Honda SmartCharge expanded?

  • Thread starter Thread starter su_A_ve
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 60
  • Views Views 13K
su_A_ve

su_A_ve

Active Member
Just updated the app and got promoted to enroll in Honda SmartCharge.

looks like it was invitation only before for CA. Was it just made available for all?

I’m in NJ.

Does it let you charge when you want to still? I was able to add two locations (home and work) so let’s see how it goes.
 
I live in CT and I had the smart charge option for a while. Overall it works ok, charge starts and stop when clean energy is available and it will reach the target at the designated time, but I had the following issues:
1. Lost ability to switch back to "charge at plug in", I reported to Honda and they fixed
2. I can't override the smart charge at home (where I setup the smart charge location). With the app I always get an error saying that there is a comm error, and with the remote (long pressing the charge button) it will start but will go back to smart charge in 1 or 2 min. Honda is still working in that.
 
So how does it know I'm charging with "clean energy"? I don't have a smart charger nor I am on a time of day rate. Work charging is free.

I charge full at work, and at home it varies - I may charge enough to give me miles to work, but on the weekends I may charge full.

So, I'll play the game but need to be able to charge full if I need to.
 
It won't need a smart charger nor a special plan. I guess honda has access to the grid information and knows when the electricity provided in the area is from a clean source. You will notice that in your report generated after disconnecting the car.

About fully charging, be sure that you setup correctly the schedules and targets at specific times and locations so the car will "enforce" the charging no matter the energy source at some point. Also when connected, try both ways app and keyfob to see if it overrides the smart charge for you.
 
I enabled it, but set the schedule to 09:00 to 08:59. IIUC, that will ensure it always has a full charge by the stop time each morning at 8:59, but also allow it to charge at any time it is plugged in.

FWIW, their grid cleanliness data is apparently not granular enough to recognize my rooftop solar.
 
I added a schedule for work from 9am-6pm and 0% to 100%. But the chargers at work require them to activate them first via pin/app and they shut off after a few minutes of inactivity.

Plugged it in at work this morning completely empty. After 2.5 hours today, I got a message saying SmartCharge couldn't start. Looked at the app and it was showing 25%. Had to restart the charger and then it started to charge again. After 30 minutes or so I had to leave and it was showing 67% charge so obviously the earlier report was inaccurate, but the charger was off again.

I would have thought it would slow charge but it seems to turn on and off the charging, so definitely cannot use this at work. Specially since we are to move the cars after we finish charging (there's 10 chargers for about 50 vehicles).

I'll see how it does at home.
 
I also got it today and I'm in NV. I'm retired so I usually charge at home with my "dumb" Chinese L2 charger as soon as I come back from trips/errands just to be sure I'll be ready for an unexpected trip. Would I still be able to do it or will this app limit my ability to charge whenever I want/need?
 
Hmm, looks like I'll be disabling this feature. Woke up this morning was getting ready to head out and the battery was at 30%. The original charging time was way better. Always charged my car at 100%.
 
PapaWangsta said:
Hmm, looks like I'll be disabling this feature. Woke up this morning was getting ready to head out and the battery was at 30%. The original charging time was way better. Always charged my car at 100%.
Click to expand...
Did you try setting the schedule to 23:59 duration evening in the morning?

The percentage icon bugs me. Now I charged to a full 0%...

Screenshot_20211202-090116701.webp
 
I have mine set it TOU time period. Also, Honda NEVER good at the software, slow and buggy!

I'm giving another try set it to a shorter time range. Let's hope it will charge to 100%.
 
PapaWangsta said:
Hmm, looks like I'll be disabling this feature. Woke up this morning was getting ready to head out and the battery was at 30%. The original charging time was way better. Always charged my car at 100%.
Click to expand...

Same here. Doesn’t make sense. We are 100% hydro, but it says the energy is CO2 heavy and didn’t charge the car.
 
I declined the offer. I have no need for oversight by a large corporation which cannot be trusted.

Honda USA and their dealer network (sans the few that are honest) have proven to be inept, untrustworthy and greedy.

To each their own. I'll continue to charge as before.

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