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Honda · NHTSA safety record

2019 Honda Clarity Plug-IN Hybrid

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

42

Complaints

2

Crashes

0

Fires

3

Injuries

1

Deaths

Owners of the 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-IN Hybrid have filed 42 safety complaints with NHTSA between April 2019 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 10 of them (24%). The typical failure was reported at 8,740 miles, the median across the 19 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Complaints fell 33% year on year: 6 in the twelve months to 2026-Q1, against 9 in the twelve before.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

23V858000 · December 18, 2023

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2013-2023 Honda Accord, Civic Coupe, Civic Sedan, Civic Hatchback, Civic Type R, CR-V, HR-V, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Acura ILX, MDX, MDX Hybrid, RDX, RLX, TLX, 2019-2022 Honda Insight, Passport, 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 2018-2019 Honda Clarity PHEV, Fit, and 2015-2020 Honda Accord Hybrid, Pilot, Acura NSX vehicles. The fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
The risk
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed September 6, 2024. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are KGC and KGD. This recall is an expansion of NHTSA recall numbers 21V-215 and 20V-314.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 2,490,460 vehicles across all model years covered

SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER

20V326000 · June 4, 2020

The defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2019 Clarity Fuel Cell, Clarity Electric, and Clarity Plug-in Hybrid vehicles with rear seat belt assemblies with a dual-mode locking mechanism. The seat belt webbing sensor locking mechanism may not lock as intended.
The risk
In the event of a crash, the seat belt may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear seat belt assembly production dates, and replace the assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 24, 2020. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is Z7L.

Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) · up to 128 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Pedestrian alert sounds

DP22005

Closed defect petition · opened January 27, 2023 · closed August 7, 2023 · led to recall 22V063000

the electrical system

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.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 42.

ENGINE 10 24%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 21%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 17%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 17%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 14%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 5 12%
POWER TRAIN 4 10%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 7%
AIR BAGS 2 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 5%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 5%
LANE DEPARTURE 2 5%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 10.

2019 2024 2026
2019 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 death · 3 injured · crash · towed

I was rear ended on the freeway that l caused my car to hit a guard rail, head on. I remember getting rear ended and then blacked out on hitting the guard rail. I then had chest pain. My driver's side airbags deployed with the driver's side front foot area airbags deploying. The airbags on the steering wheel did not deploy. There's a dash cam footage of this below that shows my car hitting head on with the guard rail at 31mph. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11752625. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 5 miles

MONDAY SEP 7, 2020 AROUND 11:20 AM UNINTENDED ACCELERATION MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE CAR AND IN PROCESS TO PARK IN OUR HOUSE GARAGE. WHEN SHE GOT ON THE DRIVE WAY, SHE PRESSED THE BRAKE AND STOPPED IN FRONT OF THE GARAGE DOOR TO OPEN IT. THEN RELEASED THE BRAKE AND THE CAR MOVE FORWARD SLOWLY, WITHOUT PRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WITH HER FOOT STILL OVER THE BRAKE PEDAL, SHE THEN GENTLY PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL IN ORDER TO STOP, THEN THE CAR IMMEDIATELY START TO ACCELERATE AND HIT THE GARAGE WALL THEN STOP. SHE HAVE BEEN PARKING THE CAR IN THE GARAGE EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR AND NEVER HAVE THIS HAPPENED.

NHTSA complaint 11353760. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My 2019 Honda Clarity has had a hybrid battery failure that triggers “Check Engine” and “Power System” warnings, making the vehicle unsafe and unreliable to drive. I brought the car to Norm Reeves Honda Cerritos on 12/29/2025, and the battery—still under warranty—has been on backorder for over 6 months with no repair completed. The dealer repeatedly requested new diagnostic readings but has not fixed the issue. I have asked for a loaner due to safety concerns, but none has been provided. The ongoing delay leaves me with a vehicle that cannot operate safely, and Honda has not offered a timely resolution. Despite ongoing communication with American Honda Automobile Customer Service and Norm

NHTSA complaint 11746360, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Currently the high voltage inverter is squealing, it is currently at the dealership. They have verified it is the inverter that is malfunctioning but they will not warrenty the repair because they are saying it needs to completely fail and throw a code. This is the right time to fix it prior to catastrophic failure, can you please help.

NHTSA complaint 11740506. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am writing to report an unresolved high-voltage safety defect involving the Motor Power Inverter Module on my 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The vehicle's high-voltage hybrid propulsion inverter is emitting a severe, high-pitched mechanical squealing noise during acceleration and regenerative braking.The high-voltage inverter serves as the foundational link regulating current between the lithium-ion battery and the electric drive motor. A failing inverter module presents an immediate, unreasonable safety hazard. Internal failure, thermal runaway, or component degradation within the inverter stack creates an imminent risk of sudden high-voltage isolation fault. This will result in an

NHTSA complaint 11740510, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

44,000 miles

The contact owns a 2019 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact stated that the BRAKE Hold system, hill start assist, collision mitigation system, VSA, and the electric parking brake warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a safe location and turned off. The vehicle was restarted. Additionally, the warning lights were no longer illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while it was cold, and the temperature was below zero degrees. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with an electric

NHTSA complaint 11723571, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Took my car in due to the AC not working. We were told that AC Condenser and AC evaporator was broken. The AC condenser was replaced due to a recall and was placed under warranty a few years ago. Honda, indicated that AC Condenser was still under Warrenty, but the AC Evaporator is not. When it was explained to us at Honda Dealership in Dublin, CA. That the two parts go hand in hand, and that they would not be able to replace the AC Condenser until the AC Evaporator was replaced. As Honda requires a “pass” reading. The repair man at Honda also indicated that with AC Evaporator being broken imposes health risks such as breathing issues, dizziness, exposure to mildew and bacteria, as we were

NHTSA complaint 11688006, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Honda Clarity Plug-IN Hybrid

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2018 134 1

Other 2019 Honda models

Every Honda on this site — 187 vehicles, 362 recall campaigns and 10 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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