2019 Honda Clarity PLUG-IN Hybrid

I was entering the highway on ramp with a car in front of me going slow, when saw it was clear switched lanes and attempted to speed up to highway speed and the car's automatic braking system activated, flashed "BRAKE" on the dash with nothing in front of me, lane was clear, and then it applied the brakes hard. Came to an almost complete stop with my foot on the gas, had to remove foot to be able to accelerate again, luckily there was no near car behind me or it would have rear ended my car.

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Honda of Escondido (1700 Auto Park Way Escondido, CA 92029); where the vehicle was diagnosed but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, during sunny weather, the vehicle unintendedly braked without warning. The warning light "Brake" was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred. The contact also experienced a failure with Lane Keeping Assist and Road Departure Mitigation, where the vehicle jerked out of the desired lane without warning and the vehicle failed to return to the intended lane. The contact disabled the system due to the failure. The contact stated that when the heater or A/C was activated, the speedometer suddenly started going down and the vehicle failed to exceed 20 MPH. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed; however, no cause for the failure was found. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 22,000.

MONDAY SEP 7, 2020 AROUND 11:20 AM UNINTENDED ACCELERATION MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE CAR AND IN PROCESS TO PARK IN OUR HOUSE GARAGE. WHEN SHE GOT ON THE DRIVE WAY, SHE PRESSED THE BRAKE AND STOPPED IN FRONT OF THE GARAGE DOOR TO OPEN IT. THEN RELEASED THE BRAKE AND THE CAR MOVE FORWARD SLOWLY, WITHOUT PRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WITH HER FOOT STILL OVER THE BRAKE PEDAL, SHE THEN GENTLY PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL IN ORDER TO STOP, THEN THE CAR IMMEDIATELY START TO ACCELERATE AND HIT THE GARAGE WALL THEN STOP. SHE HAVE BEEN PARKING THE CAR IN THE GARAGE EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR AND NEVER HAVE THIS HAPPENED.

WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL (HONDA SENSING) IS ACTIVATED ON THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE IS SUPPOSED TO HOLD THE SET SPEED AND KEEP ITS DISTANCE FROM ANY VEHICLES IN FRONT OF IT IN THE SAME LANE. HOWEVER, IF THE SET SPEED IS 65 MPH THE VEHICLE 90% OF THE TIME WILL DRIVE AT 64 MPH WITH NO OBSTRUCTION AHEAD. IF ANOTHER VEHICLE IS DRIVING SLOWER THAN 65 MPH IN THE SAME LANE AND THE CLARITY IS APPROACHING IT, THE HONDA SENSING RADAR WILL NOT DETECT THE OBSTRUCTION AND NOT SLOW DOWN TO KEEP ITS PRE DETERMINED DISTANCE, WHICH CAN CAUSE AN IMMINENT CRASH. I HAVE HAD HIS MALFUNCTION ON BOTH OF MY 2019 HONDA CLARITY PLUGIN HYBRIDS AND MY FORMER 2019 HONDA INSIGHT. I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN OVER TEN NEAR-TOTAL CRASHES ON THE HIGHWAY DUE TO THIS MALFUNCTION. THIS VEHICLE IS DANGEROUS AND THE HONDA SENSING FEATURE A SAFETY HAZARD.

ON A RANDOM BASIS OUR NEW CLARITY SUDDENLY LOSES POWER AND SOUNDS LIKE WE HAVE SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL EVEN THOUGH WE ARE JUST CONTINUING IN DRIVE MODE. THIS HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH SINCE WE BOUGHT THE CAR IN JUNE 2019. WE HAVE HAD THE CAR TESTED AT THE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE BOUGHT THE CAR AND THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. IN AUGUST THIS YEAR WE WERE MAKING A 2 HOUR DRIVE AND ON A TOLL ROAD WITH AN INCLINE IN RIVERSIDE, CA THE REVVING SOUND WAS REALLY LOUD AND WHEN I PUSHED THE GAS PEDDLE, NOTHING HAPPENED. I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND TURNED OFF THE CAR. I TURNED IT BACK ON AND PUT THE CAR IN HYBRID MODE AND OUT OF ELECTRIC AND PULLED BACK ON THE ROAD. THE EXACT SAME SOUND AND LACK OF ACCELERATION OCCURRED. WE CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID TO USE AAA TO BE TOWED WHICH WE DID. AGAIN, OCEAN HONDA COULD NOT FIND AN ISSUE ON THEIR COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM OR ROAD TESTING FOR 2 DAYS. WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THE ISSUE A COUPLE TIMES A MONTH IN VERY DIFFERENT DRIVING CONDITIONS, SPEEDS, MODES, ETC. WE CONTACTED HONDA AMERICA AND THEY HAD THE CAR TESTED AT OUR NEW LOCATION IN RANCHO MIRAGE AT HONDA OF THE DESERT. AGAIN, TESTING SHOWED NOTHING. HONDA AMERICA HAS OFFERED NO SOLUTION AND WE ARE NOW AFRAID TO DRIVE THE HONDA CLARITY FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN LOCAL DRIVES. I PUT DATE OF WORST INCIDENT IN SECTION WHERE ASKED WHEN PROBLEM OCCURRED, BUT IT IS ONGOING.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 HONDA CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH UP A HILL, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO ACCELERATE AND LOST POWER. ADDITIONALLY, THE MILES PER GALLON FOR A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE 48 MILES; HOWEVER, THE ACTUAL RANGE WAS 38 MILES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO NORM REEVES HONDA SUPERSTORE WEST COVINA (LOCATED AT 1840 E GARVEY AVE S, WEST COVINA, CA 91791, (626) 251-2995) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC TEST DROVE THE VEHICLE, BUT WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT WAS ALSO INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE CHARGED AND OPERATED AS INTENDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,200.

THE CAR DRIVES FINE WHEN THERE IS SUFFICIENT BATTERY. WHEN BATTERY LEVEL DROPS TO LOW (2 BARS) THE CAR DOES NOT RESPOND TO ACCELERATOR. THE ENGINE BECOMES SLUGGISH AND REVS UP QUITE A BIT. I HAVE DRIVEN ~650 MILES SO FAR AND THIS HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES ALREADY. LUCKILY IT HAPPENED ONLY ONCE IN THE HIGHWAY WHERE THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING.