2024 Outlander PHEV - Engine runs to burn old fuel.

[PHEV07]

Picked up my 2024 Oulander PHEV - GT, on Apr 8, 2024. Fuel tank was full, Dive Battery full and 11kms on the Odometer.

Drove 625 kms strictly in the city, charged about 8 times and was averaging 85 to 90 Kms on pure EV mode, charging to full when there was 5 or 6 kms left on battery.

This past Friday, after pushing EV and switching to ECO, with a full battery and ambient temp of 28'C, I saw message. Engine will not stop until 20 liters of fuel is added.

I guess computer wants me to use up my old gas, which is barely 1 month old. What gives?

Anyone find a work around I have 95% full tank. I want to drive in EV mode and not use the ICE.

Please help

 

[AndyInOz]

In my model, that mode is triggered every 6 months, if I haven't consumed sufficient fuel during this time.

I suspect that newer models run that process every three months.

The vehicle goes into that mode to protect all the components of the fuel system from gumming, where stale fuel blocks injectors etc.

You could probably make it go away by disconnecting the power, but the risk you take is that you will end up with an unusable engine and a very expensive repair.

Personally, I don't try to second-guess the Mitsubishi engineers, because I'm not an engineer, and I don't have access to the data they used when making their decisions for maximising the life out of our hybrid cars.

 

[greendwarf]

Picked up my 2024 Oulander PHEV - GT, on Apr 8, 2024. Fuel tank was full, Dive Battery full and 11kms on the Odometer.

Drove 625 kms strictly in the city, charged about 8 times and was averaging 85 to 90 Kms on pure EV mode, charging to full when there was 5 or 6 kms left on battery.

This past Friday, after pushing EV and switching to ECO, with a full battery and ambient temp of 28'C, I saw message. Engine will not stop until 20 liters of fuel is added.

I guess computer wants me to use up my old gas, which is barely 1 month old. What gives?

Anyone find a work around I have 95% full tank. I want to drive in EV mode and not use the ICE.

Please help

So the tank was full when you took delivery, but as it was built several months earlier and would have had fuel put in to test it, then it could easily have been 6 months ago. What you could do is drain the fuel out and then put it back, as it is the refuelling that measures the 20 litres.
BTW the caveat in this forum is - if you want to always drive EV, buy a BEV not a hybrid!

 

[PHEV07]

So the tank was full when you took delivery, but as it was built several months earlier and would have had fuel put in to test it, then it could easily have been 6 months ago. What you could do is drain the fuel out and then put it back, as it is the refuelling that measures the 20 litres.
BTW the caveat in this forum is - if you want to always drive EV, buy a BEV not a hybrid!

That is my plan. I hope to be driving an Aptera, by this time next year.

Thanks for the reply, that is what I am planning to do as I still have 7/8 of a tank of fuel left.

I bought 2 - 20 liter jugs and plan on siphoning at least 20 liters, this week end.

Then adding to the tank.

I had 2018 PHEV and never had this problem and engine was just fine, barely added any fuel charged everyday on my my daily commutes. Only time I used fuel was in the Winter to run ICE to keep interer warm, as tge Resistive heater was not enough with -20 ,to -35'C Temps.

Hate the thought winter driving as I have no garage and we do get temps lower than -25'C.

I think Mitsubishi Motors is being to cautious and defeating the purpose of designing a good PHEV, used to be good, now not so sure. I wanted the 2024 for the bigger battery but useless now if am required to run the ICE every 6 months.

But I'll definitely be removing some fuel and adding fuel to allow me to use my PHEV in EV mode, once again.

 

[littlescrote]

That is my plan. I hope to be driving an Aptera, by this time next year.

Thanks for the reply, that is what I am planning to do as I still have 7/8 of a tank of fuel left.

I bought 2 - 20 liter jugs and plan on siphoning at least 20 liters, this week end.

Then adding to the tank.

I had 2018 PHEV and never had this problem and engine was just fine, barely added any fuel charged everyday on my my daily commutes. Only time I used fuel was in the Winter to run ICE to keep interer warm, as tge Resistive heater was not enough with -20 ,to -35'C Temps.

Hate the thought winter driving as I have no garage and we do get temps lower than -25'C.

I think Mitsubishi Motors is being to cautious and defeating the purpose of designing a good PHEV, used to be good, now not so sure. I wanted the 2024 for the bigger battery but useless now if am required to run the ICE every 6 months.

But I'll definitely be removing some fuel and adding fuel to allow me to use my PHEV in EV mode, once again.

