Frequency of Charging Issues?

S

SeeItAllWithTheClarity

New Member
Hi everyone, I am thinking about buying the clarity, but I am worried about that thread on charging issues. What percentage of users do you think are affected by these problems?

I want to buy this car, but feel like I will be second guessing myself big time if I can't charge reliably on public stations.

Any thoughts? Please try to sell me on this car!!! Thanks
 
I have no issues with charging. These forums were superhelpful when I was shopping, but I’m not good about paying it forward and writing about my good experiences. I think a lot of time one goes on the forum when there’s an issue, otherwise they are out enjoying their vehicle. We love the car.
 
OK, here’s the sales pitch.
This is the best car I have ever owned. Its unbelievably quiet, has plenty of pep in EV mode but with additional ICE power if needed, offers fantastic electric economy but with no range anxiety, has very good ride and handling, has a spacious interior and trunk, and is close to a luxury car in my opinion. In short it has the perfect blend of features that currently nothing else in the market has. If you drive it and the Volt and Prius Prime, I can almost guarantee you’ll buy the Clarity.

Now as to the charging issue.
I’ve had mine 3 months and 2,000 miles and charge practically every night at home. I’ve also used some free public chargers (AeroVironment and ChargePoint) and have never had a problem with charging or with using the Honda Link to schedule charging or or or pre-condition the car. I have not used the scheduling function from inside the car just from the Honda Link. I just installed a ChargePoint 32amp Level 2 charger (technically they are EVSEs) in my garage and it’s working fine.
It does appear that there are a small number of posters that are having issues with their charging turning off before completion. However the vast majority of us are not.
If you’re really worried, take it to some public chargers on your test drive. And remember that there are 3 factors in charging: the car, the charger, and the operator; and that any of these 3 can cause a problem. So not all reported problems are the car’s fault. I believe that if there was a serious problem with charging the car, we would see many more complaints than there are.

So I would tell you to go ahead and buy it and smile every time you pass a gas station. I’ve gone 2,000 miles on 2 gal of gas since the majority of my trips are under 50 miles. And I’ve done it all in roomy comfort.
 
We also had ~2000 miles on Clarity without a single issue with charging. Honestly I haven’t seen a car so well loved by its owners like the Clarity. We are so glad that we bought this car.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
I have used seven public chargers and of those one Chargepoint Charger does not work - to me that points to a Chargepoint, not a Clarity issue. I've never had an issue with Level 1 or 2 at home.

BTW there are two Chargepoint chargers side by side where I have a problem - the left has always worked, the right has never worked.

geo
 
Lol.... I have not used a public charger... no need in my situation...I charge at home with Solar power....I did have a charging problem with a public ChargePoint charger... but that was in my 17 Volt. love my Clarity.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
I've been charging just about every night at home, on our Siemens Versicharge Level 2 charger for almost five months. For the first few weeks, I used the 120 volt charger that came with the car. Have not had any issues with either, but I haven't used a public charger yet.

The Clarity is perfect for our lifestyle and needs, being retired, driving mostly locally, less that 50 miles a day, typically, with a garage available for charging at home. I try to force myself to run the engine at least once every four weeks, just to limit fuel degrading, and to keep the engine parts from completely drying out.
 
SeeItAllWithTheClarity said:
Hi everyone, I am thinking about buying the clarity, but I am worried about that thread on charging issues. What percentage of users do you think are affected by these problems?

I want to buy this car, but feel like I will be second guessing myself big time if I can't charge reliably on public stations.

Any thoughts? Please try to sell me on this car!!! Thanks
Click to expand...

I've used a few public charging stations with zero issues. Also charge everyday at my home level 2 with no issue. As to the car as we approach 1,000 miles on no gas it's a fine vehicle on many fronts so far! Very pleased with the purchase. My biggest issue is with Apple not the car ... Apple Car Play not supporting the best map options (Google and Waze) is just flat out annoying! But any car with Apple Car Play is going to have the same issue.
 
