Until last week, with a full charge, I was getting 48 to 52 miles ( the number I was getting on the dashboard) on my 2018 Honda Clarity Touring. However, something happened and I do get max 42 miles with the same amount of charge (which should be 100%). I get the same thing regardless of where I charge, home or work. Any advice? Thanks.
jdonalds
Well-Known Member
Same here. You're not alone. I went round and round with Honda over it but the car still falls within the range that they don't have to do anything about it.
I've been keeping records and the average has been about 40 EV miles of range for several months.
With colder weather it's beginning to drop into the 36-37 mile range. It hasn't changed our driving habits but I fear in the cold winter months it may drop below the 25 mile range we need to go back and forth to school each day. That will cause us to use some gas and over time will force the dreaded gas station stops.
I've been keeping records and the average has been about 40 EV miles of range for several months.
With colder weather it's beginning to drop into the 36-37 mile range. It hasn't changed our driving habits but I fear in the cold winter months it may drop below the 25 mile range we need to go back and forth to school each day. That will cause us to use some gas and over time will force the dreaded gas station stops.
I live in Sacramento, CA. The weather is mild here (~70s) in these months. So, I do not think that temperature is the main reason.
jdonalds
Well-Known Member
but for me, who has been through two winters with the car, this isn't about the cold weather effect. When the car should be getting 47 miles or higher in the summer months it was still stuck in the 41 mile range. Here is my chart.
I live in Redding CA. Mild winters compared with much of the rest of the U.S. See my chart above.
Dan Albrich
Well-Known Member
jdonalds- I'm sorry your range went down. Does seem odd. Your new lower range is actually higher than my Clarity. I would say, I personally think software updates done at the dealer may play a role. When I had the system power problem, I aggresively had them update my software. I don't have data, but my memory is that before I did all the updating, my EV range was higher. It seems to me one of the updates reset the EV range in a significant way.
After I read the threads about how a virtual battery works, it had me thinking perhaps Honda shipped the car with relatively generous use of the underlying real battery. They then crunched some numbers regarding percentage of vehicles at say year 8 that will qualify for battery replace under warranty and decided to change virtual battery parameters. i.e. you don't get to use 80% of your battery any more (with say 10% on top and bottom protected). They make it like 70% with 15 and 15 top and bottom protected. I don't actually know, but after all the software updates at my dealer, my car never again displayed any number in the 50's even in summer weather. I'm very lucky if I ever see 47 miles even in summer under ideal conditions. Typical for me is maybe 38-43 miles in summer, and yep it goes down in winter to about 25.
-Dan
After I read the threads about how a virtual battery works, it had me thinking perhaps Honda shipped the car with relatively generous use of the underlying real battery. They then crunched some numbers regarding percentage of vehicles at say year 8 that will qualify for battery replace under warranty and decided to change virtual battery parameters. i.e. you don't get to use 80% of your battery any more (with say 10% on top and bottom protected). They make it like 70% with 15 and 15 top and bottom protected. I don't actually know, but after all the software updates at my dealer, my car never again displayed any number in the 50's even in summer weather. I'm very lucky if I ever see 47 miles even in summer under ideal conditions. Typical for me is maybe 38-43 miles in summer, and yep it goes down in winter to about 25.
-Dan
I live in Chicago, the weather here just started to turn and I'm seeing Temps in the 30s and over night in the high 20s.
I keep the car in the garage and it usually stays in the 50s. I haven't had a software update at all and I use a level 2 charger. I run the battery down to zero by the time it gets put on overnight charge. With all said, I whent from 52 ev range to 40, and most times even as low as 36. When I charge it at work, outside in the elements on a level 1 I get about the same. This is the part I don't understand. It seams to me that I should get more EVs when charging in a warm garage rather than outside. So what's going to happen when it gets to be in the 10s or even the negative Temps?
I keep the car in the garage and it usually stays in the 50s. I haven't had a software update at all and I use a level 2 charger. I run the battery down to zero by the time it gets put on overnight charge. With all said, I whent from 52 ev range to 40, and most times even as low as 36. When I charge it at work, outside in the elements on a level 1 I get about the same. This is the part I don't understand. It seams to me that I should get more EVs when charging in a warm garage rather than outside. So what's going to happen when it gets to be in the 10s or even the negative Temps?
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
The engine will run almost all the time. This was proven and discussed last winter. I forget the exact temp the car is programmed to just start and run the engine 100%...but approx 10 degrees f seems about right in my memory. Then when it warms up all wil be normal. This is not an efficient cold weather car.
