Australians down under

AndyInOz said:

I've heard of Australian owners replacing the plug on their chargers with 10 amp plugs, because the unit never draws 15 amps.

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The other option, which I use, is this https://www.jaycar.com.au/portable-rcd-with-15a-to-10a-mains-plug-conversion/p/MS4044 Jaycar (or similar) 15A to 10A converter which includes a 10A breaker to ensure that the current always remains under 10A.

Yes well it seems to take 5 hours to charge up with the 8amp charger I have. I have a feeling its not the stock charger for the Outlander but is a charger used for the iMIEV. Anyway it works and as you said I dont need to wire up for 15amp which was going to cost me $200. I have solar panels on the house with 4kw surplus on a nice day so that will be charging the car up for free!

Loving the car, drove 42km to our airport and back with not one drop of petrol and at 105km/h (except up hill).

Hoppy said:

Yes well it seems to take 5 hours to charge up with the 8amp charger I have. I have a feeling its not the stock charger for the Outlander but is a charger used for the iMIEV. Anyway it works and as you said I dont need to wire up for 15amp which was going to cost me $200. I have solar panels on the house with 4kw surplus on a nice day so that will be charging the car up for free!

Loving the car, drove 42km to our airport and back with not one drop of petrol and at 105km/h (except up hill).

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Mitsubishi initially supplied a charging lead with a 15A plug, the charger actually only draws 10A max. Later they decided to provide a lead with a standard 10A plug, this one will charge at 8A maximum.

If you have the car with the 15A plug on the charger (like me), the easiest thing to do is just cut the earth pin down to size. All you need is a hacksaw and a marker pen. Get a standard 10A plug so you can get a gauge for the size, mark this on the 15A earth pin and cut with hacksaw. Of course Mitsubishi isn't going to recommend this, however for all intents and purposes you're just turning it into the 10A plug which should have been on there in the first place.

On another note, (sorry if mentioned elsewhere) it looks like the 2017 PHEV is being released in Australia. You can register your interest on the Mitsubishi website. Not sure I see the need to upgrade though.

sawman82 said:

If you have the car with the 15A plug on the charger (like me), the easiest thing to do is just cut the earth pin down to size.

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Be careful, modifying your charger could give Mitsubishi a chance refuse a warranty claim.
There are many threads about these chargers failing and requiring replacement under warranty.

When I bought my 2015 PHEV a few weeks back the dealer had a cheat sheet on the differences with the new 2017 version compared to the old and apart from the sound system there wasnt much difference.

One Q, if I am in D (Drive) and apply the paddle braking it switches the mode to B (Brake) and so do folks here then flick it back to D when finished with the downhill bits? Or is B with braking set to 0 or 1, the same as D anyway?

Hoppy said:

One Q, if I am in D (Drive) and apply the paddle braking it switches the mode to B (Brake) and so do folks here then flick it back to D when finished with the downhill bits? Or is B with braking set to 0 or 1, the same as D anyway?

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D is the same as B2, so once you've flicked the paddles, you can either push the 'gearstick' back to D or use the paddles to return to B2 if you prefer - it's the same thing. Slightly annoyingly, once you go into Neutral or Park, you then have to go back to D(rive) (=B2!), it won't 'remember' any B setting you were on previously.

Hoppy said:

differences with the new 2017 version compared to the old and apart from the sound system there wasnt much difference.

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The biggest difference with the MY17 would arguably be the "EV mode" switch which disables the ICE from starting up under hard acceleration. There is a "PHEV box" available from Europe which does pretty much the same thing however most people just get used to not flooring it. Other differences are the lane assist function (LDW) and blind spot warnings.
Here is the full list - http://imgur.com/a/ABkmB

Regarding the regen paddles, you can think of these as adjusting the "zero point" of the accelerator. If you look at the power gauge on your dash, B0 represents a "zero point" between Eco and Charge on the dial. If you set B1-B5 that "zero point" moves further into the blue Charge zone, however EXACTLY the same thing happens when you press the brake pedal without adjusting that "zero point". This is often confusing for new owners who think the regen paddles do something more than just change the "zero point" and speculate that it greatly effects fuel economy. The only reason the paddles may effect fuel economy is that on say B5, any variation in the accelerator to maintain a constant speed causes cycling between using and reclaiming power which isn't a 100% efficient process. Whereas B0 or "hypermiling" (freewheeling) uses almost no power (only about 1kW to give the e-motors no "drag"). I use B5 in busy traffic as it saves hopping between accelerator and brake, and B0 when there is a clear road ahead.

zzcoopej said:

...

Regarding the regen paddles, you can think of these as adjusting the "zero point" of the accelerator. If you look at the power gauge on your dash, B0 represents a "zero point" between Eco and Charge on the dial. If you set B1-B5 that "zero point" moves further into the blue Charge zone, however EXACTLY the same thing happens when you press the brake pedal without adjusting that "zero point". This is often confusing for new owners who think the regen paddles do something more than just change the "zero point" ....

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I would agree with that - with one small but potentially important addition. The "B" setting defines the maximum braking effort that the car will apply to control speed in Cruise Control and Speed Limiter modes. I drive on Speed Limiter a lot (protecting my licence having already had an official warning last year) and have a long and relatively steep down-hill into our home town. If I have the car in the "D" setting as I descend this hill, it will exceed the speed limit (with a speed camera half way down!) - I flip up to B5 and my speed is fully controlled all the way down. Same applies to Cruise Control (but probably not to ACC).

The "new" 2017 model looks like it may well have the ChaDeMo socket and I have read that the local dealers are still pushing for a 1500 Watt 240V outlet to enable powering of whatever you fancy!! The beauty of the ChaDeMo is that it will simplify hackers manipulating this vehicle to plug into your house....which is what I want to do. Why buy a Tesla Power Wall when I have one in my car!!

