Australians down under

[sawman82]

I suspect with the DAB radio that there is a component missing in the MMCS. I have checked menus after my MMCS was upgrades with GPS maps and the DAB radio tab in the radio signal strength check menu, is grey. AUS shipped unit probably don't have a DAB RF tuner installed.

Hey gwatpe, I am thinking the same in that it would require a DAB tuner to be installed and thus no go for us PHEV users. Interesting though that you can see it in the menu system after the update. How did you actually do the update? Was it through the phone app or is it loaded on via SD card? Could you please let us know how you go hold of this.

Many thanks

 

[anko]

In the Netherlands, there is the Insyle model without DAB+ and the Instyle+ model with DAB+. Same MMCS. Difference is an extra module and a longer and more futuristic looking antenna.

 

[jaapv]

Ah. Futuristic... My word till now was cheap-looking. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[sawman82]

In the Netherlands, there is the Insyle model without DAB+ and the Instyle+ model with DAB+. Same MMCS. Difference is an extra module and a longer and more futuristic looking antenna.

Hi anko,

What do you mean by extra module? Thanks

 

[Xiansheng]

Hi. This is just a hello from a soon to be Outlander PHEV owner in Brisbane, purchased from Wynnum Mitsubishi. we collect it sometime in the next one to two weeks. We live near Victoria Point and currently we have an approximately 65 km round trip commute most days. We also have 5 kW solar installed which I will utilise on days when we are home to charge daytime. Otherwise, we will use off-peak power which I think is about 12.5 cents per kWh.

Having read a few reviews of the car, I am wondering if we made a mistake purchasing it, but there seemed little choice considering what's available on the Australian market, our need to tow a largish trailer and desire to use our PV output as much as possible.

Regards

John

 

[zzcoopej]

I am wondering if we made a mistake purchasing it

The only mistake you could have made is if you paid full $65k price, when they are clearing the old model out @$20k off. I've had mine since Easter and love it.
Not sure about chasing solar charging, I think it will do your head in - cloud coming over, better run out and switch the car charger off! Or are you thinking of automating it? Not sure if starting & stopping charge is good for the battery, never read anything either way. Anyway, I'm on 60c gross until 2017 so I've got another 18months to plan that one.

 

[gwatpe]

I am not sure about the $65k price. Must have had some serious extras.

The key to using the solar is to not try and get every bit, and not to be in a rut, but flexible with the recharging.

I recharge from my OFF GRID system on sunny days. I have lots of solar and can even recharge on a sunny winters day from 10AM to 3PM. I normally wait until the house battery is close to full, and choose to charge the car, or run the reverse cycle A/C with surplus. Hydrogen storage may eventually become viable as well, and maybe the battery will be redundant.

The GRID connected solar systems are still an option, and are better when the utility pays peanuts for the surplus. I would not be charging my car from solar if the utility was paying 50c or more for surplus.

 

[PeteInOz]

Hi all,

Nathan from Brisbane QLD.

After reading this forum over the past couple of weeks I contacted my local dealer last week for a test drive. Surprisingly, I was offered to take the car out on Saturday morning and return it on Monday. Wasn't hard to convince me as I wanted to see if my mountain bike would fit in the back!

After having it for the weekend my wife was happy enough for us to go ahead and fork out cash. We had a very tight budget but the dealer ended up coming to the party and did us a fairly decent price (well I think it was anyway) for a brand new Aspire model with all the accessories that we wanted.

Scheduled for pickup this Friday everything going well. Is there anything I should be aware of when picking up the new car? New cars are a first for me and I'm 32 this year!

The dealer said I am only the 2nd PHEV customer at his dealership. Can't say I have seen any around either, though the dealers seem to have a fair few demonstrators for sale. Unfortunately our government isn't doing Hybrid owners/buyers any favours. I pay extra for 100% green energy on my power bill, so I'm trying to do my bit.

Nice to meet you.

G'day Nathan and welcome to the world of PHEV.

I would strongly recommend that you make sure the dealer provides you with the 10Amp connector cable, which Mitsubishi is now supplying in addition to the original 15Amp charge connector. Acquiring this charge connector will aid in getting you up and running more quickly and will save you a few dollars on having to have a dedicated 15Amp circuit installed in your house.

