New Clarity Touring - Initial observations related to Forum posts!

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jpkik96

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All -

I leased a Clarity Touring at the end of June and thanks to everyone in this Forum was extremely informed of both its strengths and areas needed for improvement. Ultimately, my desire to try out the "tech" associated with the Clarity drivetrain outweighed the prior generation tech of the Clarity's infotainment center and lack of sunroof. Here are some initial observations:

1st observation: We travelled 622.3 miles over 10 days on the first tank of gas - my fill up tonight - approx 5 gallons - cost $13.25! I pay approx 16 cents KW so hoping my Electric Bill does not spike too much!

2nd obersvation related to HV Range Fix: After the fill up, my HV range read "357" which I beleive is what others are reading a full tank after having the dealer update the cars software. My car shows a build date of March 2018 so may have had this applied at the factory?

3rd observation: The low tire pressure warning light came on randomly yesterday while driving to the beach. I checked the tire pressure and they all read 38 lbs, which is what I had set a few days after I leased the car (it was delivered with 52 lbs in each tire). I checked this forum - performed the tire pressure calibration - and the light reset itself on my drive home....

4th observation: I live on top of a 500 ft hill and I have not noticed my engine turning on in the morning after a full charge as I desend the hil. I have also not noticed random "Angry Bees". The engine has come on a few occassions outside of HV mode - but otherwise the car has performed as expected

5th observation: I tried out "HV charge mode" for the 1st time tonight. While it quickly add charge to the battery - even at low speed - it definatley takes a toll on HV fuel economy! Good to know it works if needed

Thanks again for everyone help - this forum is a great resource to prospective and current Clarity owners!
 
Welcome and good choice! Do you have an option where you live to charge the Clarity at times when electric rates are lower? Some utilities offer "off-peak" rates.
 
Yes, definitely check if alternative rates are available, and maybe check solar options as well. However, it takes 14.4 kWh to fully charge the Clarity (it doesn't use all the 17 kWh battery), so at 16 cents / kWh that works out to $2.30 / charge, which is still less than gas in the Clarity. As a bonus to being cheaper, you aren't burning near as much gas.

Enjoy!
 
I estimated gas/electric equivalent costs in case I ever use a commercial charging station (so far, I've just plugged in at home and into outdoor 120V outlets overnight when I can):

Clarity EV range (EPA): 47 miles
kWh charge from 0 range to full: 14 kWh (gleaned from posts here, mostly)
47/14 = 3.36 miles/kWh
Clarity rated miles/gallon (EPA): 42
kWh/gallon = 42/3.36 = 12.5
Divide your local gas price by 12.5 to get the kWh price equivalent, or multiply your electric utility's price per kWh to get the $/gallon equivalent. For example:

$3.00/gallon is equivalent to $0.24/kWh ($3.00/12.5).
$0.39/kWh (blink's member rate) is equivalent to $4.88/gallon (0.39*12.5).
$0.16/kWh (the OP's rate) is equlvalent to $2.00/gallon.

In reality the mpg, and the range in particular, vary. In cold weather, 3.36 mi/kWh is unrealistically high, for instance. So take these numbers with a grain of salt.

For charging stations that charge by the hour, a level 2 charger feeding 32A to the car would provide 7.68 kWh per hour, but I'm guessing the actual current flowing into the batteries would be less, and would diminish approaching a full charge.
 
jpkik96 said:
All -


2nd obersvation related to HV Range Fix: After the fill up, my HV range read "357" which I beleive is what others are reading a full tank after having the dealer update the cars software. My car shows a build date of March 2018 so may have had this applied at the factory?
Click to expand...
That's not clear. When I took a long road trip that was mostly HV, the HV range was very accurate. What throws the old program off is when you're mostly in EV mode. It seems to work pretty well if you do a combination like you have.
 
