Clarity Issues

Viking79 said:
What temperature was it? I didn't like the Clarity on my initial test drive as it was cold and the battery was dead. This meant it didn't have much power and would rev like crazy and wasn't very fun to drive even in Sports mode. The smell was there too, but only burning off new car garbage, probably hardest engine has been run. It doesn't smell like that any more.

I think the issue is the Clarity doesn't have a battery heater in the US so if the charge is low and it is running on gas, it has to run the battery hard. If it is cold out it compounds this as it also can't draw into the battery buffer much to assist acceleration so the engine revs really high.

It isn't possible for you to control the engine RPM, so it should remain in a safe range, or it is a flaw in Honda's design (nothing you can do about it). It is disconcerting though, so if you don't like it when it does it you can probably make a video of it when the car does it and complain at dealer again.
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Hi, I am new to the forum and have been having the same issue with my 2018 clarity. It is in the shop for the second time. I have had the high revving and loss of power occur four times now with just under 2000 miles. Trying to find a current thread with folks that may have similar issues and what findings they may have.
 
bfd said:
I'll mention that I've heard it. Once it occurred when I intentionally put the car into HV Charge mode. High RPM resulted. Today, on the way up the mountain (from sea level to 5,000 ft) after the EV range dropped out, the same High RPM was a result. So, while I wasn't in the other car, that was mentioned I can say that there is a horrendous sound that comes from the engine when it's under strain. You likely will never hear it if you remain in EV for the bulk of your driving. Try out the HV Charge mode and see if you get that high ICE RPM. I have a feeling what triggered the high R's today was running out of EV range while heading up an extended uphill at relatively high speed. Once I hit the last section with switchbacks and curves, speed was much reduced and so was the engine noise. I'll have to say that even my Prius PHEV didn't have that kind of engine wind up… and I've made the same trip in that car many times.
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Hey folks, I am having the same issue. It is in the shop a second time for the high uncontrolled revving and loss of acceleration. Has happened three times at slower speeds, 25-35, battery depleted and a slight incline. One of those times on a flat straightaway. This fourth time, on the highway, cruising speed of 68mph, 6 bars on battery and in hv charge mode. Very scary and dangerous!
 
Lash said:
Hey folks, I am having the same issue. It is in the shop a second time for the high uncontrolled revving and loss of acceleration. Has happened three times at slower speeds, 25-35, battery depleted and a slight incline. One of those times on a flat straightaway. This fourth time, on the highway, cruising speed of 68mph, 6 bars on battery and in hv charge mode. Very scary and dangerous!
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Lash, the loss of accel seems to be a unique problem with you being one of the first to report it. I’d definitely take it to the dealer to see if it’s throwing any error codes and to start a ticket on the problem.
 
KentuckyKen said:
Lash, the loss of accel seems to be a unique problem with you being one of the first to report it. I’d definitely take it to the dealer to see if it’s throwing any error codes and to start a ticket on the problem.
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KK, thanks for the reply. A case file is current since the first episode so Honda is aware of the problem. I did read on another thread two other folks having poor acceleration with the high rpm issue and dealer knows of one or two other customers with similar issue. Dealer service seems determined to remedy since I made it clear I can’t drive it with this issue. Let’s hope they can flash or create a software update. I do really enjoy the vehicle when it works properly!! I will keep the forum posted on findings thanks!
 
iluvscuba said:
Another question, not sure if this is the same for US and Canadian model,

Does the Clarity has rain sensing wiper? The Canadian brochure indicates it has 'Smart Wiper System', the dealer told me it means rain sensing wiper but when I watch Honda video on YouTube, the video indicate there is a 'Auto' setting replacing 'Intermittent' on the wiper control but when I test drive the Clarity, I only see Intermittent, Low, High on the Wiper Stalk, thanks
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Have just noticed what must be meant by "Smart Wiper System": When I have the wipers on low or high and I come to a stop, the wipers slow to intermittent.
 
