General Question about the Air Conditioning Compressor.

[Trussman]

I am so new to the PHEV / EV world... I have learned that most of the electric accessories in the Outlander are powered by the main drive battery and not by an alternator as in an ICE vehicle.
Does that include the air conditioner compressor, or is it spun by a drive belt from the ICE crankshaft?

I know the A/C does come on as required to cool the batteries during charging and it seems to come on quite a bit during driving to either
cool the battery or to dry the air blowing on the windshield to prevent condensation in the air from freezing on the inside of the windows
during the winter, especially if I use the Auto setting on the climate controls.

Thanks.

 

[DibbyDibbyDJ]

The A/C compressor is powered by the Traction battery.

 

[nrayanov]

The main drive battery starts both the engine and the AC.

 

[littlescrote]

Think about it - if it were driven by the engine, the engine would need to come on for cooling. It doesn't.

You can hear the A/C compressor quite often from outside in EV mode.

 

[AndyInOz]

Think about it - if it were driven by the engine, the engine would need to come on for cooling. It doesn't.

You can hear the A/C compressor quite often from outside in EV mode.

One of my neighbours asked me if my car was turbo charged because I came up the driveway on electric with the air-conditioner running...

... the sound of it spooling down is reminiscent of a tiny jet engine.

 

[Andrev]

M’y outlander PHEV 2018 has AC compressor dead. It is an electric motor driving it. Surprise to learn that this unit is costing $3500. US plus tax and for installation another $1000. This makes no sense! Electric and hybrid cars are not cheaper to repair, on the contrary. Be prepared to get $$$ out of your account!

 

[maby]

M’y outlander PHEV 2018 has AC compressor dead. It is an electric motor driving it. Surprise to learn that this unit is costing $3500. US plus tax and for installation another $1000. This makes no sense! Electric and hybrid cars are not cheaper to repair, on the contrary. Be prepared to get $$$ out of your account!

Part of the problem here, at least, is that the independent workshops are not willing to repair EVs - they are aware that there are high voltages present and concerned at the Health and Safety implications. Insurance companies are not willing to provide cover for staff unless they have been fully trained and the number of EVs on the road is still too small to justify the cost of training those staff.

Martin

 

[MiPHEV]

M’y outlander PHEV 2018 has AC compressor dead. It is an electric motor driving it. Surprise to learn that this unit is costing $3500. US plus tax and for installation another $1000. This makes no sense! Electric and hybrid cars are not cheaper to repair, on the contrary. Be prepared to get $$$ out of your account!

It's a rare failure for sure, but you can buy the part new for $2,500 and have it installed by any competent shop or install it yourself, or buy a used take-off for $400 and do the same - you can buy those from car-part.com. Car operating expenses vary *wildly* based on owner skill level, flexibility, and knowledge base. Our pure EV (Bolt) has been massively cheaper to own for seven years than our previous car (Prius) mostly down to both low operating costs and low/nonexistent maintenance costs - but the Outlander I do not expect to save quite so much money, as we've got the EV stuff plus the need to maintain the internal combustion drivetrain as well.

 

[Andrev]

It's a rare failure for sure, but you can buy the part new for $2,500 and have it installed by any competent shop or install it yourself, or buy a used take-off for $400 and do the same - you can buy those from car-part.com. Car operating expenses vary *wildly* based on owner skill level, flexibility, and knowledge base. Our pure EV (Bolt) has been massively cheaper to own for seven years than our previous car (Prius) mostly down to both low operating costs and low/nonexistent maintenance costs - but the Outlander I do not expect to save quite so much money, as we've got the EV stuff plus the need to maintain the internal combustion drivetrain as well.

