Mitsubishi extends Outlander PHEV production halt

[BobMarin]

It looks like the production stoppage of Mitsubishi Outlander is being extended due to batteries, here is a news piece I found on the subject:

Just on the heels of Boeing’s lithium-ion battery issues in its latest 787 Dreamliner, Mitsubishi faces overheating batteries of its own.
Not surprisingly, the batteries in question have come from the same source.
“Batteries on the Outlander are supplied by a venture called Lithium Energy Japan, owned by Japan’s GS Yuasa Corp., Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors. GS Yuasa is also the battery maker for Boeing’s Dreamliner,”


http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/mitsubishi-faces-lithium-ion-battery-issues-puts-new-outlander-phev-production-on-hold/#ixzz2QpmDaoeE

 

[Dannyboy]

It looks like the production stoppage of Mitsubishi Outlander is being extended due to batteries, here is a news piece I found on the subject:

Just on the heels of Boeing’s lithium-ion battery issues in its latest 787 Dreamliner, Mitsubishi faces overheating batteries of its own.
Not surprisingly, the batteries in question have come from the same source.
“Batteries on the Outlander are supplied by a venture called Lithium Energy Japan, owned by Japan’s GS Yuasa Corp., Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors. GS Yuasa is also the battery maker for Boeing’s Dreamliner,”


http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/mitsubishi-faces-lithium-ion-battery-issues-puts-new-outlander-phev-production-on-hold/#ixzz2QpmDaoeE

I kinda expected this, I mean only a couple of month of delay in just one market was really an optimistic forecast for a problem like mass battery malfunction in a large percentage pf the manufactured Outlanders...

I just hope that Mitsubishi is going to climb out of the gutter on this one as fast as they can because the Outlander can really be a golden goose for them and a ticket out of the recent financial stagnation they are facing

 

[case]

Someone found the message below and posted it on the dutch PHEV forum:

19 Apr 2013 | Japan
Lithium-ion batteries: Further GS Yuasa troubles
Zoom

× CloseToyo-keizai Online, Yomiuri-online and Livedoor Online News in Japan have recently reported in Japanese on further problems with the large lithium-ion batteries produced by GS Yuasa, the Japanese company involved in the grounding of the Boeing Dreamliner worldwide due to fires in its lithium-ion batteries but also supplying lithium-ion batteries to the International Space Station.

This time it is the recently launched Mitsubishi Motors Outlander plug-in hybrid electric vehicle PHEV at a time when it has attracted double the targeted level of orders at about 8000. During checking, one had its GS Yuasa lithium-ion battery catch fire, so Mitsubishi Motors has requested owners with versions incorporating this battery not to charge it.

Injecting capital, Mitsubishi Shoji and Mitsubishi Motors participated in a joint venture with GS Yuasa to develop and make these batteries. The Japanese media speculate that efficiency improvements in December to the production line of this joint venture Lithium Energy may have led to the problem. GS Yuasa expects to take 13 weeks to find a solution. Meanwhile, struggling Mitsubishi Motors has stopped all sales of its EVs and HEVs except where a Toshiba lithium-ion battery is fitted instead of the GS Yuasa one. There are no product recalls as yet.

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Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2013-2023
Supercapacitor / Ultracapacitor Strategies and Emerging Applications 2013-2025
Traction Batteries for Electric Vehicles Land, Water & Air 2013-2023
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Author: Mayumi Kozakai, Research Coordinator, IDTechEx

 

[BobMarin]

Bad news galore it seems for the Mitsubishi Outlander...

And it doesn't look like it's gonna stop, I just hope that Australia is going to be the only market affected by this really unfortunate accident(it does kinda dampen my opinion of Mitsubishi), altough I'm not sure of it.

 

[Dannyboy]

Bad news galore it seems for the Mitsubishi Outlander...

And it doesn't look like it's gonna stop, I just hope that Australia is going to be the only market affected by this really unfortunate accident(it does kinda dampen my opinion of Mitsubishi), altough I'm not sure of it.

I think it's safe to say that Australia isn't going to be the only market that is going to be affected by the battery problems of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. It's just a matter of how many and what markets can expect a later launch date...

 

[camiev]

Mitsubishi finds cause of plug-in battery problems, will recall and fix soon


http://green.autoblog.com/2013/04/25/mitsubishi-outlander-plug-in-battery-fire-cause/

 

[klaus]

I'm glad they figured out what the cause of the fire was in the Outlander PHEV battery pack - I was getting concerned that this would be a long drawn out process with no resolution, and that would really damage the rep of this great vehicle.

Best part is that spokesperson from Mitsubishi said these issues won't cause a delay for the launch of the Outlander plug-in in the United States in January 2014.

 

[BobMarin]

I'm glad they figured out what the cause of the fire was in the Outlander PHEV battery pack - I was getting concerned that this would be a long drawn out process with no resolution, and that would really damage the rep of this great vehicle.

Best part is that spokesperson from Mitsubishi said these issues won't cause a delay for the launch of the Outlander plug-in in the United States in January 2014.

that seems ages away...

 

[zartash]

The batteries for Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV are supplied by Lithium Energy Japan. So they should have been flawless, however, Mitsubishi faced some troubles. I think that the main fact that caused the halt is the issues connected with Japanese batteries.

 

[stevedaemon]

That being said, there is always room for improvement but Li-Ion batteries are still far safer than putting several gallons of flammable liquid in a tank under your seat. :lol:

 

[Dannyboy]

That being said, there is always room for improvement but Li-Ion batteries are still far safer than putting several gallons of flammable liquid in a tank under your seat. :lol:

You would actually be surprised at how flamable the Li-on batteries actually are, especially in a PHEV like the Mitsubishi Outlander because there is the engine and gas alongside the batteries which can easily malfunction, that's why Mitsubishi is being so careful probably.

 

[BobMarin]

It looks like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV stoppage will extend to the American market...

http://insideevs.com/mitsubishi-outlander-phev-may-be-slightly-delayed-for-us-but-still-coming-in-2014/

 

[Dannyboy]

It looks like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV stoppage will extend to the American market...

http://insideevs.com/mitsubishi-outlander-phev-may-be-slightly-delayed-for-us-but-still-coming-in-2014/

This is definitely a bad one for Mitsubishi, I think this will be the biggest hit that Outlander will take because we all know how important American market is for any car maker let alone Mitsubishi.

 

[BobMarin]

As someone previously stated if this dely is mostly about getting the kinks out of the armor, then it's definitely a worthwhile move.

 

[BrotherBig]

Yep! Worthwhile and wise.

Can you imagine if they just let it go and ignored the problem? No. Better that it comes with a good battery than anything else.

Come on 2014 and the Outlander Plug in.