Hit the one year milestone September 15. Below are the numbers followed by a short review. Numbers are raw and as collected. Understand rounding was used and yes there is a small margin of error either direction. 10,203 miles 1743.39 kWh 72.35 gallons of gas 52 mpg*** HV mode Cost $351.24 (petrol + kWh) ~3760 miles on the ICE ~6440 miles EV ~3.69 average m/kWh...(mean ~3.93 m/kWh) Surely numbers will change year over year due to circumstances...But this at least provides a baseline to compare with next year's numbers. More data will tighten the curve for sure. The Clarity is driven ~15 days a month. As a matter of course since day one ownership of the Clarity: SOC is maintained between 25-90% majority of the time L1 OEM charger set for 8.5 hours charge time - 2230 - 0700 Only charge when SOC <30% (typically after every EV drive day) EV 0 discharge/recharge to 100% for cell re-balancing etc ~once a month Run pure gas/non-ethanol 100% of the time Drive ~two days a month entirely in HV mode...picked at random When I decide to run the heat...I run in HV mode which reduces the negative impact on the EV range. Typically utilize paddles <50 mph I drive in normal mode 95% of the time...sport mode 5% with a 80/20 split local vs highway. Sedate driving style. I don't drive the Clarity when it is super cold (defined as 25 degrees or less daytime highs)...I have no doubt the m/kWh would be lower if I did. The weather where I live is conducive to "solid EV numbers" as harsh winters are rare and when they do occur, they are very short lived. Summers rarely get into the 90's. Rarely run the heat (see above)...AC set to 71 all summer. As stated ad nauseam...driving habits, environmental conditions, terrain etc all play heavily into the numbers. If comparing numbers...choose red apples to red apples. Its not a contest. As for the Clarity...the production line employees and robots produce a very nice car. I thoroughly enjoy driving the Clarity and have zero regrets thus far. Ride is smooth, handling is great, ACC/LSF work as expected, AC works about the best I've experienced, trunk space fine, back seat fine. Zero issues driving HV mode regardless of SoC. Zero angry bees. Center stack tablet outdated and slow but functional. Could the Clarity have a few more bells n whistles typical of a car in this class? Sure. But I bought the Clarity understanding what it has and doesn't have...so no complaints. Since I do my own maintenance...things are straight forward. For me personally the maintenance minder is useless. Primarily based on time and distance with perhaps a few sensor readings thrown in. I changed the factory fill ~6500 miles. Today's full synthetic oil combined with a quality filter can easily go 1 year when factoring in that I put 3700 miles on the ICE. I will use science to determine if I can go longer. Plan is to send sample for analysis at 12 months from OC and take it from there. Honda USA? Pathetic. Honda dealership network? Good luck...as with any brand. My hope is I never have to deal with either on anything major...with minor interactions very limited...(ie) TSB updates or recalls. Concerns? Parts availability/timeliness...mechanical or accident related? Sudden drop in EV range as reported by some? Loss of power? Tires? Wheel bearing? Inept service for a car of this complexity? All the above reported multiple times...so who knows...anyone's guess. Hope this helps. *** I have run 4 HV mpg data collection efforts (fall, winter, spring, summer). Each one started with a 100% fuel level and finished with <20%. 3 were 80/20 local/highway split. 1 was several hundred mile interstate trip with remaining 80/20 split. 1 (or maybe 2) HV mpg data collection effort(s) were posted months ago if interested in the particulars.
I have been logging a lot of data almost since day 1, and someday I will pull it all together and compare. Probably similar except most of my charging is on L2, and maybe less than 1500 ICE miles. I am curious how many Clarity PHEV owners have battery capacity measurements, especially after some period of usage. I didn't have capacity numbers on the new car (pre delivery inspection), but at my 1 year check-up I got them to test it and it came back at 55.0 Ah (~11k miles). I'd love to see more capacity numbers posted to see what the real life degradation rates look like.
@Ray B Look forward to seeing mo data myself. At purchase the battery capacity of the Clarity I drive was supposedly 54.9 Ah. 10k and ~1 year later it reads 54.3 Ah for a ~1% decrease. Wonder what the margin of error is for this reading? I question validity of the value as an absolute. Bound to be error somewhere along the line (OBD/sensor/user) albeit slight. Either way...its close enough for government work to say all is good for year 1...lol Anywho I look forward to year 3 and beyond traction battery readings.
The value is actually stored in the system, then read using equipment that has access to that data. Sort of the same concept as emissions testing, sort of a misnomer as they no longer run the car on a dymo and check tailpipe emissions like they used to, instead they just hook up their computer to obtain the stored emissions data. As to how accurate the stored battery capacity value is that's another question, but any inaccuracy would not be related to equipment or operator.
The battery capacity is actually very accurate, as it is temperature compensated and based on the BMS's coulomb counter. As the battery is "always in balance" under normal conditions this value is considered by Honda to be the official state of health of the pack (and that follows IEEE guidance). It is what the warranty is based on and the MIL/DTC for failure of the pack at <25%. The temperature compensation is done in software by the i-HDS, and one of the reasons I have been having problems getting the FCAN data PID on it as the formula is still unknown. The variation in "new" HV battery capacities has been interesting and we still have user reports of BCT's all over this forum in different threads in different formats. Since all Honda cares about is Age, Mileage, and HV Capacity regarding the warranty - it seems that would be the best item to know and get an estimate of trends. The joke is that although this report is available for free while your car is under warranty (according to Honda USA) it is not "included" in any dealer service inspection. You have to ask for it and half the time they have no idea what you are talking about, come back later and say your battery tested good, and they load tested your 12 volt battery for you (and maybe charged you for it).... I have copied the last page of the PDI and have it ready to give to the service adviser every time I go in, and just say, "I want this report" and point to it. So far my battery is aging slightly above a predicted curve. However, I am only going to get concerned if Murphy decides to mess with me at 7 years 11 months and 29 days and makes my battery pass at 36.7 Ah. If all goes well, I'll be getting a new battery in a few years... Cheers, Cash
