[obermd]

Does the Clarity PHEV have an equivalent to the Volt's Fuel Maintenance Mode?

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Volt, it switches to a classic hybrid when the average age of the gas in the tank reaches 360-370 days and will literally burn the tank dry (I know, my Volt ran out of gas about a quarter mile before my preferred gas station) and then keep driving on battery.

My question is has anyone hit something similar in the Clarity PHEV? After 13 months of a full tank of gas I started putting my wife's Clarity into sport mode and did everything I could to burn gas. After two weeks of this I managed to burn half a tank in my daily commute so I refilled the tank at this point. My dealership, where we bought the car knows less about the car than I do, trying to tell me it's like any other hybrid and the gas shouldn't last that long in the tank because the car will use it in normal driving.

 

[ClarityDave]

Does the Clarity PHEV have an equivalent to the Volt's Fuel Maintenance Mode?

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Volt, it switches to a classic hybrid when the average age of the gas in the tank reaches 360-370 days and will literally burn the tank dry (I know, my Volt ran out of gas about a quarter mile before my preferred gas station) and then keep driving on battery.

My question is has anyone hit something similar in the Clarity PHEV? After 13 months of a full tank of gas I started putting my wife's Clarity into sport mode and did everything I could to burn gas. After two weeks of this I managed to burn half a tank in my daily commute so I refilled the tank at this point. My dealership, where we bought the car knows less about the car than I do, trying to tell me it's like any other hybrid and the gas shouldn't last that long in the tank because the car will use it in normal driving.

Maybe considering your historical usage you should just keep the tank 1/4 full most of the time.

 

[obermd]

Maybe considering your historical usage you should just keep the tank 1/4 full most of the time.

That's actually the goal. I do remember when I suggested this when my wife first got the Clarity I got "stoned" by the full tank brigade because the fuel pump needs to be kept cool. The reality is that if you're not using gas you don't need to worry about the fuel pump temperature. You do want to keep the seals moist however, so you don't want to run dry. (I'm not even sure the Clarity's drive train will operate without gas in the tank.)

 

[ClarityDave]

That's actually the goal. I do remember when I suggested this when my wife first got the Clarity I got "stoned" by the full tank brigade because the fuel pump needs to be kept cool. The reality is that if you're not using gas you don't need to worry about the fuel pump temperature. You do want to keep the seals moist however, so you don't want to run dry. (I'm not even sure the Clarity's drive train will operate without gas in the tank.)

My wife is a “fill the tank at any possible opportunity” type of person. She’s starting to get the idea that the only time we really need gas is when we make an out-of-town trip. And as infrequently as we really need gas it doesn’t make that much sense to carry around a full tank for hundreds of miles (even though 7 gallons only weighs about 45 pounds).

 

[tommyboy]

I keep the tank full. As I learned in my Boy Scouts days "be prepared." I also keep a roll of toilet paper in the trunk.