Outlander PHEV Sub-Zero Operation Question

[ArthurUK]

Excellent pictures. I agree the pipes and the location of the heater under the seat smack of a last minute addition.
The pipes are also vulnerable to damage, I put a skid plate over mine and some pipe insulation on them.

When the press report EV's as a simpler more reliable design, they omit to mention the multiple cooling/heating systems and many expensive ECU's.
My first Outlander was T Boned by an idiot coming out of side road without looking, even though the structural damage was minor, I had the insurer write it off, because of the risk of unknown battery damage. They said they couldnt risk it catching fire later, as they had had previous fires.

 

[drwho]

-11'C and still in Turtle Mode, not able to set to EV Mode because Battery is too cold.... still.View attachment 1661

Even though Toronto weather is normally milder than Winnipeg weather and I most likely won't have any severe cold weather issues here, I'm still ticked off that this crap does happen to what appears to be a well-designed vehicle.

The temperature here could easily get to minus 20 or so and I would be hesitant to drive this car to a store or somewhere and leave it parked outside unplugged. Having to maintain the expense of a second vehicle that runs on gas because of this obvious fault is expensive and annoying.
This shortcoming should absolutely be disclosed to anyone considering purchasing a current Outlander and I can't believe that it isn't somehow illegal to sell a vehicle with a known major issue that could easily cause an unsafe situation, or death, if an unsuspecting driver was to stop and let the vehicle sit for a few hours in the wrong place.

Again, I will probably be okay and may not experience this problem personally, but if I had known about it, I would not have bought the 2024 Outlander. If someone gets a lawyer involved and there's a petition to sign to force Mitsubishi to design/provide a retrofit battery warmer, I would be happy to get behind it.
Best of luck Andre, and I sincerely hope you don't accidentally stop your car in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and meet an early demise.
Dave

 

[tyleriv]

There are no guarantees sometimes. I will not trash the car for a few days of -30 starts that are problematic if so. None in the 2 years by the way.

Yes, one should not generalize (opps, I'm generalizing again ;-) and you make very strong observations. However unlike conventional ICE vehicles, the 2023+ outlander PHEV is engineered to no-start under frigid temperature conditions (say < -25C) leaving the owner stranded. Moreover, this was a deliberate decision made by Mitsubishi as previous models of the PHEV had workarounds built into the battery system - a battery heater to maintain a traction battery start condition. This doesn't, on the face of it, appear to be difficult issue to overcome. They could have:

1) Retained the traction battery heater (even as an optional extra),
2) Installed a conventional ICE/Lead Acid battery starter,
3) Considered a limp mode start ICE only condition for the traction battery to provide a short term current burst only to start the ICE (assuming it doesn't damage the battery).

In addition, they could have redirected some of the "waste heat" of the ICE to warm the traction battery after the ICE is started to bring the battery up to an operational state quickly (perhaps they already do this - not sure). I believe that they redirect the heat pump to cool the battery in the heat of summer to control the battery's temperature.

Your observation that Toronto/Montreal do not experience these extreme temperatures is valid if you live in those areas and don't intent to travel to locations such as northern Ontario, the prairies, mountains etc. Alberta typically sees these cold temperatures a few days-weeks throughout the winter. I've experienced temperatures on the TransCanada over Lake Superior where my Lead Acid battery froze overnight (Thunder Bay) and then during the drive that day (Wawa) to Toronto, the carburetor iced up and I had to idle on the highway to prevent an engine stall until the ice melted away. I can't imagine considering the use of the PHEV under these conditions but those who live in these areas cope with battery blankets, block heaters etc. They have options with an ICE - it appears that we don't.

Again, as an aside, I find all of this quite ironic given that the dealer INSISTED on my purchase of the overpriced pre-installed "Alberta Winter Package" consisting of a block heater, floor mats and mud guards (to enhance rust ) to insure trouble free winter operation of the car ignoring the fact that the car would not start even if the ICE was nice and warm.