I hope this helps ...

Cheers PeteInOz

 

[PeteInOz]

G'day All,

I am located in Canberra, Australia's best kept secret .

I have been a PHEV owner since 30 June 2015 and we are just loving the vehicle, though it could have come with a better EV range IMO. Anyway, if you haven't already read my post, then I would strongly recommend you download and have a read of the documents
posted on the forum here: http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1756

Cheers PeteInOz
Canberra ACT

 

[sawman82]

Hi. This is just a hello from a soon to be Outlander PHEV owner in Brisbane, purchased from Wynnum Mitsubishi. we collect it sometime in the next one to two weeks. We live near Victoria Point and currently we have an approximately 65 km round trip commute most days. We also have 5 kW solar installed which I will utilise on days when we are home to charge daytime. Otherwise, we will use off-peak power which I think is about 12.5 cents per kWh.

Having read a few reviews of the car, I am wondering if we made a mistake purchasing it, but there seemed little choice considering what's available on the Australian market, our need to tow a largish trailer and desire to use our PV output as much as possible.

Regards

John

Hi John,

Welcome to the Forum. You made a great choice and won't regret it. I'm sure you got a great deal on one. Did you go for the 2015 or 2014?

I installed a 2.5kW solar system at home and it works in really well with the PHEV. I cycle to work most days so the PHEV happily charges off my solar during the day. The charge timers can be set up to make life easy for you but then you can always bypass them manually or with the smartphone app if you need to do an irregular charge. For me I set my timer from 7:30am to 4pm. We don't have off peak power wired up so if I charge from mains it costs us about 30c/kWh. But 90% of the time is by solar. I could use a slightly bigger solar system but I don't want to over capitalise. I'm only on the 6c/kWh feed in.

It will fit in well to your 65km trip. Once you get the driving style down pat you won't need to do may km's on petrol. It is great for towing with its instant torque and no clutch to worry about. I'm at around 1 year of ownership now and I'm loving it!

I'm in St Lucia, Brisbane as well so any questions let me know.

 

[sawman82]

Hi all,

Nathan from Brisbane QLD.

After reading this forum over the past couple of weeks I contacted my local dealer last week for a test drive. Surprisingly, I was offered to take the car out on Saturday morning and return it on Monday. Wasn't hard to convince me as I wanted to see if my mountain bike would fit in the back!

After having it for the weekend my wife was happy enough for us to go ahead and fork out cash. We had a very tight budget but the dealer ended up coming to the party and did us a fairly decent price (well I think it was anyway) for a brand new Aspire model with all the accessories that we wanted.

Scheduled for pickup this Friday everything going well. Is there anything I should be aware of when picking up the new car? New cars are a first for me and I'm 32 this year!

The dealer said I am only the 2nd PHEV customer at his dealership. Can't say I have seen any around either, though the dealers seem to have a fair few demonstrators for sale. Unfortunately our government isn't doing Hybrid owners/buyers any favours. I pay extra for 100% green energy on my power bill, so I'm trying to do my bit.

Nice to meet you.

G'day Nathan and welcome to the world of PHEV.

I would strongly recommend that you make sure the dealer provides you with the 10Amp connector cable, which Mitsubishi is now supplying in addition to the original 15Amp charge connector. Acquiring this charge connector will aid in getting you up and running more quickly and will save you a few dollars on having to have a dedicated 15Amp circuit installed in your house.

I hope this helps ...

Cheers PeteInOz

Hi Pete,

I have had my PHEV for almost a year now and going in for the first service at the end of the month. Did you have any luck getting a 10A connector cable out of the dealer? If so I will mention it to them before I bring it in. It doesn't matter me that much as I have already had a 15A outlet installed now and also went and bought a 15A extension cable and then shaved down the earth pin to a 10A size for when we want to charge away from home. Easy fix. But if it is on offer I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask, possibly for future resale purposes.

 

[NAPpy]

You could just make one, 10A male, 15A female and also make a 415V three phase 5 pin to 15A 240V adapter for those places that only offer a 32A outlet.

Remember that the 15A EVSE Australian charger draws less than 10 amps.

