2018 Clarity owners, please update battery status

Here's my story. We bought our Touring Dec 5, 2017. We always and only charge it at home, mostly with power from the solar system. We use a 220V 40 amp JuiceBox set to 32a.

Somewhere around April of 2019 our EV range suddenly dropped from the 48 mile area down to 39 or so. I took it in to Honda but they said everything was normal. I tried a couple of times but Honda has been no help. Since then, hot or cold weather, we see little variation in our EV Range which runs between 36 and 42 miles. I must add that many people experience well into the high 50s and even over 60 miles for some. We've never had that pleasure with our best being closer to 52 before the drop happened.

It's now almost 18 months later and our EV Range has never corrected. 40 miles of range is fine for us to run 100% electric but wintertime range can occasionally not be enough and the engine might kick on for a short while.

Our drive/charge pattern is this. We drive our son to school in the morning, a 25 mile round trip. We charge while he's at school (we are both retired) and make the second 25 mile trip to pick him up. But that morning trip can easily turn into 30 or more miles if my wife goes to church, the gym, or shopping.

It pisses me off that we have this problem and it's within the parameters Honda set. I drive it all the time now wishing it would drop another 10 miles of EV Range so I could get Honda to deal with it. I know the chart is very busy but you can see the average since May 2019 is 40 miles of EV Range. The blue line is read off the Honda App showing EV Range. There are a few blips where the range seems to be extraordinarily good but those have to do with mountain trips where the second half of the trip is mostly downhill for about 40 miles. The next time the car tries to compute range it says, "Oh you got such good range yesterday we'll use that to compute today's trip too." The green line is the running average.

Those periods when the daytime temperatures are in the 60s to 80s the EV Range should be in the high 50s to mid 60s but it never happens.

View attachment 9378

We totally love the car. I've thought of selling it and buying another Clarity but I'd hate to pass this problem to someone else, and the cost of swapping cars isn't worth it.

Wow ! That is quite the chart which I've never seen or heard of before. Is this something only available in the USA? The canadian version of "Honda-Link" doesn't have it. And I can't see how my PCs could communicate with the car. Battery and range on mine at 45084 km (28014 miles) still shows between 80 to 86 km (50 to 53 miles) in the summer. In the fall, it starts to drop off but that is expected.
 
Wow ! That is quite the chart which I've never seen or heard of before. Is this something only available in the USA? The canadian version of "Honda-Link" doesn't have it. And I can't see how my PCs could communicate with the car. Battery and range on mine at 45084 km (28014 miles) still shows between 80 to 86 km (50 to 53 miles) in the summer. In the fall, it starts to drop off but that is expected.
I forgot to add that recharging is through 120 V wall socket 99% of the time if that changes anything.
 
Battery DOES have active cooling. When I charge w/ my 32amp lvl 2 charger at home, I can hear the fan in the car kick in after a while.

My guessometer says 49ish most of the time.

2018 Clarity Touring, 30% of the time I drive like an a$$, the rest very speedlimity. 21k miles on it.

My biggest "irk" is how at around 25% battery left the engine will kick on sooner than I'd like.
 
I lease a Touring model, starting November 2018. Just reaching 26000 miles, probably 80% EV. Charge with home 220V charger exclusively. I do very little driving on the highway. My dashboard estimates fully charged run from 60 down to 45 in summer (usually low 50s), rarely above 35 in winter. I have not noticed a deterioration in those numbers, but note my very low mileage (I get 15000 a year on my lease, and won't make that since the Covid shutdown).
 
Wow ! That is quite the chart which I've never seen or heard of before. Is this something only available in the USA? The canadian version of "Honda-Link" doesn't have it. And I can't see how my PCs could communicate with the car. Battery and range on mine at 45084 km (28014 miles) still shows between 80 to 86 km (50 to 53 miles) in the summer. In the fall, it starts to drop off but that is expected.
Its just an Excel chart. I just record the EV Range and outside temperature.
 
The Honda dealer said they don't do anything about it unless a light comes on telling them that there's a battery issue

I believe there is no "light" or any other warning of problematic battery capacity. We just need to be aware (as you are) and when there are enough signs of capacity dropping to 66% of original, then go to the dealer for confirmation and possible battery warranty service.

We have also speculated that measuring the amount of energy that is input to the vehicle during a full charge may be a reasonable indicator of battery capacity. Do you have a Level2 EVSE that reports the charge input (kWh)? In my case (2018 Clarity), a full charge was ~14.4 kWh originally. It is now more like 13.5 kWh so I believe I have lost around 6%. I think the loss may be higher initially and then settle down over a longer term. My initial capacity was 54.1 Ah when it was new in 2018.