We really should have been informed of this situation prior to purchase. It is not reasonable to expect that a buyer would understand the environmental conditions that prevent the use of the car a-priori. Mitsubishi should (have) provide(d) an optional traction battery heater (similar to a block heater) if they didn't want to add to the cost of the vehicle. In this case, I would only have myself to blame. BTW, I still like the car - great value except for this down side.

 

[ronnieracoon]

-11'C and still in Turtle Mode, not able to set to EV Mode because Battery is too cold.... still.View attachment 1661

-11'C and still in Turtle Mode, not able to set to EV Mode because Battery is too cold.... still.View attachment 1661

I believe that most plug-in hybrids are like this. I previously had an ioniq 2019 PHEV and in cold weather like you experienced, the ice was running constantly. My l/100km was double that of summer early fall. Just the way that tech works.

 

[PHEV07]

I believe that most plug-in hybrids are like this. I previously had an ioniq 2019 PHEV and in cold weather like you experienced, the ice was running constantly. My l/100km was double that of summer early fall. Just the way that tech works.

My precious 2018 and 2022 never experienced loss of Power at temperatures as low as -12'C. It would happen yes but not untill the Temperatures reached temperatures of -30' or lower and only when the Drive Battery Charge Level was very low.

The Battery Management Heat system would automatically Heat the Battery Pack at -20'C because these 2018 to 2022 PHEV had an embedded Resistive Heater in the Battery Pack.

The 2023 and newer Models do not.

All other PHEVs in the Market do.

As far as Cab Heating is concerned, I was able to Drive my 2018 to 2022 in EV mode at temperatures as low as -18'C and still had enough heat to keep the Windshield clear. Because these Models did have a resistive/ceramic heater rated at 5.7kw I believe. Not certain on value.


With the 2023 to 2025 because there is no Resistive Cab Heater but just a Heat Pump, there is no useful Heat at temperatures lower than -12'C. So only good things these cRs do is to force the ICE to run but there is no way to get the car to go back to EV Mode even if the Drive Battery is fully Charged.

All other PHEVs on the Market do have Resistive Cab Heaters as did the 2018 to 2022 and of course, as do, all pure EV vehicles.

 

[ronnieracoon]

My precious 2018 and 2022 never experienced loss of Power at temperatures as low as -12'C. It would happen yes but not untill the Temperatures reached temperatures of -30' or lower and only when the Drive Battery Charge Level was very low.

The Battery Management Heat system would automatically Heat the Battery Pack at -20'C because these 2018 to 2022 PHEV had an embedded Resistive Heater in the Battery Pack.

The 2023 and newer Models do not.

All other PHEVs in the Market do.

As far as Cab Heating is concerned, I was able to Drive my 2018 to 2022 in EV mode at temperatures as low as -18'C and still had enough heat to keep the Windshield clear. Because these Models did have a resistive/ceramic heater rated at 5.7kw I believe. Not certain on value.


With the 2023 to 2025 because there is no Resistive Cab Heater but just a Heat Pump, there is no useful Heat at temperatures lower than -12'C. So only good things these cRs do is to force the ICE to run but there is no way to get the car to go back to EV Mode even if the Drive Battery is fully Charged.

All other PHEVs on the Market do have Resistive Cab Heaters as did the 2018 to 2022 and of course, as do, all pure EV vehicles.

Just so I 'm clear. Is your vehicle drivable in ICE mode? Beyond the battery acting wonky, or cabin heat issues in EV are you still able to get where you want but in ICE mode?

 

[PHEV07]

Just so I 'm clear. Is your vehicle drivable in ICE mode? Beyond the battery acting wonky, or cabin heat issues in EV are you still able to get where you want but in ICE mode?

Right now with Temperatures in the mid negative teens? Yes.

But remote starting is not possible, pre-warming the car remotely is not possible.

Setting up the pre-warming schedule is of no use because the Heat Pump puts out no heat at temperatures lower than -13'C.

All this was possible with my 2018 and 2022.

My biggest fear, the biggest fear for all owners of the 2023 to 2025 is that the car may fail to start when Temperatures drop to temperatures below -25'C.

