Clarity fails to start after 2 weeks of ownership - anyone see this issue?

I agree with @sniwallof that it is just crazy to have to replace an entire complicated cable harness (which is almost always totally inaccessible without major disassembly). It is hard to believe that there was no way to repair just the damaged pin. If it is really true that there is just no possible way to replace / repair a single damaged pin on a connector, then shame on Honda !

Honda instructs their dealer to perform $15K of repair work when a competent technician (who is capable of going beyond rote procedures) could simply cut this particular wire from each side of the connector and splice it together? Seems like lunacy to me.

I don't know about the Lemon Laws in your state, but this seems like a textbook example of why these laws were written. Detailed documentation is likely the key to success in pursuit of Lemon Law retribution, and hopefully you would be able to nail that aspect with this nightmare.

 

None of this is unique to the Clarity, it is no more complex than other current vehicles (Honda included). The "tightly integrated electronics" and lack of space are also not unique to the Clarity.
I'm quite sure it is true that their technicians did not have a lot of experience with the Clarity, but much of what the service manager is spouting is B.S. That's what makes calls in to doubt the veracity of the rest of his story. In your shoes, I would want additional verification of what he/she is telling you.

It is your car, and you are entitled to all repair documentation no matter who paid for it. I would demand a copy of all paperwork/correspondence as it could be critical in a lemon law case if your fears of future issues turn out to be justified.

Can you post the photos they sent of the work in progress on the car?

 

As a Clarity PHEV owner for 11 months and about 8K miles on the odometer, and as a dedicated imbecile with too many thumbs when it comes to repair of "modern" automobiles, all I can say is:

1. Make the dealer and/or Honda America just hand you keys to a new Honda of your choice from the dealer's lot. (I had an analogous situation years ago with a new 7-series BMW that spent more time in the shop for warranty repairs than on the road for me, and I became a virtual "owner" of the much-less costly loaner car, a BMW 3-series. After a few months of extended shop time for my 7-series, I complained loudly. The dealer and BMW eventually just gave me the keys to any other new 7-series I wanted, and took the "lemon" back. The new BMW was fine, but I only owned it for maybe ~6 months and was so soured on BMW that I traded it for a Japanese vehicle. Never bought another BMW, by choice.)
2. My ownership and driving experience with the Clarity has been just fine. Sure, there have been some software updates, but this doesn't surprise me in the least. Your very bad experience is unfortunate, but at least it is pretty rare from what I can tell. It would be sad, but I wouldn't blame you one bit for swearing off Honda automobiles for life -- there are plenty of good choices in the market.
3. And, perhaps selfishly, thank goodness I bought the D80 extended warranty several months ago (just-in-case)!

 

Fixed or not, you need to invoke your states lemon law. You now have a sub standard vehicle for which you paid full price. You stand a very good chance of being plagued by issues from that repair for the life of the vehicle. You could also suffer from lower resale value based on this episode being part of the vehicle service history.

Honda needs to eat this one and make you whole.

 

Yikes! This is really sad and very scary. I never thought of the Clarity in this manner and never thought a repair such as yours would result in such a tear down.

Sorry to hear about this and I would have done the same thing, consult my lemon law details. Given the amount of time your car was out of service, I'm surprised the lemon law doesn't apply in your state.

Judging from the experience most of us have had here, the Clarity is usually a very reliable car.

Best of luck and I hope things turn around for you.

 

I believe the ECM and PCM are covered under California's (and states that have adopted CA's emissions standards) for 15 year/150k warranty. I realize this point is tangential to this thread, and further, the consumer may need to be proactive in having the dealer honor this coverage where offered- but if there really is an issue that forces disassembly in these situations, it is mildly comforting for residents of 16 states. It appears even Honda was surprised by the repair exceeding $1500.

While I have no automotive expertise- and in this case, that it was a brand new vehicle may have been a contributing factor- it seems incredibly stupid that even an ECU replacement could lead to a 15k bill. It is hard to believe Honda would sink to that level of design stupidity.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

I’m sorry, I do not believe any of this thread. I have been involved as an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer for too many decades and been part of replacing pins in similar connectors. These connectors are made to be repaired without replacing the cable. No competent repair facility would even try to replace the entire wire loom just to fix a broken pin.

I also do not believe any dealer employee would make the comments attributed to the service manager. Especially when most of the repairs on the Clarity will be mostly the same as any other hybrid.

 

Replacing a major harness in any modern car will be similarly expensive. As a matter of fact many repairs for a modern car will be prohibitively expensive. That is why there is warranty and lemon laws.

 

Agreed with @PascoClarity - I used to design a long time ago, motion picture connectors in the motion picture industry called Fischer and Lemo connectors which is as dense as current automotive OBD type connectors.

We used to splice teflon coated mil spec cabling onto pins/receptacles which were damaged by the client.

I'd like to see a repair order from the OP showing that this repair is actually being done at a service dept.

 

Considering how much has to be taken apart to install the post sale back up sensors option (which are not even integrated into the display system), I am not shocked that Honda would order a new wire harness installed by a dealer. It's NUTS (because pins can usually be replaced, wires spliced as needed, and/or the ECU box replaced where that connector may have legs soldered directly to the internal PCB), but not out of character for Honda post sale work. Ironically, the authorizing person might have thought they were being gracious to keep the car like new, which of course is not the end result after all that disassembly and re-assembly.

 

Worth noting that there is no indication that this is unique to the Clarity. Very unlikely that they went with different style connectors than on the Accord, etc. Nothing in this repair is related to the actual HV components/drive train that make the PHEV unique.

Unclear, but it sounds like the tech damaged at least one of the connectors when trying to replace a bent pin since "Honda does not provide pin extraction tool"?

 

The pin extraction tool(s) is what you use to remove a damaged or bent pin in a repair, not clear if the tech found the bent pin on inspection, or bent the pin working with the connectors.

This video talks about Honda pin tools (Honda terminal tool kit at about 2:15), may or may not apply here. Agree, it seems that our connectors probably appear in other models.

RE-PIN your Honda Wiring Connectors -

So, it was in "inline" connection between harnesses, not something like a harness connector to a module.

 

Still do not believe it, That is like - Gee I can't get the oil drain plug out, how about I just replace the engine. With the correct tools this is a $150 repair for a competent Tech.

 

“Pin extraction tool”
LOL
I guess that tech has never heard of a toothpick or a dental probe, both of which I have used in the past.

Although...these harnesses may have the pins so tightly packed that it may very well require something different. I’m too timid to take mine off and check. But even if that is the case, I would still prefer cutting and splicing over all that disassembly and reassembly.

Edit
Just watched @sniwallof’s video. So Honda does make a pin extraction tool kit and does have instructions on how to use it on other models, just evidently not on the Clarity if we are to believe the tech. IMHO, the tech needed to think outside the box, use the Honda tool kit, and adapt the instructions from another model’s harness to the Clarity harness.

 

I still think a body shop who is more capable of replacing out entire harnesses should be subletting the work.