Finally, remember the warranty is 8Y / 100K unless you live in certain states, in which case it increases to 10Y / 150K miles. Those states are:
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. I am one of the lucky ones !
 
Now I just realized people reporting a range of high 50s or even 60s may not have measured their actual range. I set my trip meter to reset every time charged so I know for sure. The guess o meter is always overestimating. I bought my 2018 in May 2018. 36xxx miles on it. Low 40s mike at temperature of 75 ish. Most cruising on highway at 70mph.
 
Do you have a Level2 EVSE that reports the charge input (kWh)?

I charge with a standard 120V wall outlet, so unfortunately no charging info.


Finally, remember the warranty is 8Y / 100K unless you live in certain states, in which case it increases to 10Y / 150K miles. Those states are:
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. I am one of the lucky ones !

Good to know! Thanks.
 
Now I just realized people reporting a range of high 50s or even 60s may not have measured their actual range. I set my trip meter to reset every time charged so I know for sure. The guess o meter is always overestimating. I bought my 2018 in May 2018. 36xxx miles on it. Low 40s mike at temperature of 75 ish. Most cruising on highway at 70mph.

You are correct. A number of folks discuss the displayed EV range as if it were the actual miles driven. I do the same B trip reset at each recharge. Many drives are less than available EV capacity. On the ones that exceed EV range, I’ll either just use up the battery and finish the trip in HV while making a note of the mileage when the ICE triggered, or, drive a certain distance in EV, use HV in the middle and finish in EV, again, taking notes of the mileage when changing modes.

Yes, it is mentally exhausting, but since the car can’t do it, someone has to.
 
I've had my 2018 Clarity for more than 2.5 years. As soon as Honda did the first software update, the mileage deteriorated and never came back. Two dealers, while pleasant, tested the car, but implied that what I was seeing was in line with other customers. I'm not an aggressive driver. I live in California, so temperatures are not extreme. The car gets around 38-42 miles on electric in summer and low thirties during our "winter" which is more like Canadian fall. How people are getting in the 50's and 60's is baffling -- Are they always driving downhill in a tailwind, driving like old grandmas.

I like the vehicle (when it's in electric mode) but don't love it. I especially don't like the buzzing bees sound of the gas motor and CVT transmission. I really like the idea of a gas/electric combo like the Clarity, but can hardly wait for more choice on SUV's with the equivalent technology. I'd like to see the Toyota Rav 4 Plug in, soon to be released, but the reviews are already talking about excessive engine noise.
 
You are correct. A number of folks discuss the displayed EV range as if it were the actual miles driven. I do the same B trip reset at each recharge. Many drives are less than available EV capacity. On the ones that exceed EV range, I’ll either just use up the battery and finish the trip in HV while making a note of the mileage when the ICE triggered, or, drive a certain distance in EV, use HV in the middle and finish in EV, again, taking notes of the mileage when changing modes.

Yes, it is mentally exhausting, but since the car can’t do it, someone has to.
Yes when people talked about their mileage suddenly deteriorated, I wonder if it is just the displayed EV ranged changed from the update.
 
I've had my 2018 Clarity for more than 2.5 years. As soon as Honda did the first software update, the mileage deteriorated and never came back. Two dealers, while pleasant, tested the car, but implied that what I was seeing was in line with other customers. I'm not an aggressive driver. I live in California, so temperatures are not extreme. The car gets around 38-42 miles on electric in summer and low thirties during our "winter" which is more like Canadian fall. How people are getting in the 50's and 60's is baffling -- Are they always driving downhill in a tailwind, driving like old grandmas.

I like the vehicle (when it's in electric mode) but don't love it. I especially don't like the buzzing bees sound of the gas motor and CVT transmission. I really like the idea of a gas/electric combo like the Clarity, but can hardly wait for more choice on SUV's with the equivalent technology. I'd like to see the Toyota Rav 4 Plug in, soon to be released, but the reviews are already talking about excessive engine noise.
I own a 2020 corolla hybrid. It is much louder than clarity from the engine. Atkinson engines are known to perform poorly on NVH.
 
