Considering a Honda Clarity? Charging tips!

Discussion in 'Clarity' started by ChargePoint, Jun 2, 2018.

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  1. Steven B

    Steven B Active Member

    Sign up with Chargepoint (give them a credit card #) and install the app is the absolute minimum to use their stations. (Most) of their stations can be unlocked using either the app or the RFID card they mail you. If the station is not free, Chargepoint will hit your credit card $10 when you initially use it. Whether free or the fee is set by the facility where the station is located. The cost to charge will be deducted from your $10 balance on your account.

    If you will be relying on public charging, you'll probably need a generic app, like Plugshare, to find all station options and then the specific app for the charging network, like Chargepoint. The network-specific app will provide more reliable availability/functionality info about the charger you are aiming for. With some networks I've noticed you can 'reserve' the station for the window of time you expect to be there.
     
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  3. CapeClarityGuy

    CapeClarityGuy New Member

    Thanks for the info!
     
  4. CapeClarityGuy

    CapeClarityGuy New Member

    Thanks, I now have both ChargePoint and PlugShare set up on my phone.
     
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  5. MGV

    MGV New Member

    500 charging sessions and not a single blip of issues that caused Honda to release TSB 18-097!?
     
  6. Mike Phev

    Mike Phev New Member

    Interesting comments here. I've had my Clarity PHEV since July 23rd and can report that my experience charging with public Chargepoint stations is usually unsuccessful. At my office, we have 2 public ChargePoint stations each a block apart. There are 2 other Clarity PHEV owners and all 3 of us are having the same problems charging our Clarity's at either ChargePoint station. I recently spent 30 minutes on the phone with a very courteous ChargePoint support person and they tried everything they knew of, including rebooting the ChargePoint station while I was there. All attempts to resolve were unsuccessful. My employer has called ChargePoint to check out the charging stations. No issues were found, problem not solved.

    Two key points I've observed: 1) I also have a 2016 FFE that I drive once a week to my office. It charges 100% of the time on either of the office ChargePoint stations. 2) My Clarity charges 100% of the time at home on my ChargePoint Home L2 station AND it charges 100% of the time on the public SemaConnect charging stations at Nebraska Furniture Mart (no authentication/account required).

    The problem I and my other work colleagues are experiencing with our Clarity's on ChargePoint public charging stations is this:

    1) We press our phones against the station, it unlocks the connector, we plug it in to our cars.
    2) The ChargePoint station indicates it is charging and at about .02 kWh, it stops and displays the message "Waiting on vehicle."
    3) HondaLink displays an error message on my smartphone that says "Charging interrupted." The car will not charge beyond .02 kWh.
    4) When I power on my car to move it from the charging station, a Power System icon lights up with the following error message on my instrument cluster: "Plug-in Charging System Problem. Range Limited." The error message goes away after the car is moved, powered off, and powered on later."

    Until this problem is resolved, my advice to potential Honda Clarity PHEV owners that want to use ChargePoint public charging stations, is to hold off on purchasing this car. However, if you primarily charge at home or on other public charging stations, I will say you'll love the car. This is the only disappointing issue I've had with my car (5,300 miles currently). I don't have enough info to know where the culprit is but since my FFE charges fine at the office AND a multitude of Teslas, Leafs, Volts, and other cars rarely have problems charging at the same office charging stations, I suspect Honda has an intermittent incompatibility with some (most? all?) ChargePoint public stations. I suspect it has something to do with the communications between the car and the charging station, maybe a timing issue or a hyper-sensitivity to power fluctuations. Totally guessing.

    I hope Honda gets with ChargePoint to work together and figure this issue out because Honda has a winner with this car and I'd hate to see this problem mar an otherwise positive ownership experience. I knew when I bought this car in its first year of production that there would be bugs to work out so I'm patient for now. However, since this car has been on sale for almost a year now, I'm hoping a solution will be available soon. I'd be glad to work with Honda and/or ChargePoint if they are interested to troubleshoot/solve. I would've already taken my car to the Honda dealership but others that I have talked to have done so with no success. Thus, for now, I don't have the time to waste at the Honda Service Dept. I've written ChargePoint and Honda about this and I get canned responses. When/if their sales are impacted, the issue will probably rise in priority for them.

