Full Electric Availability

[DucRider]

Can you share your experience with the charge timer? One thing I wanted on the FitEV was the ability to override the charge timer (the remote could do that, if I remember).

Never tried with the app. You can override by holding the charge port button on the remote for a few seconds - the car will give a long beep and start charging,

[srl99]

Can you share your experience with the charge timer? One thing I wanted on the FitEV was the ability to override the charge timer (the remote could do that, if I remember).

Never tried with the app. You can override by holding the charge port button on the remote for a few seconds - the car will give a long beep and start charging,

Great. Exactly what I am looking for. I can set the timer in the car for the overnight charge I generally want, and if I encounter a public charger ...

[srl99]

@DucRider - more thoughts on the Clarity BEV vs Fit EV:

Over the weekend, a friend who still has a Fit EV ( we "sold" him on the Fit EV), saw the C-EV for the first time and said "Wow! It feels like an Acura!" They have an Acura.

It seems like the C-EV does a better job of Regen than the FitEV, and the (fair weather) highway driving efficiency is about the same ?!? It's a much larger car, but maybe more aerodynamic?

I'm not sure the HondaLink system is an upgrade. The vehicle is still often unresponsive, and I have to say the FitEV was more willing to provide frequent updates than the C-EV. This may be, by design. I liked the FitEV estimates to full charge, even if they were fairly inaccurate. I liked the FitEV
temp inside the car, although I see the C-EV gives you that if you remotely turn on pre-conditioning. I think it's silly the C-EV stops charging if you stop pre-conditioning remotely.

I used the Fit EV remote control fob many times, and found it invaluable in many circumstances, but understand why it was deleted from the car.

C-EV Smoother ride, I think the FitEV has tighter steering, the C-EV seems easy to nudge out of it's path (cross wind).

Nice to have a trunk. The pass-through isn't useful for much, I thought a bike could work, but my experts tell me no. Wondering if the "third eye" window in the back means people can see into the trunk for bad intentions.

I drove to <10 miles of range, and got the low battery warning. I didn't drive (enough?) to get the second "power reduced" warning, which the FitEV had. I was nervous about having that happen on a highway. (In 55K miles on the FitEV, I got to this point only a few times).

There's a lot of empty space under the hood. More drive battery would have been welcome.

I'm not a fan of the new windshield washer system: fluid coming out of the wiper. The "old" system could give the fluid a chance to dissolve gunk on the windshield.

Garmin NAV, don't know if it's an upgrade from the Nippon Denso (?). I don't know if the Garmin NAV has voice control (not that it ever really worked in the FitEV). I don't know if the Garmin NAV will tell you if your trip exceeds your range. The FitEV NAV would always find the shortest (distance) route, which saved me a couple of times. I haven't played with the Garmin much. I think the "update maps yourself" scheme will be better than waiting for a flash drive in the mail.

I like overriding the charge timer w the remote (thanks for pointing this out). and being able to open the trunk w the remote.

The whole in-car UI needs a bunch of work, the FitEV buttons/UI seemed clearer.

[srl99]

OK - this "third eye" trunk (window) thing is not great. A friend told me about his experience leaving a package in the hatch area of a Volt. He saw this all on the security video: 4 guys in a van, two guys exit the van, one shines a light into the "third eye" area of the Volt, sees the package, smashes the window and grabs it. (Other guy - robbing other cars, 1 driver and 1 look out. Not that you needed a recipe for malfeasance.)

OK, you need to open the trunk on the Clarity, but the third eye lessens the "trunk security". And broken glass is a real pain in the trunk.

Friend suggest I block the glass area, I was thinking one-way mirror, or maybe just a black blanket to cover anything I might leave in the trunk.

Electro-opaque glass on the third eye? Honda ?

[srl99]

I've had a chance to drive it more. I definitely enjoy the car. It has a very different character than the Fit-EV. The Fit is a bit more like a zippy go cart, maybe the feeling that Mini drivers enjoy. The Clarity is a "real" car.

I've not looked extensively, but I think the miles/kWH is similar or better than what I got on the Fit-EV. One reading about 4 mi/kWH, which I seem to recall similar to the Fit-EV. That's amazing given the size difference.

I miss the remote, surprising, but I used it to keep track of the %charge and the inside temp. The app is OK, but it doesn't update very frequently. I also used the remote to start the AC when I wasn't too far away from the car.

I find myself longing for %SOC (battery charge %) on the dash, which I don't think the Fit-EV had.

It's nice to have a ~trunk, but it's not secure due to the windows.

I would have preferred a lighter color than dark gray, but it's a minor complaint, and I could have waited for the next vehicle at my dealer.

Someone else wrote it took them two tries to update the map, me too. I got to about 70% complete on the first round. Then I (organically)
turned off the car and tried again. It worked the second time, I now see ~version 2019 maps on the ?versions? screen.

There's a lot more car to wash ) .

[srl99]

More experience:

The see through "trunk" is a fatal flaw. I would never buy a Clarity (as much as I enjoy driving the EV). Yesterday, when I parked, the sun was shining through the rear "trunk" window and the "trunk" was completely illuminated. Everything in there was visible.

