Charging outside with hot temperatures?

[Olimpia]

Any feedback on charing the Clarity during very hot outside temperatures?
The public charger at my workplace got recently fixed so I have the option to charge there for free during the day but here in Florida we are going through temps ranging from low 90s to low 100s during the day (it's not helping that we're not getting any rain/cloudy days).

Will charging at those high temperatures damage the battery? I can charge overnight at home using level 1 but where's the fun (and the savings!) in doing that?

 

[Robert_Alabama]

I believe the cooling system will protect the battery from damage during charging in hot weather. The battery discharges a lot faster than it charges and the cooling system is designed to adequately protect it from that being a problem even in hot weather. That said, I'm sure the longevity of the battery is probably improved in mild climates as compared to 100+ temps, but I think that if you live in a hot climate, go ahead and use the car as seems normal, not to try to overly protect the battery.

 

[2002]

Any feedback on charing the Clarity during very hot outside temperatures?
The public charger at my workplace got recently fixed so I have the option to charge there for free during the day but here in Florida we are going through temps ranging from low 90s to low 100s during the day (it's not helping that we're not getting any rain/cloudy days).

I couldn't find anything in the Clarity owner's manual but the Prius Prime owner's manual makes the following statement:

●Avoid parking the vehicle in areas with a high temperature under direct sunlight when the hybrid battery (traction battery) is fully charged.

Obviously a different car, but with nothing else to go on, if you are in covered parking or shade then probably okay, but in direct sunlight probably better to just charge to 80% or less.

 

[Robert_Alabama]

I am sure that use in hot weather in general isn't the best thing for the battery, but I live in a fairly hot area (Alabama isn't exactly cool in the summer). I would bet that the statement in the Prius Prime manual is just to be on the safer side for degradation, which of course is Toyota's risk in the warranty period. I'm sure the manual would recommend park the car in a cool garage and don't drive it, just take it to us for annual maintenance if that would work for them. You never know, you may need some incremental degradation to get the battery covered for replacement near the end of the warranty period, so incremental degradation could work out in your favor. Again, my philosophy is that I bought the car to drive and use in a relatively normal fashion. I'm assuming that Honda built the car to drive and use in a relatively normal fashion. I have a warranty in case Honda needs that to prop up that assumption. In truth, I am not worrying about degradation at all until/if it ever becomes a problem. Then I'll deal with options. I'm generally on the abusive side of treatment of automobiles, though. I never treat them like I expect them to be the last cars I'll ever purchase. I know they have a limited life, although I have generally kept cars about 10 years if I really like them and they continue to tolerate my treatment. It's generally all about their fit to my lifestyle, which is back to how I started my position to not worry about limiting it's usefulness. This is just me though. Everyone is different, and I've spent most of my life being outside the norm.

 

[neal adkins]

When i first got my clarity i was over zealous to charge it at every opportunity. Now i realize that here in south west Arizona its better for longevity to forego charging at times when the battery is above 50 to 60 percent and i have no plans to exceed the remaining ev range before my next charging opportunity. I treat the ev range guage more like a fuel guage. I dont usually get fuel until im below 50 percent. I favour charging when its cooler and also level one when its 100 or more. I tend to be a perfectionist and err on the side of caution, but not afraid to charge on level 2 in triple digits when nessacary but would prefer to stop charging at around 85 percent if not driving soon after charging. My mostly common sense approach.