I respectfully disagree with your assumptions on the performance and how the HV battery system operates. However everyone has their "beliefs" about how these systems operate. I have already commented about this stuff before, in other threads. I would recommend you review battery system performance architecture, systems, failure modes etc. Most of what you have said (full charge to full discharge) has been proven wrong in EVERY battery system scholarly journal for every industry with regard to the chemistry we are using (solid state cells, ultra-capacitor design, alternative anode chemistry are exceptions to that statement).
I am not battery engineer, however have spent the past 18 years deeply involved in the battery system industry (IEC/UN38.3/A123 architecture applications and industrial integration) so I am only slightly more informed than most about the system we use. Honda's unpublished magic is always subject to speculation. When you use Prius as a model for discussion are you limiting those observations to only the ones powered by Lithium chemistry, or also Nickel Metal (as that is a very different failure curve). Battery University has a lot of public articles on available chemical energy storage methods. The Clarity does depend on its HV battery for primary propulsion. The generator on the ICE is not capable of "low gear" performance (ie, high power transfer to the wheels) beyond the output of the generator which is less than the total available shaft brake horsepower of the ICE. As for maintaining the Clarity post battery warranty, I am not concerned. I can already purchase Clarity battery modules at a competitive price, that will not change later and Honda has built a system that they are scaling with parts redundancy. They will be available later and likely of improved chemical storage efficiency.
Again, I am not trying to beat anyone over the head - however there are often assumptions and comparisons that are simply non-sequitur in the Clarity threads. Often people make assumptions that the battery will wear just like all other PHEV's. This may not always hold true due to one MAJOR variable that Honda did not prepare the industry for that has be VERY evident in this forum historically. That the "dealers" did a horrible job of pre-sale maintenance on their Clarity inventory in many markets (maybe not California, that is an outlier considering order fulfillment demand). Often these cars were delivered, parked, and never charged or maintained more than the fleet common 12 volt battery tests. Dealers simply did not "speak" Clarity and many many many still don't. When I went to test drive one the sales guy pulled one around to me (it had obviously been parked a while, was dirty and hot - June in Texas) and said let's go drive! It had a completely dead HV battery and the ICE was running continually just to handle the air conditioner demand let alone motive. The short drive was fine, but really useless as it was an HV at that time, a Prius, not a PHEV that I wanted to experience. When I said, "hey the battery is dead" he said, "No it started just fine!"
I have learned through this forum that my experience is not unique in normally non-EV states/locations. Now, I love my car, but it never had a 55Ah HV pack. It was built in late 2017, delivered to a Honda dealership in Dallas, and put on their inside showroom floor with the battery disconnected and the shipping fuses removed. It was never charged or moved for 8 months since leaving the factory. When the dealer plugged it in for my real test drive (the one I drove earlier was different) it was dead, so I had to come back the next day since they didn't even have a level 2 charger on premise and had to use MY level one in the trunk (something Honda specifically forbids dealers to do). It drove great, as a battery person I new there may be an issue, but I was also getting a really good deal if I got that car, at that time (there were extra State incentives at the time) so it was worth it for the price. I am watching my warranty closer than most as I know I have at least one module that is not balancing as well as the others, likely due to ESR effects from storage (equivalent series resistance) which is a major factor for longevity of any "battery system" of more than one cell.
I have gone on long enough in a thread that isn't really relevant to my response. I just feel that there is a lot of misinformation out there that can be perpetuated based on non-relative experience and assumptions. Now, does any of this matter for the rest of the Clarity owners out there - likely not, you can worry about things ad infinitum and ruin your enjoyment of them. Like worrying about electricity being more expensive than gas or vs versa and how to change the operation of your vehicle. You have to make the assumption that financial motivations, environmental motivations, or convenience motivations are primary for any given person. I have a lead foot, drive this car like my Acura, and do not get the same eMPG/MPG as likely anyone here. I am also likely damaging my HV battery this way as well, especially in my operating environment (temperature). My ICE comes on frequently in all driving conditions as I often trigger it, as on the tollway I am in "Sport" mode - the only pure EV driving I do is with the family on board and in town. My "use case" is not unique, but likely not common. People worry about oil changes, I do not. I will likely own this vehicle for 10 years or more,
most others will not. I bought this car for the total value it represented and my personal curiosity regarding Honda's hybrid solution (so I can take it apart).
I've also realized that regardless of who starts a thread, ownership of it's content is very tenuous and fleeting. I used to moderate an electric RC flyers thread decades ago (before eRC was common place and everything was a "conversion"). All I can say is "forums are fun" as long as you let them be.
Best wishes,
Cash
