Sat on lot for 10 months, burn gas to replace with fresh?

C

clarityowner12

Member
I purchased 10-25 and noticed on the PDI (pre delivery inspection) paper work that was dated 12-3-17, meaning it has sat on the lot for over 10 months (I am shocked honestly... they must REALLY not know how to sell a Clarity!!)

So I am thinking I need to burn what fuel is in it and replace it with non-ethanol for stability as we will rarely use the ICE. (I know that ethanol attracts water..) Any input or criticism greatly appreciated.

Also, given that I will refill with 100% petro, any need for a stabilizer?
 
Sounds like a good idea to burn the tank. It's still going to get something like 45 mpg so it's not like you're wasting money.

In our case we run 100% EV for weeks at a time, then we'll inevitably take some kind of trip longer than the EV range. Our out of town trips tend to run 100-250 miles about every 6 to 8 weeks. So I see no need, in our case, to hunt down non-ethanol gas which is only available at one place in town and it is expensive.
 
jdonalds said:
Sounds like a good idea to burn the tank. It's still going to get something like 45 mpg so it's not like you're wasting money.

In our case we run 100% EV for weeks at a time, then we'll inevitably take some kind of trip longer than the EV range. Our out of town trips tend to run 100-250 miles about every 6 to 8 weeks. So I see no need, in our case, to hunt down non-ethanol gas which is only available at one place in town and it is expensive.
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That was my thinking, non ethanol is readily available here, at a elevated price of course, but for one tank probably every 6 months (we will run EV for extended period of time ranging from 3-6 months) or so I think it would be the best way to prevent any gumming or water infiltration...
 
clarityowner12 said:
I purchased 10-25 and noticed on the PDI (pre delivery inspection) paper work that was dated 12-3-17, meaning it has sat on the lot for over 10 months (I am shocked honestly... they must REALLY not know how to sell a Clarity!!)

So I am thinking I need to burn what fuel is in it and replace it with non-ethanol for stability as we will rarely use the ICE. (I know that ethanol attracts water..) Any input or criticism greatly appreciated.

Also, given that I will refill with 100% petro, any need for a stabilizer?
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The build date is on the sticker on the driver's door jam. However, keep in mind the dealer may have filled it right before you drove it away, since most cars sit on dealer lots with almost empty tanks. You may have fresh gas in there.

Where I live, most of the local gas stations do not have ethanol in their premium fuel (and it's labeled as such), so I use premium in my Clarity. I burn more than a 1/2 tank every month on a 180 mile round trip to Indiana, so I don't worry about using stabilizer.
 
Speaking of fresh gas... I’ve filled the tank for the first time today after about two months of ownership - only due to a planned road trip this weekend.

Can someone tell me if the range I am seeing is correct. Car is showing me 371 HV miles + whatever EV miles I had left.

Meaning, with both a full tank and full charge - the total range would be around 420 miles? Does that sound right?

I thought the Clarity had a range of under 380 miles.
 
Ethanol is only a problem if mixed with fuel containing MTBE, which is not legal in many states and is no longer used as it contaminates ground water. Ethanol should be fine these days, in fact they are largely replacing MTBE with ethanol (often ethanol is already in fuel in low percentage as an oxygenate and not listed on the label)
 
Please accept my condolences at having to pop your Clarity's gas cap for the first time. That event is a difficult time for all of us on this forum.[/QUOTE]

LOL! That was not quite the answer I was looking for... however, I do frequently, rapidly accelerate in EV mode - I just stop before the motor turns on. :p

Best of both worlds!
 
Heino said:
Speaking of fresh gas... I’ve filled the tank for the first time today after about two months of ownership - only due to a planned road trip this weekend.

Can someone tell me if the range I am seeing is correct. Car is showing me 371 HV miles + whatever EV miles I had left.

Meaning, with both a full tank and full charge - the total range would be around 420 miles? Does that sound right?

I thought the Clarity had a range of under 380 miles.
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I’m pretty sure it is displaying the total range (including EV range) in that 371
 
clarityowner12 said:
I’m pretty sure it is displaying the total range (including EV range) in that 371
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As shown in this unrealistic graphic from page 129 of the Owners Manual, Honda displays HV range and EV range separately:

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I guess another possible (though unlikely) explanation for your 371 miles HV range is that you're an unrepentant hot-rodder and never got either of the HV Range updates. I don't know if you could hot-rod enough to keep the HV range down to 371 miles following a fill-up after 2 months of EV driving.

Has anyone gotten the second HV Range update after previously getting the first one? Any detectable changes?
 
I guess another possible (though unlikely) explanation for your 371 miles HV range is that you're an unrepentant EV hot-rodder and never got either of the HV Range updates. I don't know if you could hot-rod enough to keep the HV range down to 371 miles following a fill-up after 2 months of EV driving (assuming no update).

Has anyone gotten the second HV Range update after previously getting the first one? Any detectable changes?
 
image.webp
View attachment 2806
Heino said:
Negative Ghost Rider :)

Here is what my display shows... note, I have not yet fully charged the battery.

View attachment 2805
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Now that I think about it, before I started TRYING to burn fuel, my EV range always showed around 359, (keep in mind it has only a couple hundred miles and no way to accurately calculate based on history) so the 371 is probably a good estimate

Side note: I have been ACTIVELY trying to use the ICE to refill with fresh non ethanol and honestly, it has been hard to empty the 7 gallons!!! We have driven around 300 miles AND used HV charge mode for two days and I still have half a tank of fuel!?

Still showing 189 HV Miles with half a tank and full charge so that adds up I suppose
 
Heino said:
Can someone tell me if the range I am seeing is correct. Car is showing me 371 HV miles + whatever EV miles I had left.
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I'm surprised that in this forum's FAQ for the Clarity PHEV, there is no mention of the frequently-discussed problem with the HV range estimate, nor the fact that a fix is available at Honda dealers.

I recommend visiting these two threads:

"Let’s get the HV range problem fixed!!!! Here’s how and a poll to track it"

...and...

"HV Range Fix is out and ready for dealer install"
​
 
Heino said:
Can someone tell me if the range I am seeing is correct. Car is showing me 371 HV miles + whatever EV miles I had left.

Meaning, with both a full tank and full charge - the total range would be around 420 miles? Does that sound right?

I thought the Clarity had a range of under 380 miles.
Click to expand...

Well, after 2800 miles I finally filled the tank with a full 5 gallons. But then the HV range went to 1000...

HV range fixed now..
 
Clarity uses a pressurized gas tank to maximize the freshness of the fuel. I wouldn’t worry about stale gas. They designed the vehicle so the gas can sit long term as in theory, it may only be needed as a backup.


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
 
Mile, I agree that the pressurized tank is a great boon to keeping the gas fresh but some of us go 6 to 9 months without leaving town and running the engine more than it’s ocassional short Maintenance Checks. In our scenario, I think gas degradation may be a valid concern. For this reason, I added Stabil. Of course if you’re doing enough HV to be adding gas every few months, I agree with you.
 
I hadn’t thought about my new one sitting on the lot. I would think dealers keep less than a quarter tank until delivery. I do agree that ethanol isn’t good, but I would not go out of your way and pay a premium for ethanol free since all new vehicles are designed for it. Since ethanol attracts water I would stabilize your gas with an ethanol treatment since it doesn’t cost much. These two topics generate much debate based on lore like 3k mile oil changes.
 
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