Initial Observations - update:

Today, a took a 341 mile one-day "roadtrip" with a friend in the Clarity today, starting this morning with full EV showing 52.5 miles and HV showing 357. I just filled up the tank at the same gas station I filled up last night (but not the same pump) with the Clarity gas gauge showing 2 bars, 24.2 EV miles and 44 HV miles remaining. The Clarity filed with approx 5.9 gal, which equates to approx 57.8 blended EV and HV MPG for my trip. Note: HV milage after the fill-up showed "354"

Based on these results the Clarity's HV milege estimate appears to be pretty accurate - and the Clarity also is capable of close to 400 miles of total range when the battery is fully charged which is pretty impressive!

Note:
I used ECONOMY Mode the entire trip and stayed in EV mode when driving on local roads as well as several traffic jams during rush hours. I drove slightly over the posted I95 speed limit - which is 55 - 65 and also used HV Charge mode when the available EV miles fell below 18 during three stages our trip to bring available EV miles closer to 30.

For more experienced owners, at what MPH do you engage HV mode? Also, what is your optimum EV Charge mode strategy? I am hoping to establish best practices for my next roadtrip....thanks again!

P.S. My electric utility - PSEG - does offer slightly reduced nighttime rates - approx a 3 cent reduction - but also requires a 1 year commitment...
 
Yes, the old algorithm would have likely moved your HV estimate closer to 400 (58*7). Use it for a while though to be sure ;)

Thanks for the update. Hopefully people see how great this car is, as more get out in the wild we should see word of mouth marketing paying off.
 
jpkik96 said:
For more experienced owners, at what MPH do you engage HV mode? Also, what is your optimum EV Charge mode strategy? I am hoping to establish best practices for my next roadtrip....thanks again!
Click to expand...

Not that I should speak because we have yet to put any gas in our Clarity, but I'll speak. Because it's no fun to be driving with no battery reserves (the engine is likely to race when going uphill), it makes sense to switch to HV Mode as soon as you get underway--even while still in the city. Then you'll always have reserve battery power for hills. Then, when your EV range matches the distance you have left to travel on your journey, turn off EV Mode and arrive at your destination with 2 bars of battery power remaining (ie. empty). Charge, repeat. HV Charge Mode is mainly to get ready to go up a mountain after the last mountain took away most of your battery charge.
 
Actually, my HV range showed 354 after fill up tonight but my real-world mileage today of 341 + 44 HV and 24 EV remaining milage estimate prior to filling up would indicate indeed the car is capable of 400+ single day cruising range - which is really impressive! Thanks again....
 
You need to get Honda's HV range patch before believing the HV range readout.

Edit: Oops, I see you did get that done. Enjoy your hard-earned HV range.
 
Clarity Dave said:
I estimated gas/electric equivalent costs in case I ever use a commercial charging station (so far, I've just plugged in at home and into outdoor 120V outlets overnight when I can):

Clarity EV range (EPA): 47 miles
kWh charge from 0 range to full: 14 kWh (gleaned from posts here, mostly)
47/14 = 3.36 miles/kWh
Clarity rated miles/gallon (EPA): 42
kWh/gallon = 42/3.36 = 12.5
Divide your local gas price by 12.5 to get the kWh price equivalent, or multiply your electric utility's price per kWh to get the $/gallon equivalent. For example:

$3.00/gallon is equivalent to $0.24/kWh ($3.00/12.5).
$0.39/kWh (blink's member rate) is equivalent to $4.88/gallon (0.39*12.5).
$0.16/kWh (the OP's rate) is equlvalent to $2.00/gallon.

In reality the mpg, and the range in particular, vary. In cold weather, 3.36 mi/kWh is unrealistically high, for instance. So take these numbers with a grain of salt.

For charging stations that charge by the hour, a level 2 charger feeding 32A to the car would provide 7.68 kWh per hour, but I'm guessing the actual current flowing into the batteries would be less, and would diminish approaching a full charge.
Click to expand...

I have been tracking actual miles/KWh delivered by my Clarity since late January this year. The electric heater takes a large toll on miles, the AC not so much. Here are my figures for Feb thru Jun. I live in Salt Lake City, Utah so you can see what my average temperatures are:

Feb 2.78 miles/KWh lots of heater use
Mar 3.25 miles/KWh some heater use
Apr 3.96 miles/KWh very little heater use
May 4.10 miles/KWh no heater or AC use
Jun 4.01 miles/KWh A lot of AC use
 
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