New Canadian Clarity Owner-no Green License Plates!

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CdnClarity

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I am the proud, and so far happy owner of a Clarity as of February 23, 2019. In my home province of Ontario, owners of Plug-in Hybrids and Electric cars are eligible for "Green License Plates, they are literally Green. These plates allow the driver to use a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane with only the driver versus two occupants. On the highways that have HOV lanes this makes for a quicker commute as they are generally less congested. You can imagine my shock when I went to pick up my new vehicle absent Green Plates. The Dealer was told, what i subsequently confirmed, that HONDA Canada did not submit documentation to place the 2019 Clarity on the list of vehicles eligible for Green Plates. Very disappointing Honda Canada, considering the 2019 has been sold for months now and other manufacturers have their 2019's on the list. Some Clarity owner have topped me about the regular plates on the car, laughed when I explained and wanted to take a picture. Honda Canada has since told me they have submitted required documentation, but refuse to say the date submitted. Kind of suspect. They estimate I have to wait until mid Spring for Green Plates. They Apologized!

Having said all that, I love the car. Have had to develop some workarounds to learn about the car features beyond the owners manual. My dealer does not know this vehicle and the so called Clairty expert provided incorrect information, including: that the car needs Premium fuel becuause it has a "sports button"; the paddles on the steering wheel are to change gears; they did not know the car can be programmed for charging times.

I love this forum and have learned from you all. Thanks
 
Its disappointing to know that Honda Canada care so little about the Clarity. The green plate to access the HOV lanes (plus the $13K provincial rebate) was why I leased my 2018 Clarity. Given their dealer's overall lack of knowledge and Honda Canada's lack of interest in supporting the Clarity, I'm starting to get concerned about my long term participation in this live beta testing program. After Honda finishes this test program of collecting live real-world data form Clarity (my guess is they'll be done after 36 months) and have onto their next EV, what will getting service and support be like for this very low volume test vehicle? That is why I leased and may actually turn it in afterwards.

Btw, did you pay full price for your 2019 or was there a big discount now that the Ontario rebates have been cancelled?
 
CdnClarity said:
I am the proud, and so far happy owner of a Clarity as of February 23, 2019. In my home province of Ontario, owners of Plug-in Hybrids and Electric cars are eligible for "Green License Plates, they are literally Green. These plates allow the driver to use a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane with only the driver versus two occupants. On the highways that have HOV lanes this makes for a quicker commute as they are generally less congested. You can imagine my shock when I went to pick up my new vehicle absent Green Plates. The Dealer was told, what i subsequently confirmed, that HONDA Canada did not submit documentation to place the 2019 Clarity on the list of vehicles eligible for Green Plates. Very disappointing Honda Canada, considering the 2019 has been sold for months now and other manufacturers have their 2019's on the list. Some Clarity owner have topped me about the regular plates on the car, laughed when I explained and wanted to take a picture. Honda Canada has since told me they have submitted required documentation, but refuse to say the date submitted. Kind of suspect. They estimate I have to wait until mid Spring for Green Plates. They Apologized!

Having said all that, I love the car. Have had to develop some workarounds to learn about the car features beyond the owners manual. My dealer does not know this vehicle and the so called Clairty expert provided incorrect information, including: that the car needs Premium fuel becuause it has a "sports button"; the paddles on the steering wheel are to change gears; they did not know the car can be programmed for charging times.

I love this forum and have learned from you all. Thanks
Click to expand...
I had the same experience, picked my car up on February 21st no green plates. the dealer was a little surprised that Service Ontario would not issue green plates. I spoke with Service Ontario and was told the same thing, its not on the list so they can't issue green plates. I sent an email to the M.O.T. and received a reply within 2 days which indicated they require the manufacturer to update them and when they do the M.O.T. list would be updated and we could receive green plates.It's good to know were not alone and hopefully the Green Plates will be forth coming. I had a problem with HondaLink for a couple of weeks but finally got it to work after repeated phone calls to Honda. This forum has been a wealth of information, the Honda dealers just don't have a working knowledge of the car. My dealer only had 2, one touring and and 1 base.I don't think they are going to sell too many in Ontario now that the rebate has gone.
 
RichL said:
Its disappointing to know that Honda Canada care so little about the Clarity. The green plate to access the HOV lanes (plus the $13K provincial rebate) was why I leased my 2018 Clarity. Given their dealer's overall lack of knowledge and Honda Canada's lack of interest in supporting the Clarity, I'm starting to get concerned about my long term participation in this live beta testing program. After Honda finishes this test program of collecting live real-world data form Clarity (my guess is they'll be done after 36 months) and have onto their next EV, what will getting service and support be like for this very low volume test vehicle? That is why I leased and may actually turn it in afterwards.

Btw, did you pay full price for your 2019 or was there a big discount now that the Ontario rebates have been cancelled?
Click to expand...

Of course few dealers have a Clarity to sell and most of the ones I contacted were shocked when I asked for a discount. The one I did buy from in Toronto happily did discount over $1500


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
RichL said:
Its disappointing to know that Honda Canada care so little about the Clarity. The green plate to access the HOV lanes (plus the $13K provincial rebate) was why I leased my 2018 Clarity. Given their dealer's overall lack of knowledge and Honda Canada's lack of interest in supporting the Clarity, I'm starting to get concerned about my long term participation in this live beta testing program. After Honda finishes this test program of collecting live real-world data form Clarity (my guess is they'll be done after 36 months) and have onto their next EV, what will getting service and support be like for this very low volume test vehicle? That is why I leased and may actually turn it in afterwards.

Btw, did you pay full price for your 2019 or was there a big discount now that the Ontario rebates have been cancelled?
Click to expand...

I gave a cash-down in mid-december, I had not a lot of leverage to get a good deal. We still have the 8000$ rebate from the government, so there's a lot of demand and few supply.

I got the protection package (600) and the white pearl color (300). It's a good deal if I compare with other buyer's from Quebec.
 
Finally got my green plates on Friday. When my dealer had been of no help on this issue I contacted Honda Canada as I mentioned in a previous post. I discovered they are not honest and forthright. I asked when Honda Canada submitted documentation to the Ontario Ministry of transportation so that the 2019 Clarity can be put on the list for green plates. I was told it had been submitted “some time ago”.
Of course that turned out to be a lot of nonsense. I picked up my vehicle on February 21. I discovered from the government agency responsible that HONDA and submitted the documentation on February 20. Honda Canada is going to offer me “compensation” for the inconvenience. I will post the final outcome.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
I purchased a 2018 Clarity Touring almost exactly a year ago. I live in Ottawa and the dealers would not budge on price. I called Honda Gatineau and asked what they would do to entice me to buy in Quebec. They cut $2,000 off the price, although I had to apply and wait for the then $14,000 Ontario rebate (and Home Charger buy/install rebate of up to $1,000). It pays to shop around.
 
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