I recently had an issue with my 2018 Clarity where it would refuse to charge at all either with the included Honda charger or my after-market 240V charger. I've taken it into the dealer and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and simply did a hard reset of the electrical system. They've said it's not covered under warranty and now want to charge me $190 for this. Has anybody else had this problem (both with the charging and warranty coverage)?
Actually both the original warranty and the extended warranty. Ah well. This is the second time I've had problems with the charging port on my Clarity. Last year they had to swap out the entire thing because it would only charge intermittently.
No matter if it were the original 3/36 or HondaCare…..both would cover the cost, including diagnosis. Sounds to me like you need to find a different dealership, as I’m betting it was never diagnosed correctly, if at all.
Back to your original question, no I have never had any issues with charging my '18 Clarity. You sure you pressed and held down the charge button on the remote to force immediate charging?
Yes, usually when plugged in the charger will light up signaling a connection (both on the cable and at the car) - but in this situation, nothing lit up. So pressing the charge button does nothing, unfortunately.
Yea, you don’t have to do anything with the button on the remote, unless you had a schedule. So if it’s not charging, and you can show it’s not, then they are required to fix it under warranty. If that involves swapping out the entire charger, so be it.
There was a member awhile back who had one of the pins/prongs, from either the port or the cable, break off and become lodged on the wrong side of the tracks. It may have been lodged in the port, which had to be replaced. What this leads to is, the wife has been driving the car more lately than before. She had some concerns about the weight of the cable, ~3’ plus the J1772 cobra head, hanging from the charge port to the ground. As a means of relieving the strain, we now allow the cable to loop down a bit and then route it up and over the “rain diverter” inside the charge lid. It is perfectly sized to hold the cable. Of course this practice runs the risk of snapping off the lid, but that is a less costly repair than the charge port.
Id struggle to see how that wasn't covered by warranty. @Landshark one would hope that strain has been considered/tested during development but if you plan to keep the car for 10 years plus, def not a bad idea.
Unfortunately I just called Honda ((800) 999-5901) and they confirmed what the dealer said, which is because they could fix it with a hard reset as part of diagnosis and no parts needed to be replaced it’s not covered by warranty. Ah well. So this is just more of an FYI at this point. Thanks everyone for your time and feedback!
I don’t put much hope in hope. At least not in the hopes that plastic parts made at the lowest cost possible will withstand the rigors of daily use. Hope isn’t a viable strategy. My strategy is to minimize the strain on the components. We’ve had reports of pins breaking off, side view mirrors coming undone, trunk lids not staying up, driver side A pillar trim separating, wheel bearing issues, A/C issues and I had a driver side door gasket replaced that pulled out. Sure, we can hope that they built a bomb proof car, but reality tells us they didn’t.
A constant reminder for all of us would be: When all else fails, before heading off to the dealer, remove the negative cable from the 12V battery for 30 seconds and then reconnect it. There may actually be a greater chance of achieving success that taking the car to a dealer.
I think the appropriate response would be something like this: Why actually it is covered under warrantee, I am calling my state attorney general, and office for consumer affairs, and oh, I am joining 537 Honda message boards tonight after I stop at the art store and get some big poster board to write signs up and am going to park in front of your dealership blowing my horn No, no I would not pay that bill
Hondas appropriate response might be: “We charged you the diagnostic fee to which you agreed when you spoke with the service tech. Oh, you’ll also need to get a permit for your protest, which will have to be conducted at least 3 miles from our property. Have a nice day.”
From Magnuson-Moss: Full Warranty Requirements Under a full warranty, in the case of a defect, malfunction, or failure to conform with the written warranty, the warrantor: can remedy the consumer product within a reasonable time and without charge; may not impose any limitation on the duration of any implied warranty on the product; may not exclude or limit consequential damages for a breach of any written or implied warranty on the product, unless the exclusion or limitation conspicuously appears on the face of the warranty; and if the product, or a component part, contains a defect or malfunction, must permit the consumer to elect either a refund or replacement without charge, after a reasonable number of repair attempts. In addition, the warrantor may not impose any duty, other than notification, upon any consumer, as a condition of securing the repair of any consumer product that malfunctions, is defective, or does not conform to the written warranty. However, the warrantor may require consumers to return a defective item to its place of purchase for repair. I think in this case the law is on your side.
Thanks for the follow up all. I think Honda's position is that if in the act of diagnosing the problem it went away then there isn't a problem to begin with. (I guess kind of like turning it off and on again...) But, in a plot twist, I get home and it doesn't charge again. So it looks like I'll be bringing it back to the dealer and hopefully it will get fixed this time (and covered under warranty!).
Try charging on a public or neighbors EVSE. If it works there, time to check your electric supply at home. I'd start with the ground.
