Buying an used 2014 PHEV

aabano71 · Apr 5, 2019

Hi!
I'm new on this group,
(I've start following the Andreas Kirch Youtube Channel - Great Job! Thanks!).

I don't have (yet) one of this great cars, but I'm looking for one right now.

I've found a 2014 Outlander PHEV with 160.000 kms.

I don't know the type of use that the car had.
My use is mainly 20 - 30 kms/day,
Free charge at work

and 5 times x 2000 kms trips per year.
My main concern is the battery warranty (160.000 kms)
The salesman gives 4/5 year warranty (?battery?)
There are others cars with 120 k / 140 k kms, but from 2013 (same value)

Which advices do you have for me?

Thanks in advance!

jaapv · Apr 5, 2019

I'm still happily driving my 2014/120000 km one. the range has gone down a few km, I had to replace the exhaust, but it is still as nice a car as the day I bought it.

nils944 · Apr 6, 2019

Personally I would go for the newer (2014) model. There is of course a risk with the battery, but in general the batteries seem to be lasting longer than many feared (yeah, whatever that means...). Even with significant battery degradation you could likely do most of your commute in EV mode. One suggestion would be to get an OBD adapter and the Watchdog app and plug it into the car to check the battery's state of health (SOH).

In general the Phev is a more complex car than most so in that sense there is greater risk for problems. However, it seems to be a well built product. Mine is a 2014 with 115k km and so far no real problems, and with the warmer weather (~10C) I'm getting close to 40km EV range on the GOM.

JohanvdH · Apr 6, 2019

You can read the number of times the battery have been charged.
More charges means more battery degradation (and thus less range).

See http://phevwatchdog.net on how to read the data from the car.

I drive a used model 2013 and after 154.000km it still drives like new.
I do not know the difference between the 2013 and 2014 models.

aabano71 · Apr 8, 2019

Hi,
Thanks for your repplies.

I don't think there differences between 2013 to 2015 Models...

So, I went there to see the car. It's in a good general condition, with some interesting extras.

My main concern still the battery status... the car as almost 160.000 kms (the end of warranty :shock: )
With aprox. 95% charge says it got 27 kms range in electric power...

(I've seen another vehicles with 80% and 32 kms )

I asked to the seller, to go to mitsubishi and check it before we can do the business.

unfortunatly I don't have an OBD adapter...

Let's see...

Regards,
AA

richr · Apr 8, 2019

You can't really go by the estimated EV range, as this varies massively depening on how it was driven recently (ie it works out how far you went last time per kwh, and uses that to estimate how much you will be able to go now).

For example running the electric heater and airconditioner (which are powered by the drive battery) and driving at high speed whilst towing a trailer but keeping it mainly in EV mode will use the battery up before you've gone very far. Then after you charge it the estimation won't be that good, perhaps only 15km. Similarly if you were to charge then roll down a long hill in B0 for a huge distance and drive really slowly and smoothly once you get to the bottom to use the battery up, it could show an unrealistically high estimate when it's next charged.

The only real way to gauge the battery capacity is to see how much charge you can put into it when charging it from as low as you can get it (which is around 30%). You can get this from a decent chargepoint, or from the MMCS. You can use PHEVwatchdog to retrieve this information from previous charges, which is more convenient (assuming you have a suitable ODB interface and an Android phone).