PHEV Newbie
Well-Known Member
A major concern of EV owners is range. Nothing is worse for the range than for the battery pack to degrade. Although Honda provides a 8 yr/100K warranty (higher in some states), what is covered is vague:
High Voltage Battery Capacity Warranty:
Gradual capacity loss of the high voltage battery is expected and not covered under warranty. Greater than normal degradation is covered for 8 years or 100,000 miles, and can be determined by an authorized Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid dealer.
What are your tips to reduce battery degradation? For phones and laptops, there are basic principles (e.g., https://www.popsci.com/charge-batteries-right ) and the stuff I found online for EVs is similar. Some of the top tips include 1) avoiding temperature extremes; 2) charge and discharge as shallow as possible; 3) avoid full charges and full discharges (i.e., keep your battery hovering between 30-80% as much as possible).
For point 2, I suppose that means doing as slow of a charge as possible (exclusive use of the 110 V charger?) and avoiding quick accelerations and high speeds. For point 3, it means partially charging more often, after every short trip for example. I don't think there is anything special about EV lithium ion batteries so that these principles don't apply. For most of us, adopting these practices would be really inconvenient so it's probably best just to drive and enjoy the car and not worry about it. Interesting to know though.
High Voltage Battery Capacity Warranty:
Gradual capacity loss of the high voltage battery is expected and not covered under warranty. Greater than normal degradation is covered for 8 years or 100,000 miles, and can be determined by an authorized Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid dealer.
What are your tips to reduce battery degradation? For phones and laptops, there are basic principles (e.g., https://www.popsci.com/charge-batteries-right ) and the stuff I found online for EVs is similar. Some of the top tips include 1) avoiding temperature extremes; 2) charge and discharge as shallow as possible; 3) avoid full charges and full discharges (i.e., keep your battery hovering between 30-80% as much as possible).
For point 2, I suppose that means doing as slow of a charge as possible (exclusive use of the 110 V charger?) and avoiding quick accelerations and high speeds. For point 3, it means partially charging more often, after every short trip for example. I don't think there is anything special about EV lithium ion batteries so that these principles don't apply. For most of us, adopting these practices would be really inconvenient so it's probably best just to drive and enjoy the car and not worry about it. Interesting to know though.
