Power System Failure

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clout026

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2018 Clarity with only 190 miles. After charging overnight I turned on the car and received the following messages:

Power System Problems, Stop Driving When Safe
Electric Parking Brake Problem
Tire pressure monitor problem
Plug-In Charging System Problem, Range Limited
Brake System Problem
Brake Hold System Problem
Power Steering System (EPS) Problem
Vehicle Stability Assist Problem
Hill Start Assist Problem
Road Departure Mitigation System Problem

I can not shift the car into reverse or drive. Currently waiting of for a tow to the dealer. Very disappointing for a new car. Has anyone else had similar problems?
 
clout026 said:
2018 Clarity with only 190 miles. After charging overnight I turned on the car and received the following messages:

Power System Problems, Stop Driving When Safe
Electric Parking Brake Problem
Tire pressure monitor problem
Plug-In Charging System Problem, Range Limited
Brake System Problem
Brake Hold System Problem
Power Steering System (EPS) Problem
Vehicle Stability Assist Problem
Hill Start Assist Problem
Road Departure Mitigation System Problem

I can not shift the car into reverse or drive. Currently waiting of for a tow to the dealer. Very disappointing for a new car. Has anyone else had similar problems?
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Sounds like the whole computer system fried. Check your garage for EMP mines [emoji14]
 
Sorry. I know it's a pain, but it does happen with new technology. Take a chill pill, tow it to the dealer, and let them figure it out.
 
petteyg359 said:
I'm pretty sure that's part of both the warranty and the included roadside service plan.
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I was not offered a loaner when the dealer had my Clarity for 3 days. I couldn’t find anything in writing about loaners. Have you seen loaner info in the warranty?
 
Dealer provided a loaner car. The IPU (EV Battery) was determined to be bad already and is being replaced. No timeline yet to when the car will be fixed.
 
We are all sorry to hear that. You are the first to post that their battery has gone bad. I’d wager that it will take some time to get the new one in. Also there is a special lift that is used to remove and replace that heavy battery pack. I don’t know if it’s mandatory to use it or if it just makes things go easier. Do they have this lift and are their techs trained on the Clarity?
Let us know what they tell you. The good news is that once replaced you’ll have your brand new performance back.
 
KentuckyKen said:
We are all sorry to hear that. You are the first to post that their battery has gone bad. I’d wager that it will take some time to get the new one in. Also there is a special lift that is used to remove and replace that heavy battery pack. I don’t know if it’s mandatory to use it or if it just makes things go easier. Do they have this lift and are their techs trained on the Clarity?
Let us know what they tell you. The good news is that once replaced you’ll have your brand new performance back.
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With a battery lifespan of only 190 miles, "gone bad" doesn't seem accurate. It was delivered bad. Sadly, we'll never hear what actually happened to that IPU.

Brad, my dealer's wonderful service manager, said Honda required them to buy the expensive battery lift.
 
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Also be sure to start tracking the number of days you don’t have your vehicle. I’ve had to Lemon Law two vehicles in my lifetime. In both cases the dealers were being responsive and taking care of me, but could not get parts and/or support from corporate in a reasonable time. IMHO lemon laws should be used immediately in every case where they apply (usually >30 days in the shop) regardless of any actions from the dealer or mfr.

I hope you get your car back quick and don’t have to worry about any of this. It’s really a good car overall and you’ll enjoy it.
 
Had to take my Clarity in for what sounds like the same thing, although I was able to drive the car to the Honda service department, didn't need a tow.

They contacted me yesterday saying they need to replace the IPU. I'm still waiting on an ETA on when the part will arrive and how long the repair will take once the part arrives.

I got a Honda Accord loaner from the dealer to drive while we wait for the car to be fixed.

I've only put 1000 miles on the car and have had it for a month. I've loved the car up to this point.
 
For both @clout026 and @Dan Tedder , I would appreciate some additional information about your car. Look in the driver's door jamb and post the build date of your Clarity. I'm curious about how long your car sat (likely completely discharged), before you began using them. A complete HV battery failure is a big deal for Honda, just as it was when they had failures of the HV batteries in the Civic about 10 years ago. Everyone will be very interested in the outcomes. I would also appreciate knowing what city you are in, wondering if location is a factor?

And, just for Dan, what were the error messages you received at the point of failure. How did you know something was wrong?
 
Sandroad said:
For both @clout026 and @Dan Tedder , I would appreciate some additional information about your car. Look in the driver's door jamb and post the build date of your Clarity. I'm curious about how long your car sat (likely completely discharged), before you began using them. A complete HV battery failure is a big deal for Honda, just as it was when they had failures of the HV batteries in the Civic about 10 years ago. Everyone will be very interested in the outcomes. I would also appreciate knowing what city you are in, wondering if location is a factor?

And, just for Dan, what were the error messages you received at the point of failure. How did you know something was wrong?
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I'd have to look at the build date when I get the car back.

I'm in Columbus, Ohio, where it has been in the 30s recently.

I had all the same warning messages come on the dash as clout026, except I don't remember seeing the "Plug-In Charging System Problem, Range Limited" message. The car would still drive but the engine would be revving while driving and I couldn't change drive modes.
 
Sandroad said:
For both @clout026 and @Dan Tedder , I would appreciate some additional information about your car. Look in the driver's door jamb and post the build date of your Clarity. I'm curious about how long your car sat (likely completely discharged), before you began using them. A complete HV battery failure is a big deal for Honda, just as it was when they had failures of the HV batteries in the Civic about 10 years ago. Everyone will be very interested in the outcomes. I would also appreciate knowing what city you are in, wondering if location is a factor?
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I'm thinking that the IPU failure may have been caused by dealer neglect of the SOC while the car sat in inventory. I recall Honda had instructions for dealers about maintaining a minimum SOC while the car is in inventory. The build date and the delivery date will show how long the car could have been idle.
 
I purchased my car mid/early December. I'm in San Jose, CA. I don't have the car so I can't check the MFG date. The battery still had a partial charge the night before this occurred and the battery showed as being fully charged when all the errors popped up the next morning. When i purchased the car it had just arrived at the dealership a few days prior as inventory is pretty tight in the Bay Area.
 
Worrying for me. I wasn’t cognizant of the issue with cars sitting when I bought my car, and it had been been at the dealer for a few months. Given they delivered it with zero charge and less than 20 miles on the odometer, I’m pretty sure it sat for much of that time.

If that turns out to be the case, Honda can start enforcing the charge mandate; after all the they should be a able to monitor the SOC of cars on dealer lots through the cellular system that HondaLink uses.

I hate being a guinea pig but at least I’m in a consortium state and so get a longer battery warranty.
 
As a volt owner, Chevy required dealers who sold the Volt to have a Volt certified tech on-staff. Usually, it was only one of many mechanics. It wasn't horrible, because I had very few problems. But it did, on occasion, require a wait. I was told by my Honda dealer that any "Honda Certified Master Tech" could work on these. We'll see whether he spoke the truth. I will say, it is quite new technology for most Honda mechanics. So there's bound to be some learning curve. Let's hope that most of us don't have the kind of major problems you had. FYI - I'm told EV battery failueres on the Volt were extremely rare.
 
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