Minor peeves...

Actually- the Prius Prime PHEV cannot run its electric side down completely. I can assure you our Clarity can (mine does frequently) which yields the angry bees sound of gas-only mode. So if it were the case that our car would switch to HV automatically once a certain amount of EV is has been expended it would work more like a Prius. I would welcome that all-day-long, but understanding my preference isn't everyones' I'd be delighted to have persistent modes which is what jdonalds said.
I am sure that there was a struggle between the engineering side of the house and the marketing side of the house on this issue. Market differentiation is a big deal in all products, and none more than automobiles. The question of how far down to allow the battery charge to go is also the question of what EV range you can claim for the car. Making it more like a Prius reduces the differentiation and makes it more likely that a buyer will choose the Prius.

I would like to see an settable option on the point at which the car automatically switches from EV to HV. Right now that's set to "two bars" which is so low that the battery is not an effective source of motive power. If you're dead set on harvesting the last few electrons of battery charge, you can set it low or override the automatic switch. If you want to avoid the angry bees at the cost of a few miles of EV range, you can set it higher. Yes, we can watch the charge level and manually switch to HV when it drops to our personal threshold, but it would be nice if the car would do that for us.
 
I've gone through pretty much the same behavior sequence. Never happened during the first months, then increased over time. I've always had the headlights set on Auto, so I haven't seriously considered that as a source of the problem. It's seems as though it happens more in colder weather and especially when raining, but that could be just coincidence. I tried a fresh Fob battery, and it fixed it for the first 24 hours..... Until someone comes up with a viable solution, I plan to just press the lock button on the door handle whenever it happens. It's too frustrating to keep opening and closing the stupid door.

I was just at a public charger and a lady pulled in with a Clarity; she finished setting up the charge and closed the door and heard the now all-too-familiar crazy beeps and she instinctively open and shut the door and it was happy again. Nice to know I'm not the only one. Just thought I'd throw in another data point...

It's almost like a pet dog who barks when you go to leave the house, and you go back to pet him for a second and then his tail wags.
 
The front seat belt buckles are very difficult to reach - they’re much lower and more awkward than other cars we drive, especially when wearing winter coats.

I agree regarding the seat belt access. It's a bit of an uncomfortable downward twist and reach to pull it out each time.

To be clear, my peeve is not with the seat belt, per sé, but the location of the buckle. They just stick up and are easier to reach in our other cars.

Come to think of it, we have manual seats, and I recall Karen cranked up the seat height on the driver’s side. That may have something to do with it.

I agree about the release button being hard to get to and agree that it’s especially hard for those of us who have the seat cranked all the way up. That just makes the buckle even lower in relation to the seat.
I have found a solution that works well for me. It’s a seat belt extender with no belt material attached. It’s just a buckle with the male part directly attached so it doesn’t flop around or stuck up too much. It’s only 3” long.
Also, you have to be careful not to buy the cheap ones; after all your life is riding on this. I found just the ticket for $20 and it has all the certifications.
  • E4 Certified
  • manufactured in a US DOT-registered factory that is
  • in compliance with ISO/TS 16949:2009 for Manufacturing of Seat Belt Assembly and Components
  • manufactured to exceed international break strength test requirements for three-point seat belts.
Here’s the link:
https://www.seatbeltextenderpros.com/honda-clarity-seat-belt-extender/
Here are the pix:
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782FD5AA-0C67-4B99-AC74-34D033CE3FE8.webp
BBB94CFE-C0A3-4C8C-AB4F-9905392DF1B9.webp
4DA925BE-5932-419F-91E4-49DCA0D49645.webp
 
Update on the seat extender:
It’s working great but it took several days to retrain my self not to reach down past it and push the harder to reach OEM button. Kind of like the couple of weeks it took me to quit reaching for a gear shift knob. LOL!

It is making life easier, however there is has created one “problem” I didn’t anticipate. The fasten your seat belt warnings no longer work. So you must be diligent and responsible on your own to buckle up. Some won’t mind, some may welcome relief from “b@&#*ing Betty”, and some may decide it’s a deal breaker. Just thought I’d mention this so you’ll know before you consider buying this.

I’m keeping it because I always buckle up. Didn’t use to until I worked in an ER and that experience was enough to mske a convert out of me. I quickly noticed that those wearing seat belts usually walked out of the ER with bruises and contusions, and those that didn’t went to a floor bed, surgery, or the morgue.
 
Thanks for the suggestion and report.

With the drivers seat lower, the buckle is manageable, though still a tad low.

Seat raised, vs seat lowered:

31705630577_f34e3cf68b_z.jpg


31536988047_46d39a9e90_z.jpg


Again, it’s a minor peeve, but wearing a bulky winter coat it’s a bit more awkward than we’re used to.
 
Thanks @KentuckyKen ! I just ordered the 3" rigid extender because I raise the seat up to max height and had the same issue!

There is 10% off code you can use online to get $2 off: PRO10

See screenshot below of the order that included the discount.

Update on the seat extender:
It’s working great but it took several days to retrain my self not to reach down past it and push the harder to reach OEM button. Kind of like the couple of weeks it took me to quit reaching for a gear shift knob. LOL!

It is making life easier, however there is has created one “problem” I didn’t anticipate. The fasten your seat belt warnings no longer work. So you must be diligent and responsible on your own to buckle up. Some won’t mind, some may welcome relief from “b@&#*ing Betty”, and some may decide it’s a deal breaker. Just thought I’d mention this so you’ll know before you consider buying this.

I’m keeping it because I always buckle up. Didn’t use to until I worked in an ER and that experience was enough to mske a convert out of me. I quickly noticed that those wearing seat belts usually walked out of the ER with bruises and contusions, and those that didn’t went to a floor bed, surgery, or the morgue.
 

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