"KFC Fuel Pump" Recall?

I got the Hondalink notice also. I wonder if they can change the a/c condenser also if it hasn't started malfunctioning yet. I only have 34k miles on my 2018.

 

It is Christmas. However, Santa’s elves aren’t likely to replace an A/C condenser that hasn’t been diagnosed as defective per the warranty extension.

 

Confirmation of Allantheprinter's post: I received this notice via the HondaLInk app on 12/18/2023. I have a 2019, text my son a few days later (who has a 2018) and he reported reciept of the same. This morning, I rang Norm Reeves Honda, North Richland Hills, TX, and the nice young lady informed me that parts are unavailable, but expected sometime in February. She further advised me to sit tight until I receive correspondence via the postal service from Honda Motor confirming parts availability.

We never got 'round to discussing potential reimbursement of the tow-bill should it leave me stranded down in the metroplex one fine day betwixt now and then......

 

Keep your battery topped up and drive in HV until February so you'll always have the benefit of your PHEV Clarity's EV "get-me-home" capability should the fuel pump give up the ghost.

 

I like Insightman's advice. I'd also add its nice to be informed even without a fix. I think they run a risk not warning folks even when the part is not yet available. i.e. if someone is extremely worried about this condition, they may be able to quit driving the Clarity for awhile. Of course that would presume they have some other way to get around. In a practical sense (as Insightman mentions) if you have EV range, you should be able to at least get out of a sensitive situation (i.e. get off the freeway).

 

All well and good, but that my commute is 51 miles one-way. Morning is 46 miles of 70+ mph freeway and 5 mi. of non-congested city/neighborhood, so I launch in HV and then Canx HV mode when I coast down to the traffic light on freeway exit, normally 87%-90% SOC, then arrive at the company car park about 84%-87%. Because the return (afternoon) 51 miles consists of about 16 miles of stop-n-go (despite 2/3 of it being on the freeway) followed by 35 miles of 70+ open freeway, I save the EV range for that. So I'll launch from work without HV selected, then activate it when I get to "clear air" or 10 miles EV remaining, whichever comes first. I then de-select HV mode when Range-to-home is less than or equal to EV miles. Couple of bouts with angry bees when leaving the car to its own devices convinced me that was not really a good position to be in. All that said, depending upon where, exactly, the fuel pump gives up the ghost, I can never be assured of not having to choose between a tow home ultimately followed by a tow back to the dealer upon parts availability, vs. catch a ride home and return with my diesel Excursion dragging my 36KW diesel generator w/level 2 charger aboard and a spare driver to sit around for an hour or two charging to get the thing home, then repeat the process to get back to the metroplex dealership once parts come available.

I had already purposed to action the plan Dan describes; Leave the unreliable suspect beast in the shed for short EV-only trips to nearby Bridgeport or Decatur and leave the serious work of commuting long distances at high-speeds to my more serious vehicles like the 1995 Jaguar XJ or the 2000 Excursion 7.3L.
(I might add that my Clarity is a 2019 with 136k miles and battery capacity of 42.06 AH, so with the recent cold front, I'm seeing 27-29 miles fully charged EV range, so the deficit on a 51 mi commute is quite a bit worse than you may think at face-value of an advertised EV range of 47 miles)

 

This sounds a little dramatic. It’s not like the roadside is littered with the carcasses of Hondas with bad fuel pumps. My backup car is a CR-V, which ALSO is part of the recall. I’m not changing my driving habits at all, nor am I losing sleep over it.

 

It's good you have alternative long-distance (though gas-intensive) options. The Clarity is our long-distance vehicle--our MINI EV goes only 110 miles on a charge and charges at a DC"FC" max of only 50 kW. We hope the Clarity's fuel pump keeps pumping until we're less than 40 miles from home.

 

Dramatic? May seem so to the climate-hoaxers whomst I guess are over-represented here vs. the genpop. Nah, it's simple risk-reduction.

I didn't buy the Clarity for any purpose like virtue-signaling or planet-salvation. It was purely and simply to cut cost. I view my salaried position entrepreneurially as being engaged in the business of selling billable engineering hours to a particular conglomerate at greatly discounted rates. An unfortunate part of our agreement consists of a requirement to commute to the metroplex 9 days every 2 weeks. As such, commuting is the only ongoing cost to my business (apart from the occasional pair of shoes - I have sufficient appropriate clothing on-hand to see me to the end-state of retirement)

The Clarity with 136K miles and 5 years on its belt has been fingered with a known issue that can be easily managed by the city-commuter but could potentially cause me great inconvenience and waste a considerable amount of time, albeit highly unlikely to expose me to risk of property damage or personal injury. As such, I shall relegate it to city-type, short-range usage until the hazard is eliminated.

OTOH, neither the J'aag nor the Exc, despite their advanced age and mileage have such known issues. Furthermore, between the two, they've logged over a half-million miles without leaving me stranded at an unintended destination. To be fair, neither has the Honda....thus far. So they cost a bit more to operate. One eff-up from the Honda will more than wipe out the cost difference of operating either of the others for a couple months....and the Jag is SO much more fun to drive! If only the heater worked a bit better.....ah well, new aux coolant pump arrived last night. Maybe I'll have time to modify it to fit the Jag this weekend.

Best wishes, Insightman! We'll most likely all be ok as Rick surmises....because the recall notice was the first inkling I'd had that Honda had a problem. He's right, they don't seem to be dropping like flies.....

 

Like everybody else I received the notice, first from CARFAX then from Hondalink, this one prompting me to schedule service. However, the "remedy" section on the notice clearly states that "registered owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by mail and asked to take their vehicles to an authorized Honda dealer", as most fellow forum-dwellers have been told by the dealers. So it seems we have no other option than to sit, wait and pray the pump doesn't fail before that blessed day. This said, myself with a 2018 with 39000 miles done mostly on EV, I wonder how much of an ACTUAL risk of failure my pump has? I only use the engine (HV mode) on sporadic 500 mile road trips (the last one on Christmas had me. The notice says the impellers may deform and fail "over time". Does "over time" mean time elapsed since installation or time the pump impellers are actively working? In any case, I haven't seen gas-only Hondas (who use them all the time) dropping like flies, as some said, so I suspect our risk is even lower. Has anyone here heard of a Clarity pump failing? Are we overreacting to this recall notice?

 

The recall notice does not increase the risk of failure. It simply makes us aware of the possibility that the “impellers may deform”.

Everyone sweats the small stuff differently.