Test Drive on Clarity with little charge

After 2 months and 1500 miles I can’t seem to make my car sound odd/loud/straining... or get any unusual messages.... From the sound of things here... it’s only a matter of time?


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The Volt just sounds like a lawn mower when it has no charge!


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The Clarity can be a Jekyl/Hyde in this respect. We're coming up on 6,000 miles, and I think only 3 or 4 times has the engine roared as you describe. It can and is very noisy when it does, but fortunately it's really a rarity when that happens. Once you have any kind of a normal charge, even when the ICE kicks in, the transition can be near seamless and almost not heard or felt at all. So the engine, when operating normally, is really not noisy at all.

 

While I agree that they need to install charging stations, there is an easy fix built into the car: just put it in HV charge mode! I'm pretty sure that this is what the dealer I bought from did. When we did our test drive, I had asked them to charge the car when I scheduled the appointment. I was assured that it would be fully charged and ready to go. When we got there, the car was about 2/3 charged.

I suspect that they just put it in HV Charge mode for a while until the car automatically switched the engine off when the battery was 2/3 full.

 

Just plug it into a regular outlet overnight and they would be set for 10 test drives a day- no brainer

 

Honda Lost a sale when I test drove one that had no charge with my wife. I had previously driven one that was charged. Deal killer.

 

I and the vast majority of people on the forum have never had a problem with fully charging. In fact now it gets 69 miles on a charge. Never had warning lights either. This is a great car. Plus I wouldn't feel pressured in the least to buy a car.

 

Trueblue, take the real world test drive. No one can make you buy a car until you sign a contract. Yes a few are having problems, but the vast majority of us are extremely happy with our purchase. This is the most trouble free, quiet, and economical car I have ever owned.
Mikey says, “Try it, you’ll like it.”

 

I have had mine since early February and have not experienced any of the problems as yet.

 

I seriously don't understand those among us that complain about "angry bees". Understanding how the hybrid system works, having the engine rev high at certain times should be expected. Some people here have previous experience with electric or plug-in hybrid electric cars. The Clarity seems to act differently than other hybrids. It certainly acts differently that a standard automobile. But different isn't bad, it's just different.

While it has taken a bit of time for me to acclimate to a car where the engine revs can be completely uncoupled from the speed of the car, its been just that. An acclimation period. 14 weeks of ownership and I don't even know when the engine is running anymore unless I have the graphic displayed.

 

I’m 2 months and 1700 miles in.... no gas use... no funky messages....no angry bees, high revving, nothing but the best car out of many that I have ever driven...

 

I can’t replicate any of the charging issues, and I’ve really tried.

Try out the car. Overnight test drives are not an unusual thing for a legitimate dealer. They want to make sure you are happy with what you’re getting.

 

I recently purchased a one day subscription to Honda Service Express and did some research on the Clarity. Not a lot of information outside of DTC explanations and fixes but more will come with time. Did find this particular Service Bulletin. Basically you should be very wary of a Clarity that hasn't been charged properly and regularly while at the dealership and especially if the battery fuse is left in (which it probably is). Thankfully I did not have to worry about this as I took delivery of my car the day it arrived at the dealership. Also this shows that the car should never be stored for more than 60 days without being plugged in. See below and attached.

 

Great information. Thanks for sharing the file. It saved to Adobe so I can access it without searching the forum.

 

Readers of this forum should understand that the problems described here are being experienced by a subset of the forum members. There is not yet a thread for "I love my Clarity, which has no problems!"

I'm superstitiously reticent to report that after 6 months our Clarity has been a dream to own and drive (while knocking on our Touring's attractive imitation wood). The only thing we've experienced that bothers some people is the engine starting up shortly after leaving home with 100% charge. That's happened only once. We have yet to experience the HV Range craziness because, like KenG, we're still hauling around Honda's gas.

That last point prompts me to mention that I was at first disappointed when I first read the Clarity would have only a 7-gallon gas tank. It didn't affect my purchase decision because I told my dealer 18 months ago I wanted the first one to be delivered (which was on December 2nd). However, now that it's clear that the Clarity's EV range is sufficient for nearly all of our trips for the past 6 months, I realize that a larger gas tank, which would always be full of 6-pound-per-gallon gasoline, would actually reduce the car's EV range due to the increased weight!

Please understand that I'm not advocating for a 2-gallon tank. I'll appreciate the car's 340 mile nominal combined range (or 280- to 293-mile battery-saving hybrid range) when we eventually take a long trip. The question is: When we finally use up the gas that came with the car, will I tell myself, "Fill 'er up!" or will I just put in a few of those heavy gallons?

 

I say fill it up to avoid any room for water condensation (yes, even though it’s a closed pressurized system) and go on a diet to loose the 18 lbs added by those last 3 gal of gas. Then you’re back even and healthier too. Or tell your spouse to do this if you’re fool heartedly brave enough.
And I added some Stabil since Honda’s gas has been in there 4 months and counting for me.

 

Speaking of the battery fuse, when I read in the Owner's Manual that the battery fuse has a rating of 175 amps, I gasped. Then I spent $12 to buy one so I could see what a 175-amp, 58-volt fuse looks like without having to pull it out of our Clarity. I was wrong to expect a solid metal bar. Behold:

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Just keep telling yourself, “size doesn’t matter, size doesn’t matter”.