2018 Honda Clarity plug-in hybrid clears the way Under the hood: Dash light turns on during second drive
Being first to innovate the market does not mean best. Honda launched the first hybrid in the U.S. in 1999 with the two-seat, three-door, odd-pod Insight. Toyota followed with the more practical Prius. The Insight was discontinued in 2016, and the Prius is the bestselling hybrid in the world.
Honda is now the first automaker to offer a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, or FCV, with a 366-mile range, a full electric vehicle, or BEV, with an 89mile range and a plug-in hybrid vehicle, or PHEV, all under the banner of one electrified model, the Clarity.
Hyundai has done something similar with the Ioniq, though with a traditional hybrid instead of FCV. Honda’s rival Toyota has separated its FCV, the Mirai, from the Prius hybrid and Prius Prime plugin hybrid.
Honda expects the Clarity PHEV to be the volume seller of a targeted 75,000 Clarities in the first four model years. It has to be, because an electric vehicle with only an 89-mile range is at the meager end of the range spectrum, and the FCV is still the long-term play completely dependent on infrastructure.
Visually, it doesn’t stand out from the sedan class as obviously as the Civic or Accord, but it also isn’t as eco-dorky as the Insight was, with the exception of a modest partial rear wheel cover over the 18inch wheels. Also unlike the Insight, the aerodynamic elements are discrete, with front and rear air curtains through the wheels and a full cover under the body, directing wind unbroken to the rear.
Behind the wheel, the Clarity PHEV is punchy like any electric, with 232 pound-feet of torque giving it a jolt from a stop and providing plenty of pep while passing. There is a seamless transition of power from when the motor, which propels the car at low speeds and light loads, gets supplemented by the gas engine under heavier feet and at highway speed, when the fourcylinder Atkinson engine is at
its most efficient. In our 200 or so miles with the car over a 24hour period, we had to check the power display in the instrument cluster to determine if we were in EV mode or standard operation. It becomes nominally noticeable with the windows up and radio off. We beat the estimated 42-mile range thanks to regenerative braking, which takes the kinetic energy from coasting wheels to replenish the battery.
It operates like a normal gas car with continuously variable transmission, but it can be
charged from home overnight, or a Level 2 charger will juice it up in about 3 hours.
Despite normal operation, there are some oddities to the Clarity. There is a narrow window between the two rear headrests to look out over the trunk, not unlike the top half of the split Prius window. Like in the Prius, I spent too much time looking at the window in my rear view instead of the cars behind me. It provides more rear visibility, at the least. 60/40 split rear seats offer greater storage access to the trunk.
Overall the cabin optimizes space in a luxury-leaning trim. The center console has a clever storage cavity below for handbag, phones and other accoutrements of the modern road warrior. The top is covered with what felt like beautiful wood trim extending up to dash and doors. The center is a gear selector panel consisting of five rectangular buttons. This isn’t an eco-oddity but part of the trend of electric gear shifters replacing the traditional pull shifter. Meh.
Toggling through the info button, touch screen, and fourway arrow buttons on the steering wheel control takes getting used to. Hit the info button for the row of icons for nav, audio or trip meter, then use the arrows to dig deeper into those functions. The steering wheel controls are cluttered and counterintuitive but it could be mastered in more than a day. But no volume knob. The instrument display is bright and easy to read.
Larry, your Acura’s antilock brake system has detected a fault and is alerting you via the ABS light. It’s difficult to say why the fault doesn’t occur or isn’t recognized until a second drive of the day, but perhaps the fault is made more apparent to the system during the restart diagnostic check by under-hood or brake-system heat.
As long as your amber ABS light is the only one illuminating — not the red brake light as well — normal braking will be unaffected. However, whenever an error is noted, your anti-lock braking system will stand down and not provide its anti-lock function. Among the things that could be causing this issue are a bad connection somewhere in the ABS circuitry, a faulty wheel speed sensor, a malfunctioning hydraulic control solenoid, or even a busted ABS controller. One odd possibility could be that when you’re restarting the engine, you’re allowing it to run more than 30 seconds, perhaps to air out a hot interior, before releasing the parking brake.
BRAD BERGHOLDT
This question comes up frequently in a variety of maintenance situations. As you are likely aware, your timing belt performs the critical function of sequencing the engine’s crankshaft and camshafts. Should the belt ever fail, there would be a very expensive collision of pistons and valves. When a timing belt is renewed, it’s prudent to also replace the water pump and related belt drive components such as idlers and tensioners.
I think most in the industry would agree that miles are more stressful than time to parts and fluids. If it were my vehicle, I’d continue driving with this belt until the 105,000-mile mark, perhaps having the part renewed once the vehicle reaches 10 years of age.