I know that when the EV gage reaches 2 bars it means that there is no EV left. Is this the case for the fuel gage? I prefer not to trust the HV estimate but to go based on the remaining bars on the fuel gage and/or the warning light that comes on. Also, if the warning light comes on my understanding is that one can still drive at least 33 miles before running out. Is it bad for the engine to let it run that low? Should I make it a point of filling up at 1 or 2 bars instead? Or simply to wait for the light?
The Clarity will warn you if you try to run it out of gas. Why the battery gauge shows 2 bars when you have no more EV range is very perplexing, but the gas gauge is more traditional. Posters who have weathered the warnings and run their Clarity completely out of gas haven't reported experiencing any damage. So if you fill up when the warning light comes on, you'll be OK.
Speculating that they did it intentionally, so that drivers who understand the deleterious effects of a full discharge wouldn’t panic as the “charge” display went to zero. IOW, it realistically shows charge remaining, not miles remaining.
It's worth noting that they are also retaining some charge to keep the performance of the vehicle. With 0 power from the battery the car would be limited to less than 100 hp from the engine. Instead we get the full 181 hp using the reserve, which is then replenished from the ICE. I wonder how the Clarity Electric handles this? My guess would be still showing 0.0 miles EV at 2 bars, and the reserve being "emergency use only". (I remember when economy cars had around 100 hp, so typing the above seems a bit weird. It also seems odd still for a family sedan with 180 hp to be described as having "modest" power. 180 hp was sports car territory back in the day.)
