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2018 Honda Clarity PLUG-IN Hybrid

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

64 reports with mileage · 70 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports1 fire reports3 injury reports

What owners actually said

134 reports
Mileage unknown · Nov 27, 2024
Fuel/propulsion System

The car stalled and died pulling into high flow traffic almost caused others to hit each other

NHTSA ODI #11627700

Mileage unknown · Nov 14, 2024
Electrical SystemPower TrainVehicle Speed Control

Several times now while driving on the interstate at the average speed of 70 to 75 which is the speed limit in my Area the battery level while fully charged it's supposed to only drop down to 20% I have noticed several times now while on the interstate I've been barely able to drive 40 mph as it is dropping the power level down …

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Several times now while driving on the interstate at the average speed of 70 to 75 which is the speed limit in my Area the battery level while fully charged it's supposed to only drop down to 20% I have noticed several times now while on the interstate I've been barely able to drive 40 mph as it is dropping the power level down to almost zero there is no bars being illuminated they're supposed to be two bars for 20% and even one bar for 10% and twice now in a matter of 2 weeks I've noticed that it goes down to zero bars and the engine is revving very very high and I have very little power available this is quite dangerous on the interstate and I wish this could be resolved or I'll be getting rid of this car

NHTSA ODI #11625238

Mileage unknown · Nov 4, 2024
Fuel System, Gasoline

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer …

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The contact owns a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11623545

Mileage unknown · Nov 4, 2024
Fuel System, Gasoline

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that occasionally the check engine warning light was illuminated.…

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The contact owns a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that occasionally the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was inspected but not diagnosed. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11623414

Mileage unknown · Nov 2, 2024
Forward Collision AvoidanceCrash

My car was involved in a low speed accident in which the front end of our car hit the rear bumper of the other car. There was no damage to the other car and what appeared to be only minor damage to our front grill. 1) Shortly after the accident, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) malfunctioned several times by stro…

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My car was involved in a low speed accident in which the front end of our car hit the rear bumper of the other car. There was no damage to the other car and what appeared to be only minor damage to our front grill. 1) Shortly after the accident, the Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS) malfunctioned several times by strongly engaging the brakes when there was no car in front of us. 2) The sudden braking for no reason caused cars behind us to swerve out of the way in order to avoid an accident. Very fortunately, no accidents occurred. 3) The dealer service center confirmed that the accident had caused the sensors for the CMBS to malfunction which in turn caused the brakes to engage. 4) The car has not been inspected. 5) Prior to the brakes engaging, the "Brake Now" warning light came on when there were no cars in front of us. My concern is that the car does not have a safety check to make sure that the sensors are working properly. In addition, the Honda Manual does not warn drivers that even a very low speed accident could cause the sensors to malfunction and the brakes to engage. The CMBS can be turned off by the driver but it automatically comes on every time the car starts. In my view, at the very least, drivers should be warned that if they are involved in an accident, they should disengage the CMBS until an authorized service center can look at the car and make sure the sensors are operating properly. I have contacted Honda and they called me back several months ago, but, to date, nothing has been done. I have attached a picture showing that the damage from the accident appeared to be minor.

NHTSA ODI #11623266

Mileage unknown · Nov 1, 2024
Fuel System, Gasoline

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer …

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The contact owns a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V858000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI #11623083

Mileage unknown · Oct 31, 2024
Fuel/propulsion System

Fuel pump recall. Honda states that they do not have the part and they will contact me once the part is here. It has been months (Dec 2023 recall), I am worried that the car will brake or even worse I may have an accident. Already had and still have tons of electronic issues that Honda refuses to fix even though they lost at the…

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Fuel pump recall. Honda states that they do not have the part and they will contact me once the part is here. It has been months (Dec 2023 recall), I am worried that the car will brake or even worse I may have an accident. Already had and still have tons of electronic issues that Honda refuses to fix even though they lost at the arbitration! They literally told me after the trail: you’re on your own.

NHTSA ODI #11623029

Mileage unknown · Oct 23, 2024
Visibility/wiper

Honda has known issues with the AC system in the 2018-21 Honda Clarity (see [XXX] ). About 4 months after I had the faulty condenser replaced, the AC system (including the window defroster/defogger) stopped working again. This time Honda says that the Evaporator Compressor is faulty and needs replaced. Speaking with other Cl…

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Honda has known issues with the AC system in the 2018-21 Honda Clarity (see [XXX] ). About 4 months after I had the faulty condenser replaced, the AC system (including the window defroster/defogger) stopped working again. This time Honda says that the Evaporator Compressor is faulty and needs replaced. Speaking with other Clarity owners, this seems to be a common failure shortly after the faulty condenser is replaced. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI #11621583

Mileage unknown · Oct 10, 2024
Visibility/wiper

The evaporator has failed at just 29000 miles on the car. The condenser was replaced under warranty 2 years ago after it cracked, but the evaporator has now broken and is not covered. This means the AC is not working, which can impact defogging/defrosting, as well as cause unsafe conditions for the driver.

NHTSA ODI #11619183

Mileage unknown · Oct 2, 2024
Unknown Or Other

Honda vehicles have an A/C problem affecting the condenser and evaporator. Honda has put a 10 year warranty on the condenser but has done nothing to the faulty evaporator because it is a costly fix. The A/C in my Clarity has been a problem the last 3 years and I have had 3 condensers replaced in the car. I took the Clarity in…

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Honda vehicles have an A/C problem affecting the condenser and evaporator. Honda has put a 10 year warranty on the condenser but has done nothing to the faulty evaporator because it is a costly fix. The A/C in my Clarity has been a problem the last 3 years and I have had 3 condensers replaced in the car. I took the Clarity in a few weeks ago and now they are saying that it is the evaporator and want to charge me $3000. The evaporator is needed to also defrost the windows. Please force Honda to fix faulty evaporators in the Clarity.

NHTSA ODI #11617736

Official recalls

1

23V858000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Dec 18, 2023

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

1

DP22005 · Pedestrian Alert Sounds

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · Closed Aug 7, 2023

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Electrical System:propulsion System

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.