Make sure you switch it on after draining so that it registers the low level before you refill it, otherwise you'll waste your time.

And bear in mind that this is done for a reason. Modern fuels containing a lot of biofuel are not stable. You risk a reduction in the ability to withstand knock etc.

 

[PHEV07]

Make sure you switch it on after draining so that it registers the low level before you refill it, otherwise you'll waste your time.

And bear in mind that this is done for a reason. Modern fuels containing a lot of biofuel are not stable. You risk a reduction in the ability to withstand knock etc.

By switch it on, you mean start the car, so it registers the new fuel level?

I will use the old fuel on my lawnmower and never drive with a full tank again, to avoid this issue in the future.

That is what I did with my previous 2018 and 2022. Only had a full tank in the winter months.

Thank you for your help and suggestions.

 

[Lon12]

I get the “fill with 20 liters” message every 90 days exactly. I’m also seeing the engine start for 5 minutes (no reason, no HVAC, no load, eco mode etc) when I’m driving in warmer weather.

 

[greendwarf]

That is my plan. I hope to be driving an Aptera, by this time next year.

Thanks for the reply, that is what I am planning to do as I still have 7/8 of a tank of fuel left.

I bought 2 - 20 liter jugs and plan on siphoning at least 20 liters, this week end.

Then adding to the tank.

I had 2018 PHEV and never had this problem and engine was just fine, barely added any fuel charged everyday on my my daily commutes. Only time I used fuel was in the Winter to run ICE to keep interer warm, as tge Resistive heater was not enough with -20 ,to -35'C Temps.

Hate the thought winter driving as I have no garage and we do get temps lower than -25'C.

I think Mitsubishi Motors is being to cautious and defeating the purpose of designing a good PHEV, used to be good, now not so sure. I wanted the 2024 for the bigger battery but useless now if am required to run the ICE every 6 months.

But I'll definitely be removing some fuel and adding fuel to allow me to use my PHEV in EV mode, once again.

It must have been just luck before, because AFAIK this has always been the same and is certainly so with my 2014 model but, of course, less likely now as I no longer get the same EV range. You might has some difficulty trying to siphon, as I believe later models have an anti-siphon trap in the filler neck, so may have to drain from somewhere along the fuel line - good luck anyway.

 

[PHEV07]

Make sure you switch it on after draining so that it registers the low level before you refill it, otherwise you'll waste your time.

And bear in mind that this is done for a reason. Modern fuels containing a lot of biofuel are not stable. You risk a reduction in the ability to withstand knock etc.

I just tried siphoning fuel by using 1/2" OD clear tubing. No luck. Pushed tubing as far as it goes. Blew air into tubing but no restriction, tried sucking, only get air.

I will be purchasing some smaller tubing and try again.

Wish someone had a diagram of thefuel tank filler channel.

I will report back.

 

[kpetrov]

Most of newer vehicle have a mesh before reaching the tank, so good luck.

 

[littlescrote]

I get the “fill with 20 liters” message every 90 days exactly. I’m also seeing the engine start for 5 minutes (no reason, no HVAC, no load, eco mode etc) when I’m driving in warmer weather.

Of course you get it every 90 days exactly - that's what it's programmed for. This is done with a microprocessor that knows the date and time, it's not a clockwork device that loses time

 

[michael8554]

I had no luck syphoning my 2014.
I reset by disconnecting the 12V battery neg lead.
Then did some long journeys that involved using CHARGE mode half the time.
Then added 15L.

 

[EricEv]

Picked up my 2024 Oulander PHEV - GT, on Apr 8, 2024. Fuel tank was full, Dive Battery full and 11kms on the Odometer.

Drove 625 kms strictly in the city, charged about 8 times and was averaging 85 to 90 Kms on pure EV mode, charging to full when there was 5 or 6 kms left on battery.

This past Friday, after pushing EV and switching to ECO, with a full battery and ambient temp of 28'C, I saw message. Engine will not stop until 20 liters of fuel is added.

I guess computer wants me to use up my old gas, which is barely 1 month old. What gives?

Anyone find a work around I have 95% full tank. I want to drive in EV mode and not use the ICE.

Please help

Normaly would disconnect (and a few moments later reconnect) the 12v battery solve the problem.

 

[PHEV07]

Most of newer vehicle have a mesh before reaching the tank, so good luck.

Tried using a 1/4" OD plastic tubing, no luck.

Cut end in 45 and 60' angle, still no luck.