Many owners of these years have reported starting problems with these cars. Now to read that at -30'C these cars may not only not start but may not even charge when plugged in, is very troublesome.

I only own one vehicle which is parked outdoors and we do reach temperatures in the low -30Cs.

This, is what this thread is about. Not whether the car runs in ICE mode or not.

If I wanted an ICE Vehicle I would have bought one.

If I wanted a Hybrid Vehicle I would have bought one.

I am leasing a 2024 Outlander PHEV now but have owned and have driven other Outlander PHEVs, namely 2018 and 2022 and they operated as was expected. At temperatures lower than -20'C the EV Mode would still work and the Cab Heat was warm, not hot but warm. At no time did they fail to start even at Temperatures.

They were true PHEVs.

The 2023 to 2025 are great cars and operate very well at temperatures above 0'C. But at temperatures lower than -10'C These cars should be parked and an ICE or pure EV should be used.

So to answer your question can I drive my car in ICE mode now? YES, but for how long? Should be the question.

Most importantly do I dare use this car to go anywhere when the Temperatures drop to -10'C and lower?

Should I consider replacing this car with a 2022 Outlander PHEV or look at another Brand or should I just save my money and buy a used ICE vehicle?

Or should I just bite the bullet
and just get pure EV?

These are the questions that I and a few of us on this Forum and others, are now asking ourselves.

Due to the fact that Mitsubishi has failed to even acknowledge that they really screwed up with the 2023 to 2025 Outlander PHEV, and are just offering band-aids solutions of software fixes, instead of recalling these cars to install a heater in the Battery Pack and a Resistive Cab heater as they did in the previous years ..... I may never buy another Mitsubishi again.

The 2023 to 2025 Outlander PHEVs should never have been sold to locations that see temperatures lower than -12'C

I hope that I have answered your question because I am getting closer to answering my own.

 

[ronnieracoon]

Right now with Temperatures in the mid negative teens yet.

But remote starting his not possible, pre-warming the car remotely is not possible.

Setting up the pre-warming schedule is of no use because the Heat Pump puts out no heat at temperatures lower than -13'C.

All this was possible with my 201i and 2024.

My biggest fear, the biggest fear for all owners of the 2023 to 2025 is that car may fail to start when Temperatures drop to temperatures below -25'C.

Many owners of these years have reported starting problems with ese cars. Now to read that at -30'C these cars may not only not start but may not even charge when plugged is troublesome.

I only own one vehicle which is parked at doors and we do reach temperatures in the low -30s.

This what this is about. Not whether the car runs in ICE mode or not.

If I wanted an ICE Vehicle I would have bought one.

If I wanted a Hybrid Vehicle I would have bought one.

II have owned and Driven Outlander PHEVs, namely 2018 and 2022 and operated AZ expected. They were Tru PHEVs.

The 2023 to 2025 is a great car and operates very well at temperatures above 0'C. But at temperatures lower than -10'C These cars should be parked and an ICE or pure EV should be used.

So to answer your question your question can I drive my car in ICE mode now? YES, but for how long?

Most importantly do I dare use my car to go anywhere when the Temperatures drop to -10'C and lower?

Should I consider replacing this car with a 2022 Outlander PHEV or look at another Brand or should I just save my money and buy a used ICE.

Or should I just bite the bullet
and just get pure EV?

Due to the fact that Mitsubishi has failed to even acknowledge that they really screwed up with the 2023 to 2025 Outlander PHEV, and are offering band-aids instead of recalling these cars to install a heater in the Battery Pack and a Redistive Cab heater as they did in the previous tears......I may never buy another Mitsubishi again.

The 2023 to 2025 Outlander PHEVs should never have been sold to locations that see temperatures lower than -12'C

I hope that I answered your question

Yes I do understand your concern. If you had wanted to an ICE or another option, the extreme cold weather challenges are real. I just feel that extreme weather EV mode is a challenge for many vehicles trying to keep their prices competitive. Even a 135k$ Tesla Cybertruck got bricked in Alberta recently with the cold.
I guess there are compromises going on in the EV/ PHEV business in the 55k$ space.
But I get your point!

