2018 Honda Clarity PLUG-IN Hybrid

WE LEASED OUR VEHICLE IN NOVEMBER OF 2018. FROM THE TEST DRIVE AND GOING FORWARD WE NOTICED HIGH ENGINE IDLE DURING ACCELERATION BUT WAS TOLD THE CAR NEEDED TO BE CHARGED.(WE WERE NEVER TOLD OF ANYTHING REGARDING LOSS OF ENGINE POWER OR ACCELERATION IF THE BATTERY IS LOW! FALSE ADVERTISING!) AS THE DAYS WENT BY WE NOTICED THE ISSUE GETTING WORSE AND THAT THE REVVING WAS ACTUALLY THE CAR LOSING POWER WHEN DRIVING IN ANY CONDITION OR DRIVING MODE. WHILE DRIVING THE CAR AND THE BATTERY GETS TO TWO BARS THE CAR WOULD LOOSE POWER AND WILL NOT GO OVER 10 MPH. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MY WIFE ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS AND A FEW WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT SPEEDS OF 60 TO 70 MPH AND SUDDENLY THE CAR DOESN'T WANT TO GO AND THE ENGINE REVS AND THE RPM'S GO UP BECAUSE THE CAR IS LOOSING POWER AS YOUR STEPPING ON THE GAS PEDAL. MY WIFE HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE. THANKFULLY THERE WEREN'T MANY CARS AROUND HER. THIS IS A DANGERS SITUATION AND IS NOT NORMAL! MY WIFE FEARS FOR HER LIFE AND DOES NOT LIKE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE!!!. WE HAVE BROUGHT THE CAR TO SERVICE AND COMPLAINED ABOUT THE ISSUE AT LEAST 3 TIMES. THEY CLAIM THAT THEY CANT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO. THEY JUST TELL US TO PICK THE CAR UP AND JUST SEND US ON OUR WAY. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! WE'VE EVEN PUT IN A CLAIM WITH AMERICAN HONDA AND SO FARE THEY ARE NO HELP AS WELL! PLEASE FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE SERIOUSLY GETS HURT OR DIES!!!

WE LEASED A 2018 HONDA CLARITY IN DECEMBER OF 2017. SINCE THEN, THE CAR HAS LOST POWER SEVERAL TIMES (OVER 25 TIMES). ATTACHED ARE 2 SEPARATE VIDEO CLIPS SHOWING THE CAR LOSING POWER. THE CAR FEELS LIKE THE ENGINE DISENGAGES AND THE REVOLUTIONS GO UP, BUT THE CAR SLOWS DOWN. I HAVE BEEN ON THE FREEWAY GOING UP A HILL, WHEN THE ENGINE LOST POWER. WE WENT FROM 65 MPH DOWN TO 20 MPH. I HAD TO FULLY STOP IN THE EMERGENCY LANE AND ACCELERATE AGAIN TO CLEAR THE ISSUE. THE LOSS OF POWER HAS HAPPENED ON FLAT RESIDENTIAL STREETS, BUSY MULTI-LANE HIGHWAYS, WHILE ACCELERATING OUT OF A DRIVEWAYS, AND ACCELERATING UP LARGE AND SMALL HILLS. THOUGH IT HAS TAKEN AWHILE TO ESTABLISH A PATTERN, IT APPEARS TO HAPPEN WHEN THE ELECTRICAL CHARGE FALLS TO 1 OR 2 BARS. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALER OVER 3 TIMES WHO UPDATED THE SOFTWARE BUT THAT HAS NOT SOLVED THE PROBLEM. EVEN THOUGH THE DEALER HAS THE VIDEO CLIPS, THE DEALER HAS STATED THAT THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE OR FIND THE PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDS THAT I CHARGE THE CAR EVERY NIGHT. THIS IS NOT THE CAR I PURCHASED. I SHOULD BE ABLE TO PLUG IN THE CAR TO CHARGE IT OR USE MY ENGINE TO CHARGE THE CAR. THE DEALER IS ALSO UNWILLING TO SOLVE MY ISSUES OR REPLACE THE CAR.

