2018 Clarity owners, please update battery status

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).

 

Its just an Excel chart. I just record the EV Range and outside temperature.

 

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 !

 

Has anyone had to have their battery replaced? I'm interested in knowing how much it costs.

 

It would be covered under warranty. Cost would be zero.

 

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.

 

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

Good to know! Thanks.

 

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.

 

Yes when people talked about their mileage suddenly deteriorated, I wonder if it is just the displayed EV ranged changed from the update.

 

I own a 2020 corolla hybrid. It is much louder than clarity from the engine. Atkinson engines are known to perform poorly on NVH.

 

https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/lots-of-brand-new-info-from-pre-delivery-inspection-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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.