Lash said:
Hey folks, I am having the same issue. It is in the shop a second time for the high uncontrolled revving and loss of acceleration. Has happened three times at slower speeds, 25-35, battery depleted and a slight incline. One of those times on a flat straightaway. This fourth time, on the highway, cruising speed of 68mph, 6 bars on battery and in hv charge mode. Very scary and dangerous!
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Lash, I have had my Clarity for a month and experienced loss of power or hesitation 3 times. Twice it was driving in town in EV mode at slower speeds on flat road, lifting off the accelerator pedal slightly because of traffic, and not feeling power when pressing pedal to what I felt was previous level. My battery was perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 charged, not depleted. When I didn’t feel power, I stepped on accelerator pedal more (past detente I assume, but not sure where that point is exactly) and the car sped up, and then I let off the accelerator a bit. The third occurance was on a slight incline and my battery was low (I’m not sure how low). I went up slowly with light pedal pressure, and then I experienced high engine rev and loss of power and sensation of rolling back. I pressed the accelerator harder and the car moved past the incline to level road, and I let off the accelerator. Dealer service manager has not heard of the problem, but there are not many Clarity vehicles or service data points here. Dealer asked if I was a two footed driver. Well yes, I do brake with my left foot sometimes, so dealer said be sure not to touch the brake pedal when on the accelerator too. I’m going on longer roadtrip this weekend and will be very alert for any problem!
 
Hello everyone, sorry it took so long to post an update on my high revving and sluggish acceleration issue with my Honda Clarity. To this date, it has happened five times. Four of the times I have experienced the high rpm revving and sluggish acceleration were when the battery was depleted, two bars or less. Three times in auto hv mode, the mode the car defaults to after ev mode and battery is depleted and once in hv charge mode. Three times in colder weather 20-40 degrees and most recently 65-70 degree weather. So I don't feel temperature is an issue here. I have an on going case file with Honda and to date, 6-1-18 the Clarity has been in the shop four times, over a month. I could live with this issue, even though the acceleration is sluggish if it were consistently solved by not depleting battery. Meaning putting vehicle in hv charge mode before battery is depleted. A suggestion from the sales rep and engineer at Honda. Honda drove the vehicle and installed a data recorder and claimed this is a normal operation of vehicle and loss of acceleration does not occur. (1) they are wrong about loss of acceleration response and vehicle does have a different and sluggish acceleration response when ICE revs high which is designed to charge the depleted battery quickly. BUT, A WARNING TO All CLARITY OWNERS and most importantly(2) the fifth time the high revving and sluggish acceleration occurred was NOT with a depleted battery but with a 40 % charge, 6 bars and at 68 miles per hour on the highway. This I don't understand, I CAN NOT live with and BEWARE, HONDA is resisting and will not take the vehicle back because they could only duplicate the revving and sluggish acceleration when battery is depleted. This is a SAFETY ISSUE AND VERY DANGEROUS. I have told HONDA I can not put my family in this car when the revving is inconsistent and acceleration is sluggish and does not respond as it should. Unfortunately I will need to take further action legally if Honda continues to avoid the issue and will not take the car back for a full refund under the MASS LEMON LAW and or exchange for another(not a clarity) vehicle of equal value. BE CAREFULL and make sure you let HONDA know about this issue so it can be fixed before someone is injured. Please respond or email if you would like more detailed notes of my experience with this issue.
 
Sorry to hear about this continuing issue. I think it is real important to understand whether others (not I) have experienced the big issue (loss of power during high-revving).
 
Lash, I’m very sorry this is happening to you. I know it must be very frustrating.

Can you get them to put the data recorder back on so hopefully it could catch the problem when the battery is not depleted?
Did the dealer find any trouble codes recorded and did they do a reset?

I hope you can get it fixed and not have to go through the Lemon Law hassle but your safety must come first. You might want to try to document the next occurrence, especially if it happens when battery not depleted.
If you could get a video on your phone with the high revs and the dash wirh battery guage over 2 bars, speed, and power meter, it would bolster your case. And document every thing that happens and everything you do and everything the dealer does. Especially if they won’t put the data recorder back on it.
Keep us posted.
 
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I do know in extended uphills in any hybrid plug-in or not you can lose substantial power if the pack is completely depleted as you drop to the output of the engine only. I assume with the clarity that would mean you lose power to the point of the max output of the generator motor (does anyone know what the specific output of that is) if traveling under 45mph and I assume the max output of the gasoline engine over that? That does not explain any condition that the pack is not fully depleted though (no bars left on the battery display). I do know from driving cars that are in less then perfect running condition in the past though, you should avoid as much as possible putting yourself into a position that full loss of power would result in an immediate safety risk. This type of situation is also why there is not a mode that is ev only, if you tromp the throttle Honda assumes you need the power for an emergency situation and will do everything possible to give you all she’s got.

None of this is to say this isn’t a problem and doesn’t need fixed. But if the battery is completely empty I /think/ you would see substantially reduced performance from the system, and this should be the ONLY time this occurs.

