High revving and angry bees

P

ProspectiveBuyer

Member
I've been going back and forth in my mind over whether to buy this car. But I keep coming back to this issue. I know that I will not be able to keep the car fully charged at all times. There are many things about this car that I really like. But the notion that I will have to deal with the high revving and noise when the battery is depleted is stopping me in my tracks. I didn't like the Volt because it was too cramped inside and smaller. Does anyone have any suggestions?
 
If you cannot charge a PHEV, and don't anticipate being able to do so consistently for months or more, then my choice would have been the Accord Hybrid without a doubt. It's a great vehicle when many of the same options. The Civic Hybrid is wonderful, too - have been driving those since 2002. Just my $0.02
 
Also, it is not a given that you will hear that sound at all, or maybe it will happen once in a while, but it sounds like you are expecting it to happen whenever the battery is depleted, which is not the case. It isn't even a real problem with the car. It is just the car's computer running whatever it thinks it needs to run to operate the car in the most economical way. The problem is that our brains aren't accustomed to hearing an engine revving high at slow speeds so we get concerned, but this car runs differently than ice cars which occasionally means the engine will rev high. But it is a rare occurrence, no matter if the battery is fully depleted or not.
 
I am a current owner. I experienced the “angry bees” only once: on a second test drive in a dealer’s car which was not charged. Since then never, as follows:

“Angry bees” is the car’s appropriate but acoustically annoying reponse to driving on battery only until the battery runs very low, then continuing to drive. It is the way this car can stay highly efficient with a nearly discharged battery. To avoid it, you need to take advantage of the one piece if information that the driver has, but not the car: are you planning on driving farther than the battery alone can take you? If you are, then IN ADVANCE switch to HV mode for some portion of the trip. In that case, the battery will be used when needed to provide surge power, but also recharged from regenerative braking. (yes this is a simplification and is NOT referring to HV-charge mode). The engine does not need angry bees mode in this situation, and the battery does not drop much. Take it back out of HV mode to drive battery-only when you are within battery range of the end of your trip (or your next charge).

I love the car.
 
But it needs to be emphasized that even when the battery is fully depleted the chances of hearing the angry bees is still minimal. I don't know the exact circumstances that make the car do it, but it is rare.
 
I ran out of juice on the way home today from a wife legislated trip to Costco. (“Honey, we need to buy the boneless lamb leg for Monday’s barbecue”. Of course our final tab was well over $200!). I drove the final 8 miles to home in HV mode in a suburban area. The only times I noticed the ICE sound was going up some slightly steep grades. Interestingly enough, the “occupant on the passenger side” (who claims my hearing sucks) never noticed (or mentioned) the sound.
 
My wife drives our Clarity from North Carolina to West Virginia on a regular basis. It's about 325 miles each way so most of the trip is HV. She said that on occasion she notices that it's louder on some of the uphills (some of these uphills are 5+ miles long) but it's no louder than our 2002 CRV or 2005 Accord.

Good luck with your decision.

geo
 
2000 miles.... no angry sounds at all.... no gas use either but I recharge before the EV range is gone... I do use HV when traveling the hyway but not frequently...


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K8QM said:
My wife drives our Clarity from North Carolina to West Virginia on a regular basis. It's about 325 miles each way so most of the trip is HV. She said that on occasion she notices that it's louder on some of the uphills (some of these uphills are 5+ miles long) but it's no louder than our 2002 CRV or 2005 Accord.

Good luck with your decision.

geo
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Does your wife notice a reduction in horsepower when the battery is depleted?
 
No - she drives it down to 30%-40% or so of EV and then drives HV for the remaining several hundred miles to the destination and uses EV in town. She always makes sure to charge before the return trip and uses the same methodology on the way back. On the way back is a significant net elevation change so the charge will noticeably increase at times. Free energy - one thin an ICE vehicle never does!

BTW There are other threads about needing Level 2 charging at home so I'll mention that one thing that is handy is that since we have level 2 at home we keep the supplied Honda 120V charging in the trunk to use when she travels to visit family.

geo
 
My wife no longer complains about engine revving. She drives regularly on gas, does nothing special with modes. There is some aspect of just getting used to the car and how it behaves differently than a regular car. She has over 10,500 miles now, about 1/3 on gas.
 
ProspectiveBuyer said:
Thanks for weighing in. I really appreciate your feedback. And anyone else who wants to weigh in, please do. Thanks again!
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This is from my one and only trip that was longer than my EV range.

On the interstate between Lexington and Louisville KY (no major inclines), I first switched to HV at a little less than 1/2 way on gauge. Then swithed to EV for a few miles in Louisville. Then on return trip, I left it alone in EV to deplete until algorithm chose to switch to HV. The driving experience was unchanged both times and never got the angry bees on either scenario. I had to listen closely to even hear the engine. It cycled through a lot of power modes according to the energy display and had consistent power and quietness. (I keep it in Econ)
Car was filled up by dealer and after this trip it took 2 gal to fill back up.
I love this car!
I think you will too.
If your really concerned, test drive it in HV mode and make sure it’s not angry bees prone.
 
I recommend you test drive with an empty battery to fully experience the potential for 'angry bee' sound. My car does ok in HV Charge, expecially on the highway, but is quite loud when fully depleted. I have not taken it on a long trip, but fully intend to keep some charge on it when I do.
That said, I love the car and would buy it again. My driving is 95% EV, so the angry bees are very seldom awake.
 
barnesgj said:
I recommend you test drive with an empty battery to fully experience the potential for 'angry bee' sound. My car does ok in HV Charge, expecially on the highway, but is quite loud when fully depleted. I have not taken it on a long trip, but fully intend to keep some charge on it when I do.
That said, I love the car and would buy it again. My driving is 95% EV, so the angry bees are very seldom awake.
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On the interstate, I stayed in EV and let the car decide when to switch to HV (it was at 2 bars, 0 usable charge) and I do not get the angry bees on the hwy or in the city at end of trip. I don’t know why some are experiencing it when not expected, but I can tell you that some of us have never experienced it even when depleting the HV battery. (No major inclines and speed of 70 mph)
 
KentuckyKen said:
On the interstate, I stayed in EV and let the car decide when to switch to HV (it was at 2 bars, 0 usable charge) and I do not get the angry bees on the hwy or in the city at end of trip. I don’t know why some are experiencing it when not expected, but I can tell you that some of us have never experienced it even when depleting the HV battery. (No major inclines and speed of 70 mph)
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I believe you because I drove a loaner for several days that did not have the angry bees. I still think it's something that could be fixed with a sensor or computer adjustment and if there was a Honda tech with enough knowledge about the car, I would take it to them.
 
KentuckyKen said:
On the interstate, I stayed in EV and let the car decide when to switch to HV (it was at 2 bars, 0 usable charge) and I do not get the angry bees on the hwy or in the city at end of trip. I don’t know why some are experiencing it when not expected, but I can tell you that some of us have never experienced it even when depleting the HV battery. (No major inclines and speed of 70 mph)
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That's why I always try to emphasize to potential new owners that the angry bees is a very rare occurrence. It doesn't always happen when you run out of battery so it isn't as big a deal as people can be lead to believe when reading these threads.
 
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