Voice recognition actually works. It never really worked in the Fit-EV.

The Garmin Nav is pretty bad. It reminds me of a Garmin NAV I had ?10? years ago. I'm on the road (4-6 lanes of highway) and it says "rerouting".
Well, no, actually, I am on the route you gave me.

The washer/wiper combo system is not good. It was unable to even remove water spots (I washed the car in the morning) from the windshield.

Is this (much larger) car, really as "fuel efficient" as the Fit-EV? Bravo! I'm seeing 4 mi/kWH ...

There's no reason this "touring" edition couldn't have the software for alarm. Maybe it does? Also, there's no reason the software can't lock out the trunk release button when the vehicle is locked, not that it would prevent you from pulling down the rear seats (?) from the inside.

Not vehicle specific: Back when I had the Fit-EV I had some (re-)charging anxiety, often forced to charge at L1. My world has changed, there's a lot of
public L2's around, I don't have that same level of re-charge anxiety.

I don't yet know anything about "cold" weather performance.

Auto-lock is a bit of a mystery. Yesterday, I left the car wo setting the parking brake (only difference I can think of). Walked away and the car beeped a number of times. Door wasn't locked. I was able to lock by pressing the remote. I can imagine this as either a setting or a "feature", haven't investigated.

[jzchen]

Regarding the trunk glass, is getting a tint an option for you?

Navigation updates are found here, free for 5 years, which is nice when compared to other brands:

www.garmin.com/honda

I’m not fond of the washer sprays being on the wiper arms, but I haven’t figured out how to adjust them yet. I purchase the Rain-X brand fluid at my local Walmart. I pour it in without diluting, and it seems to work well. (Sometimes dealerships just put water). The reservoir is admittedly quite small compared to other vehicles. (Reminds me to check level again)...

Regarding the beeps you heard when you got out of the car, sounds like the sound I get when I drop my wife off somewhere and she has the key in her purse, ie. the key leaves the car while it is still running. Be sure you’ve pressed the Igniton button to turn off the car before leaving. I can’t imagine what trouble it will give you trying to lock the doors with the car still running....

[srl99]

@jzchen - thanks for your response.

I updated the maps (while driving, I cannot recommend that ). Someone else wrote it took them two tries, for me as well. Same USB stick,
nothing changed there.

Walk away auto lock is still a bit of a mystery. So far my hypothesis is that if I move quickly, the car won't auto lock. If I pause a moment when I walk
away auto lock, does. That's my current hypothesis.

I'm going to try some sort of tint (probably one way mirror film) on the trunk window.

I've yet to fast charge, from the spec's it says 80%, so I should use that in my planning (?) (200 mile drive w 5000+ ft elevation change).

Thank you

[DucRider]

I've yet to fast charge, from the spec's it says 80%, so I should use that in my planning (?) (200 mile drive w 5000+ ft elevation change).

Thank you

I've fast charged 3 times, so can give a little insight.

First time was at a Greenlots unit. I didn't really need to charge, but it was at a Kia dealer and free to use. I seem to recall a max charge rate of ~33 kW, but have a photo later in the charge cycle where at 65% SOC (in cool November weather) it was 323.5V, 50.9A (a bit over 16kW). 9:37 of charging yielded 2.6 kWh.

Next 2 times were at Electrify America units, with much better results. Portland to Eugene was about 98 miles. Albany is about halfway and stopped there with 43% SOC remaining. Charge started at 39 kWh. Went into the Walmart (units are in their parking lot), used the restroom, bought a snack and came back to the car to an 84% SOC (Had tapered to 26 kW charging at that point). More than enough to get to Eugene. 9.52 kW in 16 minutes.

This was for an EV Guest Drive Event where I had 28 people drive the Clarity - about a 2 mile loop. Overnight L2 had me topped off to start the day. Used a touch of L2 after the driving that day in order to get back to the EA DCFC in Albany. Rolled in with 5% SOC. Started again at 39 kW (almost certainly the max on the Clarity), and once again tapered to ~26 kW by the time I unplugged at 94%. Was helping a fellow OEVA member getting his Bolt to initiate a charge (it can take holding the cable "just so" with the heavy liquid cooled EA cables), so didn't unplug as soon as I could have. 20.18 kW in 34 minutes.

By all accounts I've seen, the EA units yield the fastest charge times (not just on the Clarity). If you are going to use them, I highly recommend loading the app and initiating a charge that way. The credit card readers on the units are notoriously flaky and you are somewhat likely to have to call to get a charge initiated (and as the Bolt driver found, they don't take Discover even thought it is listed as accepted on the card reader).

Hope that gives you some help in planning


Back to the original post topic....
I did another Guest Drive Event the next weekend in Portland. Got word back the next day that someone I gave a test drive to found a Clarity Electric the following day - Vortex Blue
Yesterday saw some people charging a brand new (temp tags) Gray Clarity Electric at the local grocery store. Talked to them and they just picked it up after test driving at the Portland Event! as well (they had gotten their test drive in another Clarity at the event) They would up waiting just 2 weeks or so before they got the call.