ON APPROX 6 OCCASIONS, WHEN EV POWER IS USED UP, THE CAR SWITCHES TO ICE MODE WITH ISSUES. WHEN TRAVELING UP HILL, IT FEELS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT ENGAGING. THE VEHICLE LOSSES POWER, AND DOES NOT ACCELERATE. THE ICE REVS EXTREMELY HIGH WITHOUT SPEED GAIN. HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED A DOWNHILL SITUATION WITH NEARLY FULL EV IN EV MODE. VEHICLE FEELS LIKE IT DISENGAGES DRIVETRAIN. WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. ONE FEELS HELPLESS WHEN THIS OCCURS. MOST OF THE TIME, THE CAR HAD SWITCHES FROM EV TO HV AUTOMATICALLY, WITHOUT ISSUE. BUT, THE ABOVE PHENOMENA HAS HAPPENED 6 TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR THIS IS UNSAFE. THE VEHICLE WAS SOLD AS AN EV, WITH A GAS ENGINE TO TAKE OVER WHEN EV RUNS OUT. AT NO TIME WAS THERE ANY EXPLANATION REGARDING POTENTIAL SITUATIONS THAT WOULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO BECOME UNSAFE AND LOSE POWER. ONE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO ENSURE RESERVE EV POWER FOR POTENTIAL POWER LOSS SITUATIONS. WHEN THESE SITUATIONS HAVE OCCURRED, UPON SHUTTING OFF THE CAR AND EXITING, THERE IS A STRONG SMELL OF BURNING RUBBER AND OTHER MATERIAL SIMILAR TO TRANSMISSION AND BRAKES, OR HOT METAL. CLEARLY SOMETHING IS OVERHEATING, AND IF THE VEHICLE WAS NOT SHUTDOWN AND ALLOWED TO COOL, A REASONABLE PERSON MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE, ELECTRIC MOTORS, EV BATTERY, OR TRANSMISSION WOULD TAKE PLACE. I AM NO LONGER DRIVING THE VEHICLE AS A PURE EV FOR CITY DRIVING. THE FEAR OF POWER LOSS WITHOUT CONTROL IS EXTREMELY UPSETTING, AND CONSEQUENTLY, NOT GETTING THE VALUE OF VEHICLE. MY SPOUSE WILL NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLE AS DRIVER OR PASSENGER IF THE TRIP IS TO EXCEED 20 MILES IN ONE DIRECTION. MY GAS SAVINGS HAS DROPPED CONSIDERABLY AS I AM UNABLE TO RISK RUNNING OUT OF EV BEFORE MY TRIP ENDS. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER 3 TIMES, AND INSPECTED BY HONDA OF AMERICA. THEY DENY THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE.

STATE OF DRIVING CONDITION: THE CAR WAS SET IN CRUISE AT 70 MPH IN HV MODE (NOT CHARGE MODE). EV RANGE WAS 30 MILE REMAINING, APPROXIMATELY 70% OF BATTERY REMAINING. THE HONDA CLARITY PHEV SPONTANEOUS EXCESSIVE REVVING THE ENGINE WHILE CRUISING AT A CONSTANT SPEED ON FLAT HIGHWAY ROAD THEN THE CAR DROPPED SPEED BY ITSELF WITHOUT ANY CAR IN FRONT. ONCE I NOTICE THE CAR DOES NOT HAVE POWER TO REGAIN TO SET CRUISING SPEED, I TURNED CRUISING OFF, SWITCHED THE CAR FROM HV TO EV THEN THE ENGINE STOP DOING HIGH REVVING. I DROVE IN EV FOR 2 MINUTES THEN SWITCH BACK TO HV THEN THE CAR REGAIN ITS POWER TO RESUME CRUISING SPEED. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHEN DRIVERS DID NOT AWARE WHEN THE CAR DECIDED TO CUT ITS POWER IN HV MODE. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I ENCOUNTER THE SITUATION, BUT I'VE NOTICED MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER DRIVER REGARD TO CLARITY PHEV SPONTANEOUS ENGINE REVVING ON MANY FORUM.

WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON CENTRAL AVE (FROM NORTH TO SOUTH) IN PHOENIX, ENGINE ERROR SIGN AND BRAKE ERROR SIGN WERE FLASHING. MEANWHILE, I COULD NOT SLOW DOWN THE CAR AS I COULD NOT PUSH THE BRAKE PEDDLE DOWN. SO, I JUST HAD TO LET THE CAR CRUISE ON ITS OWN TO SLOW DOWN WITHOUT BRAKE AND FINALLY MANAGED TO TURN INTO PALM LN FOR A STOP. LUCKILY, I WAS NOT ON THE HIGHWAY AND COULD NOT IMAGE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I DROVE THE CAR WITHOUT THE CONTROL OF THE BRAKE.

