According to NHTSA website, there are multiple complaints against 2018 and 2019 Honda Clarity safety issues, reports of H. Clarity suddenly lost power in the midst of driving, putting both driver and passengers in dangers. seemed like Honda Clarity is not a safe car to own, they might have a faulty engine design. Reliability and Safety are two aspects of any vehicles not to take lightly by any vehicle operators. Wondering whether any Clarity owners can give some insight and truthful reviews? Any regrets despite the great tax rebates and savings? Toyota Prius is much better in terms of reliability and safety?
Is Clarity a dangerous vehicle to own?
- Thread starter hauksw
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Domenick
Well-Known Member
The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid had one recall in 2019 and 9 complaints. It had more complaints in 2018 (58) and zero recalls. If you compare that with the first year the Prius Prime came out, it had 4 recalls and 93 complaints.
I think you'll find that Clarity Plug-In Hybrid owners are quite happy with their cars and wouldn't trade it for a Prius, which is smaller and offers less all-electric range.
YurkshireLad
New Member
What was the cause of the loss of power? I hadn't heard about this.
Domenick
Well-Known Member
petteyg359
Well-Known Member
Also note that several of the "complaints" are exactly that. One complains about not having a spare tire, many complain about the headlights not being bright enough since they can't injure oncoming drivers' eyes, one is the typical scumball (happens with every model of every brand) blaming the car because they stuffed their foot on the wrong pedal while parking and blew through a building instead... Of course the car was sent to a junkyard a destroyed before they contacted Honda so that they couldn't be disproved with the black box... At least one is complaining that the engine comes on when the battery is full and regen braking.
Yes, the power loss happens (I've experienced it), but seemingly only when the battery is "2 bars" or lower. Set HV mode if you know you're going more miles than you have EV range. I haven't had power loss since the day I drove it home from the dealer where they of course failed to charge it.
Daniel M W
Member
The "sudden" power loss is related to how you drive your car. If you let your battery drain and then try to climb mount Washington, the car will not be able to handle it, then a reduced power mode will activate and the engine will race at 5000rpm trying to recover some battery charge (people call that the "angry bees"). That's is why -and is a well discussed situation in all clarity forums-, you need to understand how the car works and plan your trips using the hybrid mode in advance to always keep the state of charge of the battery.
About reliability, honda is well known for quality and I think Clarity is not the exception. I'm a 2 year owner and I have no complaints more than a rattle in a plastic cover.
My suggestion is to dig a little in this forum and understand the car, there are several members with a lot of knowledge.
last but not least, compare the number of recalls/complains Clarity Vs. the Prius, then get your own conclusions.
To be honest... is an amazing car.
About reliability, honda is well known for quality and I think Clarity is not the exception. I'm a 2 year owner and I have no complaints more than a rattle in a plastic cover.
My suggestion is to dig a little in this forum and understand the car, there are several members with a lot of knowledge.
last but not least, compare the number of recalls/complains Clarity Vs. the Prius, then get your own conclusions.
To be honest... is an amazing car.
You are the exact example of someone who has nothing better to do so you fill the internet with rude, unnecessary remarks making it an awful place to be in. I was a proud owner of a Honda vehicle for 26 years until someone released from jail due to covid19 driving 90 miles an hour, hit-and-run my honda, leaving it completely totaled. I was looking into buying the Honda Clarity before and after the accident, however hesitated after seeing reports on the NHTSA website, in which I began considering the Toyota Prius. As a mother of 4 young kids, I was genuinely seeking help and advice which is the purpose of these forums. However, forums are not the place to criticize people who want to learn and if you would like to comment on poor grammar and spelling, I suggest you head to a school rather than the internet.
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
Completely unacceptable response.
craze1cars
Well-Known Member
Hauksw,
Such complaints about this car are rare here. Unfortunately as you can tell, saying negative things about Clarity here usually results in the negative poster being run out of the forum with rudeness. Unfortunate, but this is more a Clarity fan club than anything else, so hard for people like you to get unbiased research.
