New Clarity Owner

[hamr4267]

For over a year I've been looking at a few PHEVs and last week I bought a 2019 Clarity Touring. I really like it and I'm still learning how it works. I keep forgetting to open the charge door. The outlet is on the other side of the car, so the cord isn't long enough for me to reach the open button inside the car. So I just have to lay it down, (say a cuss word or two), open door, hit button, then recover the charger off the floor. Also I seem to want to use the AC temp know to turn up/down the radio volume.

I plan on only using my wall outlet for charging (110). My work commute is 15 miles round trip. I am clueless about charging on the road and I will not bring my EVSE with me if I go on a longer trip. Which App is a good one to have on standby for finding chargers? And are some free? This is my first hybrid car/EV/ car.

 

[2002]

Congratulations on your new car! You can also open the charge door using the key fob, press and hold the button that looks like an electric plug.

Plugshare.com is one place you can get charger info. But most Clarity owners don't use external charging stations even on trips, because the car runs fine even if you use up EV range, and it's not worth the time or money to stop and charge. Even if charging is free which it occasionally is, it's usually not worth the time unless it happens to be where you are stopped already. Like some people are able to charge at work. The only time I ever charged away from home was one time when I was at a shopping mall and they had free charging, so I charged for the hour that I was in the mall. External charging stations already have the cable, you don't need to bring yours.

Even without using charging stations, on a trip most prefer if possible to drive around town in EV at their destination city. Normally your EV range would be all used up by then but there is a simple method to preserve the EV range which is to press the HV button when you start on your trip or at least not long after you start out, like when you get on the highway, then drive in HV mode the whole way. When you arrive at your destination city you can turn off HV and drive in EV mode. Note that if you stop at a rest stop or wherever, when you start out again you have to remember to press the HV button again. Many forget and then realize after several miles that they have accidentally used up most of their EV range. No big deal as I said the car runs fine in HV mode you just hear the engine more.

 

[hamr4267]

Congratulations on your new car! You can also open the charge door using the key fob, press and hold the button that looks like an electric plug.

Plugshare.com is one place you can get charger info. But most Clarity owners don't use external charging stations even on trips, because the car runs fine even if you use up EV range, and it's not worth the time or money to stop and charge. Even if charging is free which it occasionally is, it's usually not worth the time unless it happens to be where you are stopped already. Like some people are able to charge at work. The only time I ever charged away from home was one time when I was at a shopping mall and they had free charging, so I charged for the hour that I was in the mall. External charging stations already have the cable, you don't need to bring yours.

Even without using charging stations, on a trip most prefer if possible to drive around town in EV at their destination city. Normally your EV range would be all used up by then but there is a simple method to preserve the EV range which is to press the HV button when you start on your trip or at least not long after you start out, like when you get on the highway, then drive in HV mode the whole way. When you arrive at your destination city you can turn off HV and drive in EV mode. Note that if you stop at a rest stop or wherever, when you start out again you have to remember to press the HV button again. Many forget and then realize after several miles that they have accidentally used up most of their EV range. No big deal as I said the car runs fine in HV mode you just hear the engine more.

Im out in the desert so its been 106F in my garage. My garage feels a bit hotter than usual when I charge, so Ive unplugged it lately. Its supposed to cool off next week but for now Im down to 18 miles EV. My RT drive to work in 15 miles so no big deal. For you folks that live in a hot, desert environment, do you guys charge regularly in your garage? Even if I set my charge to start at midnight....its still 98 in my garage and the fans run constantly until I unplug it.

 

[Dan Albrich]

The outlet is on the other side of the car, so the cord isn't long enough...

It may be possible to create a support in your garage for the cable such that it hangs close to where you need it. You then just attach and detach as needed.
(my garage was unusually easy in that the prior owner put in a loft for storage, and I just used some hooks to set the EVSE cable in across the "ceiling" and then keep the plug part close by. I kept the 110v side always connected, and just plugged and unplugged the car-side.

Later I put in a NEMA 14-50 plug on the same side of garage as the car's connector (since I wanted level2) and a portable level 2 charger with the NEMA 14-50 on the 'wall side' and the normal car connection on the other (J1772). I still hang it in same place so it's always ready to go.

As mentioned the car is really good on gas mileage, so for trips most of us just buy gas as needed. Meaning, never a need charge away from say home/work.

I'll add, like many in these forums "filling up at home" is a favorite feature. I sometimes go 2 months without needing gas.

 

[hamr4267]

My kids would swing from it

 

[Johnhaydev]

Im out in the desert so its been 106F in my garage. My garage feels a bit hotter than usual when I charge, so Ive unplugged it lately. Its supposed to cool off next week but for now Im down to 18 miles EV. My RT drive to work in 15 miles so no big deal. For you folks that live in a hot, desert environment, do you guys charge regularly in your garage? Even if I set my charge to start at midnight....its still 98 in my garage and the fans run constantly until I unplug it.

I too live in a desert area: Palm Springs, California. Owned the car for 13 months. Have a carport which provides better ventilation than a garage. When I charge the car at night during the summer, the cars fan does run a lot during charging. I charge using the supplied charge cord, so I plug it in as soon as I get home. it completes charging by the time I get up in the morning.