Production stopped!
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Honda stopped production of the Clarity EV in 2020, and both the PHEV and FCEV last August.
Your guess is as good as anybody else's. At a minimum, they'll be required to meet their warranty commitments. I've seen claims that "manufacturers are required to support parts and repairs for ten years", but have not seen this claim supported by links to actual law. As with lemon laws, it might be state-specific, but I do not know.
Most likely pretty much the same thing that happens to every car that ends production, although the lower volume of Clarity may affect things somewhat.
Parts - they will still be available through Honda for several years, I think I read on average car manufacturers produce parts for discontinued models for about ten years. Whatever it is it's usually longer than they legally have to, but after all they make money selling parts. As time goes on there will also be used parts, and aftermarket parts. Although at only 40,000 units I don't expect much in the way of aftermarket parts for the Clarity other than parts that are common with other Honda models.
Repairs - Clarity uses the same hybrid system as the Accord hybrid, CR-V hybrid and the Insight. Just a different sized battery and electric motor. Of course technicians don't see very many Clarities, so some repairs may take longer as they have to spend more time looking at the Honda repair documentation, or consulting with Honda, just like they do anytime they are working on a car that they are less familiar with (like say new models of anything).
Resale - Well it's more of a fluke but from what I have heard Clarity currently tops the list for used cars, mainly due to their scarcity. I do know that Clarity owners are reporting crazy offers for their cars right now. But once things settle down, who knows. A lot of that will depend on gas prices. I drove a Prius for seventeen years (not the same one) and when gas prices were low, no one asked me about my car. But whenever gas prices went up, everyone started asking me about it. This is the first gas price runup since I have owned my Clarity, and yep now people are suddenly asking me questions about my car.
Kind of like fifteen years ago, when I had solar PV and batteries on my house. We had an extended outage of 24 hours, before a utility generator semi was deployed. I noticed a group of five or six neighbors gathered in the street, and I did my normal exit through the big automatic garage door, to join them. I was going to ask what was going on, and then I noticed their mouths agape. At that point, I didn't even realize that the grid had been down for over an hour. (Notifications were a future feature.) Of course, the conversation was all about my system, after that. To a man (we were all dudes), they said they were going to get a setup like mine.
None ever did.
I've found that the vast majority of humans don't look beyond today for their needs, even when they have the luxury of doing so. One of my favorite sayings is "people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan".
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^^^^ 1000% true.
My 2018 Clarity just came off lease maturity and when I bought out the car from HFS at the agreed upon closed end lease value (RV) of $14,100, my bank said the car is valued at $27,600 according to their valuation - which was stunning because I was tracking the used car market before the pandemic and it was depreciating very quickly and lining up to the $14K mark.
However the shortage of cars the past year, it has been rising steadily which is unheard of for a depreciating asset.
Bank rep tried to convince me take out $10K cash on top of the buyout price and said I should take the cash for the holidays, vacation, home improvement, etc...
That's how crazy the used car market is = hyperinflated.
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268 Posts
A very good friend of mine told me yesterday (Christmas) that he is going to buy a 2018 Clarity from a neighbor that was coming off the lease. The price they agreed to is $21,000 (34,000 miles). He is going to use it as an around town vehicle (SUV is for longer distances). I told him he would love the car as an electric vehicle. I am going to help him extend his dryer plug in conduit from the back of his garage to a more appropriate place on the wall close to the charge port. He has to buy the level 2 (32A) EVSE.
Given that it's probably a 30A (max) dryer circuit, that 32A EVSE is asking for trouble, unless it's got an adjustable output. I hope he understands that the EVSE should only pull 24A from the dryer circuit to meet safety and NEC 80% requirements. 80% of 30A (the typical dryer circuit) is 24A.
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268 Posts
Yeah, that would require him to stick with an 16A EVSE, but it's not going to be a problem. The outlet is only 8ft from the breaker box which is on the garage wall as it is. really only need the space in the box as he doesn't have any open slots. Easy enough to change the breaker to a 40A and run 8ga wiring to the new position in the garage.
I had a similar problem with my garage, but the underground wire coming from the house was only 40A max and a 32A EVSE would have taken all of the available current (leaving the remaining 8A for overhead). I found a 24A (30A circuit) EVSE from ClipperCreek and it’s working well for me. To me it made more sense than digging a new trench and my car charges reasonably fast - 3h for a full charge on the Clarity. It sounds like you have the option to run a new wire, but a 24A EVSE, rather than only 16A, would be another option.
As mentioned above, a dryer plug is usually only 30A and should handle at most a 24A EVSE. You could, of course, use a different plug that would handle more amperage but then you need a larger breaker, wire, etc. The 40A breaker should do the trick for a 32A EVSE, but then you shouldn’t use a dryer plug - others on this forum may know more.
As mentioned above, a dryer plug is usually only 30A and should handle at most a 24A EVSE. You could, of course, use a different plug that would handle more amperage but then you need a larger breaker, wire, etc. The 40A breaker should do the trick for a 32A EVSE, but then you shouldn’t use a dryer plug - others on this forum may know more.
I love my Clarity. Just installed an ICE hour meter. Sorry to hear about the stop but if I can get parts and service for ten years then no prob. Love not buying gas as I only drive it locally. Great car!!!🚘
Just as a side point, I have a Siemens Versicharge EVSE and you can configure it by adjusting a switch inside for 6, 7.5, 15, 22.5, and 30 amp charging.
I've used nothing but Versicharges for about ten years of EV and PHEV charging. I bought three of them, when they were on sale at Costco for $199 many years ago. It was a killer deal, at the time, as many legit competitors were over $400. One services the interior of the garage (half way down the wall). Another services the driveway (mounted right next to the big garage door), and the third sits in its box as a spare. I've also got both phases of 120V AC next to the garage door for additional vehicles to charge at 240V 16A, with an adapter. I've got several friends and relatives with EVs and PHEVs, so they come in very handy.
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