Hi Folks, I had my Clarity sit for 2 weeks sitting in my garage (temps around 90F inside) while I was away on vacation. When first driving it upon returning I immediately noticed the EV range decreasing fast, from the 60+ miles I used to get before leaving to around 42. It was HOT at 113F and I also had to leave the car out for a couple of days because my son was doing some mechanics inside the garage. This is my second summer here but I didn't notice such big change last year even with 115F. But what freaked me out is that when plugging it to charge a low continuous beep started coming from behind the car. next drive was the same thing, with barely reaching 40 miles on the full charge. For next charge I waited until 10PM for the heat to subside but got the same beep. In neither case I heard the ventilator working. Next drive (earlier in the morning and 95-98F) still got barely to 45. I waited until today at 6AM (when I got the lowest temp at 92) to charge and got no beep, but I could hear the ventilator working. In no case I got any sort of warning messages. Could it be that the heat may have somehow damaged the battery or may it just be temporary high-temperature related efficiency decrease? Or may it be the continuous use of A/C? However, last year under the same conditions I didn't notice any significant decrease.
The operating temperature range for lithium batteries typically goes as high as 135-140F. I’d suspect that you may have a bad cell.
Dropping to the low 40's is normal for 110 degree ambient temperature. The batteries best temperature range is more like 75 degrees. It can take days of a lower temperature for the capacity to return to normal.
Vegas heat is not kind on any battery - 12V or Hybrid. You may want to start taking battery capacity readings (MrFixIt's thread) and update https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LHtqVuPzHUDXmX1jiHOQIpT_YiGp9N-vnBOiSz96C2I/edit#gid=1543959400&fvid=1981235870
After two days below 110, the range went a bit up and has stayed around 50, and the continuous beep is no more. Will get myself one of those OBDII readers to keep track of capacity.
I doubt your battery capacity increased after the weather "cooled" to below 110 degrees. The only time it increases is after some kind of voodoo reset. It will be interesting to see if your OBDII reader proves me wrong.