Thé problem is that shops do not want to install parts they don’t supply, telling the guarantee cannot be honored but in fact, this is because they can’t make a profit on the parts

 

[MiPHEV]

Thé problem is that shops do not want to install parts they don’t supply, telling the guarantee cannot be honored but in fact, this is because they can’t make a profit on the parts

There are lots of bad shops, they surely outnumber the good ones by a large margin... This is one of the reasons I do my own work when possible, as even (especially) dealerships are often very high up the list of just how bad, a bad shop, can be! This is apparently a luxury of the US legal system vs. some other countries, as sometimes others seem to have warranty and other concerns about DIY work or even aftermarket modifications in other countries that do not apply here - as we have legal protections against that kind of racketeering, one of the very few bright spots of the US legal system. I would at least call around your local area and see if you can find a good independent mechanic, they're usually well worth the legwork! HVAC systems in particular are easy to service third party and slightly more universal that many other automotive subsystems; you just need a shop that knows enough to work on the high voltage systems (now commonplace as we're two decades into mass-market availability) that EVs, PHEVs, and hybrids all have in common.

 

[kernelpanic]

I'll not bore you with a copy-paste of what I found using search engines, but try looking for something like "are there any independent EV and Hybrid specialist garage chains in the US" (or wherever you happen to live). There are some, probably depends on where each person is located. In France (I'm in France) there's an EV Specialist garage chain which is building up a trained workforce to specifically work on EVs, they are also running courses for other garages . Your mileage may vary, but I'm convinced that it's only a matter of time before EV specialist garages start appearing in all major population centers.

 

[Andrev]

With a compressor driven by the gas engine, the replacement would be reasonable. As for heating, the gas engine had to start to operate the AC. Moreover the car price had been lower.

 

[MiPHEV]

With a compressor driven by the gas engine, the replacement would be reasonable. As for heating, the gas engine had to start to operate the AC. Moreover the car price had been lower.

No doubt it would be cheaper, but the A/C wouldn't work much of the time, and the car itself would shut down if the battery got too hot while the engine is off, which is when the battery usually warms up due to higher discharge rates - it's a complete non-starter to use an engine-driven compressor in most modern passenger vehicle applications. Luckily though, most vehicles will never need a compressor replacement for their normal service lifespan; actually this is one of the pressures that independent shops and even dealership after-sale revenue streams are facing - these modern cars need much, much less tending than the old stuff from the 80's and 90's and earlier. Even the ICE in a PHEV is likely to have less wear and tear on many of its components per vehicle distance traveled, as the average engine runtime hours are lower per unit of distance; doesn't help us with calendar age related maintenance like fluids that oxidize, but for the wear components, another win!

 

[Andrev]

I checked with the dealership, the battery cooling system is indépendant from the cabin AC.

 

[MiPHEV]

I checked with the dealership, the battery cooling system is indépendant from the cabin AC.

Your dealer is misinformed.

More information was provided by Trex here: https://www.myoutlanderphev.com/threads/technical-graphs-and-images.1278/post-13908

 

[yardbird]

M’y outlander PHEV 2018 has AC compressor dead. It is an electric motor driving it. Surprise to learn that this unit is costing $3500. US plus tax and for installation another $1000. This makes no sense! Electric and hybrid cars are not cheaper to repair, on the contrary. Be prepared to get $$$ out of your account!

OEM on line condenser is about $2450 and after market parts are about $400 to $600 so the dealer prices are never at discounted prices. If you really want OEM, order the parts on line & get some local mechanic to install it for you.

https://www.mitsubishipartswarehous...5PTIwMTgmdD1ndCZlPTItMGwtbDQtZWxlY3RyaWMtZ2Fz

 

[littlescrote]

I checked with the dealership, the battery cooling system is indépendant from the cabin AC.

It certainly is not. All from the same compressor and condenser, but it has its own evaporator (which may be what they meant as the battery cooling could be used without the cabin cooling needing to be on)

 

[Andrev]

I start to charge the main battery with the generator and after 3 minutes, the check engigne lighted up and the mileage indicator left on the battery shut down. A sign that the high current heated up the battery and the cooling system was unable to compensate.

 

[Andrev]

I was lucky to find on eBay a brand new compressor for the AC for $957. (insurance leftover) My Mitsubishi dealership in Delray Beach Fl.accepted to install it for $1100. Job took near a day, but car is working as it should now. Great crew there!