How to change back into EV mode

[kcsunshine]

I'm a new Clarity owner, and still learning the car. I do most of my driving in the "blue band" of EV mode, but occasionally I'll push it into ICE mode when merging into traffic. I noticed that the car will then stay in ICE mode even if I'm coasting on the highway, or slow back done to a stop. I think it'll eventually switch back, but I'm not sure when.

When does the car decide to switch back to EV mode after ICE mode? Is there a way I can switch it back into EV mode myself? The only way I've found is to actually turn it off and back on again.

I'm not using sport, HV, or econ mode. Just the default mode from startup.

I think you essentially answered your own question. There is no way to force it back to EV mode other than turning it off and on which you should not do while the car is moving. You are aware of the blue band so you can try to stay within it but there are times you just can't avoid it. I like to think of it as exercise for the engine.

 

[Ben Washburn]

Actually, the click point is mechanically fixed at a certain point in the travel of the accelerator. It separates EV and ICE in only ECON Mode. In the other two modes, it is just an awkward interruption in the pedal's travel. Here's the diagram from the Owners Manual showing how the click point is meaningful only in ECON Mode:

I believe that if Honda couldn't vary the click point appropriately, it would be better to somehow disable the click in non-ECON Modes.

This is precisely the diagram that confused me into thinking the length of the blue bar should be moving commensurate with those changes indicated by the dark gray EV bars. It was clear to me the click point wasn't changing, but it seemed obvious to me they were communicating changes in the length of the blue line. But that's because the X axis label 'Driving Force' is pretty much meaningless in a vacuum. Now I know it's literally communicating how much force--or really depression--you give the pedal.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Ben, I couldn’t agree with more. It would have been better if they had labeled it accelerator pedal force or pedal travel.

 

[insightman]

Ben, I couldn’t agree with more. It would have been better if they had labeled it accelerator pedal force or pedal travel.

Then the Charge part of the Power/Charge Gauge wouldn't make sense.

I think the Clarity's Power/Charge Gauge is the best Honda gauge since the original Insight's Fuel Consumption Display (FCD) that revealed the car's instantaneous miles-per-gallon (outlined in yellow below). Later Honda hybrids de-emphasized this important info by making the FCD read-outs much smaller. The Insight's CHRG/ASST Gauge was more like the Clarity's Power/Charge Gauge, but the FCD was the biggest aid for maxing out the MPGs. I shouldn't be using the past tense since I'm still driving my Gen-1 Insight when my wife is hogging her Clarity.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Then the Charge part of the Power/Charge Gauge wouldn't make sense.

@insightman, Thag no understand.
I thought making the bottom axis of the graph to be pedal force or travel distance would sync perfectly with the Power Meter. As in with the different modes the blue to white interface would change position to reflect the change in pedal force or travel necessary to engage the ICE as shown on that graph by the change in the shaded areas. All the time while the click position remains constant.
Am I missing something here?

 

[leop]

I have a Clarity that was built in 10/17. I have not had any of the updates (HV range or multiple error lights) done yet. Maybe my Clarity is different but I can switch from HV mode to EV mode by pushing the HV button again. For example, when I get on a highway with a speed limit greater than 45mph, I push the HV button to use the gas engine and conserve the battery charge for urban driving later in the trip. When I get off the highway, I push the HV button again and the Clarity goes into the EV mode and the battery charge goes down as expected. Of course, the Clarity goes back into the EV mode when turned off, too.

This is mentioned on page 16 of the Owner's Manual where it says that a second push of the HV button cancels the source selected as does setting the power mode to off.

 

[insightman]

@insightman, Thag no understand.
I thought making the bottom axis of the graph to be pedal force or travel distance would sync perfectly with the Power Meter. As in with the different modes the blue to white interface would change position to reflect the change in pedal force or travel necessary to engage the ICE as shown on that graph by the change in the shaded areas. All the time while the click position remains constant.
Am I missing something here?

What I meant was that the Charge part of the Power/Charge Gauge, the part below the 0 power-used point, does not correspond to the position of the accelerator pedal. The amount of charge being shown after stepping off the accelerator depends on factors other than the accelerator pedal position. Specifically, the Charge part of the gauge is dependent on the current grade, the position of the brake pedal, and the number of chevrons selected with the Deceleration Selector Paddle. So you would have a complicated label to apply to the tiny Charge part of the gauge if you relabeled the Power part of the gauge something unsexy, such as "Accelerator Pedal Travel."

The driver feels the position of the accelerator pedal. The gauge reports the consequences of that position. More importantly, the gauge predicts the impending transition to ICE operation and, obliquely, the incidence of a System Check. IMHO the Power/Charge Gauge's multi-functional capability implemented with a simple, analog multi-colored arc makes it the best-designed part of the Clarity's user interface.

 

[Ben Washburn]

I don't know that I would change anything; the display is fantastic. All I'm saying is that diagram naturally leads one to believe the length of the blue bar will change as you change modes. I'm not even saying the diagram is wrong; it's not. But if you're flipping through the manual trying to figure out how it works for all the world it appears to be communicating that the length of the blue bar will change.

I get that it doesn't, I really do. I get that the chart is actually correct, I really do.

 

[KentuckyKen]

Thanks for all the explanations. I will ponder this anew.

 

[Richard_arch74]

I have a Clarity that was built in 10/17. I have not had any of the updates (HV range or multiple error lights) done yet. Maybe my Clarity is different but I can switch from HV mode to EV mode by pushing the HV button again. For example, when I get on a highway with a speed limit greater than 45mph, I push the HV button to use the gas engine and conserve the battery charge for urban driving later in the trip. When I get off the highway, I push the HV button again and the Clarity goes into the EV mode and the battery charge goes down as expected. Of course, the Clarity goes back into the EV mode when turned off, too.

This is mentioned on page 16 of the Owner's Manual where it says that a second push of the HV button cancels the source selected as does setting the power mode to off.

Leop, your description of moving from Ev to hv and back to Ev (by pushing the Hv button again) is the simplest and, IMHO, the best way to describe the use of the modes. I purchased mine in August and apparently had the updates installed prior to my purchase. BTW, took a long trip to TN and back last week and had it in Hv mode 95% of the time and averaged 48 mpg. Drove US 127 in TN (with lots of curves and elevation changes) and it was a lot of fun using the regen paddles to "downshift" instead of using the brakes in the curves.

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