And best of luck Honda seems to be being rather difficult on most things on our cars at the moment...
 
Hello everyone....Curiously I wanted to see what my clarity would do in a "chargeless" situation. Yesterday, I ran it in EV mode until the battery went dead. Then I preceded to drive it another 20 miles on "ICE". I did this all with my wife in the car and TRUST ME she would have let me know IMMEDIATELY if something sounded weird with the car. She has magically mystical powers to sense when something is not right and expresses this to me on a fairly consistent basis. However, I digress, sorry LOL.

In ICE mode I got it on the highway up to 80 mph, I floored it, cruised it, turned it off back on and even drove very slowly through the neighborhood with all the windows down. I tried charge mode, sport mode and pretty much pushed every damn button within reach. I put it through every driving senerio I could think of without my wife getting pissed. I did not tell her what I was doing.

My observation was this....the ICE engine ran perfectly normal and I didn't really notice much of a sluggish performance. Car seemed to be operating as it normally does. Maybe I felt about a 15%-20% decrease in performance but that may have been in my head. The engine was never too loud and never heard "angry bees." To be honest I could continue to drive this car without issue if this was the only mode this car had. I wouldn't want to but I could without issue. It would even kick back into EV mode when the car had enough juice built up from 2-3 stops. I was impressed actually. Just wanted to share my experience.
 
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Well, a carefully designed and engineered PHEV behaving exactly as is should. How about that.
Here is the proof that a properly performing Clarity can and does work very well even in challenging conditions.

Although a few seem to have problems, most of us are sharing posts like yours; my Clarity just works with no surprises.

I thought it was particularly interesting and heartening that there was no high revs/angry bees in the challenging no charge scenarios of demand for maximum acceleration, HV Charge Mode, and to a lesser degree 80+mph.

Brady has set the bar high for what a normally functioning Clarity is capable of.
My heart goes out to those who are not able to experience this. Hopefully they can work with Honda to diagnose and fix whatever malfunction(s) is or are causing their less than impressive driving experiences.

Let’s keep sharing both our positive and negative experiences and continue to educate each other in the “mysteries” of the Clarity. The more we share, the more we understand about the Clarity, and the more we can get the best ownership experience.
Thanks is again, Brady for posting this.
 
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Brady:

Thanks for a very good experiment and post. On my trip to Florida (by oversight) I ran the battery down as low as it would go and therefore drove on ICE (with the AC on) all the rest of the 600+ miles. As in your post, my car drove and accelerated like a normal ICE car, even at high freeway speeds. In my opinion it is almost the perfect car.

Honda should attach a recording ODB2 device for those experiencing strange symptoms (just like a Dr. would prescribe a Holter Monitor) to definitively trace the problem.
 
I got my Clarity PHEV in mid March and ended up using it for a month almost entirely powered by the ICE before I got my outlet installed and it drove perfectly normal for my daily commute of 35 miles/day (25 highway and 10 local). I wouldn't attempt a drag race with it, but for everyday driving including entering highways during New York City's rush hour it was fine.
 
Folks, remember, we are no different than almost every forum I am a member of - whatever the topic, you are there to SHARE problems and get solutions for the most part, so although it looks like everyone is having issues, it is often just the reverse - those with no problems are silent or like me come quickly to the defense of our chosen decision (be it a car, computer, or software choice). Add to it the fact that this is an entirely NEW design for Honda - heck, only a handful of PHEV's out there compared to hybrids, much less regular ICE vehicles, so there ARE going to be version 1.0 bugs, and bugs that aren't even uniform across the devices.

I feel fortunate to be so lucky for a V1 product (knocks on wood as he writes this) other than the continuing fubar SiriusXM radio software.
 
While I was at the Honda dealership to check out a charging issue, I mentioned the known Sirius XM/pre-conditioning problem. He looked into their system and said there is no record or bulletin from Honda about the problem. When I insisted it was a problem with all Honda Calritys, he said, "Oh, then in that case it is SUPPOSED to work that way." He insisted that if it affects all cars and there is NOTHING in their system (even reported problems that have no solution yet are supposed to be in their service system) then it is supposed to work that way.

He assured me that Honda was not aware of any problem related to the operation of satellite radio after pre-conditioning.

When I mentioned this forum, he rolled his eyes and said the forums are full of misinformation and that Honda was not aware of any issue related to the operation of the satellite radio.
 
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