    Lastly, I've seen comments that say maybe the problem is caused by the car doors not being locked or the parking brake not being set. Appreciate the help, but those suggestions are of no use (and kind of funny to me but, again, all help is appreciated :) ).
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2018
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  8. ClarityDoc

    ClarityDoc Active Member

    Seems like it might be tough to solve because it's clearly not uniform - I haven't had a single problem with ChargePoint (home or public) in 6 months of ownership. I have used ChargePoint stations in a variety of places, including the Airport FastPark near BWI airport - without a problem.

    I am not sure whether it's Honda or ChargePoint that needs to solve this - depends on whose product is outside spec - but it's in both their company interests to avoid such incompatibility.
     
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  9. Mike Phev

    Mike Phev New Member

    I suspect Honda probably should own this based on my experience with others at the office (all 3 Honda Clarity's have the issue, my FFE doesn't have this issue, and no other brands at the office are having this issue, and others around the country are reporting this with their Clarity's). Honda will be more impacted by this than ChargePoint IMHO.
     
  10. KentuckyKen

    KentuckyKen Well-Known Member

    This problem has been discussed on other threads and is easily solved by getting Service Bulletin updates 18-079 (multiple warning lights) and 18-097 (charging problems) installed by your dealer. This will correct the apparent problem the Clarity has with being overly sensitive to power irregularities.
    I have attached them for you to show your dealer just in case since we have many reports of dealers being unable, unwilling, or uncaring enough to take care of this without a lot of effort on your part.
    While you’re there, I suggest you have all the updates applied, check for underbody plugs installed, and have the Battery Capacity Signal checked for the 17 kW HV battery if not already done.
     

    Attached Files:

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  11. Rajiv Vaidyanathan

    Rajiv Vaidyanathan Active Member

    As @KentuckyKen says above, I used to have this problem. It has been SOLVED. Get the update applied and it will take care of this issue. I struggled with it for a LONG time and spent ages with both Chargepoint and my ev install folks at work. Finally, the update fixed it immediately.
     
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  13. Mike Phev

    Mike Phev New Member

    Many thanks KentuckyKen for the info and PDF!
     
  14. Mike Phev

    Mike Phev New Member

    Just want to give an update to this forum that my dealer installed service bulletin 18-097 (and also 18-090 - EVTC & 3-way valve software update) on Nov 12. My car has been charging perfectly every workday on public chargers ever since (10 times thus far). I also had the maintenance minder A 01 service performed at 6,300 miles.

    I checked the underbody plugs and can confirm they were already on my car. I still need to have the HV range calculation update applied; Will do that at the next maintenance minder.

    I am thoroughly enjoying this car. I'm consistently getting 47 mile EV range on mostly highway driving (70+ MPH) in Eco mode, even in high-30s temps (I live in North Texas). My commute is 42 miles each way, so this works out perfectly for me since I charge at the office and have a full charge on the return trip home. I've taken two road trips (250 miles round trip) on 100% HV mode and got 42 MPG on one trip and 43 MPG on the other (calculated based on starting with a full tank and dividing the miles by the number of gallons needed to refill).
     
  15. Clectric

    Clectric New Member

    Anyone else having problems charging at a Chargepoint public charger after getting the 18-097 update?

    I had the 18-097 service bulletin update done. I even went a second time into the dealer to check that they did the work. Honda had the car for several days and offered no fix. But I am still having trouble at Chargepoint chargers. The station often reads "Waiting for vehicle" and does not start charging. Sometimes, it does start charging and ends before completing a full charge.

    Any advice? Honda and Chargepoint have not been helpful. They just point at each other.

    If Chargepoint is still commenting in this forum, have you noticed others still having this problem after the 18-097 update was applied?
     

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