Outlander PHEV Sub-Zero Operation Question

[jpetro]

I am a recent owner of a new 2023 Outlander PHEV, purchased in October 2023. I have read much about the possibility of being stranded in Sub-zero weather conditions where the main battery shuts down and will not start the engine. I am looking for advice. I live in Iowa and we are expecting sub-zero temps starting this Saturday night ( 1-13-2024) for several days. Sunday, the high temperature is expected to be in the -8° F during the day and -17°F at night this weekend and gradually warm up throughout the week. While my car is in an attached garage, it is not heated. I don't expect it to get below zero while garaged. However, I will go to work on Monday and the car will be outside for the day which has highs predicated at -6°F.

Are there any precautions I need to take to make sure it will start after sitting in temperatures of less than -6° F during the day? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Jim Petro

 

[DarrenHD]

I don't think there is much you could do. You could charge the car, that may warm the battery up a bit. Driving will also. In the manual it states that you should wait for the temperatures to rise if the battery is too cold to start. Not a good answer, I know.

I think at those temps you still should be OK though.

Darren

 

[jpetro]

Thanks Darren, appreciate your quick response. I'll try it out on Monday and see if I need to call for a tow.

 

[kpetrov]

Yea, if you can't plug it at work there is nothing you can do but hope.

 

[Lon12]

I agree with Darren. Those temperatures should be ok. We start seeing the battery too cold to start issues around the -20°F range.

 

[biljhay]

I am a recent owner of a new 2023 Outlander PHEV, purchased in October 2023. I have read much about the possibility of being stranded in Sub-zero weather conditions where the main battery shuts down and will not start the engine. I am looking for advice. I live in Iowa and we are expecting sub-zero temps starting this Saturday night ( 1-13-2024) for several days. Sunday, the high temperature is expected to be in the -8° F during the day and -17°F at night this weekend and gradually warm up throughout the week. While my car is in an attached garage, it is not heated. I don't expect it to get below zero while garaged. However, I will go to work on Monday and the car will be outside for the day which has highs predicated at -6°F.

Are there any precautions I need to take to make sure it will start after sitting in temperatures of less than -6° F during the day? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Jim Petro

just ahead of you on the cold snap - we hit -13F -14ish and car was fine. got a "reduced function warning" on the dash for 5 10 minutes, then the electrons flowed, warmed up, and warning disappeared. NOW we are below -20F. battery temperature shows NOTHING, car giving several versions of a "too cold" warning when i try to start it. It is dead. the electronics show battery is 1/2 charged, but no electron flow. This is below the controlboard's operating temp. i am disappointed, i usually love the car.

 

[Lon12]

just ahead of you on the cold snap - we hit -13F -14ish and car was fine. got a "reduced function warning" on the dash for 5 10 minutes, then the electrons flowed, warmed up, and warning disappeared. NOW we are below -20F. battery temperature shows NOTHING, car giving several versions of a "too cold" warning when i try to start it. It is dead. the electronics show battery is 1/2 charged, but no electron flow. This is below the controlboard's operating temp. i am disappointed, i usually love the car.

Would like to hear from everyone that is having this issue as to what Mitsubishi is doing to help you. Do they provide free tow to their garage, give you a gas car to drive, or just tell you to wait for warmer weather. On the other forum many owners mention that dealership tried to boost start using the 12v.

 

[biljhay]

Would like to hear from everyone that is having this issue as to what Mitsubishi is doing to help you. Do they provide free tow to their garage, give you a gas car to drive, or just tell you to wait for warmer weather. On the other forum many owners mention that dealership tried to boost start using the 12v.

my dealer offered nothing. Honestly, this is a new thing to them too and they have no solution as this is a new design..... they said plug in both block heater and charger, and see what happens.. Charger light went RED so was not accepting any charge. May get to -29 this afternoon, will see if that works....At -35 this morning, and yesterday, it is better to be patient ,let it sit, suck it up. take some notes.... you just cant fix, tow, boost etc at this low temp....might blow something else, crack plastic, get frostbite. any activity outside is difficult

 

[Lon12]

Block heater? Ours never came with that option.

Shows how poor the communication is from Mitsubishi to the dealerships. We experienced this issue last winter.

Fastest fix would be to do a software update that lets us "turtle mode" the car to a warm garage.

