[tafkam]

I had the engine freak out yesterday ( ran at such a high RPM in HV mode that I thought the engine might blow) so took it in to the dealer for that, the 1000 mile range issue, the wipers hitting the pillars (again third time in for that) and the seat heater coming on when I turn on the heat (but not every time of course) and the regen paddle giving me three flashing arrows then two solid ones and the regen not working at all. Thinking about invoking the lemon law and getting an Accord Hybrid or CRV.

 

[Cruiter]

As the engine speed is controlled by computers to power the generator that charges the batteries and occasionally on hard acceleration or driving up a steep grade to give more power to the electric motor it will 'seem' different than cars you've had in the past. What did the dealer say? They can plug into the diagnostics and determine the highest RPM the engine has run and likely when it was (day and time). The engine is governed so it won't 'overrev'.

I know the wipers were an issue, a dealer fixed mine for me. Not sure what they did but wipers work well now. I've not heard about the regen paddle causing the arrows to flash, odd. Please let us know what the dealer said.

I had the engine freak out yesterday ( ran at such a high RPM in HV mode that I thought the engine might blow) so took it in to the dealer for that, the 1000 mile range issue, the wipers hitting the pillars (again third time in for that) and the seat heater coming on when I turn on the heat (but not every time of course) and the regen paddle giving me three flashing arrows then two solid ones and the regen not working at all. Thinking about invoking the lemon law and getting an Accord Hybrid or CRV.

 

[longfam18]

I've not heard about the regen paddle causing the arrows to flash, odd. Please let us know what the dealer said.

I had this happen once, it flashed level four and then settled on level three. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but my assumption was that some condition wasn't being met so it wouldn't engage the regen at level four. I didn't think it was a defect of the car, only that either I was doing something wrong or that the car's computer thought level four regen was inappropriate for some reason. If it happens again I'll be sure to document what I was doing (straight line/turning, speed, EV battery capacity, HV on/off, etc.) but it has been a week and I haven't seen it since.

 

[Clarity_newbie]

Its been my experience that the Chevrons flash when the traction battery is fully charged hence will not accept any more charge from the brake regeneration.

Page 391 of the user manual has a short write-up reference above. It also states battery temperature may cause flashing chevrons.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

 

[blastfurnace]

This happened to me today as well (the braking regen not giving me 4 arrows, but flashing and settling on 3), but only when I was traveling at highway speeds (70+) . Seemed to give me all 4 arrows at slower speed...I have no idea if this had anything to do with it. My battery was at about 1/2.

 

[obermd]

How many bars of battery were showing when your engine went into it's high RPM mode? What I discovered over the weekend is that if you see a single bar of battery the engine will go into a high RPM (sounds like over 5,000 RPM) in an effort to recharge the battery.

 

[DucRider]

Worth keeping in mind that "high revving" is somewhat subjective. 12K rev limits on modern 4 cylinder engines are common, with some pushing 18K. Add that to the fact that engine speed is not linked to the throttle position and easy to see how someone might think the engine has "freaked out". The Atkinson-cycle engine in the Clarity is more efficient that traditional combustion engines, and by design it is more efficient at higher revs. Honda has achieved a chart topping 40% thermal efficiency with this engine (only 60% of your gasoline gets turned into heat). Doing so requires operating the engine in it's "happy place" which is relatively high revs.

And yes, the flashing chevrons indicate that the requested regen level is not possible and it will revert to a lower level (indicated by solid chevrons).

 

[obermd]

Worth keeping in mind that "high revving" is somewhat subjective. 12K rev limits on modern 4 cylinder engines are common, with some pushing 18K. Add that to the fact that engine speed is not linked to the throttle position and easy to see how someone might think the engine has "freaked out". The Atkinson-cycle engine in the Clarity is more efficient that traditional combustion engines, and by design it is more efficient at higher revs. Honda has achieved a chart topping 40% thermal efficiency with this engine (only 60% of your gasoline gets turned into heat). Doing so requires operating the engine in it's "happy place" which is relatively high revs.

And yes, the flashing chevrons indicate that the requested regen level is not possible and it will revert to a lower level (indicated by solid chevrons).

I didn't realize 12K and higher was the standard now. The GM Ecotec line of engines red-lines around 6,500 RPM. Turbo chargers, on the other hand, do run in the 10s of thousands of RPMs. But they also aren't as massive as the main engine itself and are simply compressing air for the main engine.

I suspect the Clarity's engine tops out around 5K RPM, based on what my ear told me on Saturday.

 

[The Gadgeteer]

The manual also explains that the driver heated seat will turn in automatically in Eco mode depending on what the climate control is set to.

 

[LeeMarkus]

Great information ..