First time running out of range

E

Emanuel Green

Member
Nothing particularly noteworthy here, I just wanted to share my experience!

Today, for the first time since I bought the car back in April, I ran out of EV range and had to use gas. I have charging at work, and the engine came on about a mile and a half from my office.

It was surprisingly anticlimactic. I was expecting angry bees, or a warning on the dash or something. Instead, when EV range hit zero, the power bar turned white and the engine turned on. No perceptible change in performance, and I wouldn't have even heard the engine if I hadn't had the radio off and was specifically listening for it.

The engine ran continuously for about a mile and then a sliver of blue bar reappeared on the dash and I was able to creep the last couple of blocks on EV only, and plug into my charger. :-)

The experience was a little sad, since I was trying to see how long I could go without using any gas. But it sure as heck beats running out of charge in my Leaf! :-D
 
Emanuel Green said:
The experience was a little sad, since I was trying to see how long I could go without using any gas.
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Now you've left the engine-never-activated club, join us in the haven't-been-to-the-gas-station club. It's not as exclusive, but still something you can boast about. We've gone 7 months without adding gas, but we're down to 3 bars, so we're preparing ourselves to be drummed out of the second-tier club.
 
insightman said:
Now you've left the engine-never-activated club, join us in the haven't-been-to-the-gas-station club. It's not as exclusive, but still something you can boast about. We've gone 7 months without adding gas, but we're down to 3 bars, so we're preparing ourselves to be drummed out of the second-tier club.
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We're going on vacation next week, so I think we'll probably get booted out of that club sooner than I'd like :p

Still, I'm hoping that this next fill-up will last us the rest of the year!
 
Emanuel Green said:
We're going on vacation next week, so I think we'll probably get booted out of that club sooner than I'd like :p

Still, I'm hoping that this next fill-up will last us the rest of the year!
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In a way the first trip to the gas station sets one free to explore all the capabilities of this wonderful car. I both dread and look forward to that event.
 
Virgin ICE really isn't sustainable, since the engine almost certainly benefits from occasional action (it's a healthy activity, right?). How long one can go without pumping is another thing - I think @insightman is probably right about being set free by crossing that threshold, but it seems so dirty.
 
First out of town trip will be for July 4th. Have gone 4 months/2,700 miles on original tank from dealer with no loss of bars. But the ICE has come on a few times for System Check or the full charge/downhill scenario. HV range says it’s been for less than 10 miles and hour meter says less than 20 min. All with no angry bees ever and the last time I didn’t even hear the ICE but noticed after the fact my HV range was down 2 miles. That’s as close to a pure EV as any PHEV can get and is more than made up by having unlimited HV range (w fillups).
 
KentuckyKen said:
First out of town trip will be for July 4th. Have gone 4 months/2,700 miles on original tank from dealer with no loss of bars. But the ICE has come on a few times for System Check or the full charge/downhill scenario. HV range says it’s been for less than 10 miles and hour meter says less than 20 min. All with no angry bees ever and the last time I didn’t even hear the ICE but noticed after the fact my HV range was down 2 miles. That’s as close to a pure EV as any PHEV can get and is more than made up by having unlimited HV range (w fillups).
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Hi Ken 3 months 4800 km - ICE gauge says full - but hour meter says 2 hours... will be going on a trip in the next week or so - and will then join those who use gasoline :-) (HV range says about 40 km used - which at 4.5l/100 km equals about 2 liters - less than 1/2 gallon...
 
JohnT, we all made an exceedingly wise purchase. I guess we traded range anxiety for ICE anxiety. I’m not one of those who expect a PHEV to behave like a BEV (but boy does the Clariry come close!), but it will be just a little bit sad when I fill up for the first time. But not too sad at 42+ mpg vs the 22 I was getting. :)
 
The Clarity's ICE MPG is actually a downgrade for me -- I used to drive a diesel Jetta that hit 50MPG on the highway on a regular basis.

Totally worth the switch, though! I'm loving that 90+% of my driving is all-electric these days :-D
 
And the Clarity’ mpg doesn’t need the engine software fudged to meet EPA regs! I heard the VW diesel mpg takes a little hit with the legal reprogramming.
And you’re right, 90% EV @ 110 mpge ans 10% HV @ 42 mpg beats everything out there when you factor in room, comfort, price and no range anxiety.
 
KentuckyKen said:
And the Clarity’ mpg doesn’t need the engine software fudged to meet EPA regs! I heard the VW diesel mpg takes a little hit with the legal reprogramming.
And you’re right, 90% EV @ 110 mpge ans 10% HV @ 42 mpg beats everything out there when you factor in room, comfort, price and no range anxiety.
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I'm more like 96% EV and I have been tracking my mpge since I purchased the car in late December. My average mpge (weather above 65 degrees) is in the 130s and my high was 144.27. One thing I have noticed is if I run the car so the EV miles remaining is in the teens or less before I charge it, I get a higher mpge and miles/KWh than If I plug it in every night. My average miles/KWh now the weather is warmer is about 4.0 and the high has been 4.28.
About a week ago I had to meet someone who didn't show up for about 15 minuets. The outside temperature was 95 degrees so I sat in my car with the AC on. With a stop watch I measured how long it took for the EV miles to drop 1/10 of a mile while I was waiting. It was almost exactly 2 minuets which means if you drive the car with the AC on (at least at 95 degrees) your EV miles will drop 1 mile every 20 minuets.
 
Bless you bpratt, that’s the kind of hard data that we need!
May I ask how you are calculating MPGe so I can do it too?

I’ll hazard a wild guess that the lower EV range estimate with daily charging vs less often charging may be due in part to the limited regen available for the first part of the drive on a full charge.
 
The government defines MPGe as:
(Miles driven / KWh used) * 33.7
So my best MPGe is 38.4 miles / 8.97 KWh * 33.7 = 144.267 MPGe

I also calculate MPGe based on the cost of gas.
Miles per KWh * (price per gallon of gas / cost of power per KWh)
So when I got the 144.27 MPGe, the cost of gas was $3.18.
The cost of my power is $0.0963 and I got 4.28 miles per KWh
4.28 * (3.18 / .0963) = 141.333 real MPGe based on cost of gas
 
Is that 42mpg from experience or from the ratings?

I would consider that a worst case scenario, from testing I’ve been conducting of HV mode you would get that if the engine was running 100% of the time. On a 26km stretch my average was 106mpg - warm weather, AC on, mostly level road.

I have a 4h trip planned in Vermont in 2 weeks, can’t wait to collect longer range data.

I’ve become more zen about those times when my Clarity is burning gas — my overall average since I have it is 235mpg. If it wants a sip once in a while that’s cool.

Here’s my fuelly page

http://www.fuelly.com/car/honda/clarity/2018/larmic/795791
 
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Vezz66 said:
Is that 42mpg from experience or from the ratings?

On a 26km stretch my average was 106mpg - warm weather, AC on, mostly level road.
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I tested HV again but on a longer stretch including hills for half the 72km trip, for an average of 58mpg. The battery level does go down over time with the climbs.
 
KentuckyKen said:
I’ll hazard a wild guess that the lower EV range estimate with daily charging vs less often charging may be due in part to the limited regen available for the first part of the drive on a full charge.
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Why would regen be limited?

I would think that after driving only 1/2 mile or so, there is enough "room" in the battery for the very small amount of recovered energy from stopping. We aren't talking about the HV charge limit of 57% here. As far as I can tell, regen braking will always gain some small increase in the battery's charge level.

Anybody got any facts they can cite to prove otherwise?
 
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