2018 Honda Clarity Electric

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matter described in the petition. On June 24, 2023 and as supplemented on June 25, 2023, the petitioner notified NHTSA he was withdrawing his petition. The petitioner indicated that, based on his review of data, there is no justification for asserting potential benefits that could be derived from actions sought by my petition. Based on the petitioner's withdrawal, DP22-005 is closed. Closure of this DP does not represent a determination by NHTSA regarding the subject matter of the petition.

The vehicle exhibits a dangerous electrical defect involving uncontrolled power-cycling. After shutting down the car, it automatically restarts itself in a continuous loop. During these episodes, the dashboard flickers, the drivetrain shudders, and the vehicle becomes unresponsive to manual 'Stop' button or brake inputs. Most critically, the car autostarts while parked in an enclosed garage. As a Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), once the EV battery depletes, the internal combustion engine (ICE) engages automatically. This creates a life-threatening risk of Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning for residents in the connected home. A Honda dealership has professionally diagnosed the cause as a failure of the Body Control Module (BCM). This module failure also causes the anti-theft alarm to trigger uncontrollably and renders the keyless entry system inoperable. This defect turned the vehicle into a life-safety hazard in a residential setting. Visual documentation of the uncontrolled power-cycling and dashboard flickering can be viewed at: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11708588

Incident

Dec 12, 2025

Since last Wed. (9/24/2025), the car started to show the warnings of "Adaptive Cruise Control Problem", "Brake Hold System Problem", "Brake System Problem", "Electric Parking Brake Problem", and "Road Departure Mitigation System Problem" from time to time. I bought this VHonda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid 2018 in June 2023 as the HoneTrue Certified. Then probably the same time, the car lose the EV mode by itself, and only drives in the gas mode. I found this issue and late manually changed it to EV mode. WHile then it again dropped the EV mode during the driving today (9/28/2025). When I tried to press the EV button, it shows "Drive Mode Change Unavailable"! After stopped at home, I re-started the car, I can change it to EV mode.

NHTSA ID

11690222

Incident

Sep 24, 2025

The AC hasn't been out for a while and the defrost option doesn't work because of that. I believe that is a safety issue.

NHTSA ID

11687181

Incident

Mar 15, 2025

The steering makes a horrible clunking sound, and is impercice/sloppy. Dealership refused to acknowledge any issue. Increased effort required to stay within lane. Tie rods are not damaged or worn, issue appears to be with steering rack as far as I can tell.

NHTSA ID

11625285

Incident

Jul 1, 2024

I bought this car used with a governmental help from replace my ride program, since I bough the car form a dealer [XXX] ) within few days, I took it to the dealer twice for thermostat replacement and spark plugs. and recently, There was an extended warranty from Honda for the ac condenser as this car has a major problem with ac. I took it to the dealer Honda of Riverside, California and they told me, indeed your condenser needs replacement and the good news, In California, Honda has extended its warranty. Then, they said, but you need to replace your evaporator and I need to pay $2350.26 and they refused to replace the ac condenser under warranty without replacing the evaporator and paying that much of money. I called Honda for help (goodwill) and after about a month (without having my car and many emails and phone call and time and efforts) Honda final response was "sorry, you have high mileage" Case [XXX] I really need your help to protect me from them. Thank you [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11601789

Incident

May 18, 2024

AC working intermittently since the day I bought. Honda replaced the condenser but now the evaporator is leak. This caused the defrost can not work properly. The leaking condenser and the evaporator are well known problems for Clarity owners. Honda should recall this.

NHTSA ID

11595039

Incident

Mar 3, 2024

AC evaporator leaks under normal usage and low mileage.

NHTSA ID

11585619

Incident

Apr 27, 2024

The A/C isn't working (AGAIN!) this time due to a leak in the A/C evaporator. The dealership just replaced the condensor 7 mos ago and now the evaporator is bad. Honda's whole A/C seems to be a problem for everyone.

NHTSA ID

11583345

Incident

Apr 16, 2024

Service Bulletin - The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid and Clarity Electric may not start charging when plugged in or may stop charging before the high-voltage lithium-ion battery is full.

Service bulletin - The Clarity Plug-In Hybrid and Clarity Electric may not start charging when plugged in or may stop charging before the high-voltage lithium-ion battery is full.

Service bulletin - There is a software problem in the climate control unit when running the heater, which may turn the MIL on. There are up to three updates that must be performed on applicable vehicles. Check the iN VIN status inquiry for applicability.

Service bulletin - There is a software problem in the PCM, which may cause the MIL to come on with DTC P26A3 (electric water valve malfunction), DTC P100C (electric VTC motor speed signal circuit malfunction) and/or P0010 (variable valve timing control [VTC] malfunction).

Service bulletin - There is a software error in the miles per gallon calculation, which affects the HV range display by reading unusually high.

Service bulletin - During vehicle assembly, the warranty information CD that was placed in the vehicle did not list the correct warranty coverage for the state of Oregon. The failure to include the proper warranty coverage may cause confusion and potential customer dissatisfaction.