Drive batery history?

[Tipper]

Hi All,
I've just got hold of my GX4hs, had it a few days now, that was a 'management car' direct from Mitsubishi UK. It's done just over 5k miles and is under 6 months old. I like what I see so far but have a query about the drive battery.

I know battery charging and the fullness of charge is hotly debated from what I have read on this forum (great forum by the way!) so far but I'm concerned that I only achieve about a 20 mile range so far even after a full overnight 10A charge. Is this the norm?

Also any previous data/history seems to have been cleared as everything starts at the middle of last week, either by my dealer (assumed) or MMC themselves before passing on to the dealer. What I can't find on the computer is what has gone before I bought the car. I don't want to seem paranoid about the state of the battery but what if the car has been fast charged many times by persons unknown and this may have compromised the battery?

So is there anyway to find out the car's previous battery SOC and charging history?

TIA

 

[zzcoopej]

So is there anyway to find out the car's previous battery SOC and charging history?
TIA

Hi, I'm currently developing an Android App called EvBatMon which will answer this question, currently there is nothing but the dealer to find this out. Sorry it will be too late to answer the question for your car, however it will extract what the car says is the Ah capacity of the battery which you can compare to the Ah of a brand new battery. Mitsu say it should keep 80% capacity in the first 5 years. Send me a message if you want to get an early beta test version of my App.

 

[PeterGalbavy]

5k is not much driving and the battery warranties (in the UK anyway) are much longer than that.

If I assume you leave the car to fully charge itself, including doing a "balance" of the cells - this is normal but takes ages (30 mins to an hour) when the battery appears full already?

You can and should ask for a battery report from MMC especially if they sold the car to you as the second owner. The Battery SOC indicator should go to the top and this indicates a reasonably full charge; I believe each row is about 4% ?

The 20 mile range you see may be representative of the way you drive and or the terrain you drive on; Also, is that the range with all AC turned off? Just having the AC turned on, even if not doing much, will reduce the displayed range by about 1/2.

If you drive conservatively, use B0 to coast when OK to do so and use the other B levels to regen power when coasting going downhill (instead of engine braking as per a more traditional ICE vehicle) then you may see the range increase over a few charges as the onboard guess-o-meter gets used to your real range.

The enemy of EV range in the PHEV is a heavy right foot. Keep the left dial in the green zone below about the 11 o'clock point.

 

[gwatpe]

I would get on EBay fast and buy an OBD2 WiFi adapter. I have used an iPad, Samsung phone, and Windows PC with Telnet App and have been able to read the present battery capacity of my PHEV drive battery. The method presented by anko in the OBD2 thread I was able to program into macros of a Telnet Lite app on the iPad and this made the process a lot simpler.

If the battery comes out at lower than 34Ah, I would be on to MMC, as this is getting towards the maximum loss of capacity expected in the battery life under warranty.

My PHEV was very young with a battery and other faults, and it was cheaper to replace the car than the battery. Your dealer can report the battery capacity for a fee, if this is easier.

 

[jaapv]

34 Ah is not really close to the long-term capacity loss. Nominal value is 40 Ah, and is used as a "zero" data point on delivery, however, if you measure a new car, the actual value will be something around 38 Ah. A drop to 34 Ah would be about 10% loss. Still too much and worrying, but if your car rates about 37 Ah after 10.000 miles, all is well, as the loss will be the highest in the first miles.

 

[Ozukus]

This is my charge history for any charge over 10KWh. My view from this is that my battery looks pretty healthy.

Full image here

http://www.dropshots.com/Ozukus/date/2015-09-21/10:45:49

 

[gwatpe]

I think we need to accept that it will only be the Ah data in the PHEV and not any recharging kWh that will be of use in any discussions to MMC regarding battery health. Recharging kWh is quick, like the graph of recharge history, but the Ah is all that matters for warranty.

 

[greendwarf]

Has it been set to pre-heat? This was a problem in another thread concerning a second hand car.

 

[gwatpe]

Just having the AC turned on, even if not doing much, will reduce the displayed range by about 1/2.

I have seen my PHEV adjust the range down by 4-6km when the aircon is turned on[snowflake active]. I guess if the range had been 12km without aircon, then I might see the range halve. Generally, with a full battery I still see the range go down by the 4-6km, so from about 45-48km down to 39-42km.

As has been mentioned, any pre heating, or cooling will be added to the kWh on the plug recharge metering you use.

 

[TheBunyip]

The long term life of the PHEV traction battery is a concern for many so much so that the possible replacement cost has been discussed on the forum as has the possibility of upgrading the battery to get extra EV miles. Familarity with the Prius has enabled some to post information that failed Prius batteries can be repaired.

The (2016) 8 year/100,00 mile PHEV warranty does not provide sufficient reassurance for all. However economic repair or upgrading may yet turn out to be feasible. Making use of the excellent Battery monitoring App (EvBatMon https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.EvPositive.EvBatMon) will, at least, enable PHEV drivers to see any problems coming.

Many will have seen the announcement that Nissan have begun working with a specialist company to reuse secondhand Leaf batteries for storage in home solar installations.

A relatively new company in the USA has addressed the challenges for existing Hybrids and EVs and quote services at what looks like reasonable rates. The information on their activities may prove interesting for those who would contemplate the replacement of an Outlander PHEV battery when it has reached the end of the line.

See; http://evobsession.com/hybrid-indus...-pack-upgrades-160-miles-per-charge-for-6500/ and here http://hybridindustries.webs.com/

The information on battery life at the bottom of the Hybrid Industries home page gives me hope that My PHEV battery may yet give me more than ten years life. For me, that takes care of the main worry about the potential lifespan of the PHEV. (When I eventually get mine delivered.)