 

[PHEV07]

This is neither hot nor cold when the HVAC is on. The passenger side does not have one of these.

Any idea what this item is for?

To me, it looks like a giant heat sink.

 

[drwho]

I can't think of any reason why when the temp is below -10 or -15, the ICE system doesn't just kick in and take over. The engine/PHEV control chips can be programmed to switch the related fuel, heating and drivetrain systems to make the PHEV Outlander a regular gas car for the few times a year that this is required. For a week, or even a month of the year I can drive on gas only as long as I know I have the security of knowing I'm not going to be stuck sleeping in my GD vehicle for the night till it warms up. Or getting a call that my wife is missing because the whole drive system shut down.
It's ludicrous and Mitsubishi should be offering a software update with some new chips and/or processors to facilitate a safe driving situation for us during cold weather.
If I truly find that in the future I am owning and upkeeping a second (gas) vehicle solely for the purpose of filling in for the Outlander during cold weather, I will get rid of the Outlander and drive the gas car.

 

[BobK]

My precious 2018 and 2022 never experienced loss of Power at temperatures as low as -12'C. It would happen yes but not untill the Temperatures reached temperatures of -30' or lower and only when the Drive Battery Charge Level was very low.

The Battery Management Heat system would automatically Heat the Battery Pack at -20'C because these 2018 to 2022 PHEV had an embedded Resistive Heater in the Battery Pack.

The 2023 and newer Models do not.

All other PHEVs in the Market do.

As far as Cab Heating is concerned, I was able to Drive my 2018 to 2022 in EV mode at temperatures as low as -18'C and still had enough heat to keep the Windshield clear. Because these Models did have a resistive/ceramic heater rated at 5.7kw I believe. Not certain on value.


With the 2023 to 2025 because there is no Resistive Cab Heater but just a Heat Pump, there is no useful Heat at temperatures lower than -12'C. So only good things these cRs do is to force the ICE to run but there is no way to get the car to go back to EV Mode even if the Drive Battery is fully Charged.

All other PHEVs on the Market do have Resistive Cab Heaters as did the 2018 to 2022 and of course, as do, all pure EV vehicles.

Can you help me understand something. I live in Nova Scotia so don't have the same extreme cold problems you have and I have never owned an older model PHEV. I have never had a problem starting or running my 2023 in what passes for cold weather around here, so that's why I need to ask. In my car, the ICE starts up when it is cold (no choice) and I get hot air out fairly soon as I drive the car, similar to pure ICE cars. In my understanding, this is because the heater is not using the heat pump but instead is using a heater core to run off the heat the ICE produces in the liquid cooling system. What I don't get is why other PHEV manufacturers and older Outlanders used a resitive heater for the cabin instead of the ICE coolant heater core, especially since there would be restrictions as to the amount of power available in the cold. I'm sure because it is so common that there is a good reason, I just don't yet understand.
Now I do understand that if a battery heater is running off the recharger's power source and heated everything up a lot while recharging (and increasing your power bill) that it wouldn't matter. But I can't understand how the amount of power required to run the battery heater on a very cold day without the recharger connected plus the amount to run a resistive cabin heater from a cold start would makes more sense than just relying on the ICE coolant heater. On a BEV of course there would be no alternative.
Here's another possible misconception that I may have: I thought I saw a schematic somewhere that made it look like the heat pump is connected to the ICE liquid cooling (heating) system and for heat is used as an alternative heat source to a cold ICE for the coolant that runs through the heater core instead of heating the air directly. The ICE switches on when the heat pump can't handle it (like when asked to cool instead of heat for defrosting). This would then imply that there is a separate path for the heat pump when cooling is invoked.
But, I also thought the ICE cooling system was connected to the battery liquid cooling system through some kind of thermostat or something (so that it could heat the battery when cold) and I can find no evidence of this when I look online - so I clearly don't understand the heat management system well.