Must be a mesh at the entrance. Wonder how big spacing on mesh is.

Might have to look for another way to get rid of fuel. Tap into fuel line somewhere.

Waiting patiently for my Aptera

https://t.me/MyAptera

 

[PHEV07]

Normaly would disconnect (and a few moments later reconnect) the 12v battery solve the problem.

Thank you. I may try that.

You know, like let the 12 volt battery drain, you know what mean

 

[EricEv]

Thank you. I may try that.

You know, like let the 12 volt battery drain, you know what mean

Not drain te 12 volt battery, just disconnect and reconnect.

 

[greendwarf]

This is all getting a bit surreal. You have a full tank of petrol but would prefer to not use it OK but what do you think will happen to it eventually. Unless you drive in a clean air zone where you could be fined then driving on the ICE will save you money on electricity (probably produced by fossil fuel) in the short term. Then you can manage it to your requirements from then on. This really is an awful lot of fuss over nothing much!

The phrase "Having a dog and barking yourself comes to mind"!

 

[HeliNurse]

This thread seems to about having a PHEV when you want an EV.

 

[PHEV07]

This thread seems to about having a PHEV when you want an EV.

Not at all.

This thread is about a PHEV that operates as a Hydrid, since Mitsubishi decided to force this Generation of Outlander PHEV to force the ICE to operate so as to use up old fuel until new fuel is added.

In the 2018-2022 this was not the case. In those years the ICE would be forced to take presidence only if the Drive Battery was depleted, Outside Temp was below a certain value, at times, when the HVAC was used and when the driver requested more power than the EV Motors could supply.

i have owned the previous generations, the 2018 with a 12 kWh Battery, the 2022 with 13.8kWh drive battery and the age of the fuel was never a parameter that required the exclusively running of the ICE so as to consume the old fuel

If I wanted an ICE vehicle I would have purchased one.

I upgraded to the 20kWh PHEV for allowing me the luxury of driving 85 to 90 kms per charge on EV Mode and the ability to use ICE when my battery was depleted.

What I did not expect was a PHEV to stop operating on EV Mode because the fuel was old. This was new to me and quite frankly a shock that some Engineer at Mitsubishi arbitrarily decided that every 90 days, the PHEV must operate as an ICE vehicleso as to Deplete the old fuel.

Many experts in field have declared that fuel can be is usable up to 1 year, so what gives with the Engineers at Mitsubishi????

Furthermore, if the tank on a 2024 PHEV has a Capacity of 56 liters, and we are forced to add at least 20 liters in order Stop running the ICE so we can start running in EV Mode again, it would mean that we can burn off 20 liters of old fuel, add 20 liters of "new" fuel to let the PHEV operate as intended in EV mode again.

But wait, ..... by adding 20 liters of "new" fuel to the remaining 36 liters of "old" fuel in the tank, does this fuel not get mixed to become dirty old fuel, again. So why are we being forced to deplete the old fuel again?

Makes absolute no sense me and quite frankly, quite idiotic, in my opinion.

So to summarize, I prefer to buy a PHEV over a full EV, because where I live we do not have a very good charging infrastructure and I did not want to buy an ICE.

I bought a PHEV that would allow me to drive in EV Mode like the previous generations of Outlander and 99% of other PHEVs on the Market and to not be forced to refuel with at least 20 liters so the car has "new fuel" to be able to run in EV Mode.

I hope that I have made myself clearer, as this thread was intended to bring to light a situation that was new and quite different to the overall operation of previous Outlander PHEV Generations.


To close this, I would like to add that as of 1 hr ago, I am back to being able to drive in EV Mode, again and now have 1/2 tank of gasoline in the tank.

 

[MiPHEV]

Ethanol contaminated fuel (most fuel in North America/E10) has a useful life of 3 months, with pure gasoline maintaining most of its low vapor presure volatiles for about 6 months, precisely matching Mitsubishi's newer 90 day clock timer. Keep in mind, the timer is 90 days for 20 liters, so the average age of the fuel in a very lightly used PHEV will be approximately 6 months. Fuel does not last for 1+ year in modern vehicle applications, too many volatiles have oxidized or evaporated into a gaseous state ending up in the evaporative capture system to burn properly and cleanly in a modern, high BSFC engine with post oxidation catalyst emissions systems. This requires a PHEV owner to use about 6.5 liters/month, or roughly 100km of travel/month on gasoline. A drive cycle using less than this quantity of fuel is not a good candidate for a PHEV vehicle application.