Fuel Pump Recall - Long Wait for New Parts

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NJClarity

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Received Honda's letter regarding the fuel pump recall today for the 2018/2019 Clarity. It says new fuel pumps won't be available until the Fall. Does anyone know what happens if it fails in the interim? The Honda help line was no help and my dealer was already closed.
 
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If it's under warranty but they can't fix it for whatever reason, within a reasonable time, pretty sure they have to offer to buy it back. Might be amusing if that happens and there are suddenly a bunch of refurbished parts in stock :)
 
I have a feeling that most Clarity owners are at very little risk of a fuel pump failure (because many of us have a high percentage of EV use and the fuel pump gets little use compared to the MANY other Honda's that are strictly ICE).
 
Got my letter yesterday too. I think CRV, Pilot, Civic, Accord, and a bunch of others are affected too. It will be a long wait for the part and a VERY VERY long wait making the appt to get it fix at the dealer.
 
NJClarity said:
Received Honda's letter regarding the fuel pump recall today for the 2018/2019 Clarity. It says new fuel pumps won't be available until the Fall. Does anyone know what happens if it fails in the interim? The Honda help line was no help and my dealer was already closed.
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I spoke to the local Honda dealer and they said a failure could be fixed, with the dealer able to order a new fuel pump. The part that wasn’t specified was how long it would take to get one.
 
Honda says the fuel pump impeller deforms over time so I think the failure is more time related than use related. The issue is said to be an improperly molded part resulting in low density parts. I assume this means that there are voids in the molded material. According to Honda warranty records, the failure rate so far in the US is just under 2 per 1000 for all models. It would be interesting to see the number of fuel pump failures just for the Clarity. At 2 per 1000, the expected fuel pump warranty claims for the Clarity would be about 80 for the 40000 sold in the US.
 
Is “time” the only factor? Or is the amount of use over a period of time a factor?

A PHEV could travel 100,000 miles over a time period of 6 years, but only use the fuel pump 20% of the time that an ICE vehicle would use the fuel pump.

Will the impeller deform over time in a vehicle that seldom uses the fuel pump at the same rate as a vehicle that uses the fuel pump whenever it is operated?
 
Landshark said:
Is “time” the only factor? Or is the amount of use over a period of time a factor?

A PHEV could travel 100,000 miles over a time period of 6 years, but only use the fuel pump 20% of the time that an ICE vehicle would use the fuel pump.

Will the impeller deform over time in a vehicle that seldom uses the fuel pump at the same rate as a vehicle that uses the fuel pump whenever it is operated?
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Those are good questions. Would it be possible to create a post at the top of this forum so Clarity owners could post if their car had this problem. Then we would all know how serious the problem really is.
 
bpratt said:
Those are good questions. Would it be possible to create a post at the top of this forum so Clarity owners could post if their car had this problem. Then we would all know how serious the problem really is.
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To my knowledge, no InsideEVs forum member has reported a Honda fuel-pump failure. If they suddenly become commonplace, this thread will keep itself near the top.
 
insightman said:
To my knowledge, no InsideEVs forum member has reported a Honda fuel-pump failure. If they suddenly become commonplace, this thread will keep itself near the top.
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Indeed. Not even the veterans with hundreds of thousands of miles under their Clarities belts. That gives me some relief.
Got my letter today too. Funnily, it included some dire warning prompting me to repair it "as soon as possible" (how?), in order to avoid failing the DMV emission test (which is already a challenge with the Clarity, at least in NV). It would be nice if someone from Honda could answer @Landshark s questions.
 
leop said:
Honda says the fuel pump impeller deforms over time so I think the failure is more time related than use related. The issue is said to be an improperly molded part resulting in low density parts. I assume this means that there are voids in the molded material. According to Honda warranty records, the failure rate so far in the US is just under 2 per 1000 for all models. It would be interesting to see the number of fuel pump failures just for the Clarity. At 2 per 1000, the expected fuel pump warranty claims for the Clarity would be about 80 for the 40000 sold in the US.
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Any data on the age or mileage of those 2 per 1000 cars when the pump failed?
 
