Bunch of newbie questions

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by phaze, Nov 9, 2018.

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  1. phaze

    phaze New Member

    I took delivery of my clarity touring last week. I am hoping to get people's thoughts on a few things -

    1. So far, I have not seen the EV range to be > 43.6 miles. The temperatures over here have been between 50-65 deg so I don't think this has to do with the weather. Any thoughts why that may be?

    2. What is the ideal driving mode in city roads where the speed never goes >30mph and the battery is depleted? I have noticed the higher engine revving in this situation.

    3. I have noticed that for the same temperature, the air blowing from the vents can be cold or hot i.e. every time I start the car, it seems like I get a different temperature even though the setting is the same. Has anyone else experienced this?

    4. This might be a dumb question but are there any suggestions on how to hang a typical parking permit on the rear-view mirror? I tried but it is a struggle due to the shape of the bar that attaches the mirror to the car and the thick cable running alongside it. Even when I can get the permit to hang, it does not stay vertical. For my situation, I need to take the permit on/off frequently. The notch in this permit is on the top not the side.

    5. This is minor but is there a way to split screen the lane watch camera view with navi (honda or android auto)?

    Thanks!
     
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  3. insightman

    insightman Well-Known Member Subscriber

    1. The Clarity estimates the EV range based on your previous driving style. The estimate may not match the actual range you can achieve by driving carefully to keep the Power/Charge Gauge in its low range.
    2. After you allow the battery to become depleted, the mode doesn't much matter because the engine has to do all the work. It's better to conserve your battery charge and not allow it to become depleted by using HV Mode (along with ECON Mode). Of course, you can use HV CHARGE Mode to charge your battery on the run, but that's the least efficient way to drive your Clarity.
    3. When running on battery power it takes the electric heater a few minutes to warm up the water going through the Climate Control system. Similarly when running on engine power--as with all ICE-powered cars--it takes a few minutes. The Clarity's air-conditioner is pretty quick to begin generating cold air, however. I guess there's a chance that the thermostat in your Climate Control system has a problem because I haven't experienced your problem.
    4. I have no trouble hanging a handicapped parking tag on our mirror. You could loop a tie-wrap around the mirror stalk and hang your smaller-opening parking permit on that.
    5. I do not know of any way to split the image on the Clarity's infotainment screen. When the Lane Watch camera is active, just like the rear-view camera (and the annoying warning that pops up every time you start the car), that's all you get to see.
     
  4. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    You should use HV mode for much or most of your highway driving, so you can preserve as much of your EV range as you need for those city roads where the speed never goes >30 MPH. If you're driving on a depleted battery under those conditions, then you're not using the PHEV to its best advantage.

    The easiest thing would be to put a hanger on the hanger. ;) For example, you could take a wire and bend it into the right shape to hang from the rear-view mirror, then hang the parking permit from the wire. But you may find something laying around in your home that's better or easier to use as a hanger.

     
  5. siddpup

    siddpup New Member

    On the other questions, I agree with what has already been said. For the permit, we have the same issue. We have used one of those (small) Velcro command strips to hang the permit in the car. We actually cut it in half, as we didn’t need much in the way of sticking power. That does put it in line with the window rather than hanging vertically-but it is easy to move between cars. It has only been up a while, so not sure how well it will work once the hot of summer and cold of full winter hits it, but it is good so far.
     
  6. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    Those were all great ways to get it to hang on the nonstandard mirror mount. Fortunately KY lets me place my handicapped tag on the dash so I just wedge a little bit of it into the groove at the driver’s side dashboard.
    Might want to see if your parking authority allows dash placement.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2018
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  8. jdonalds

    jdonalds Well-Known Member

    It seems everyone's situation is unique. As others have said the EV Range estimate depends somewhat on your previous drive. In our particular case part of the tail end of our drive home is a 14% uphill grade. The car always gives us a low EV Range estimate because of that hill.

    Our winters are mild with daytime temps in the 70s and overnight in the 30s at this time of year. Our EV Range estimates recently have been about 43-44 miles. In the over 100 degree summers we were seeing 48-52 miles. If we didn't have that hill I'm guessing our range estimates would be about 3 to 5 miles higher.
    The fact is with careful driving we can usually beat the car's estimate. With a starting range of 44 I usually get 48 or so on daily trips.
     
  9. ukon

    ukon Member

    I am about to take delivery in a week and this thread is very helpful.
    If I can add when would one use Eco mode vs HV mode?
    Does both Eco and HV mode maintain charge for driving latter in EV?

    Is there a default "regen" setting that normal mode uses with out paddle shifters engaged. (or ECO mode for that instance)?
     
  10. jdonalds

    jdonalds Well-Known Member

    The general agreement here, and suggestion by Honda, is to use ECON mode except for high speed freeway driving where you use HV. It's pretty much that simple. However most of us want to maximize driving in electric mode. One common thing many do is, while still running in HV on the freeway, reserve some battery charge and when the EV Range estimate is equal or greater than the distance to the next charge station (usually home) switch HV off.

    The only way to really run in electric only mode is to have ECON on / HV off. That way the engine won't come on until you either push the accelerator pedal down past the detent, or the battery level drops to two bars.

    When in HV mode the car is supposed to maintain the battery charge that existed when you turned HV on. Depending on extra energy required, such as going up hills, the battery may lose some charge.

    The ECON mode/button does two things. 1) it maps the accelerator pedal so it is less responsive. That assists you in reducing the rate of acceleration. 2) It alters the climate system to reduce power required. You can use ECON with HV too.

    If you're not using the regen paddles (special case for Sport mode) the car will make use of those times when the car is slowing or going downhill to add charge to the battery. As you depress the brake pedal the car will activate regen to add charge to the battery. The more you apply the brake pedal the stronger the regen. At some point in the brake pedal travel the friction brakes will also come into play.

    In Sport mode whatever level of regen you set with the paddles will remain.
     
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  11. ukon

    ukon Member

    </quote> The ECON mode/button does two things. 1) it maps the accelerator pedal so it is less responsive. That assists you in reducing the rate of acceleration. 2) It alters the climate system to reduce power required. You can use ECON with HV too. </quote>

    Ah! I think I was missing this completely. I thought of operating as 3 modes - Econ, normal, HV and it can only be in 1 mode at a time. Thanks for taking time to explain in depth. Now I understand them much better.
     
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  13. MPower

    MPower Well-Known Member

    20181114_225730.jpg 20181114_225622.jpg
    Get a pack of tiny Velcro cable ties that you can keep permanently on either the rear view mirror stalk or the tag. The have them in the notions department at Joann Fabric or other craft stores.
     

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