 

[PHEV07]

I can't think of any reason why when the temp is below -10 or -15, the ICE system doesn't just kick in and take over. The engine/PHEV control chips can be programmed to switch the related fuel, heating and drivetrain systems to make the PHEV Outlander a regular gas car for the few times a year that this is required. For a week, or even a month of the year I can drive on gas only as long as I know I have the security of knowing I'm not going to be stuck sleeping in my GD vehicle for the night till it warms up. Or getting a call that my wife is missing because the whole drive system shut down.
It's ludicrous and Mitsubishi should be offering a software update with some new chips and/or processors to facilitate a safe driving situation for us during cold weather.
If I truly find that in the future I am owning and upkeeping a second (gas) vehicle solely for the purpose of filling in for the Outlander during cold weather, I will get rid of the Outlander and drive the gas car.

I could live with that except that without an Embedded Battery Heater in the Battery Pack, when not charging by Charge Port Cable the Battery Temperature drops down to and stays at the outside Ambient Temperature since the HVAC does not warm up the Battery when it is on.

Driving my 2024 in the city and Highway last Friday when Temperatures were -16'C with the ICE running 100% of the time, driving the car on ICe did not increase the Main Battery Temperature at all.

My biggest complaint is that the 2023 to 2025 PHEVs no longer has an embedded Battery Heater inside the Battery Pack

Looks like Mitsubishi Engineers worry more about the ICE than they do about the Main Drive Battery since they programed the car to demand that we add at least 20 L of fuel every 3 months but decided not to include an embedded Resistive Battery within the Battery Pack.

I can now confirm that plugging in the car does heat up the Battery as my Temperature gauge increased from being on the left vertical bar (1/5th way of horizontal bar outside temp was -12'C) and increased to 1/4 of the gauge, after charging.

This heating however was produced by charging the cells at 3.7kW. This heating is not done by any Heater as there no longer one in the Battery Pack.


It is important to add that at -12'C, when the Battery Level was at 5 kms left in range the car did go into EV Mode but was in Limp Mode because pushing the pedal to floor did not power the wheels past 30 kph.



Sorry, wrong Photo. The one I took at midnight did not save.

 

[Lon12]

Yes I do understand your concern. If you had wanted to an ICE or another option, the extreme cold weather challenges are real. I just feel that extreme weather EV mode is a challenge for many vehicles trying to keep their prices competitive. Even a 135k$ Tesla Cybertruck got bricked in Alberta recently with the cold.
I guess there are compromises going on in the EV/ PHEV business in the 55k$ space.
But I get your point!

I know the media is blaming the cold for the Cybertruck issue but in my experience (10+ years owning Tesla) they have excellent cold weather features. That vehicle probably would have bricked itself regardless of the weather at some point.

 

[ronnieracoon]

Tesla have a great battery heater. If you watch the YouTube video's of trying to supercharge a cold battery you will see they don't charge until the battery has warmed up. They also don't give you any regen unless the battery is warm.

I could live with that except that without an Embedded Battery Heater in the Battery Pack, when not charging by Charge Port Cable the Battery Temperature drops down to and stays at the outside Ambient Temperature since the HVAC does not warm up the Battery when it is on.

Driving my 2024 in the city and Highway last Friday when Temperatures were -16'C with the ICE running 100% of the time, driving the car on ICe did not increase the Main Battery Temperature at all.

My biggest complaint is that the 2023 to 2025 PHEVs no longer has an embedded Battery Heater inside the Battery Pack

Looks like Mitsubishi Engineers worry more about the ICE than they do about the Main Drive Battery since they programed the car to demand that we add at least 20 L of fuel every 3 months but decided not to include an embedded Resistive Battery within the Battery Pack.

I can now confirm that plugging in the car does heat up the Battery as my Temperature gauge increased from being on the left vertical bar (1/5th way of horizontal bar outside temp was -12'C) and increased to 1/4 of the gauge, after charging.

This heating however was produced by charging the cells at 3.7kW. This heating is not done by any Heater as there no longer one in the Battery Pack.


