Considering a Honda Clarity? Charging tips!

[ChargePoint]

We wanted to share a few details on charging the Clarity, for those currently in the market!

First off, the Honda Clarity comes in three versions: full battery electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid.

Quick note:
The Clarity Fuel Cell runs on hydrogen (not electricity), has about 366 miles of range can be refueled at a hydrogen fueling station. Currently, there’s no way to refuel using hydrogen at work or at home, and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) must be serviced at a specialized dealer.

For those reasons, the chart below provides details for the electric and plug-in models, only.

Charging?
Some people charge their EVs at home by plugging into a regular wall outlet, which adds about 4 miles of Range Per Hour, which would take a full day to recharge the Clarity Electric this way. That makes upgrading to a Level 2 home charger especially helpful if you get the Clarity Electric. If you're more focused on destination charging, Level 2 stations can add about 25 miles of Range Per Hour to the Clarity.

The Clarity Electric’s “on-board charger” adds energy to the battery quickly, which allows you to charge the larger battery faster compared with the Plug-in Hybrid. You’ll be able to charge to about 80% in 30 minutes to the Honda Clarity Electric with DC fast charging, adding around 70 miles. The hybrid doesn’t come with a DC fast charging option, because it has a gas engine for long trips. The Clarity Electric is one of the only cars on the market with DC fast charging standard, and it uses the SAE Combo/CCS connector for DC fast charging.


Fun fact: at ChargePoint we've had over 500 Clarity Electric charging sessions on ChargePoint since the car launched, to December 2017. Based on that we've seen that the average charging session for Clarity Electric drivers (on ChargePoint) so far cost around $0.88, though over 80% of sessions were at free stations. We also have to keep in mind that the cost of charging can vary between different EV charging stations and networks.


I hope you found this helpful! If you already have a Clarity and have questions about charging details, feel free to private message us!

Rochelle
ChargePoint Community

 

[KentuckyKen]

We wanted to share a few details on charging the Clarity, for those currently in the market!

First off, the Honda Clarity comes in three versions: full battery electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid.

Quick note:
The Clarity Fuel Cell runs on hydrogen (not electricity), has about 366 miles of range can be refueled at a hydrogen fueling station. Currently, there’s no way to refuel using hydrogen at work or at home, and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) must be serviced at a specialized dealer.

For those reasons, the chart below provides details for the electric and plug-in models, only.

Charging?
Some people charge their EVs at home by plugging into a regular wall outlet, which adds about 4 miles of Range Per Hour, which would take a full day to recharge the Clarity Electric this way. That makes upgrading to a Level 2 home charger especially helpful if you get the Clarity Electric. If you're more focused on destination charging, Level 2 stations can add about 25 miles of Range Per Hour to the Clarity.

The Clarity Electric’s “on-board charger” adds energy to the battery quickly, which allows you to charge the larger battery faster compared with the Plug-in Hybrid. You’ll be able to charge to about 80% in 30 minutes to the Honda Clarity Electric with DC fast charging, adding around 70 miles. The hybrid doesn’t come with a DC fast charging option, because it has a gas engine for long trips. The Clarity Electric is one of the only cars on the market with DC fast charging standard, and it uses the SAE Combo/CCS connector for DC fast charging.


Fun fact: at ChargePoint we've had over 500 Clarity Electric charging sessions on ChargePoint since the car launched, to December 2017. Based on that we've seen that the average charging session for Clarity Electric drivers (on ChargePoint) so far cost around $0.88, though over 80% of sessions were at free stations. We also have to keep in mind that the cost of charging can vary between different EV charging stations and networks.


I hope you found this helpful! If you already have a Clarity and have questions about charging details, feel free to private message us!

Rochelle
ChargePoint Community

Hey ChargePoint, I am a customer of yours in that I own a 32 amp Level 2 ChargePoint Home EVSE that is working fine. However...
Instead of posting a form letter like you just did, it would be much more helpful to the Clarity community in this forum if you would read and address the public charging problems that appear to be Clarity specific at some of your public chargers.
We already know what you just posted. If you really want to to put your company in a more favorable light then please address the problems that have been reported here with some of your public chargers. Did you even read through the forum before you posted this??

 

[K8QM]

@KentuckyKen Actually they have responded to some of the posts including one of mine. Basically they said sorry you had a problem make sure you report it via a phone call or the app in the future.

Not sure their post above is of any real usefulness though.

geo

 

[ClarityDoc]

I'm pretty confident, from their comments here and posts elsewhere, that @KentuckyKen and @K8QM have a lot more knowledge of PHEVs than I. That said, I'm unsure of this forum's typical reader but others like me might appreciate the ChargePoint post above. If you don't find it helpful then skip it, but please don't discourage a post unless you think it's either off-topic or misleading.

