how to use paddle

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JKroll

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i read the manual but its quite bare.

So I am coming to stop sign I start using negative paddle and stop. Now do I have to reset the paddle back before accelearting again?

Is there one step disable for negative paddle I used?

If I use paddle to stop I can avoid using brakes right?
 
OK. Here’s what’s happening for me

No need to reset paddle upon acceleration. It will turn off on its own unless you’re in Sport Mode. Car won’t let brake/regen and accel power happen at same time.

Each up step of regen needs one paddle push to down step.

Full regen/4 chevrons gets me down to about 4-5 mph on a flat road. It’s not 100% one pedal driving, but pretty close.
 
my experience has been some resistance to accelerating after negative paddles have not been reset. Or am i imagining stuff?
 
JKroll said:
my experience has been some resistance to accelerating after negative paddles have not been reset. Or am i imagining stuff?
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Just experimented on level road with constant accel pedal pressure and constant speed, and did not notice any difference when selecting no, 1, or 4 chevrons regen on normal econ mode.
What mode where you in when you felt like it was resisting/regening while taking power from battery?? I don’t think that can happen.
 
If you use the paddles to stop you can avoid using the brakes until you want to come to a complete stop. I don't think the regen paddles will actually bring the car to a complete stop.
 
The brakes are blended in the Clarity, stepping on the brake pedal automatically applies regen first. The paddles are unnecessary in this regard if you don't step heavily on the brake.

Although coasting is better than regen in some circumstances, like coasting downhill on the highway if you are okay with extra speed from coasting, it often isn't practical. For example, approaching a stop sign and coasting won't slow you down enough. Stop and go driving you really need to use regen, and it is a lot better than cars that don't use regen.

I like to use the regen paddle to adjust how quickly I am slowing down. If I am coming up to someone too quickly (but not so quickly I need to brake), I pull it a couple times to get added regen and slow me down quicker. In sport mode I would put it on max and leave it there. It keeps it until you shift to reverse or maybe set cruise control.
 
I definitely like the regen paddle method of the Clarity better than the one huge regen button behind the wheel of the Volt/ELR.
 
JyChevyVolt said:
Coasting is better than regeneration.

1. More energy efficient.
2. Less tire wear.
Click to expand...
Trouble with that theory is that here appears to be no coasting in the Clarity (unless you’re in neutral). Take your foot of the accel pedal (no brake pedal) and watch the power meter immediately sink down into the green regen area even though no single regen chevron appears. You will also see the center display show regen (wheels to battery flow) if you’ve got it on the Info/Energy screen. This is all without touching the brake pedal or regen paddles. So we’re always using power or regening to some extent at all times we’re moving. Classic hypermiling coasting is not possible in the Clarity.
 
It’s nothing I would recommend, but many of us LEAFers mastered the art of the neutral coast for hypermiling. When you have to squeeze every last foot out of your battery, you learn what works best and what doesn’t.

Glad I no longer have to drive in winter with little/no heat and hypermiling the whole way just to do my occasional big city commute.

The paddles are like “B-mode” in the LEAF. Better than friction brakes, but still not as efficient as not slowing down or stopping at all. Again, not recommended :-P
 
The regen on the Clarity - even at max - is minimal compared to our Tesla. In that car, there is no gentle slowing (unless you set it to the lower regen setting). At full regen setting, the car slows down fast. In the Clarity, not so fast - even uphill at 4 carats. Honda's is not a great implementation of regen. So that's an area they can really improve on in 2.0…
 
Anyone notice a change in the paddle regen power? I have been using the paddles a LOT, but the last two days, even at 4-chevrons, the car doesn't seem to be slowing much. There definitely seems to be a difference and I'm wondering what could have happened.

Also, my full charge is now maxing out at 33 mile EV range even though the weather is warming up a bit. Last month, with 40-degree temps, I maxed out at 39 miles of EV range.

I'm worried something has happened to the battery ...
 
I notice if the battery is cold, regen is heavily limited. It will sometimes not let you set regen levels above 1 or 2. If you go to 4 it might immediately go back to 2 or 3. Verify it shows 4 Chevrons.

Any changes in parking or driving behavior? Different heater usage?
 