It is important to add that at -12'C, when the Battery Level was at 5 kms left in range the car did go into EV Mode but was in Limp Mode because pushing the pedal to floor did not power the wheels past 30 kph.View attachment 1675

P I have a 24 nod and have not noticed battery temp gauge. Where can I access this indicator.

 

[PHEV07]

P I have a 24 nod and have not noticed battery temp gauge. Where can I access this indicator.

Hmmm. Of course this info is not in the Manual.

When I go to my car a bit later, I will find the procedure to get to the Battery Meter and let you know, unless someone can post this procedure first.

 

[PHEV07]

Can you help me understand something. I live in Nova Scotia so don't have the same extreme cold problems you have and I have never owned an older model PHEV. I have never had a problem starting or running my 2023 in what passes for cold weather around here, so that's why I need to ask. In my car, the ICE starts up when it is cold (no choice) and I get hot air out fairly soon as I drive the car, similar to pure ICE cars. In my understanding, this is because the heater is not using the heat pump but instead is using a heater core to run off the heat the ICE produces in the liquid cooling system. What I don't get is why other PHEV manufacturers and older Outlanders used a resitive heater for the cabin instead of the ICE coolant heater core, especially since there would be restrictions as to the amount of power available in the cold. I'm sure because it is so common that there is a good reason, I just don't yet understand.
Now I do understand that if a battery heater is running off the recharger's power source and heated everything up a lot while recharging (and increasing your power bill) that it wouldn't matter. But I can't understand how the amount of power required to run the battery heater on a very cold day without the recharger connected plus the amount to run a resistive cabin heater from a cold start would makes more sense than just relying on the ICE coolant heater. On a BEV of course there would be no alternative.
Here's another possible misconception that I may have: I thought I saw a schematic somewhere that made it look like the heat pump is connected to the ICE liquid cooling (heating) system and for heat is used as an alternative heat source to a cold ICE for the coolant that runs through the heater core instead of heating the air directly. The ICE switches on when the heat pump can't handle it (like when asked to cool instead of heat for defrosting). This would then imply that there is a separate path for the heat pump when cooling is invoked.
But, I also thought the ICE cooling system was connected to the battery liquid cooling system through some kind of thermostat or something (so that it could heat the battery when cold) and I can find no evidence of this when I look online - so I clearly don't understand the heat management system well.

Hi Bob, you do have a good grasp of what the Outlander PHEV used to do but no longer does when the Engineers at Mitsubishi decided to add a HeatPump which in itself was a great improvement but what the Engineers did next and what should get them fired was to remove the Resistive Heater which used to be embedded in the Battery Pack.

All PHEVs and EVs require an embedded Heater to heat and protect the Battery from getting too cold. The 2014 to 2017 PHEVs which were not available in North America had the Battery Heater. When they arrived in North America, the 2018 to 2022 PHEVs had built in or embedded Battery Heaters but from 2023 onwards these Battery Heaters were removed.

In as much as the Heat Pump works very effeciently at Temperatures above -10'C when the car is in EV Mode at -12'C if we can get the car go into EV Mode, the output temperature is too low to warm the Cab.

The Heat Pump is used to cool the Battery but it is not used to warm up the Battery. Only an embedded Heater can warm the Battery or when the car is being Charged. Driving around town or short trip in the highway does not draw enough current to warm up a Battery at temperatures below -12'C

The 2018 to 2022 had a Battery Management System that energized the Embeddeded Battery Heater at -20'C to keep the Battery warm, even when not plugged in. 2018 to 2022 PHEVs performed very well in the winter Time even in temperatures below -30'C and colder.

Regarding Cab Heating:

On pre 2023 PHEVs the Cab Heater used to be a Resistive type newer ones being Ceramic Electric Heaters and worked very well keeping the Cab warm while in EV Mode even in -10'C it gave out some heat.

Once it got colder outside, the car may have started the ICE on its own to use the ICE heating thru the coolant Heater Core. We could allow this or force the car into ICE Mode by selecting Normal, Save or Charge Mode.

