I have a 2019 Clarity. In general it's been fantastic. But for the second time since I've owned it, the energy information (on the dash) showed that the car was using gasoline, when I was just driving around town on battery only. And the gasoline miles were going down pretty quickly. I've checked to make sure I didn't have anything inadvertantly turned on that would use gas. This worries me greatly. Anyone have an explanation? The car has a little under 13,000 miles.
Has the fuel level on the gauge dropped? What sort of numbers are you talking about when you say the range estimate has changed? If you’re not actually using gas, there’s nothing to be worried about. It’s likely a software glitch that could be remedied by a hard reset.
Without having a diagnostic device connected to the ODBII port, the only sure way to know if the gas engine is running is to pull over and pop the hood to verify. The vehicle will run the gas engine periodically if you have gone months without using it.
The number went down by about 10 miles, while I drove about 4 miles around town. 10 seems minor but, aside from one other day two years ago, that number never changes when I'm driving on the battery only. I will continue to track it.
Yes, I have had that experience of the gas engine running when I haven't used it in a long time (which has happened during the pandemic).
The number went down by about 10 miles, while I drove about 4 miles around town. 10 seems minor but, aside from one other day two years ago, that number never changes when I'm driving on the battery only. I will continue to track it.
The HV miles on the energy information shows the estimated HV mile range. It is calculated from how much gas you have and how you are driving. Driving at a faster speed or with more uphill than it was previously estimating will cause that number to drop. The thing to watch for gas consumption is the number of bars on the gas indicator on the dash. I have a 2019 and we usually drive EV on surface streets with slow speeds and traffic lights where we get regen braking. Our car will calculate HV range based on that driving. When we splurge and drive EV on the freeway, we will sometimes see the HV range drop, even though we were running on battery the whole time. On the other hand, if we have been driving HV on the freeway and switch to 55-65 mph roads, we wiill see our HV range go up, even though we are using gas and have not added any.
Can’t you also toggle either of the displays to show the Power Flow: When the engine is running it lights up on the display. Right?
However, if you suspect the engine has run, but is no longer running, your only option would be to pop the hood and feel for heat around the exhaust manifold. Alternatively, you could do like long-missing forum member KentuckyKen and install an engine-running-time meter under the hood and keep a log of its read-out.
I’ve had similar experiences, most commonly when the tank is full. It seems the intelligence that comes up with the estimate is easily confused after a fill up. Mine tends to be a bit optimistic. I’m not 100% certain, but on several occasions, I may have seen the HV range decrease between the time I parked the car at the end of the day and the time I started it the following morning. I’d have to go through an old log book to confirm, but I’ve given up tracking the minutia on the car. Perhaps the 4 miles that you drove, consumed fuel at a rate which caused the estimate to change more than you expected. I’d consider it somewhat normal, for this peculiar car.
