Pre-Heating while plugged in during extreme cold (2023 PHEV)

[mmbart]

I recently bought a 2023 Outlander PHEV SEL. I live in a very cold climate (Saskatchewan, Canada) earlier in the month, nights would be below -20C (and -40C mid-winter is typical, but I did not have the PHEV at that time). I’ve found when the vehicle is plugged in it does not adequately heat the cabin when turning on climate via the app. I have the temp set to HI and have tried running the heat for up to an hour and the cabin is still cold and it feels like cool air is blowing through the vents (I get notified when it auto shuts off and will restart the climate whenever that happens). Has anyone else experienced this? Any tips on how to get proper pre-heat while plugged in at -20C or lower? The vehicle warms up fine when the ICE is running. At temps around -10C or above the cabin heats up as expected when plugged I or driving in EV mode.
I have a few guesses/ideas now that I am more familiar with the vehicle, but the weather is much warmer now so I will not be able to test until next winter:
1) I’m plugged into a standard 120V outlet, is it possible there is not enough power to charge the battery and heat the cabin? I have not noticed if it will heat normally with a fully charged battery.
2) If I dial down the heat setting to 15C rather than “HI” maybe the power draw will be low enough heat the cabin (again, I have not tried this at low temps).
3) At these temps all available power from the 120V source is being used to obtain/maintain optimal battery operating temp, thus no additional power for cabin heating (possibly similar solution as line 2).
4) Test my theories above at a level 2 charger in during cold weather.
If anyone has other ideas or conclusions? I’d love to hear them, I’ll follow up next winter with what I find out.

 

[AndyInOz]

Hi there,

I note that many users have had issues with the heater not working at all.

So... the first thing for you to check is if the heater works.

On my model, the heater will discharge the drive battery to run the heating if the car is not plugged in.

That suggests that the available power from your external charger should not be an issue.

Unfortunately, I have no way of checking if yours is the same.

However, if your battery is too cold to provide any power, that could account for an electric heater not being able to run.

Please note that my model, I have a separate electric heater which allows/supports running the heating on timer.

If you establish that your heater is working, that will help you check where things are going wrong.

Similarly, if heating via timer starts working as weather warms up, that could point the finger at cold battery temperatures being the culprit.

BTW. I've known of people from cold climates who had a separate heating pad (a thing they park over in the garage) to keep their diesel vehicles operative in winter, it's possible that Outlander PHEVs may need similar treatment.

 

[Lon12]

I recently bought a 2023 Outlander PHEV SEL. I live in a very cold climate (Saskatchewan, Canada) earlier in the month, nights would be below -20C (and -40C mid-winter is typical, but I did not have the PHEV at that time). I’ve found when the vehicle is plugged in it does not adequately heat the cabin when turning on climate via the app. I have the temp set to HI and have tried running the heat for up to an hour and the cabin is still cold and it feels like cool air is blowing through the vents (I get notified when it auto shuts off and will restart the climate whenever that happens). Has anyone else experienced this? Any tips on how to get proper pre-heat while plugged in at -20C or lower? The vehicle warms up fine when the ICE is running. At temps around -10C or above the cabin heats up as expected when plugged I or driving in EV mode.
I have a few guesses/ideas now that I am more familiar with the vehicle, but the weather is much warmer now so I will not be able to test until next winter:
1) I’m plugged into a standard 120V outlet, is it possible there is not enough power to charge the battery and heat the cabin? I have not noticed if it will heat normally with a fully charged battery.
2) If I dial down the heat setting to 15C rather than “HI” maybe the power draw will be low enough heat the cabin (again, I have not tried this at low temps).
3) At these temps all available power from the 120V source is being used to obtain/maintain optimal battery operating temp, thus no additional power for cabin heating (possibly similar solution as line 2).
4) Test my theories above at a level 2 charger in during cold weather.
If anyone has other ideas or conclusions? I’d love to hear them, I’ll follow up next winter with what I find out.

The heat pump appears to not be able to operate below around -15ºC from my experience. Heat pump heating is the only option with the App. You cannot start the ICE with the App. So unless Mitsubishi can one day change that temperature cut off we can't preheat the car just when we need it the most!
I've tested this many times this past winter. Pulling the car out of my non heated garage, going from 0ºC to -16ºC, the heat pump would only run for around three or four minutes. It is very loud so easy to listen to it slow down and eventually stop. If they can't change this behaviour then they should at least notify us via the App or car display that it can no longer heat.

 

[kpetrov]

I can confirm what have been said on top, from what I have read and hear the new heating system with a heat-pump on that new 2023 model is a lemon for cold weather.

Under -15 forget abut any heat beside the engine one that can't be remotely started with the app though.
No matter in how powerful source you have plugged it in it wont preheat, period. Design limitations.

 

[nrayanov]

The heat pump doesn't work under -15 C. You will have to start the ICE to heat from colder temperatures.

 

[DougF]

Please note that my model, I have a separate electric heater which allows/supports running the heating on timer.

Did your Outlander come with an electric heater? If so, which model is it, and which year?

 

[AndyInOz]

Yes, it was one of the features of the top level vehicle.

Mine is a 2014, Aspire.