2018 Clarity new owner, lots of questions

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Stan-O

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Just drove the 2018 I picked up in San Antonio to Seattle (last stop before going home to Vancouver, BC) and I have a few questions:

1. Couldn't figure out how to switch climate control temperature and ambient temperature reported in dash from F to C. Using the switch between KmH/MPH doesn't help.
2. How to dismiss the service reminder? FOUND IT SOMEWHERE IN THE SETTINGS.
3. If I'm using Android Auto and have the music playing (thru Android Auto), how can I pause/unpause music?
4. Couldn't find the latches to unlock the rear seats for folding from inside the cabin.
5. Is it just me or the ACC is useless in normal traffic because even the smallest setting leaves too much space ahead and cars just cut in?
6. Honda Link last updated status is from yesterday and shows the car half a country away. Tried swiping down, doesn't help, still no update -- is that normal?
7. Anyone in San Antonio area wants two free coupons for an oil change? ;)

PS. I have gone thru the manual before I picked the car up, maybe I missed some/all of these, but I can't recall these being addressed.
 
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I can't answer all of you questions, but
3. There should be a play button on the bottom of the screen for play/pause (I personally use Stitcher and Waze all the time, and I have a little play/pause thing on my dash screen
4. There aren't any AFAIK. You need to release it from the trunk side.
5. You can adjust the number of car lengths with ACC from the steering wheel, but in high speed with lots of traffic (in NYC area for me), yeah--the assholes will cut you off.
6. The update just syncs you and the Honda server. The car has it's own logic. Try doing "find my car" in the app. It sometimes updates the other stuff (but my app odometer is ~3,000 miles off IIRC)

There are two different manuals. The long one can be downloaded, or you can request a paper copy (at least I, as an original owner, could). The short one is 90 pages or so. The long one, about 500.
 
Climate control is on the screen settings. Rear set releases are in the trunk. Agree on the ACC, I just use it like normal cruise. Don’t recall the rest
 
I meant pause/resume from the steering wheel, can't edit the post anymore.

Is there a way to use regular CC without adaptive crap? Like I said even with the lowest setting, it feels like I'm almost two car lengths behind.
 
If you don't already have it, I highly recommend downloading the ~600 page electronic manual. You can get it here:
http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/AH/ATRW1818OM/enu/ATRW1818OM.PDF

Here is how you switch to a regular Cruise Control mode...

upload_2020-6-21_7-9-11.webp


Interestingly, there seems to be no provision (at least, not documented in the full manual) to choose between Fahrenheit and Celsius. That seems to be a function of whether you have a US model or a Canadian model. Maybe there is something in the hidden diagnostics menu, but I can't recall.
 
Two car lengths at what speed?


Stan-O said:
I meant pause/resume from the steering wheel, can't edit the post anymore.

Is there a way to use regular CC without adaptive crap? Like I said even with the lowest setting, it feels like I'm almost two car lengths behind.
Click to expand...
 
Hum...

In Driver's Education Class (A long, long time ago), I was taught that a safe following distance was one car length for every 10 MPH.
At 60-80, you should be 6-8 car lengths behind !!

I think following too closely is the single greatest risk that contributes to most accidents.

OK, I will not distract this thread any more with my soap box !
 
60-80 may have been humor. Although in California maintaining a 1-2 car length gap at those speeds is somewhat normal behavior.

It may just be me, but I’ve always considered Cruise Control, for Cruising. You know, out on the open road on a long trip. Set the speed where you don’t risk a speeding ticket type of travel. The Adaptive part slows the car when necessary and resumes the set speed when appropriate. It saves all that, tap the brakes, hit cancel, heaven forbid actually driving for a bit with your foot on the gas pedal and then resetting the thing again. What a pain.

It’s one of the few advanced features I find useful in newer cars.

It isn’t intended for use in heavy urban traffic. Unless you want to get pissed off about the way the car is behaving.
 
Landshark said:
It’s one of the few advanced features I find useful in newer cars.
Click to expand...

I agree... I also like ACC in general.
But, when it slows down when approaching slower traffic, it often doesn't react early enough for me and when it does, it can be herky-jerky.
It is also slow to return to your setpoint when the slowdown clears.
 
I feel like I shouldn't have opened the ACC can of worms.

So to recap, no way to pause/resume playback from the steering wheel? I figured a workaround to resume is to switch the audio input (up or down arrow) and then switch back to Android auto -- this resumes the playback, but how to pause?

Also I will browse the full-length manual, but would be a bummer if there's no way to switch F to C. ☹️

Still have the oil change coupons for Lute Riley Honda in San Antonio, let me know if you're in the area and want them, they don't seem to be linked to a vehicle.
 
MrFixit said:
Hum...

In Driver's Education Class (A long, long time ago), I was taught that a safe following distance was one car length for every 10 MPH.
At 60-80, you should be 6-8 car lengths behind !!

I think following too closely is the single greatest risk that contributes to most accidents.

OK, I will not distract this thread any more with my soap box !
Click to expand...
I think the rule now is 2 seconds - which corresponds to 2 bars on my ACC. The 2 seconds is for dry roads, daylight, not heavy traffic. Add seconds as each of those conditions change.
 
Danks said:
I think the rule now is 2 seconds
Click to expand...

At 60 MPH (88 feet per second), 2 seconds is 176'. If the 'average' car is 15' long, then this is almost 12 car lengths (double the old rue-of-thumb).
Of course, I agree it is way easier to judge a 2 second time interval than to try and estimate 12 car lengths.
 
Stan-O said:
I feel like I shouldn't have opened the ACC can of worms.

So to recap, no way to pause/resume playback from the steering wheel? I figured a workaround to resume is to switch the audio input (up or down arrow) and then switch back to Android auto -- this resumes the playback, but how to pause?

Also I will browse the full-length manual, but would be a bummer if there's no way to switch F to C. ☹️

Still have the oil change coupons for Lute Riley Honda in San Antonio, let me know if you're in the area and want them, they don't seem to be linked to a vehicle.
Click to expand...
To switch between ACC and normal cruise - with cruise and ACC cruise deactivated (not engaged), press and hold the Interval button for one second. (pg 416 in manual)
 
2 second rule assumes a human driver...

ACC is not human. Throw the vintage driving school rule out.

IMO if the computer and radar and cameras are doing the driving, there is no reason ACC for all vehicles can’t be programmed to go into full tailgate mode...like 5 feet following distance. Imagine the fuel/energy we would save by having an entire nation of drafting. I’d expect EV enthusiasts to encourage and promote such hypermileing habits. I think the tech is here now. But since it apparently is not yet widely accepted, I believe the day is coming...
 
The tech may be here, Honda just didn’t put it in the Clarity. The computer and radar and cameras are doing the driving and that provides a less than satisfactory driving experience for some owners.

If you want to follow more closely behind the car in front and attempt to zoom forward when a gap opens up, turn that crap off and use your foot.
 
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