 

[Tracey]

I'm in Golden, BC with a 2023 Outlander PHEV and it's been -35 Celcius for 2 nights. I don't think there's a warning light that has not come on - but she starts every time. I start charging again an hour before I need to go and warm the cabin for 30 minutes prior.
I was also told I didn't need a block heater by the salesman. I'm going to the dealership Monday and asking about an oil pan warmer.
My only issue at the moment is that it won't stop charging when plugged in, no matter what the schedule is set to or if I stop it from the button on the dash, it just turns back to charge in every case. So I have been unplugging to stop it from overcharging as I understood I really shouldn't charge more than 80? Thoughts?

 

[DougF]

I'm in Golden, BC with a 2023 Outlander PHEV and it's been -35 Celcius for 2 nights. I don't think there's a warning light that has not come on - but she starts every time. I start charging again an hour before I need to go and warm the cabin for 30 minutes prior.
I was also told I didn't need a block heater by the salesman. I'm going to the dealership Monday and asking about an oil pan warmer.
My only issue at the moment is that it won't stop charging when plugged in, no matter what the schedule is set to or if I stop it from the button on the dash, it just turns back to charge in every case. So I have been unplugging to stop it from overcharging as I understood I really shouldn't charge more than 80? Thoughts?

Is your car parked outside? If so, maybe you want to leave it plugged in so that the traction battery doesn't get too cold to start.

 

[mellobob]

My understanding is that you cannot charge it past 80%. Just leave it plugged in, esp. during this cold weather. The top 20% of the battery is reserved.

 

[AndyInOz]

My understanding is that you cannot charge it past 80%. Just leave it plugged in, esp. during this cold weather. The top 20% of the battery is reserved.

As mellobob said above. The top 20% of the battery is hidden from the user, as is an amount of the bottom range.

The car protects the user from damaging the battery.

 

[karl]

I've only started in -31 C but that worked. 2020 north European model. It took almost one hour of driving before the battery came online, all power came from the engine and no regenerative braking.

I got the same warnings the other day in -14C - I think this behaviour is new since the last service btw.

If nothing happens at all when pushing the start button, the auxiliary battery might be shot. Worth trying to jumpstart it. If that works then the aux-battery might need to be replaced.

As a side note, a relative just had -38 C and all the diesel cars froze up too, so well, its a bit outside the envelope.

 

[kpetrov]

I've only started in -31 C but that worked. 2020 north European model. It took almost one hour of driving before the battery came online, all power came from the engine and no regenerative braking.

Up to 2022 all models perform as expected, only 2023 and 2024 (new generation) with new battery are abomination in the cold.

 

[ChrisMiller]

Tesla owners in deep freeze discover the cold, hard truth about EVs
I hear it's around -40ºC in northern Finland, at the moment.

 

[kpetrov]

Tesla owners in deep freeze discover the cold, hard truth about EVs
I hear it's around -40ºC in northern Finland, at the moment.

Not the same... their problem is charging station not available or failing charging stations.
Their Tesla's started.

 

[Lon12]

I drive my Tesla in those conditions all the time. Nothing likes -40ºC. But Tesla has done a lot to help over the years. The battery pre-conditioning feature targets +55ºC for fast charging. As long as you anticipate the added consumption for that and the cabin heat, road tripping is not an issue. I've also purchased the S3XY button software so I can pre-condition the battery when going to non Tesla chargers.

 

[kmschecter]

As mellobob said above. The top 20% of the battery is hidden from the user, as is an amount of the bottom range.

The car protects the user from damaging the battery.

Not true. Per my OBD-2, the battery charges to well north of 95% of the spec'd capacity for the NMC cells.

 

[DarrenHD]

As far as I am aware a block heater or engine heater, or even oil pan heater will not help if your car is too cold to start. It's not the engine, it's the battery that is too cold. The main battery (not 12V) is used to start the engine. So if your car is too cold to start and you are in that situation there is really nothing you can do until the temperature (and thus battery) warms up enough. My question is, if it's super cold out and you have your car plugged in, is that enough to keep it "alive" even in the cold? I am not 100% certain of the answer. The engineer from Mitsu some people have mentioned (His name is Honda) said to leave it plugged in. I only own a 2018 so my car has the dedicated battery heater. Would be nice to know from the 2023+ owners if you have your car plugged in in sub -30 temps does it still start vs. leaving it unplugged.