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Electrical systemPart report

2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid Electrical system Problems

Complaints
20about this part
Share
15%of 137 total for the year
Median mileage
1,100miles
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 20 complaints about the electrical system of the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid, 15% of the 137 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 1,100 miles.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“Twice I experienced extreme high revs (like the car was in neutral and you have the pedal to the metal)with absolute loss of power and speed down to 30 MPH first time on freeway & 10 MPH second time on highway. Happened twice when battery was low (each time battery display actually went down to 1 bar which I've been told by dealer that it is impossible to go below 2 bars when hv kicks in) and on slight incline. Super scary dangerous, family screaming of fear inside vehicle)! …”

NHTSA complaint #11132244, filed 2018-09, 200 miles

“3 days after purchase I was driving on an interstate when the car suddenly lost all power. I managed to pull to a slow lane but the lack of power continued for another 5 minutes. It had been running on battery just prior and I had 2 bars of power left. The outside temperature was about 15 degrees. The internal cobustion engine began to race but only began to give adequate power to the wheels after 5 minutes. A terrifying experience. Honda checked out the car and said nothing was wrong. I am hearing of other cases being reported like mine.”

NHTSA complaint #11181572, filed 2019-02, 100 miles

“Car revs up when driving down the highway but drops speed to 10mph. It has done this 2 times once in town and once on us 23 while driving 70mph. Their are several complaints about the car doing the same thing to other clarity owners and this is a highly dangerous situation that Honda should take care of! Reineke Honda in findlay ohio had my car for about 3 weeks and while test driving it the car did the same thing for the service manager mike stevens. They took a control box off a brand new clarity per Honda's suggestion and I am driving the car and had no new problems so far. …”

NHTSA complaint #11182295, filed 2019-02, 12,000 miles

“Plug-in charging system problem. Range limited. This problem is frequent (4 out of 5 times) when charging the vehicle at level 2 charging stations. Out of 10 cars charging, mine is the only one having this issue, including another 2018 Honda clarity.”

NHTSA complaint #11119885, filed 2018-08, 574 miles

“On the dash is the entertainment system tablet-like touchscreen. All professional Honda reviewers know this issue and even Honda themselves have fixed the new entertainment tablet shortfalls but this car is still being sold today with this harmful system. The infotainment system controls both the rear-veiw camera and the blind-spot monitor on the side veiw. Because the system is buggy, and laggy, sometimes the camera will freeze an image on the screen. …”

NHTSA complaint #11139244, filed 2018-10, 1,100 miles

Related service bulletins

Electrical system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2020338%
2019717%
20182015%

Other parts of the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid

Fuel system
38 complaintsEngine
25 complaintsOther or unknown
20 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
19 complaintsForward collision avoidance
15 complaintsVehicle speed control
12 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
11 complaintsBrakes
10 complaintsExterior lighting
10 complaintsLane departure
10 complaintsAir bags
3 complaintsSeat belts
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology