Clarity System Check

A thought: Would the EPA be interested to know that the programming in the Clarity that causes the ICE to come on unnecessarily is wasting gasoline?

 

Latest from Honda. Got a call today. Rep said bring it to the dealer to see what is going on. I related back that is a huge inconvenience and that Honda needs to do a software fix for the issue and others who have the acceleration issue. I will call the dealer and see if I can make a definite appointment to have a tech download the data stored.

 

So today, ICE came on at second stop sign. Turned car off, and "rebooted." That stopped the ICE , but the EV "light" went off then on 3 times. ICE did not come on.

 

Are you pressing past the detente on the go-pedal? Have you tried it yet? It automatically kicks ICE on, but perhaps doing that will also reset something and get your car back into a more mellow mode…

It's really not normal for the car to be going into HV mode so often. As a comparison, the last time I bought gas was six weeks ago. I drove 633 miles in that time and used 3.7 gallons of gas. So obviously, the ICE comes on, but I'm almost always aware of it. Either I run out of EV range or I purposely put it into HV mode. There's one extended uphill where a freeway starts that I had to learn to accelerate on so that I didn't always push the car into HV myself, but those situations are about the only times I end up being in ICE mode. What I'm saying is that it seems abnormal for the car to be in HV mode so often. Have you also tried doing some HV button pressing? Maybe that button or circuit is gummed up somehow.

 

The car does not switch to HV mode. The EV light goes off. Unless that is BV mode. I dud try pressing the HV button to see what would happen and pressed the ECON button. No affect.


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In my personal experience, all the times that the ICE has come on unexpectedly (ie not due to sudden acceleration or very low SOC) has been with a full charge and when braking to a stop soon after departure, so I believe my cases are all due to the car calling on the ICE for braking purposes due to no more capacity for regenerative braking. I'm pretty sure I've never experienced the ICE coming on as part of a systems check, because there is no reason that the systems check would only occur with maximum battery charge.

 

Agreed. However, one would think this would happen all the time.

 

Basic science. Experiments and results need to be repeatable. For example, mixing vinegar and baking soda will result in foam from carbon dioxide. It happens all the time. Don't respond with the baking soda and/or vinegar may be bad. You get the point. If the ICE comes on when the battery is full and one brakes, then it should happen every time, not once in a while. There has to be something else going on that is causing intermittent behavior.

 

Totally agree. And for me, my results are indeed reproducible. If I charge up full and unplug right before I leave, then brake (or try to apply regen braking) as I go down a slight hill a block away from my house, then the ICE will come on. If I unplug at least 30 minutes before I depart (giving a bit of time for self-discharge) or if I only charge to 95%, then doing the same drive behavior does not cause the ICE to turn on. Since it only comes on when the battery is maxed out in charge, it seems to me that what I'm experiencing with ICE turning on is due to maxing out the regen capacity of the battery.

 

So, if battery is fully charged at night, and one waits until morning, the battery drains a bit. Only if going out to drive immediately after full charge ICE will come on. That is not the case here. Not reproducible. I can charge fully the night before, and sometimes ICE comes on, sometimes it doesn't.

 

Happened again this morning. Temp 13C charge was 100 percent. First stop sign fine second one which required heavier braking it turned on.

I pulled over. Turned off car and waited a minute turned it back on and back to pure ev the rest of the way.

This has nothing to do with maintenance as half of my kms have been on gas this past week so that argument makes no sense. This engine gets the same or more use as a typical pure ice car. This has to be tied to 100 percent battery and breaking with no regen space.

 

This behavior is nuts. Not a repeatable experiment. Spock is rolling over in his grave.

 

Absolutely agree. Mine does exactly the same thing in this circumstance and I notice that I get practically no regen braking until I’ve traveled a little further.

 

New Incident. Leaving our house we drive the same pattern. Slight downhill for half a block to stop sign. Right turn again slight downhill to stop sign. Turn left to light. Stop if necessary. Right turn to stop sign. The total distance from home to the third stop sign is .3 miles. Today, after several days of "good behavior," the computer decided to turn on the ICE just BEFORE the third stop sign. The ICE sounded as if it were revving high. I "rebooted" by shutting down and restarting. Once, that I noticed, the EV light went off then on again in about 1 second.

 

Bob, was this leaving home with a full charge and how heavy was the braking?

 

Yes, full charge which is the case every time I leave. Stepped on brake at first 2 stop signs. Normal effort. Just began braking before 3rd stop sign. Normal effort. ICE came on. Question is if the computer "hates" a full charge, why didn't ICE come on at first stop sign, or the second one?

 

This happens to me but not very often (2 times in 1,600 miles). Right after a full charge and immediately or sometimes at 2nd or third stop. I have slight downhills at my first two stops also. Maybe that little bit of regen on a full charge triggers it? Sounds like yours is much more sensitive to this than the rest of our cars. Might try putting fan on high at start up to put a little drain on battery?

 

I think the a/c was on, but I will try the fan idea. Honda should give us a gas allowance.

 

Is the car actually running the engine, or just engine braking? Like when you come to a stop can you hear the engine running?

 

I can hear the engine. It seems to be revving high.