First Service advice please!

[dilukabey]

Hi,
I just imported directly my outlander phev with just 8 km milage without going through the dealer in my country. So now i will have to do all my service and mods by my self. I need some advice on when to perform the first service and what to replace/change. Please specify the engine oil specifications for outlander phev. Many thanks. Cheers.
Kind regards,
Diluk

 

[aitchjaybee]

hi, I notice this thread is getting a few views but no replies. From my perspective, I can't help as my dealer takes care of it. I'm curious why importing the car measn you can't ask the delaer to service for you? I will get my car serviced at a different dealer than the one who supplied it, and if you boought the car second hand, you would also have a potentially different dealer to purchase
My PHEV has a service menu on the dashboard that tells you how many miles until next service

 

[dilukabey]

hi, I notice this thread is getting a few views but no replies. From my perspective, I can't help as my dealer takes care of it. I'm curious why importing the car measn you can't ask the delaer to service for you? I will get my car serviced at a different dealer than the one who supplied it, and if you boought the car second hand, you would also have a potentially different dealer to purchase
My PHEV has a service menu on the dashboard that tells you how many miles until next service

Thanks for your infomation aitchjaybee. The issue is the Mitsubishi dealer here don't sell phev models except petrol versions and also they don't perform phev services either. There are very few people who does hybrid electric services here so i want to collect more information/advice on this matter before carry out any service. Cheers.

 

[Peleep]

hi, I notice this thread is getting a few views but no replies. From my perspective, I can't help as my dealer takes care of it. I'm curious why importing the car measn you can't ask the delaer to service for you? I will get my car serviced at a different dealer than the one who supplied it, and if you boought the car second hand, you would also have a potentially different dealer to purchase
My PHEV has a service menu on the dashboard that tells you how many miles until next service

Thanks for your infomation aitchjaybee. The issue is the Mitsubishi dealer here don't sell phev models except petrol versions and also they don't perform phev services either. There are very few people who does hybrid electric services here so i want to collect more information/advice on this matter before carry out any service. Cheers.

Where are you? Which country are you in and where did your import come from?

 

[jaapv]

This is not going to be easy. The car needs to be connected to a computer running the official Mitsubishi service program which goes online to Japan.
I would advise you to contact the factory .

 

[Regulo]

I wouldn't consider touching it. There are too many pitfalls. Even though the engine is much as any other petrol engine, I really wouldn't attempt anything other than routine level checks. This is not a DIY car, in my opinion. Not least of any other consideration, the thought of a spanner touching 300 volts puts me off, somehow!

 

[jaapv]

Well, it is certainly not a DIY car, but maintenance and repair can hardly be rocket science, given that M. has been training hundreds, if not thousands of garage mechanics how to service it.
The main problem for the DIY mechanic will be that he lacks the training, soft- and hardware and connectivity to do the job properly, if at all. After all, only half the car is mechanical, the essential other part is fully digital. Where is the individual owner going to obtain the equipment, training , parts and software to maintain it?

 

[greendwarf]

With only 8km on it then, like any other car, all it needs is an oil & filter change, at first service.

 

[jaapv]

Not true. Readout and update and link to Tokyo is required at every service. Otherwise you lose your guaranty.
My first service was at 20.000 Km, btw. An oil change at 1500 like in the past was not required. The service booklet has been replaced by a central database.

 

[TerryB]

Can the OP not just drive to a country that can do the service - I understand this could be costly and time consuming but I think it would be the only way to get a full and proper service to maintain the warranty.

Personally, I wouldn't have even considered the car without the backup locally.

 

[jaapv]

That is probably the only way. Cars nowadays, and cars like this more than all, have become complex digital-mechanical devices so much nowadays that DIY service and repair is next to impossible.
Even my last few cars, which were fairly straightforward Ford/Jaguar Diesels needed to be on a computer each service to update the firmware and reset adjustments. Mitsubishi and other hybrid car makers have taken this a giant leap further.
Anecdote: In 1988 I bought a factory-tuned Volvo 245 Turbo. The thing had an electronic glitch that had a habit of breaking down occasionally. It turned out to be an intermittent mass contact that generated peak voltages occasionally blowing up the various “computers” that controlled the car. When I asked the owner of the Bosch service (the Volvo dealer was not allowed to touch the stuff) what he himself did in such a case he said: I call my workshop. There is no way I can do anything without my electronic tools. 27 years ago....