I got my clarity in December of 2017. 59k miles now. I was getting 40 to 45 miles per charge until November of 2019 when it suddenly dropped to 35 to 40 miles per charge. Thought this was attributed to colder weather, but it never recovered. I finally took it to the dealer a few months ago. They said that the reported EV range on the dash doesn't really matter because it's an estimate based on driving patterns. I asked them to measure the battery capacity. I believe I read somewhere that the factory capacity should be 55 Ah. Mine measured about 45 Ah. The Honda dealer said they don't do anything about it unless a light comes on telling them that there's a battery issue. This was a while ago, but I believe after researching online or asking the dealership I came up with a number of 36 Ah when the light gets activated. Annoyed that in my case the battery seems to have degraded about 20 percent after 2 years.


https://www.insideevsforum.com/comm...spection-doc-esp-on-battery-replacement.2742/

The PDI reads:

To check battery pack capacity in this vehicle, you must use the i-HDS. Just go to the Electric Powertrain Data List,
and look at the Battery Pack Capacity signal. If its value reads less than 36.6 Ah and the battery is still under
warranty, the battery is eligible for warranty replacement
 
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I got my clarity in December of 2017. 59k miles now. I was getting 40 to 45 miles per charge until November of 2019 when it suddenly dropped to 35 to 40 miles per charge. Thought this was attributed to colder weather, but it never recovered. I finally took it to the dealer a few months ago. They said that the reported EV range on the dash doesn't really matter because it's an estimate based on driving patterns. I asked them to measure the battery capacity. I believe I read somewhere that the factory capacity should be 55 Ah. Mine measured about 45 Ah. The Honda dealer said they don't do anything about it unless a light comes on telling them that there's a battery issue. This was a while ago, but I believe after researching online or asking the dealership I came up with a number of 36 Ah when the light gets activated. Annoyed that in my case the battery seems to have degraded about 20 percent after 2 years.
Same here (see my earlier post and Excel data). I'm waiting for the battery to get worse, or to sell this car and buy a new Clarity.
 
Yes when people talked about their mileage suddenly deteriorated, I wonder if it is just the displayed EV ranged changed from the update.
Our EV Range (what many call the Guess O Meter) is actually quite accurate and repeatable. We drive a regular circuit most days. I also reset the B trip gauge every time the car is charged. The 38-40 mile EV Range (GOM) we are getting is accurate.
 
I got my clarity in December of 2017. 59k miles now. I was getting 40 to 45 miles per charge until November of 2019 when it suddenly dropped to 35 to 40 miles per charge. Thought this was attributed to colder weather, but it never recovered. I finally took it to the dealer a few months ago. They said that the reported EV range on the dash doesn't really matter because it's an estimate based on driving patterns. I asked them to measure the battery capacity. I believe I read somewhere that the factory capacity should be 55 Ah. Mine measured about 45 Ah. The Honda dealer said they don't do anything about it unless a light comes on telling them that there's a battery issue. This was a while ago, but I believe after researching online or asking the dealership I came up with a number of 36 Ah when the light gets activated. Annoyed that in my case the battery seems to have degraded about 20 percent after 2 years.
It seems your Clarity and mine are the only two that exhibit this 10 mile drop in EV Range. I'm wondering if we have anything in common that could be an underlying cause, or is it just a fault in the battery system.

In our case we, like many others, rarely ever have the ICE come on. So we are making maximum use of the Econ mode. Our daily drive is mostly to take our son to school and pick him up. Each is a 25 mile round trip. We take him to school, put on perhaps another 5-10 miles, then head home and charge back to full. We might make a short trip again charging back to full. Then we pick him up from school and charge to full again. It's possible to go out in the evening for a drive of 5-15 miles, then charge again. So it is very common for us to charge twice in a day, and can charge up to four times. I wonder if all of that charging and discharging (driving) is anything like your pattern?
 
@Rclarity2018 has a capacity check that indicates his battery is down about 17% from a 'new' battery. This is consistent with his observed range experience.

@jdonalds - I can't recall... If you haven't had your capacity tested, I would suggest that you do so. It would be a good data point for everyone, and it would give you a preview of possible warranty action in the future.

Those who are having unusual degradation could possibly be the lucky ones because they might qualify for a warranty replacement. As discussed, the warranty is entirely based on the capacity as measured by the vehicle. This removes any ambiguity that exists with EV range reports that are subject to many factors.
 
@Rclarity2018 has a capacity check that indicates his battery is down about 17% from a 'new' battery. This is consistent with his observed range experience.

@jdonalds - I can't recall... If you haven't had your capacity tested, I would suggest that you do so. It would be a good data point for everyone, and it would give you a preview of possible warranty action in the future.

Those who are having unusual degradation could possibly be the lucky ones because they might qualify for a warranty replacement. As discussed, the warranty is entirely based on the capacity as measured by the vehicle. This removes any ambiguity that exists with EV range reports that are subject to many factors.
After our range fell by almost 10 miles I took the car to the dealer. This was about April 2019. At that time the battery capacity was reported as 49.6. I have not had it checked since then. As I am in the process of trading the car in I won't be able to have it checked again on this particular car.
 
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