Anyway such unsafe allegations are very few and far between. From my perspective its a safe and reliable car, as much as any other new vehicle. That’s my perspective. So is the Prius. From safety/reliability standpoint, I truly consider them to be equal. Hope this helps a little.
Such complaints about this car are rare here. Unfortunately as you can tell, saying negative things about Clarity here usually results in the negative poster being run out of the forum with rudeness. Unfortunate, but this is more a Clarity fan club than anything else, so hard for people like you to get unbiased research.
Anyway such unsafe allegations are very few and far between. From my perspective its a safe and reliable car, as much as any other new vehicle. That’s my perspective. So is the Prius. From safety/reliability standpoint, I truly consider them to be equal. Hope this helps a little.
Robert_Alabama
Well-Known Member
I don't think @Sandroad deserves a lot of hate for that post. I concur that the original title and post was rather negative. If the OP wanted us to tell her the Prius was the way to go, she posted in the wrong forum for that. The vast majority that post here love their Clarity and have had essentially no issues with the car, whatsoever. In 2 years, mine has never been to the dealer for anything except oil changes (unless you include the trip back to the dealer to remove a kitten from the engine bay that stowed away on my trip home after buying the car - yes we took the kitten as well - ended up finding a home with a coworker). Regardless, @hauksw, I'd give @Sandroad a break. You certainly could have been less negative in your first post to the forum and tried to more objectively pose your question. By the way, my wife drives a 2019 Volt and I drive a 2018 Clarity. We love both cars. @hauksw, best wishes in your quest for your next car. Obviously, I'd highly recommend the Clarity. Can't comment on the Prius, really never considered it as I have never been a fan of the styling, and wanted more electric range.
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For me approaching 37,000 miles traveled in my 2018 Touring Clarity, I can say it has been the best and most reliable and cheapest to own vehicle in my rather youthful age of 56 years. I've traveled from Boston to Atlanta 3 times and countless trips from Boston to New York. Traveled with zero battery power and never had a loss of power. Winter weather and cold temperatures may bring on the higher revs occassionally but for me, it never slowed my speed or travel. I do not dispute anyone's story about loss of power or challenging to go up hills when their batter is at zero, but that has not been the case with me at all. I can drive 85+ mph with zero batter uphill, flat, ect. Point I'm making is the Complaints on NHTSA, other than the software updates and the other campaigns have not shown up in my driving. Did I get a rust spot on my rotors, yes but the car has been awesome and would recommend to my mother without question. Keep researching and I'm sure you'll find more positive real life examples of the Clarity being a great vehicle than not. I happen to like the Prius prime but it is too small and much louder inside than the Clarity when driving. Good luck and stay blessed during this pandemic.
I believe that the people complaining about "loss of power" didn't understand how the drivetrain on the Clarity is designed. Unlike the Prius (and just about every other hybrid—plugin or otherwise), the gas engine is only rarely connected to the wheels to provide motive power. In most hybrids, the gas engine is always used to directly power the wheels. In the Clarity it mostly runs the generator to provide electricity to the traction motor.
When the power demand hits certain points with the Clarity, the engine can rev way up without causing an equivalent gain in vehicle speed. This mostly occurs when driving up noticeable grades. If you are not used to that it can seem like the car has lost power but it really hasn't. You are just not getting the same level of acceleration that you would in a car with full-time direct connection between gas engine and wheels.
I only recall one poster on this forum who was reporting a case where their Clarity, on a level roadway, lost speed as he/she applied more accelerator. And, most of us were skeptical of the actual circumstances when that occurred.
Bottom line...the Clarity is a unique vehicle with unique characteristics. Those of us who own them are overwhelmingly very happy with the car and have no qualms about anything being inherently unsafe about it.
When the power demand hits certain points with the Clarity, the engine can rev way up without causing an equivalent gain in vehicle speed. This mostly occurs when driving up noticeable grades. If you are not used to that it can seem like the car has lost power but it really hasn't. You are just not getting the same level of acceleration that you would in a car with full-time direct connection between gas engine and wheels.
