.
     
  23. Aaron

    Aaron Active Member

    I don't know about other people but I think the difference is that EV vehicles sell themselves as MPG savers and so when you buy an MPG saver you are expecting to save MPG....which you are....but as advertised. I think there is also a lot of confusion on how....specifically.....EV's work. People have a vague idea that they use batteries....and that batteries degrade.....but not to the extent that we are seeing in real life. It's a theory. It might be wrong.
     

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