6000 miles charging every night since 12/12/17 (except for a fee HV only trips without nessibf with public charges) - no issues. Been one of the best cars I’ve ever owned and a joy to drive.
 
I had my Clarity electric since December. Long as I set the parking brake before charging on charge point, I have zero problem.

I would not buy a EV without a reliable home charger. You lose the main advantage of EVs, full charge every morning.
 
I charge at home most evenings on the supplied 110v charger. Never a problem. I have used Chargepoint (it is a “free lunch”) in a public garage on 4 occasions and never had a problem. Great car. No regrets with this purchase.
 
I actually have had a charging issue (though I have not yet determined that it is the Clarity rather than something else in my electric system), and here’s something to keep in mind when reading forums like this:

Who is most likely to post on an online car forum: A happy owner who has had nothing at all go wrong, or someone having a problem?

There are approximately 5000 PHEV Claritys on the road at this point, and maybe three dozen people posting here. Some are just interested or excited car owners, but some significant fraction (myself included) will have specifically sought out a place to ask a question because they’re having a problem. Of those 5000 cars maybe only 20 owners actually have a particular problem, and of those 5 did a Google search and came up with a thread about the same problem, so post in it. Suddenly it looks like a common issue when really it’s rare and probably just due to standard manufacturing glitches.

Point being that online support forums can be a great place to get answers, but they’re a terrible way to gauge if something is really a problem, since they are almost by definition populated by a self-selected group of people who are having problems, unless literally everyone posting says they have the same issue.
 
We've logged just over 1,000 miles in our Clarity with no charging issues. At home we use a ClipperCreek 30 amp 240V charger and we've used an EVgo public charger with no issues. My wife was reluctant to purchase the Clarity but she loves it now. It's got more space then our Corolla had, rides much smoother and is very quite. Our only issue has been the HV range bug.
 
I have used about 15 different public charging locations and only had trouble with one. It’s my office and in the mornings at the office. Afternoons and weekends seem to be fine. My guess is the Honda charger is more sensitive about power quality.

No regrets here - love the car. 2200 miles so far and only 150 of those on gas.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
Thanks for all the input, friends! I decided to pull the trigger and got the Modern Steel base model. Waiting a couple of days for delivery, hoping for a long relationship with the vehicle!
 
K8QM said:
I have used seven public chargers and of those one Chargepoint Charger does not work - to me that points to a Chargepoint, not a Clarity issue. I've never had an issue with Level 1 or 2 at home.

BTW there are two Chargepoint chargers side by side where I have a problem - the left has always worked, the right has never worked.

geo
Click to expand...

KenG said:
Lol.... I have not used a public charger... no need in my situation...I charge at home with Solar power....I did have a charging problem with a public ChargePoint charger... but that was in my 17 Volt. love my Clarity.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
Click to expand...

Hi! I'm sorry to hear about this! The next time you're at one of the ChargePoint stations and encounter an issue, please give our driver support team a call! They're available 24/7 at 1-888-758-4389. Often they're able to help in the moment. We don't own stations on our network, but we do our best to help fix problems, and our team can work with the station owner to address the issue.

Another quick tip, if you use the ChargePoint app, you can find the station on the map to check the status before you visit, read/leave driver comments, and/or use the “Report” button on the station details page to tell us about a problem, too! I hope this helps. :)
 
ChargePoint said:
Hi! I'm sorry to hear about this! The next time you're at one of the ChargePoint stations and encounter an issue, please give our driver support team a call! They're available 24/7 at 1-888-758-4389. Often they're able to help in the moment. We don't own stations on our network, but we do our best to help fix problems, and our team can work with the station owner to address the issue.

Another quick tip, if you use the ChargePoint app, you can find the station on the map to check the status before you visit, read/leave driver comments, and/or use the “Report” button on the station details page to tell us about a problem, too! I hope this helps. :)
Click to expand...

Since Chargepoint is taking the time to post on the forum I will be sure to at least report the issue next time even if I don't take the time to call in. Thanks!

geo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top