NJClarity said:
Received Honda's letter regarding the fuel pump recall today for the 2018/2019 Clarity. It says new fuel pumps won't be available until the Fall. Does anyone know what happens if it fails in the interim? The Honda help line was no help and my dealer was already closed.
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Pretty sure the way it works is if you have a failure you will be taken care of with the same part. Just don't have the new replacement part available yet.
 
My formal "Safety Recall Notice" showed up today (in Ohio). The recall was already on my radar; I had to renew my state registration and it was listed there. The letter explicitly says "Honda will send you a follow-up letter when replacement parts are available so you can then bring your vehicle in for repair" and doesn't suggest any other action. I've had some behavioral issues with my head unit (described in another thread) so I'm adding the fuel pump to my "take it to the dealer when I absolutely have to deal with it" list. Unless something changes, I'm waiting either for the fall or more issues.
 
Hi, I'm new here...
I have a 2018 Clarity I bought about 2 years ago. It has about 41k miles on it now. Everything has been great...except literally a few days after I got my recall letter, my car "stumbled" a bit as I was braking in hybrid mode. Not sure how else to describe it. It sounded like it would stall, but it did not. It drove fine after that and then about a month later it did it again. This time it was a little worse and again shortly after I put it in hybrid mode and only while braking.

My local dealer where I bought the car says they don't have any replacement fuel pumps. I called another one nearby and got the same answer. I'm in the SF bay area. I wrote to Honda and asked what happens if my car fails before the parts are available...no response yet.
 
FYI...One can find the correct fuel pump online if so inclined.

Personally, If I decide to take a long road trip in the Clarity this summer...I will purchase said pump and replace myself. Not a real complicated procedure and should take ~2 hrs start to finish.

$400 vs waiting for Honda with an unknown replacement date.

As of this writing I plan on local driving only so will wait on the Honda fix.

Just an option...please don't hate on the messenger. Knowing your options is a wonderful thing

Have a great day!
 

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Clarity_Newbie said:
FYI...One can find the correct fuel pump online if so inclined.

Personally, If I decide to take a long road trip in the Clarity this summer...I will purchase said pump and replace myself. Not a real complicated procedure and should take ~2 hrs start to finish.

$400 vs waiting for Honda with an unknown replacement date.

As of this writing I plan on local driving only so will wait on the Honda fix.

Just an option...please don't hate on the messenger. Knowing your options is a wonderful thing

Have a great day!
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Do you know if that pump has a new part number? I'd hate to pay $363.52 to get the same pump that's already in my Clarity PHEV.

If my pump fails tomorrow, will Honda replace it with the new, revised pump or will I have to return to get the replacement replaced with new one when they finally get them out to dealers?
 
insightman said:
Do you know if that pump has a new part number? I'd hate to pay $363.52 to get the same pump that's already in my Clarity PHEV.

If my pump fails tomorrow, will Honda replace it with the new, revised pump or will I have to return to get the replacement replaced with new one when they finally get them out to dealers?
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New part A01 vs original A00 or so says Honda.

Hope this helps.
 
Clarity_Newbie said:
FYI...One can find the correct fuel pump online if so inclined.

Personally, If I decide to take a long road trip in the Clarity this summer...I will purchase said pump and replace myself. Not a real complicated procedure and should take ~2 hrs start to finish.

$400 vs waiting for Honda with an unknown replacement date.

As of this writing I plan on local driving only so will wait on the Honda fix.

Just an option...please don't hate on the messenger. Knowing your options is a wonderful thing

Have a great day!
Click to expand...
Thanks. If I was confident in doing the work and had the proper tools that would be a good option.

I found a better one for me personally. My car's value was still quite high, and my biggest complaint with the clarity was wanting more EV range and it being a little sluggish in acceleration for my taste. I took a look at the prices of used Teslas, and after some rebates I traded in my clarity for a long range dual motor model 3 with only 39k miles on it. My total cost will be about $10k after the rebates, including my trade in.

Despite the recall, claritys still have quite a high value. This may not be the case as hybrid production ramps up.
 
The recall is for the 2018-2019 model years. The A00 part was the part used on those cars. The 2020-2021 uses the A01 part which presumably has been in production since late-2019.

What is peculiar is that Honda states in the Recall letter that a replacement part is not available, but should be available this fall. Yet the A01 part is readily available.

Is Honda feeding us a load of crap, or is the A01 part not a suitable, or approved, replacement.
 
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