Noticed this a few times already. Usually after leaving work after a full charge. Basically HV mode turns on. I think it may be due to me stopping too soon and using the paddles. So the car turns the engine on in order to dissipate energy as posted in other threads. But the car enters HV mode and even after driving a good 5-10 minutes, HV mode doesn’t shut off. I turn HV mode on and off and no difference. Haven’t have a chance to see if I can reproduce it. And the blue energy bar is gone even when stopped when the car supposedly goes back to EV. Only way out is to shut off and start car again. Bug maybe?
I have seen similar behavior. If the car is fully charged and I brake hard or apply regen it will start the ICE. Once the ICE is started it probably assumes it’s best to let it run for awhile. For one thing, you get condensation in the exhaust system when the car first starts and it has to warm up substantially to boil that off. I have a Chrysler PHEV van that also exhibits the exact same behavior.
In understand. But when I’ve been low in battery and I start the car directly in HV mode, it only takes a few minutes for the engine to warm up. I can then put it in EV and the engine shuts off. Also even in HV mode, at low speeds the engine would shut off when it switches to EV. When the mentioned problem happens, the engine stays on or shuts off but even if the car switches to EV mode the blue bar doesn’t come back.
What year is your Clarity? I remember this occurring a few times in my first year of ownership (I have a 2018) where the blue bar never comes back after the car switched on the ICE by itself (whether from dissipating regen energy with a fully charged battery or when the ICE comes on with hard acceleration). As you described, the power bar would remain white even though the car was running on battery power again, and it would readily switch on the ICE again even with moderate acceleration rather than stay in EV mode. I did have several software TSBs done on the car by the dealer at the end of the first year, and I don't recall experiencing the issue since then, but I can't say for certain that the TSBs were the fix because I so rarely have the ICE come on.
This is almost certainly the "System Check" that's referred to on page 13 of the manual. It seems to happen every couple/few weeks, either triggered when the engine comes on for some other reason (acceleration etc) or spontaneously if it hasn't done one in long enough. The telltale sign is the engine shutting off, EV appearing, but white bar remaining. In my car it alternates that for a few minutes with the engine running for a few minutes, and cycles 3-5 times for a total of 15-20 minutes before the blue bar finally reappears. Be patient and it will eventually finish. When I notice it happening I try to let it finish if convenient (I've even driven around the neighborhood a few times), just in case that keeps it from happening again for longer. But that's not really necessary.
IIRC, there was a thread a long time ago about this and somebody found a reference in the Owner's Manual that said the blue power arc may not necessarily return after a system check, even though the car fully returned to EV mode.
I thought it would return to full EV much sooner. Also, the last time this happened, I know it was a good 10 minutes past and the car behaved like it was in HV mode - engine stayed on and kept supplying power. EV signal would only come on after a full stop, but as soon as you accelerate, the EV signal would go away. Next time it happens, I'll continue all the way home, which is about 20-25 minutes to see if full EV mode comes back.