This is as per the owner's manual (page 391):

In the following situations, the deceleration stage may not change and the stage number will blink even if you pull back the selector. The deceleration stage may decrease or cancel automatically:
• The high voltage battery is fully charged or its temperature is too cold or too hot.
• The speed of the vehicle is beyond the deceleration range with SPORT mode off.
• Hybrid system protection is needed.
• The paddle selector is operated while your vehicle is stopped automatically by ACC with LSF.
 
Viking79 said:
I notice if the battery is cold, regen is heavily limited. It will sometimes not let you set regen levels above 1 or 2. If you go to 4 it might immediately go back to 2 or 3. Verify it shows 4 Chevrons.

Any changes in parking or driving behavior? Different heater usage?
Click to expand...
Thanks. While there was a *change* in temperature recently (got another d**n cold snap), it was not significantly lower than it has been during the last several months of my car ownership. It's been much colder and I haven't used the car any differently. I did drive it through some heavy snow this past weekend, but I doubt whether that could have done any damage to the battery or regen system.

Could it?
 
Ok, and remember I am new here and learning a lot. So my question is do you improve your operational results by using the paddles as compared to just applying the brakes. I am wondering since you do regen with both the brakes and the paddles.

Thank you all so much for the great info you have posted here.
Nancy
 
Nancy Stich said:
Ok, and remember I am new here and learning a lot. So my question is do you improve your operational results by using the paddles as compared to just applying the brakes. I am wondering since you do regen with both the brakes and the paddles.
Click to expand...
Others may have experimented more precisely with this, but if you're gentle with the brakes it probably doesn't make much of a difference. Pushing the brake pedal lightly should get you the same amount of regeneration as using the paddles. The brakes only start to get significantly worse if you push harder so the mechanical brakes kick in.

That said, relying on the regen paddles as much as you can is a good way to encourage efficient driving. In that:
  1. Using the paddles you don't have the ability to press too hard and end up with mechanical braking.
  2. There's some encouragement just by the way they work to drive more smoothly.
  3. Because even 4 chevrons with the paddles is relatively mild regeneration, you're probably going to get the most efficient regeneration and most efficient driving by using that as much as possible.
Essentially while it shouldn't (as far as I know) really be necessary, using the paddles does encourage efficient driving from a regeneration and gentle stop perspective.
 
Can someone explain the physis behind the regen braking, especially how different levels of regen is applied? The owner's manuals says if you apply regen braking too quick, the wheels may lock
 
Nancy Stich said:
Ok, and remember I am new here and learning a lot. So my question is do you improve your operational results by using the paddles as compared to just applying the brakes. I am wondering since you do regen with both the brakes and the paddles.

Thank you all so much for the great info you have posted here.
Nancy
Click to expand...
Nancy, that’s a very good question and one that has been discussed at length in various threads. While Honda has not specifically addressed this, the consensus of the forum seems to be that there is no difference in regen/efficiency between light to moderate pedal braking and paddle use.

However, because Honda did such a phenomenal job of blending the physical brakes with the regeneration braking it is virtually impossible to know when you are using the physical brakes along with regenerating. This is the reason some will say use the paddles in order to make sure your getting maximum regen.
But the majority believes that you can get the same results just by keeping your pedal braking light to moderate which will not call for braking force beyond what regen can do so this will not use the physical brakes.

While not absolute proof, the following observations support this:
-Select 4 chevron/max regen and watch the Power/Charge Guage as you apply physical brakes. Unless it is an extremely steep downhill you will see the regen will increase even more.
-On a level road at the same speed try 4 chevron paddle regen vs pedal braking and you will see that you can get the same amount of charge (deflection into green part of Power/Charge Guage) or even more.
-After a long period of only light to moderate braking, I’ve noticed the brake rotors are slightly rusty and not the shiny look of a well used one.

So I agree with most in that there is usually no measurable advantage to paddling vs pushing as long as your braking/pedal effort is light to moderate.

So how do you know if your definition of light to moderate braking will achieve this? Just glance at the Power/Charge Guage while braking and if it doesn’t bottom out on the green charge scale then you should not be losing any regen to physical application of brakes.
So it’s lady’s choice. Pick either one and drive with a smile every time you pass a gas station!
 
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