Total Complaints
9 filings
HONDA CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID · model year
9 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2020HONDACLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID carries 9 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and Not Rated/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2020 CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID is engine with 2 filings, followed by vehicle speed control (2) and unknown or other (2). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 79 investigation files overlapping the 2020 CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID, and 9 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
9 filings
Crashes Reported
3 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE | 2 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 2 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 2 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
During a U-turn, when I turned the steering wheel my vehicle suddenly accelerated unexpected. I suspect there may have been a malfunction in the vehicle's electronic control system that caused this sudden unintended acceleration. I did alert Honda North America to study the problem. On [XXX], while driving on a narrow street at a speed of less than 5 miles per hour, my vehicle suddenly accelerated as I was making a U-turn. In my nervous response, I pressed the accelerator pedal, which exacerbated the situation and caused my vehicle to hit the driveway bushes at [XXX] Fortunately, the property damage was minor, affecting only the bushes, and there were no injuries. I believe it is important to report this Sudden Unintended Acceleration problem for your file. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
During a U-turn, when I turned the steering wheel my vehicle suddenly accelerated unexpected. I suspect there may have been a malfunction in the vehicle's electronic control system that caused this sudden unintended acceleration. I did alert Honda North America to study the problem. On [XXX], while driving on a narrow street at a speed of less than 5 miles per hour, my vehicle suddenly accelerated as I was making a U-turn. In my nervous response, I pressed the accelerator pedal, which exacerbated the situation and caused my vehicle to hit the driveway bushes at [XXX] Fortunately, the property damage was minor, affecting only the bushes, and there were no injuries. I believe it is important to report this Sudden Unintended Acceleration problem for your file. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
During a U-turn, when I turned the steering wheel my vehicle suddenly accelerated unexpected. I suspect there may have been a malfunction in the vehicle's electronic control system that caused this sudden unintended acceleration. I did alert Honda North America to study the problem. On [XXX], while driving on a narrow street at a speed of less than 5 miles per hour, my vehicle suddenly accelerated as I was making a U-turn. In my nervous response, I pressed the accelerator pedal, which exacerbated the situation and caused my vehicle to hit the driveway bushes at [XXX] Fortunately, the property damage was minor, affecting only the bushes, and there were no injuries. I believe it is important to report this Sudden Unintended Acceleration problem for your file. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
A/C stopped working, so defrost is no longer working efficiently. Honda says they only cover the condenser under the extended warranty and not the evaporator and want to charge me over 2200 to repair. If they are extending A/C warranty for condenser it should cover the entire A/C system since everyone online that had an issue with the condenser eventually ends up with an evaporator issue as well and then the defrost or A/C do not work properly.
Engine RPM's rise (near red line at times) with little to no propulsion. The slang I've found used in online forums, showing that this is a common problem, is "angry bees."
Engine RPM's rise (near red line at times) with little to no propulsion. The slang I've found used in online forums, showing that this is a common problem, is "angry bees."
WHEN THE BATTERY IS LOW THE HONDA CLARITY'S RPM JUMP REALLY HIGH AND VEHICLE REVS REALLY HARD AND STARTS TO LOSE POWER. MY VEHICLE HAD TWO BATTERY BARS AND WHEN I TRIED TO CLIMB IT MOUNTAIN IT LOST SPEED. I WAS ALMOST HIT TWICE BECAUSE MY CAR KEPT LOSING SPEED AND IT WAS REVVING LIKE IT WAS STRUGGLING TO KEEP MOVING. VERY SCARY SITUATION TO BE IN WITH OTHER CARS AND LITTLE CHILDREN IN MY CAR. I HAVE A VIDEO OF THE CAR REVVING.
Mileage: 3,060
WHEN THE BATTERY IS LOW THE HONDA CLARITY'S RPM JUMP REALLY HIGH AND VEHICLE REVS REALLY HARD AND STARTS TO LOSE POWER. MY VEHICLE HAD TWO BATTERY BARS AND WHEN I TRIED TO CLIMB IT MOUNTAIN IT LOST SPEED. I WAS ALMOST HIT TWICE BECAUSE MY CAR KEPT LOSING SPEED AND IT WAS REVVING LIKE IT WAS STRUGGLING TO KEEP MOVING. VERY SCARY SITUATION TO BE IN WITH OTHER CARS AND LITTLE CHILDREN IN MY CAR. I HAVE A VIDEO OF THE CAR REVVING.
Mileage: 3,060
WHEN THE BATTERY IS LOW THE HONDA CLARITY'S RPM JUMP REALLY HIGH AND VEHICLE REVS REALLY HARD AND STARTS TO LOSE POWER. MY VEHICLE HAD TWO BATTERY BARS AND WHEN I TRIED TO CLIMB IT MOUNTAIN IT LOST SPEED. I WAS ALMOST HIT TWICE BECAUSE MY CAR KEPT LOSING SPEED AND IT WAS REVVING LIKE IT WAS STRUGGLING TO KEEP MOVING. VERY SCARY SITUATION TO BE IN WITH OTHER CARS AND LITTLE CHILDREN IN MY CAR. I HAVE A VIDEO OF THE CAR REVVING.
Mileage: 3,060
Inadvertent Deployment of Air Bags
Inaccurate Rear Passenger Seat Belt Warning Status
Loss of Motive Power
Inadvertent Deployment of Side Air Bags
Loss of braking force
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2020 HONDA CLARITY PLUG-IN HYBRID; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.