clarity road noise

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ChrisL

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Just bought Clarity. I have been educated that Clarity is very quiet car by many reviewers.
Yes, it's quiet but only in the low speed. When cruising in highway speed, the road noise is louder than my Toyota Sienna and Nissan Murano. I feel disappointed for the cabin quietness. Honda usually is not good to make quiet car. Accord is louder than Camry. Odyssey is louder than Sienna too. Now I keep convincing myself that it's just the car for daily commute not a car to compete with luxury brands. Do not have many unrealistic expectations.

Other than road noise, Clarity performs well and looks nice actually.
 
ChrisL said:
Just bought Clarity. I have been educated that Clarity is very quiet car by many reviewers.
Yes, it's quiet but only in the low speed. When cruising in highway speed, the road noise is louder than my Toyota Sienna and Nissan Murano. I feel disappointed for the cabin quietness. Honda usually is not good to make quiet car. Accord is louder than Camry. Odyssey is louder than Sienna too. Now I keep convincing myself that it's just the car for daily commute not a car to compete with luxury brands. Do not have many unrealistic expectations.

Other than road noise, Clarity performs well and looks nice actually.
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Some have reported dash noise or window seal leaks that can be repaired by the dealer. Is the road noise coming from the tires? I've noticed that some roads are really terrible for these tires. The Clarity rides on Michelin Energy Saver all season tires. The rubber compound is designed to reduce rolling resistance to maximize mileage but that has an adverse effect on performance (handling and braking) and noise. You can replace the tires to regular all season tires to improve performance and noise but it'll affect range. The EV range and HV mileage on my Clarity have impressively beaten the EPA estimates so I'm replacing the OEM tires with high performance A/S season tires to improve handling, braking distance, but probably not noise (high performance tires are not quiet). That being said, Honda has gone to extreme lengths to reduce noise in the Clarity because all noises in EVs become more noticeable when there is no engine rumble to mask them.
 
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Make sure you check the tire pressure on a new car. They come off the truck at 40+psi and dealers are supposed to reduce it as part of the PDI, but often forget.

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Be more specific on type of road noise? The car is incredibly quiet so can't imagine the more aggressive tires on the Murano would be quieter. I ask to be more specific as some people have had some wind noise from a poorly sealed front left window, or maybe the engine is making noise or something if your battery is dead. I find the car very quiet from 0-80 mph (as in quieter than most luxury brands, at least from a few years ago).
 
I checked the cold tire pressure this morning. Four tires are at 38.5 PSI !!! Don't know how much the tire pressure contributes to the road noise. 38.5 PSI seems too high for a sedan.
What's the ideal tire pressure for Clarity ?
 
ChrisL said:
I checked the cold tire pressure this morning. Four tires are at 38.5 PSI !!! Don't know how much the tire pressure contributes to the road noise. 38.5 PSI seems too high for a sedan.
What's the ideal tire pressure for Clarity ?
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36 psi Honda recommended on door jamb and manual. Another post noted that cars come w 40 psi and sometimes dealer prep skips setting them down to 36.
 
I think the dichotomy is interesting between those who find the Clarity quiet and those who find it has road noise. I wonder if it has something to do with what vehicle was owned immediately prior to the Clarity? We came from a Ford Fusion Energi with active sound cancellation that was eerily quiet all the time. In contrast, the Clarity has fairly loud road noise; even on one of the our test drives I remember saying "Come on Honda, you've known your vehicles have had high road noise levels for decades, it's a solvable problem!". I like the car so much otherwise that I'm willing to put some time/money into reducing the road noise. I'm going to explore using Dynamat, FatMat, and maybe even quieter tires over the next few months. If I find something effective, I'll report back.
 
Sandroad said:
I think the dichotomy is interesting between those who find the Clarity quiet and those who find it has road noise. I wonder if it has something to do with what vehicle was owned immediately prior to the Clarity? We came from a Ford Fusion Energi with active sound cancellation that was eerily quiet all the time. In contrast, the Clarity has fairly loud road noise; even on one of the our test drives I remember saying "Come on Honda, you've known your vehicles have had high road noise levels for decades, it's a solvable problem!". I like the car so much otherwise that I'm willing to put some time/money into reducing the road noise. I'm going to explore using Dynamat, FatMat, and maybe even quieter tires over the next few months. If I find something effective, I'll report back.
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Came from a Prius and the Clarity seems like a library on the highway compared to it.


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Traditionally, I have enjoyed tires with a sidewall profile around 60 for quietness and bump absorption (most recently 205/55-16). The Clarity tires' sidewalls are a few millimeters shorter. I'm sure quieter tires can be found but most mfrs make a decision to put on the tires that provide optimum fuel efficiency with only acceptable characteristics otherwise.
 
I think our Clarity road noise is quieter than the 2015 Prius. But I do notice the road noise sometimes. Another factor is the car is so quiet, more than any car I've ever driven, that the road noise is more noticeable. I mean the only noise I hear is road noise. Just a low volume on the music or a podcast erases the road noise factor for me.

Sometimes the road surface will change and the car gets extremely quiet.
 
jdonalds said:
I think our Clarity road noise is quieter than the 2015 Prius. But I do notice the road noise sometimes. Another factor is the car is so quiet, more than any car I've ever driven, that the road noise is more noticeable. I mean the only noise I hear is road noise. Just a low volume on the music or a podcast erases the road noise factor for me.

Sometimes the road surface will change and the car gets extremely quiet.
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Yes, I too notice a wide variation in road noise depending on the surface. I notice road noise much more in the Clarity than I did in my noisy Nissan Altima simply because on some occasions it is so quiet that I admire the quietness. So, when I do get road noise, i almost start to think something is wrong.
 
Only when I encounter a poorly seal-coated road (where they lay down tar and roll aggregate into it - a Texas nightmare) is mine noisy at speed. On an asphalt or concrete surface, it is as quiet, if not more so, than my 2018 Odyssey.
 
Sandroad said:
I think the dichotomy is interesting between those who find the Clarity quiet and those who find it has road noise. I wonder if it has something to do with what vehicle was owned immediately prior to the Clarity? We came from a Ford Fusion Energi with active sound cancellation that was eerily quiet all the time. In contrast, the Clarity has fairly loud road noise; even on one of the our test drives I remember saying "Come on Honda, you've known your vehicles have had high road noise levels for decades, it's a solvable problem!". I like the car so much otherwise that I'm willing to put some time/money into reducing the road noise. I'm going to explore using Dynamat, FatMat, and maybe even quieter tires over the next few months. If I find something effective, I'll report back.
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Dynamat works great---had all 4 doors and the floor lined with it which reduced the noise quite a bit---more then 50%
 
I wish the U.S. Model would have come with the ANC (Active Noise Control) feature to help reduce the road noise.
One thing I am starting to notice from the passenger side of the dashboard is rattling, also it seems to be coming from the passenger door. In my GTI, I had to lubricate some of the weatherstripping with some silicone spray from time to time in key areas to silence rattling that would appear from time to time; I'm hoping its a similar scenario with the Clarity.
 
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