Honda Clarity Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

While driving on freeway traffic in front of Clarity began to slow down. In reaction to this brakes were mildly applied, nothing aggressive, and the car was driven towards an open off-ramp to avoid the issue in front. At this moment the car, on its own slammed on the brakes. This created a very unsafe condition and caused following drivers to swerve off the surface of the freeway to avoid a collision with rear end of Clarity. So in short a fairly routing accident avoidance maneuver was turned into a serious and dangerous situation. We are actually concerned this will happen again and lead to an accident. We know the difference between a reasonable application of the brake assist system and what happened here.

AC condenser has leak, covered by an extended warranty up to 10 years from purchase of car due issue with factory installed condenser. However, at 3 years old and 37356 miles the evaporator also has a leak. Honda will not fix condenser under warranty unless we pay $2,000 to fix the evaporator.

THIS NEW CAR, AT RELATIVELY LOW SPEEDS, LOSES POWER AS IF IT HAS STALLED OUT FOR A SHORT TIME. WHEN OCCURRING AS ONE IS MAKING A LEFT TURN, IT CAN BE QUITE DANGEROUS DUE TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I MIGHT DESCRIBE IT AS A HESITATION OF ACCELERATION BECAUSE, AS THE GAS PEDAL IS DEPRESSED, THERE IS NO RESPONSE FROM THE ENGINE. IT APPEARS TO OCCUR MORE FREQUENTLY AS THE CAR IS TURNING.

Received multiple warning alerts that adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, and Lane Departure/Keeping were not working while driving car. Took car to Honda dealership for repair and was told that this was a "DTC U3000-49" multipurpose camera unit failure. The component was only inspected by the Honda dealership. There were no warning indications prior to the failure warning lights.

THE ENGINE REVS A LOT WHEN BATTERY CHARGE IS LOW THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISION GETS VERY LOUD CAR HAS ONLY 500 MILES AND IS DOING IT CONSTANT

Component/System that Failed: The air conditioning system in my 2021 Honda Clarity Touring Plug-in Hybrid has failed — specifically, the AC evaporator, which no longer allows the car to blow out cool air. The part is still in the vehicle and is available for inspection upon request. How Safety Was Put at Risk: What began as an inconvenience has turned into a real concern for the safety of my family and me. Without functioning air conditioning, my visibility becomes dangerously impaired when trying to defog the windshield, especially in humid or cool conditions. More alarmingly, we live in an area where summer temperatures can soar, and driving without AC quickly turns our vehicle into an unsafe environment — especially for children, elderly passengers, or anyone prone to heat-related issues. It’s frustrating and disappointing to face this kind of failure in a relatively new vehicle. A basic function like air conditioning should not carry a $2,800 repair bill just to keep your family safe and comfortable — yet here we are. Reproduction/Confirmation of the Issue: The issue has been confirmed by an authorized Honda dealership, which diagnosed the failed evaporator and quoted nearly $2,800 for repair, the majority of which is due to labor involved in reaching the part. Inspection History: The vehicle has been inspected by the dealership, and I also contacted American Honda to request assistance. They offered to cover only part of the repair, but to me, this feels insufficient given the scope of the issue and how many other owners have experienced the same thing. It feels less like a maintenance issue and more like a manufacturing flaw. Warning Signs or Symptoms: There were no warning lights or system alerts prior to failure. The AC simply began losing effectiveness and then completely stopped blowing cool air. There were no obvious indicators that the evaporator was failing until the system had already become unusable.

Received multiple warning alerts that adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, and Lane Departure/Keeping were not working while driving car. Took car to Honda dealership for repair and was told that this was a "DTC U3000-49" multipurpose camera unit failure. The component was only inspected by the Honda dealership. There were no warning indications prior to the failure warning lights.

THE ENGINE REVS A LOT WHEN BATTERY CHARGE IS LOW THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISION GETS VERY LOUD CAR HAS ONLY 500 MILES AND IS DOING IT CONSTANT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 HONDA CLARITY FUEL CELL. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE FUEL SYSTEM INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DUBLIN HONDA (877-418-8323, LOCATED AT 6300 DUBLIN BLVD, DUBLIN, CA 94568), BUT THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE A HYDROGEN VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INSTRUCTED THE DUBLIN DEALER TO SHIP THE VEHICLE TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER IN LOS ANGELES, CA WHERE THE HYDROGEN FUEL TANK WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AND RETURNED TO THE CONTACT. ADDITIONALLY, THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V315000 (EQUIPMENT). THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE SAME DUBLIN HONDA DEALER WHERE THE WATER PUMP WAS REPLACED. LATER, WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE CHECK POWER SYSTEM INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE SAME DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL STACK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 10,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 HONDA CLARITY FUEL CELL. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V315000 (EQUIPMENT) AND STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. KEN HARVEY'S DUBLIN HONDA (6300 DUBLIN BLVD, DUBLIN, CA 94568) CONFIRMED PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

THE CAR WAS PARKED FOR ABOUT 10 MINS. RETURN TO CAR AND START IT. THE 'POWER MANAGEMENT' WARNING DISPLAYED. FOLLOWING WITH BRAKE SYSTEM, TPMS, ELECTRIC POWER STEERING, AND RDM INOPERATE MESSAGE SHOW UP. CAR COULD NOT START UP.

AFTER CAR WAS CHARGED OVERNIGHT, WHILE DRIVING ON FREEWAY YELLOW WARNING LIGHT AND MESSAGE INDICATED CAR SHOULD BE TAKEN IN FOR SERVICE, AND A WARNING LIGHT THAT BATTERY WAS LOW AND WOULD TRANSITION TO LOW POWER MODE. THIS INFORMATION WAS IN CONFLICT WITH THE CHARGE INDICATOR WHICH ADVISED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD A DRIVABLE RANGE OF APPROXIMATELY 75 MILES. WHILE MANEUVERING OFF THE FREEWAY ALL POWER SYSTEMS ON THE VEHICLE FAILED. THIS WAS ON A DOWNWARD-SLOPING OFFRAMP WHERE THE FAILURE OF THE POWER ASSIST BRAKES AND STEERING MADE IT DIFFICULT TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO DEALER 21 DAYS AGO WITH 111 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. AS OF TODAY (12/5/2017), DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE.