Prospective Owner - Maintenance Questions - GTA, Ontario

[CanadianLurker]

Prospective buyer here and doing my research before pulling the trigger this month. They seem to have a fair number of them on the lots still and seem to be willing to make a good deal....

In looking at the Maintenance Schedule, I see that it says to do oil/filter changes at pretty short intervals. Considering that Mitsubishi Motors Genuine 0W-20 Synthetic Engine Oil is recommended, these oil change intervals seem overly frequent - especially with synthetic oil. I'm used to 20,000 or 1 year intervals with VW/Audi vehciles over the last 10 years or so.

Winters in Southern Ontario and the GTA are pretty mild, and while salt is used during/after storms I wouldn't think that would amount to being primarily driven on salt-spread roads. Would it?? I'm having a tough time thinking about having to pay for 2 oil changes a year instead of just one - but if I have to pay for 4 oil changes a year this might just make it a deal-breaker!!! and it's not just having to pay for them but the pain in the butt having to schedule them, etc.

Can anyone in Southern Ontario and especially the GTA advise if their Dealership is pushing Schedule 1 or if they go with Schedule 2 ??

Edited to also ask: What's the typical ballpark cost at the dealership to do an oil change & inspections??


Schedule 1 >> Every 6,000 km or every 3 months, or
Schedule 2 >> Every 12,000 km or every 6 months

Use Schedule 1 if you primarily operate your vehicle under any of these conditions:
• Driving on dusty, rough, muddy or salt-spread roads
• Towing or police, taxi or commercial operation
• Extensive idling and /or low speed operation
• Repeated short-trip operation at freezing temperatures (engine not thoroughly warmed up)
• Extended use of brakes while driving
• Driving in sandy areas
• More than 50% operation in heavy city traffic during hot weather above 90°F (32°C)

 

[richr]

In common with many hybrids, the petrol engine has to start and be producing useful power very quickly even from stone cold. So the oil they use tends to be thin and require certain additives to ensure it's lubricating and cooling properly under those conditions and will require changing more frequently than a conventional petrol engine that's running all the time. It's a similar schedule and type of oil on VW/Audi plug in hybrids for example. There is of course nothing to stop you doing oil changes yourself once it's out of the warranty period.

 

[CanadianLurker]

In common with many hybrids, the petrol engine has to start and be producing useful power very quickly even from stone cold. So the oil they use tends to be thin and require certain additives to ensure it's lubricating and cooling properly under those conditions and will require changing more frequently than a conventional petrol engine that's running all the time. It's a similar schedule and type of oil on VW/Audi plug in hybrids for example. There is of course nothing to stop you doing oil changes yourself once it's out of the warranty period.

I don't necessarily disagree with what you've said, but the US Warranty and Maintenance Booklet seems to just split everything into either Schedule 1 every 3 months or Schedule 2 every 6 months regardless of model. Looks like turbo, naturally aspirated, and PHEV all use this same approach. It just seems to me that Mitsubishi is behind the times on maintenance requirements and my concern is the cost this adds as well as the concern that their engine hasn't been modernized in the last 20 years and still needs maintenance like it's 1995.

From my research it doesn't seem like any PHEV has to have more frequent oil changes except for Mitsubishi which simply looks like they require more frequent oil changes regardless of model. Doubling the oil change interval over several years of ownership adds up on cost and inconvenience compared to other brands.

On this US site I plugged in for a 2018 Outlander without noting it as a PHEV: https://www.mitsubishicars.com/owners/service/maintenance-schedule

And this is the generic Maintenance Schedule that came back: https://mcarsstatic.cachefly.net/pdf/owners/owners-manuals/2018MY%20Waranty%20Manual%20Maintenance.pdf

And it seems to be the same as the PHEV version that AndyH posted in another thread ( http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3482 )

https://mcarsstatic.cachefly.net/pdf/owners/owners-manuals/2018MY%20Waranty%20Manual%20Maintenance.pdf

Audi A3 e-tron follows the same schedule as their other models with no accelerated intervals simply for being a PHEV:

https://www.audi.ca/content/dam/nemo/ca/NoMo/care-and-maintenance/Service-schedule-pdfs/EN/Model-Year-2018-English.pdf

Volvo XC90 is same oil change interval for PHEV:
https://volvornt.harte-hanks.com/manuals/2017/2017-Volvo-Maintenance-hybrid.pdf
https://volvornt.harte-hanks.com/manuals/2017/2017-Volvo-Maintenance-non-hybrid.pdf