Of course, I fully agree with them that a company should put as much energy p) into responding to criticism as they do to posting predigested info.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Sorry, I might have jumped on them a little hard. Maybe I was having a bad hair day or Stephen King Cujo thumbs. In my defense, I had just gotten a couple of unhelpful form responses from 2 other companies and probably let that state of mind carry over.
When I talked to a tech there to handle a problem I was having with connecting to the internet with my home ChargePoint (which I really like) they seemed not that concerned over the public problems some are having.
Hopefully they are working on it and will post a solution or at least an explanation.

 

[M.M.]

I would argue that the "great for" line there leaves out a couple of very obvious use cases for the PHEV version.

For example: Great for short-to-medium-range commuting when you only charge at home, but need to take occasional longer trips.

Or my case: Great for daily driving when you only own one car and take occasional long trips.

I don't know what fraction of families these days are single car owners, but for those who are PHEVs provide a really viable alternative where BEVs would be harder to justify. Or, for that matter, two-car families that don't want to own one BEV and one gasoline-only vehicle.

 

[ChargePoint]

Hey ChargePoint, I am a customer of yours in that I own a 32 amp Level 2 ChargePoint Home EVSE that is working fine. However...
Instead of posting a form letter like you just did, it would be much more helpful to the Clarity community in this forum if you would read and address the public charging problems that appear to be Clarity specific at some of your public chargers.
We already know what you just posted. If you really want to to put your company in a more favorable light then please address the problems that have been reported here with some of your public chargers. Did you even read through the forum before you posted this??

Sorry, I might have jumped on them a little hard. Maybe I was having a bad hair day or Stephen King Cujo thumbs. In my defense, I had just gotten a couple of unhelpful form responses from 2 other companies and probably let that state of mind carry over.
When I talked to a tech there to handle a problem I was having with connecting to the internet with my home ChargePoint (which I really like) they seemed not that concerned over the public problems some are having.
Hopefully they are working on it and will post a solution or at least an explanation.

Happy to help where I can, KentuckyKen, and I can understand the frustration! I've been replying to questions I've found but if I've missed something specific, please tag us in the thread, or private message me if you'd like, and we'll see how we can help! I'd also love to pass your feedback to our team regarding any of the general issues you've been observing. - Rochelle

 

[bpratt]

With hot weather now here or nearly here is it best to charge the battery after coming home late in the afternoon when the car and battery and motor are hot, or would it be better to set a the timer and have charging start a midnight or 1:00 am when the weather and the car have cooled down?

 

[K8QM]

With hot weather now here or nearly here is it best to charge the battery after coming home late in the afternoon when the car and battery and motor are hot, or would it be better to set a the timer and have charging start a midnight or 1:00 am when the weather and the car have cooled down?

For the grid it's definitely better later when everyone's AC isn't cranked down. My garage was a good bit hotter than normal yesterday and I noticed the cooling fans coming on while charging so I would think it would be better for the car also - but I don't have any technical knowledge to back that up I'm just going from no cooling needed good, cooling needed less good.

geo

 

[KentuckyKen]

Happy to help where I can, KentuckyKen, and I can understand the frustration! I've been replying to questions I've found but if I've missed something specific, please tag us in the thread, or private message me if you'd like, and we'll see how we can help! I'd also love to pass your feedback to our team regarding any of the general issues you've been observing. - Rochelle

Thanks for the reply, Rochelle. It’s good to have you on the forum. The problem I’ve seen posted by several Clarity drivers is that at some public ChargePoint stations they would have problems when other EV makes would not (same charger/same day). The Clarity driver’s would experience charge stopping repeatedly after a very short time despite the fact that other cars could charge there normally. I don’t believe that other posters have complained about this with other brands of EVSEs. I don’t have any experience with this as I charge at home with my ChargePoint. Is ChargePoint aware of this issue that appears to be specific to Claritys on ChargePoint non-home EVSEs?

 

[JyChevyVolt]

Has ChargePoint fixed the Clarity charging issue? I've had zero problems with other public chargers.

The ChargePoint dance.
1. Turn off car.
2. Open charge port.
3. Set parking brakes.
4. Close door.
5. Plug-in

 

[AnthonyW]

With hot weather now here or nearly here is it best to charge the battery after coming home late in the afternoon when the car and battery and motor are hot, or would it be better to set a the timer and have charging start a midnight or 1:00 am when the weather and the car have cooled down?