Hoppy said:

When I bought my 2015 PHEV a few weeks back the dealer had a cheat sheet on the differences with the new 2017 version compared to the old and apart from the sound system there wasnt much difference.

One Q, if I am in D (Drive) and apply the paddle braking it switches the mode to B (Brake) and so do folks here then flick it back to D when finished with the downhill bits? Or is B with braking set to 0 or 1, the same as D anyway?

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Hold the right paddle back for a second or 2 and it goes back to D.
I prefer to drive using the paddles to slow and then go back to D0, especially when on the open road. Less E braking (or any form of braking) equals better economy. Applying the foot brake gently is going to use regen anyway.

When I'm driving in heavy traffic, I leave the car in B5.

For me, this means that I hardly ever have to brake as the traffic stops and starts.

I particularly like the car's creep function in these circumstances too.

You can silently ooze along as people shuffle into place at the traffic lights.

(Like a giant, metallic blue slug.)

:lol:

OK so next Ozzie specific Q is how to defeat bulldust. My last 4wd had a square rear like a Patrol or Landcruiser and didnt retain dust. But this Outlander rear seems to attract dust. I drove only 5km on a dirt road and it looks like Ive driven around the outback for a month. Has anyone added a spoiler or any other trick to kep the dust off the rear window and boot lid and side skirting boards and side rear quarters?

Product Recall – Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd — 14 -14.5MY ZJ Outlander PHEV

Identifying features

VIN JMFXDGG2WEZ000101 ~ JMFXDGG2WEZ002023

Coppied from whirlpool forum

What are the defects?

Due to improper engine software, EV software and spark plug specification, the petrol engine may shut down unexpectedly. This will limit the vehicle to EV drive mode only, with no electric charge by the engine.

What are the hazards?

The EV battery may discharge resulting in lack of power and risk of an accident.

What should consumers do?

Mitsubishi Motors Australia will contact all known owners by mail and advise them to present their vehicle to their preferred dealer to have the vehicle rectified with revised software and spark plugs.

https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/mitsubishi-motors-australia-ltd-14-145my-zj-outlander-phev

g'day

so, i'm looking for a car, and have stumbled across outlander PHEV....i'm not really wanting to spend 50k, but a couple of second hand vehicles at around 30k seem quite attractive. I have a few questions though...
anywhere i can find a summary of the differences between the various years (14-15-16-17 i think?) - and are the changes worth the extra?
most of my travelling is short, suburban (school, shopping etc) with a few longer cross-city trips every month, plus occasional longer trips (say, 150-300k). I think this seems to be a good fit to the PHEV - can anyone confirm this?
is there anything specific i should know or consider, looking at a second hand, or even new, PHEV?

I'm in Melbourne.

appreciate any comments...

russ

russ said:

anywhere i can find a summary of the differences between the various years (14-15-16-17 i think?) - and are the changes worth the extra?

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Here in Oz there are only really 2 options, the MY14 and MY17. There were a couple of MY16 brought in but never sold new to the public so you are not likely to see any MY16.
The big enhancement of the MY17 is the EV button which stops the ICE starting under more acceleration. You do get used to it in MY14, and can also get an aftermarket box called PHEVbox which does the same thing. Other enhancements of MY17 are more "assist" functions, surround cameras, pushbutton handbrake from the top of my head. Comparison lists have been published "somewhere".

russ said:

most of my travelling is short, suburban (school, shopping etc) with a few longer cross-city trips every month, plus occasional longer trips (say, 150-300k). I think this seems to be a good fit to the PHEV - can anyone confirm this?

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If a large chunk of your driving is <50km then the PHEV is perfect. We have driven 26Kkm which includes 3 trips holiday trips of 2500km each and our all time fuel use is currently sitting at 3.5L/100km.

russ said:

is there anything specific i should know or consider, looking at a second hand, or even new, PHEV?

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Its worth looking at the battery condition if you have a couple of PHEV to choose from. The dashboard has estimated range however this can be misleading due to heater use etc.

russ said:

I'm in Melbourne.

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We won't hold that against you, however stop sending your rain up to Sydney, ok?

Thanks for responding, and apologies for the late reply.. A couple of domestic issues intervened.
Next step will be to have a drive I guess.


-Russell

Regarding this recall I went to my local dealer and they said not to book it in as there has been a recall on the recall. Anyone actually had the recall work (new spark plugs and SW upgrade) done?

mutt said:

Product Recall – Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd — 14 -14.5MY ZJ Outlander PHEV

Identifying features

VIN JMFXDGG2WEZ000101 ~ JMFXDGG2WEZ002023

Coppied from whirlpool forum

What are the defects?

Due to improper engine software, EV software and spark plug specification, the petrol engine may shut down unexpectedly. This will limit the vehicle to EV drive mode only, with no electric charge by the engine.

What are the hazards?

The EV battery may discharge resulting in lack of power and risk of an accident.

What should consumers do?

Mitsubishi Motors Australia will contact all known owners by mail and advise them to present their vehicle to their preferred dealer to have the vehicle rectified with revised software and spark plugs.

https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/mitsubishi-motors-australia-ltd-14-145my-zj-outlander-phev

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Russ
I did the same and bought a 2 YO Aspire and am loving it after 4 months or so. Most of my trips are 40km return so no fuel. And Im using surplus power from my house roof top solar panels to charge. Im in Hobart and am finding with winter the engine goes for the first minute or two till cabin temperature is up. And the heated seats are nice.

russ said:

Thanks for responding, and apologies for the late reply.. A couple of domestic issues intervened.
Next step will be to have a drive I guess.


-Russell

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Yes I have had the recall service done.