FWIW charging temp is mostly irrelevant.
AnthonyW
Well-Known Member
The battery’s optimal temperature is between 77 and 95 degrees. If your battery is not consistently at or above 77 you will not get 48 mile range. The battery is slow to warm when driving and charging does not increase the temperature much at all.
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Lowell_Greenberg
Active Member
This is not my experience. But it is an interesting issue. Temperature, driving habits, L1 vs L2 charging, use of heat/AC and any BMS issues can all impact battery life over time and/or reported/actual range. In a PHEV, this has a more significant functional impact than a much longer range BEV for obvious reasons.
I think that the best one can do is try if possible to maximize overall battery life and appreciate that the driver and the car may need to selectively use ICE under certain conditions to maximize range and battery life.
For example: Avoid charging right after a drive; Don't continually discharge to the lowest SOC allowed. Don't leave the car for extended periods at its reported 100% SOC. Drive the car efficiently and within the speed limit. If possible, garage overnight and precondition if necessary. Use heat, defrosters and AC in moderation.
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All good advice. But with all due respect ,I bought the car to drive it, not to think how, why or if I should drive it. I'm not going to wait an hour to start charging because I just got home from a long drive, im going to pull in my garage and start charging. And if I'm cold I'm putting on the heat. It's a car and I'm going to treat it as such.
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
Amen Nikko. I treat mine like you treat yours. Gets plugged in the moment I get home, left plugged in until I leave. Temps are ignored and it doesn't matter if I just got back from 100 mile drive (in which case my battery is fully depleted) or a 1 mile drive. Climate control is set around 70 degrees 100% of the time...comfort always trumps range. If this car needs to be treated all that special, it is simply not ready for sale to the general public, and nobody would want to own one. My wife is primary driver of ours. If I asked her to consider doing some of the things on that list Lowell mentions she would quickly ask me to get rid of this stupid battery thing and just get her a normal car to drive. I believe most drivers would feel the same way and maybe lists like this being thrown around actually hamper sales of EVs and PHEVs because people think it's just too complex to own this car. It is not, and this car can be treated like every ICE car on the road.
My wife and I do none of the things Lowell advises in his last paragraph. Not one (except garage -- yes I have a garage.) Nor do I believe any of them are necessary for long life. 25k miles so far and counting. All is well. Range is holding nicely. I feel compelled to note that Honda likewise asks us to do none of those things mentioned.
One of us is right, and one of us is wrong. We will know which is which about 8ish years from now as we watch how these cars age, though I highly doubt I will keep my Clarity that long...
To be real blunt I think there might be merit to cycling this battery as harshly as possible in an effort to cause a significant degradation, such that Honda warranties a new replacement battery somewhere around the 79,000 mile mark. Then that person would have an 80,000 mile car with a NEW battery, while those who babied their batteries for long life are stuck keeping their original battery beyond the warranty period and never have the benefit of a free replacement from Honda.
So I feel both camps are rolling the dice and relying on luck...those who think they're doing the right thing by doing a "save the battery dance", vs those who are "abusing" their battery with whatever methods some perceive to be abuse. Who's gonna roll lucky? Stay tuned for a half-decade, when things will start to shake out. Until then we are all guessing.
My wife and I do none of the things Lowell advises in his last paragraph. Not one (except garage -- yes I have a garage.) Nor do I believe any of them are necessary for long life. 25k miles so far and counting. All is well. Range is holding nicely. I feel compelled to note that Honda likewise asks us to do none of those things mentioned.
One of us is right, and one of us is wrong. We will know which is which about 8ish years from now as we watch how these cars age, though I highly doubt I will keep my Clarity that long...
To be real blunt I think there might be merit to cycling this battery as harshly as possible in an effort to cause a significant degradation, such that Honda warranties a new replacement battery somewhere around the 79,000 mile mark. Then that person would have an 80,000 mile car with a NEW battery, while those who babied their batteries for long life are stuck keeping their original battery beyond the warranty period and never have the benefit of a free replacement from Honda.
So I feel both camps are rolling the dice and relying on luck...those who think they're doing the right thing by doing a "save the battery dance", vs those who are "abusing" their battery with whatever methods some perceive to be abuse. Who's gonna roll lucky? Stay tuned for a half-decade, when things will start to shake out. Until then we are all guessing.
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Lowell_Greenberg
Active Member
Oh I forgot- don't forget to not properly inflate the tires given the temperature drop- that also will help with range
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Thats why I took a 150,000 mile extended warranty. I may be the lucky one to have a new battery on a older car..