I find it naive to the point of incredible that anybody would buy a car abroad without securing the service options beforehand.

 

[greendwarf]

Not true. Readout and update and link to Tokyo is required at every service. Otherwise you lose your guaranty.
My first service was at 20.000 Km, btw. An oil change at 1500 like in the past was not required. The service booklet has been replaced by a central database.

He presumably hasn't got a warranty as it is second hand and imported privately - so he doesn't need the Tokyo link stuff.

 

[jaapv]

Why should a privately imported car which is obviously new (8km) not be under factory warranty? And you do need the link stuff for the five years unconditional guaranty on the electrical drive train.
The times are changing. The black coveralls, screwdriver and set of spanners are a thing of the past, or at most a faint shadow used for some mechanical stuff.

 

[greendwarf]

Why should a privately imported car which is obviously new (8km) not be under factory warranty? And you do need the link stuff for the five years unconditional guaranty on the electrical drive train.
The times are changing. The black coveralls, screwdriver and set of spanners are a thing of the past, or at most a faint shadow used for some mechanical stuff.

I am assuming he is outside of the EU so our Rules don't apply. I can assure you that prior to joining in 1971 if you imported a car into the UK then no warranty! Even today, I understand grey imports from outside the EU still carry no warranty in the UK. Most guarantees carry a geographical limitation - I won't bore you with the legal reasons but the practical reasons are obvious. As he has found out, the local Mitsu dealers have no capability to deal with the PHEV.

See AA article http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/car-buyers-guide/cbg_imports.html

 

[jaapv]

Well, we seem to agree this guy has bought himself a real problem. As far as I know there is no service manual available to the general public either...(or he is having us on )

 

[greendwarf]

Well, we seem to agree this guy has bought himself a real problem. As far as I know there is no service manual available to the general public either...(or he is having us on )

But he is asking about a first service. In the longer term he will perhaps run into difficulties getting spare parts and certainly if he has electronic problems but most modern cars will perform satisfactorily for several years without incident - otherwise the manufacturers couldn't afford to offer extended warranties or fixed price servicing contracts (£500 for 3 years in UK).

So in the short-term this is just basic ICE maintenance - oil, filters, pads etc.

 

[jaapv]

On the various forums I have already seen reports of at least half a dozen cars that needed electronic repairs/updates/resets to remain functional.

My MMCS has broken down - it just needed an update - and a dealer to slip the SD card in the slot

 

[greendwarf]

On the various forums I have already seen reports of at least half a dozen cars that needed electronic repairs/updates/resets to remain functional.

My MMCS has broken down - it just needed an update - and a dealer to slip the SD card in the slot

Out of how many built :?: Of course, he may be unlucky but the probability is that he won't be. And at present he isn't but he does have the car (too late now to debate the wisdom of it) so he will need to change the oil, at least, in due course.

 

[jaapv]

Yes - changing oil is fine - although with modern oils that is hardly a pressing need. But what about reading out the logs to check the main part of the car? Resetting various parameters? Doing updates and bug fixes?

 

[maby]

Yes - changing oil is fine - although with modern oils that is hardly a pressing need. But what about reading out the logs to check the main part of the car? Resetting various parameters? Doing updates and bug fixes?

It's certainly not something I would want to do with a nearly new (and, presumably, quite expensive car). When our old Prius got out of warranty, I objected to paying Toyota service prices and could not find any local independent that was willing to even lift the bonnet, so I fell back to just oil and filter changes done myself, but I had very definitely reached the "run it till it breaks" phase for the car. That said, my son subsequently wrecked his car and we gave him the Prius to tide him over till he got a replacement - that old Prius is still running fine a couple of years later on home oil and filter changes and nothing else!