You should plug it in as soon as you get home. The Clarity’s battery temp control system is active when the car is powered on and when it is charging. Priority is given to ensuring that the battery is within a certain temperature range before charging commences or reaches its peak charge acceptance. If you listen carefully while the car is charging you can hear the coolant circulating.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

[ChargePoint]

Thanks for the reply, Rochelle. It’s good to have you on the forum. The problem I’ve seen posted by several Clarity drivers is that at some public ChargePoint stations they would have problems when other EV makes would not (same charger/same day). The Clarity driver’s would experience charge stopping repeatedly after a very short time despite the fact that other cars could charge there normally. I don’t believe that other posters have complained about this with other brands of EVSEs. I don’t have any experience with this as I charge at home with my ChargePoint. Is ChargePoint aware of this issue that appears to be specific to Claritys on ChargePoint non-home EVSEs?

Has ChargePoint fixed the Clarity charging issue? I've had zero problems with other public chargers.

The ChargePoint dance.
1. Turn off car.
2. Open charge port.
3. Set parking brakes.
4. Close door.
5. Plug-in

Thank you both for sharing these details. I'll take a deeper look at some of the other Clarity specific threads here to see if I can find more details of what you're both reporting so that I can send these details to our team and get back to everyone!

 

[Rajiv Vaidyanathan]

Thank you both for sharing these details. I'll take a deeper look at some of the other Clarity specific threads here to see if I can find more details of what you're both reporting so that I can send these details to our team and get back to everyone!

Hello,

I am working with Timothy Russ to try and identify the problem. At the moment, he believes it may be as simple as a bad connector on the charging unit.

 

[ChargePoint]

Hello,

I am working with Timothy Russ to try and identify the problem. At the moment, he believes it may be as simple as a bad connector on the charging unit.

Happy to hear you're in the process of troubleshooting with our team!

For everyone else, I have wanted to share an update on the issues you've reported regarding charging a Clarity with ChargePoint stations. Our engineering team is aware of the issue and they've been aligning with Honda to complete full compatibility tests. In time they'll be able to get to the root of the issue and address it so that you can continue to use stations with peace of mind. Thank you all so much for sharing your reports with me here, and with our team directly through the driver support line!

 

[KentuckyKen]

Way to go ChargePoint and Miss Rochelle!! I wish Honda was as responsive to us as you are.

 

[K8QM]

These are the worst issues to troubleshoot! I've had about 50-50 luck with ChargePoint and up until recently no problems with other public chargers.

Recently I tried an Eaton charger that kept stopping after a minute or two. Several days later I was able to try an identical Eaton charger mounted about 2 feet away and it worked perfectly. This is the same experience I had with CP - side by side chargers had different interaction with the vehicle.

It really seems like a setting in the Clarity may be a bit too sensitive to line changes - or as has been mentioned in other threads maybe the Clarity puts crud on the charging line that the chargers are sensitive to.

In either case I'm glad I don't have to troubleshoot it!

geo

 

[CapeClarityGuy]

A question about whether it makes sense to leave my new Clarity plugged in after the battery has a full charge...
We normally drive less than 20 miles at a time, with occasional longer highway trips. Sometimes the car is not driven for days at a time.
I plan to plug in to our home 120V in the garage when we return from any trip, even short ones.
Are we using any of our home electricity by leaving the car plugged in after the battery is fully charged?
Will a fully charged battery loose any significant charge if the car is not plugged in for several days?
What if I am out of town for a long period of time? Not sure if there would be a problem if the car was parked in an airport lot for three weeks.
I assume that the car would just revert to running on gas if the battery was low.

 

[CapeClarityGuy]

Just picked up my new Clarity plug in Hybrid; excited to get out and drive around.
I downloaded the ChargePoint app and have a question... I've entered my Clarity plug in hybrid into the vehicle type. The app "Filters" screen asks me to identify the connector type and offers 7 options (note that I have only the 120V wall plug cable supplied with the car). What connector types should I turn on in the app? I've read about some charging issues in this thread. Can I use any ChargePoint station?

 

[KentuckyKen]

Just picked up my new Clarity plug in Hybrid; excited to get out and drive around.
I downloaded the ChargePoint app and have a question... I've entered my Clarity plug in hybrid into the vehicle type. The app "Filters" screen asks me to identify the connector type and offers 7 options (note that I have only the 120V wall plug cable supplied with the car). What connector types should I turn on in the app? I've read about some charging issues in this thread. Can I use any ChargePoint station?

You want to turn on the AC Wall Outlet to show locations where you can plug in your Honda supplied 120v EVSE and the AC J1772 to show locations of Level 2 EVSEs that your Clarity can charge from. Note that to use the ChargePoint network you will need to set up an account with them and they will send you a card to “tap and go” at their chargers that are pay to charge. Signing in to their website will also give you more energy tracking options.

A few are having issues with some specific ChargePoint locations and ChargePoint is aware of this and working on it. I have only charged on my home ChargePoint and it works fine.
BYW, I have found that the PlugShare App shows more charging locations, especially wall plug locations.