From what I have read the Ceramic Resistive Cab Heater on pre 2023 PHEV was rated at 5.7kW.

2023 to 2025 PHEV no longer have a Cab Heater but istead has a Heat Pump that is useless when Temperatures drop lower than -12'C

As I stated before you seem to have a good handle on the basics but now I hope that you can appreciate our concern at the realization that the Mitsubishi Engineers really screwed up when they removed the Embedded Battery Heater from the Batterh Pack.

Also, removing the Ceramic Cab Heater was a dumb idea as it is more effective than a Heat Pump at temperatures lower than -12'C

Hope this helps to clear a few things up.

Not to repeat alot of what has been posted already, please read thru this thread.

Lon12 and I have been plugging in a 1500W heater into the Inverter plug to help heating up our Cab untill the ICE is warm enough to heat the Cab.

I am not suggesting that everyone do this but it is a good option to consider

 

[evman77]

Yes, one should not generalize (opps, I'm generalizing again ;-) and you make very strong observations. However unlike conventional ICE vehicles, the 2023+ outlander PHEV is engineered to no-start under frigid temperature conditions (say < -25C) leaving the owner stranded. Moreover, this was a deliberate decision made by Mitsubishi as previous models of the PHEV had workarounds built into the battery system - a battery heater to maintain a traction battery start condition. This doesn't, on the face of it, appear to be difficult issue to overcome. They could have:

1) Retained the traction battery heater (even as an optional extra),
2) Installed a conventional ICE/Lead Acid battery starter,
3) Considered a limp mode start ICE only condition for the traction battery to provide a short term current burst only to start the ICE (assuming it doesn't damage the battery).

In addition, they could have redirected some of the "waste heat" of the ICE to warm the traction battery after the ICE is started to bring the battery up to an operational state quickly (perhaps they already do this - not sure). I believe that they redirect the heat pump to cool the battery in the heat of summer to control the battery's temperature.

Your observation that Toronto/Montreal do not experience these extreme temperatures is valid if you live in those areas and don't intent to travel to locations such as northern Ontario, the prairies, mountains etc. Alberta typically sees these cold temperatures a few days-weeks throughout the winter. I've experienced temperatures on the TransCanada over Lake Superior where my Lead Acid battery froze overnight (Thunder Bay) and then during the drive that day (Wawa) to Toronto, the carburetor iced up and I had to idle on the highway to prevent an engine stall until the ice melted away. I can't imagine considering the use of the PHEV under these conditions but those who live in these areas cope with battery blankets, block heaters etc. They have options with an ICE - it appears that we don't.

Again, as an aside, I find all of this quite ironic given that the dealer INSISTED on my purchase of the overpriced pre-installed "Alberta Winter Package" consisting of a block heater, floor mats and mud guards (to enhance rust ) to insure trouble free winter operation of the car ignoring the fact that the car would not start even if the ICE was nice and warm.

We really should have been informed of this situation prior to purchase. It is not reasonable to expect that a buyer would understand the environmental conditions that prevent the use of the car a-priori. Mitsubishi should (have) provide(d) an optional traction battery heater (similar to a block heater) if they didn't want to add to the cost of the vehicle. In this case, I would only have myself to blame. BTW, I still like the car - great value except for this down side.

I haven't experienced this with my 2019 mostly because we seldom get to -20C and even when we do I park in a garage the doesn't usually go below 0. I never expected the car to run in EV mode at that temp.

 

[AndyInOz]

View attachment 1674

This is neither hot nor cold when the HVAC is on. The passenger side does not have one of these.

Any idea what this item is for?

To me, it looks like a giant heat sink.

Does it open and close if you slide it forward and back?

 

[PHEV07]

Does it open and close if you slide it forward and back?

No. It is firmly positioned in the floor

 

[PHEV07]

P I have a 24 nod and have not noticed battery temp gauge. Where can I access this indicator.

I was going to upload a video of the procedure but it was too large.

I will try again later tonight or tomorrow