ON JANUARY 13, 2019 MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING ON A 1.5 HOUR TRIP ON A 4-LANE FREEWAY. THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE WAS 30 DEGREES. WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH, SUDDENLY THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE REVVED UP DRAMATICALLY WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY THE CAR STARTED SLOWING DOWN UNCONTROLLABLY. MY WIFE, WHO WAS DRIVING, WOULD PUSH THE ACCELERATOR AND THE ENGINE WOULD REV UP, BUT THE CAR CONTINUED TO SLOW DOWN. IT WAS AS IF THE WHEELS HAD BECOME DISCONNECTED FROM THE POWER SOURCE. FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS LITTLE TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD SO WE WERE ABLE TO PUT ON OUR EMERGENCY FLASHERS AND GRADUALLY EASE OFF THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY AND SAFELY COME TO A CONTROLLED STOP. WE TURNED THE CAR OFF, LET IT SIT FOR A COUPLE MINUTES, THEN RE-STARTED IT. AS WE TRIED TO ACCELERATE BACK ONTO THE HIGHWAY, THE CAR WOULD MOVE FORWARD SOME, THEN THE WHEELS WOULD SEEM TO DISCONNECT AGAIN AND THE ENGINE REV WHILE SHE TRIED TO ACCELERATE, THEN SHE WOULD LET UP, TRY AGAIN, ETC., OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UNTIL GRADUALLY THE CAR BEGAN TO PICK UP SPEED. THIS WAS A VERY DANGEROUS AND SCARY SITUATION. EVENTUALLY WE GOT THE CAR RETURNED TO FULL SPEED AND DROVE WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT TO OUR DESTINATION. AFTER THE CAR HAD BEEN PARKED FOR APPROXIMATELY 5-6 HOURS, WE STARTED THE CAR AND ATTEMPTED TO HEAD BACK HOME. IT GOT OUT OF THE PARKING LOT FINE, BUT AS WE BEGAN DRIVING ON A 2-LANE ROAD AROUND THE 20-30 MPH SPEED THE SAME PROBLEM RE-EMERGED. THE ENGINE WOULD REV AS MY WIFE PUSHED ON THE ACCELERATOR, BUT THE SPEED OF THE CAR WOULD DECREASE ' ALLOWING NO CONTROL OF THE SPEED OF THE CAR WHATSOEVER. AGAIN, BY SLOWLY PUSHING AND RELEASING ON THE ACCELERATOR THE CAR GRADUALLY 'ENGAGED' APPROPRIATELY AND EVENTUALLY GOT UP TO NORMAL SPEED AND WE WERE ABLE TO RETURN HOME WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. IF THE SAME PROBLEMS HAD OCCURRED WHILE ON A BUSY FREEWAY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION.

SO MY WIFE TOOK THE CLARITY ON HER REGULAR COMMUTE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE A BUNCH OF RECALLS WERE PERFORMED ON THE CAR ON FRIDAY. ALONG WITH A01 SERVICE, PRODUCT UPDATES 18-089, 90, 91 AND 97 WERE PERFORMED ON THE CAR. SHE RAN INTO A DANGEROUS SITUATION. I'LL LIST THE STEPS BELOW. HAS ANYONE ELSE ENCOUNTERED THIS? I PLAN TO REPORT TO NHTSA ALSO. - SHE WAS DRIVING NORMALLY ON HER WAY BACK HOME IN ECON MODE AT AROUND 70 MPH OR UNDER. PRIOR TO THE UPDATES THE BATTERY NEVER USED TO GO BELOW 9 OR 10% (LAST TWO BARS). BUT TODAY IT WENT TO NO BARS LEFT. - THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS NOT RESPONSIVE AND THE SPEED STARTED DROPPING TO ABOUT 40 MPH. LUCKILY NO ONE WAS CLOSE BEHIND HER. SHE SWITCHED ON HER HAZARDS. - SHE TURNED ON HYBRID MODE AND THE CAR ACCELERATED UP AGAIN BACK TO HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT WORKED NORMALLY ON THE REST OF THE JOURNEY HOME. SO ON ANY DAY BEFORE LAST WEEK, THE CAR WOULD A) NOT LET THE BATTERY GO BELOW 2 BARS B) KEEP UP SPEED AND AUTOMATICALLY SWITCH TO HYBRID MODE ONCE EV MODE WAS UNAVAILABLE. WHAT HAPPENED TODAY WAS SCARY. EDIT -

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 HONDA CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ONCE THE HYBRID VEHICLE FINISHED ELECTRIC POWER, IT WOULD SWITCH TO GAS. WHILE IN GAS MODE, THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE UP A HILL. IN ADDITION, THE ENGINE REVVED EXTREMELY HARD AND WOULD NOT GO INTO GEAR. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,418. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN.