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2017 Honda Clarity

ElectricHydrogen fuel cell

Midsize Cars
2 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11

Safety Signal

81 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns3

Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA5

Crash ratingNHTSA overall—

EV rangebest configuration, EPA89 mi

Fuel economybest combined, EPA68 mpg

2021 2020 2019 2018 2017

The 2017 Honda Clarity is sold in the U.S. as a electric and hydrogen fuel cell midsize car with 2 EPA-rated configurations. Its longest-range version, the Clarity EV, is EPA-rated at 89 miles with 114 MPGe combined efficiency. NHTSA lists 3 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 5 complaints, most often about the electrical system.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Range	kWh/100mi	Charge (240V)	Annual fuel*
Clarity EV	Electric	FWD	120 kW AC PMSM	126	103	114 MPGe	89 mi	30	4 h	$700
Clarity FCV	Hydrogen fuel cell	FWD	130 kW AC PMSM	69	67	68	—	—	—	—

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 39191, 47526.

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Recalls (3)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Equipment

N5H

1,082 vehicles

ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Clarity Fuel Cell vehicles. Internal components may corrode and cause the water pump to fail.RiskA failure of the water pump can cause the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of crash.FixHonda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the water pump, free of charge. The recall began June 10, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is L4N.

NHTSA campaign 19V315000reported Apr 18, 2019Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

▲high

Hybrid Propulsion System

A3O

1,082 vehicles

ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Clarity Fuel Cell vehicles previously repaired under recall 18V-068. The previous software remedy may have been incomplete. As a result, the fuel cell control unit (FC-ECU) may misinterpret a small cell voltage drop, causing the vehicle to have a partial or complete loss of power.RiskA loss of power can increase the risk of a crash.FixHonda has notified owners, and dealers will update the FC-ECU software, free of charge. The recall began February 14, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is A3O.

NHTSA campaign 18V921000reported Dec 20, 2018Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

○minor

Electrical System

R0L

471 vehicles

ProblemHonda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2017 Clarity Fuel Cell vehicles. The fuel cell control unit (FC-ECU) may misinterpret a small cell voltage drop, causing the vehicle to have reduced, or a complete loss of, power.RiskA loss of power can increase the risk of a crash.FixHonda will notify owners, and dealers will install a software update, free of charge. The recall began February 28, 2018. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is R0L.

NHTSA campaign 18V068000reported Jan 25, 2018Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

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 matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

5complaints filed

0 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 0 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2017: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 2

Most-cited components

Electrical System2

Steering2

Equipment2

Service Brakes1

Electronic Stability Control (Esc)1

Fuel/Propulsion System1

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Other Clarity model years

2021 Honda Clarity

0 recalls · 4 complaints

2020 Honda Clarity

0 recalls · 10 complaints

2019 Honda Clarity

2 recalls · 45 complaints

2018 Honda Clarity

3 recalls · 160 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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