I only recall one poster on this forum who was reporting a case where their Clarity, on a level roadway, lost speed as he/she applied more accelerator. And, most of us were skeptical of the actual circumstances when that occurred.
Bottom line...the Clarity is a unique vehicle with unique characteristics. Those of us who own them are overwhelmingly very happy with the car and have no qualms about anything being inherently unsafe about it.
I feel as safe and confident driving my Clarity as I do any vehicle. I prefer it over the Prius and Volt because those are smaller cars. The Clarity is a full size car disguised as a smaller car by its styling. The Clarity dimensions and interior are comparable to Honda's flagship Accord. I suggest putting the four kids in the Clarity vs. Prius and see which is more comfortable for the 5 of you.
The power train is an engineering marvel. It is smooth and seamless through all modes, inspires confidence, and is a joy to drive. The handling is stable and predictable through all speeds, and the ride quality is excellent. I have never had any problem while driving that I would even remotely consider a safety concern. Honda engineers clearly made an intentional effort to make the overall driving experience similar in feel to a conventional gas powered car. Like any vehicle, some understanding of the power train and other key driving systems will give the driver opportunities to optimize operation.
The only area where I give the Clarity lower marks is the driver assist features. It is the first car I have owned that has some of the more advanced driver assist features such as adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning. Since it's the only car I've driven with these systems, I have no basis for comparison. All I can say is that I am not a big fan of these systems in the Clarity, and I generally either do not use them or disable them where the option is provided. The only thing I use is the cruise control in the non-adaptive mode (i.e., traditional speed hold), and frankly even that could be better. Also note the Clarity has the required backup camera but does not have rear bumper proximity sensors with audible alert tones. While not mandated by law like the backup camera, backup sensors with audible alerts are now standard items on most cars in this class, so I consider this a miss by Honda.
The power train is an engineering marvel. It is smooth and seamless through all modes, inspires confidence, and is a joy to drive. The handling is stable and predictable through all speeds, and the ride quality is excellent. I have never had any problem while driving that I would even remotely consider a safety concern. Honda engineers clearly made an intentional effort to make the overall driving experience similar in feel to a conventional gas powered car. Like any vehicle, some understanding of the power train and other key driving systems will give the driver opportunities to optimize operation.
The only area where I give the Clarity lower marks is the driver assist features. It is the first car I have owned that has some of the more advanced driver assist features such as adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning. Since it's the only car I've driven with these systems, I have no basis for comparison. All I can say is that I am not a big fan of these systems in the Clarity, and I generally either do not use them or disable them where the option is provided. The only thing I use is the cruise control in the non-adaptive mode (i.e., traditional speed hold), and frankly even that could be better. Also note the Clarity has the required backup camera but does not have rear bumper proximity sensors with audible alert tones. While not mandated by law like the backup camera, backup sensors with audible alerts are now standard items on most cars in this class, so I consider this a miss by Honda.
Of course, those sensors are a Clarity option. We have them on our Clarity, but they don't come cheap. What cars in "this class" come with an expensive 17kWh battery?
Driver annoyance features, mostly.
I do find that ACC does a good job of slowing for vehicles on the open road. Due to its inherent programming for fuel efficiency, it is a bit gutless in accelerating back up to speed.
Our Diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee is a torquey beast. It is almost frightening how aggressively it accelerates when given the opportunity with ACC activated.
The other features remain deactivated and the back up camera is a useless crutch.
My opinions only.
petteyg359
Well-Known Member
That and it can sometimes take a few seconds to actually engage (I suppose it is calibrating itself). You can always accelerate yourself though; it won't disengage.
I greatly enjoy not having to strain my neck to see when backing up like I did with my 2001 CR-V. Also, given the various body differences, the Clarity has much worse visibility of surroundings if looking that way instead of using the camera.