Honda wants to swap out my battery to study it.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cjk
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Agree with others that Honda has data on all Clarities for which owners have not disabled the telematics system (I suppose by finding and disconnecting the wire leading to the cellular antenna), so they likely see something odd about this one that they want to investigate. Before removal of the old battery, I also would ask that the dealer perform the High Voltage Battery Test and ask them to take a screen shot of the result. Value should be something short of 55Ah. Additionally, after the new battery is installed, request that they perform another High Voltage Battery test and screen shot that result so you have a record of where the new battery is starting out.
 
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Cjk said:
My 2018 Clarity PHEV has been a pleasure to drive since we bought it in March, 2018. I regularly follow this forum and have learned much about the car.

Last week, my wife got a call from a representative Honda who wanted to know if we would allow them to swap out our Clarity’s battery for a brand new one so they can study our old one. Sounded like a good deal to me. We’re scheduled to take the car into our dealer next Tuesday, so they can do the work. It’s likely to take all day and they’re providing a loaner for the day.

Got a text yesterday with a link to a work order that read in part:

“Customer coming in to assist in research project with American Honda, to have battery removed and install new ima battery, please order a new battery on sb 10-061 as per email attached”

I am interested in this forum’s opinion on this. Should I be worried?

Up to this point the car has performed flawlessly, although I seldom get the 47 miles on a charge. Maybe it’s the hilly neighborhood I live in. Currently I’m getting 42 miles on a charge, just under 9000 total miles, probably 90% of them are EV miles.

But a free new battery??!!

Love the car!
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Any word on when your car's coming back home? Or if it has, any changes to range or performance?
 
insightman said:
What? They're giving you an IMA (Integrated Motor Assist from pre-2014 Honda hybrids) battery to replace your i-MMD battery?
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Well, that certainly looks like a good reason to ask questions before saying "Yes". But it's hard for me to believe that Honda would replace a Clarity PHEV battery pack with one from a pre-2014 hybrid.

I would definitely talk to the supervisor at your local Honda service center before making a decision, but I suspect that they will be putting a new Clarity PHEV battery pack in your car, and not swapping it with one that's 5+ years old.
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Pushmi-Pullyu said:
Well, that certainly looks like a good reason to ask questions before saying "Yes". But it's hard for me to believe that Honda would replace a Clarity PHEV battery pack with one from a pre-2014 hybrid.

I would definitely talk to the supervisor at your local Honda service center before making a decision, but I suspect that they will be putting a new Clarity PHEV battery pack in your car, and not swapping it with one that's 5+ years old.
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An IMA battery wouldn't fit. I didn't really think Honda would replace the 17 kWh battery with a 0.9 kWh battery. I was just pointing out that the company needed to update the old boilerplate text they use when proposing a battery swap. And why did they write "ima" instead of "IMA?"
 
SB 10-061 applies to all hybrids MY 2000+. It provides guidance for the Service Advisor, Service Technician, and Parts Manager for how to handle a battery replacement. Your "new" battery may actually be re-manufactured. Not a bad thing but your Parts Manager should be able to tell whether it is re-manufactured. Might be good to know. I would also want to know if your "new" battery comes with a new 8 yr/100K battery warranty?

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2012/SB-10040487-1610.pdf
 
Cjk said:
My 2018 Clarity PHEV has been a pleasure to drive since we bought it in March, 2018. I regularly follow this forum and have learned much about the car.

Last week, my wife got a call from a representative Honda who wanted to know if we would allow them to swap out our Clarity’s battery for a brand new one so they can study our old one. Sounded like a good deal to me. We’re scheduled to take the car into our dealer next Tuesday, so they can do the work. It’s likely to take all day and they’re providing a loaner for the day.

Got a text yesterday with a link to a work order that read in part:

“Customer coming in to assist in research project with American Honda, to have battery removed and install new ima battery, please order a new battery on sb 10-061 as per email attached”

I am interested in this forum’s opinion on this. Should I be worried?

Up to this point the car has performed flawlessly, although I seldom get the 47 miles on a charge. Maybe it’s the hilly neighborhood I live in. Currently I’m getting 42 miles on a charge, just under 9000 total miles, probably 90% of them are EV miles.

But a free new battery??!!

Love the car!
Click to expand...
Any update on the battery swap?
 
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