NAPpy

 

[PeteInOz]

Hi Pete,

I have had my PHEV for almost a year now and going in for the first service at the end of the month. Did you have any luck getting a 10A connector cable out of the dealer? If so I will mention it to them before I bring it in. It doesn't matter me that much as I have already had a 15A outlet installed now and also went and bought a 15A extension cable and then shaved off the earth pin for when we want to charge away from home. Easy fix. But if it is on offer I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask, possibly for future resale purposes.

G'day Nathan,

Mate, I must apologise, as when I responded I thought that this thread was a rather new thread and that you were just in the process of acquiring your car.

Anyway, I do have both charge connectors as I am a relatively new kid on the block (i.e. I acquired my PHEV on the 30 June 2015). Given the supposed cost of the charger (I was told some BS they were $400), I would recommend that you go back to the salesman you purchased from and see if he is generous enough to supply you one as part of his aftersales service obligation. I mean you have only had the car less than 12 months. You might also find your service manager sympathetic and helpful also.

Finally, I would be cautious removing any earths off extension leads or other as earthing is not only important for safety, but it can be important as an electrical reference point for electronic devices. If you have had any unexpected charging problems using the specific cable you mentioned then this might be one of the reasons. Irrespective, I would recommend you fashion a new plug onto the cable so as to cover all bases.

Anyway, I wish you luck on acquiring the 10Amp charger.

Cheers Pete

 

[sawman82]

Apologies all, I have edited my earlier post where I said "shaved off the earth pin" when what I meant was "shaved the earth pin down to the size of a 10A earth pin". I'm an electrical engineer by trade so sometimes my words don't come out as per what I am thinking! Anyways no issue there.

Pete,

I will have a chat to the guys when I take my car in at the end of the month and see what they say about the PHEV now coming with a 10A charge cable. I'm not fussed either way, but when I did ask a while back they did mention that spare chargers were worth around $400. I'm sure you could buy a generic one for a bit cheaper.

 

[anko]

In the Netherlands, there is the Insyle model without DAB+ and the Instyle+ model with DAB+. Same MMCS. Difference is an extra module and a longer and more futuristic looking antenna.

Hi anko,

What do you mean by extra module? Thanks

Sorry, a bit late.

I meant: "An extra hidden box connected to and controlled by MMCS, that provides DAB+ functionality to MMCS."

 

[TRT]

Apologies all, I have edited my earlier post where I said "shaved off the earth pin" when what I meant was "shaved the earth pin down to the size of a 10A earth pin". I'm an electrical engineer by trade so sometimes my words don't come out as per what I am thinking! Anyways no issue there.

Or you could buy a 10A to 15A converter from JayCar for $70. Safer option and it comes with its own breaker.

TRT

 

[waitem]

Hi all, if anyone would like an excuse to visit the Sunshine Coast this weekend, then please come along in your PHEV to the Sustainable House Day Event at 12 noon this Sunday (13th Sept). We are trying to get the largest collection of EV's together. There will be a number of Tesla's coming as well as BMW EV's. Currently I may be the only Outlander PHEV there - it would be great if a few more came along too (particularly if we can outnumber the Teslas
The address is 175 Lake Weyba Drive, Noosaville.
http://sustainablehouseday.com/house-profile-view/?house_id=11446
I hope to see some of you there!
Mark

 

[gwatpe]

I would go, but the 5000km round trip would sort of defeat the sustainable aspect. Was in Noosa back in MAY, so hopefully some residual EV karma was left behind.

 

[waitem]

I would go, but the 5000km round trip would sort of defeat the sustainable aspect. Was in Noosa back in MAY, so hopefully some residual EV karma was left behind.

Hi gwatpe - thanks for responding - I agree re 5000kms being a bit far! Thanks anyway, and I'm sure I'll pick up the karma tomorrow!

Hopefully there are some other PHEV owners a bit closer who are able to make it there?!

 

[gwatpe]

Had my PHEV serviced at 15000km at Toowong Mitsubishi in Brisbane. They were very helpful. Sales were a bit slow however. The relatively high cost of electricity seems to be a major factor. Just need some Nuclear Power stations. I think 1 would do for all of AUS. :lol: