Cost trap battery plug-in Hybrid Outlander?

This “electric driving” might make sense. And without emissions, especially if you fill up with electricity from your own roof. But who pays the bill when the technology fails? Electric cars and plug-in hybrids are crammed with expensive technology. What if something breaks? And then this battery - you know the tiresome batteries from notebooks and cell phones. Who should be able to rely on it? And anyway - if something breaks, it will be incredibly expensive?

The plug-in Hybrid Outlander in the cost trap?

Battery repair in plug-in Hybrid Outlander from Mitsubishi

For more than two years now we have been driving a plug-in hybrid Outlander from Mitsubishi in an endurance test. problems? No. defects? No. Instead, above all, less fuel consumption, much less CO2 emissions and lots of fun driving silently. But what about in 3-5 years? Of course we are concerned about this. Our test vehicle is provided by Mitsubishi Motors Automobile - we don't really have to worry. Because if something were to happen, then we have the advantage that you have as a driver of test vehicles: You call the manufacturer and they take care of it. But of course that doesn't apply to the many buyers of the plug-in hybrid Outlander. The question of durability is correspondingly important. In operation for over two years now. If you bought your Outlander from 2015, you already have a 5-year guarantee (up to 100.000 km mileage), so you don’t really have to worry about technical niggles until 2020.

But what about the battery? You know that from the mobile phone!

The most important point is simple: There is a qualitative difference between hardware for the electronic consumer sector and for use in automobiles. This also applies to radio, navigation and multimedia systems. The demands are significantly higher for use in cars. And the traction battery of e-vehicles and hybrids is also specially optimized for use in cars. Extreme cold, extreme heat, vibrations and impacts - the claim of the car manufacturers to ensure the longest possible service life. You have to keep that in mind when thinking about defects and comparing the battery of the plug-in hybrid with the battery of the cheap smartphone.

The Mitsubishi also writes the strongest argument in the warranty conditions: The plug-in hybrid Outlander comes with an 8 year guarantee on the battery! 8 years. No other manufacturer gives such a long guarantee on components of its vehicle! That means 8 long years of security on the battery. In our case, the Outlander would have driven around 96.000 km.

What you have to remember then, is the additional insensitivity to the classic problems: A broken alternator? A broken starter? Equipped V-belts? And so on. The plug-in hybrid no longer has an alternator. The classic starter has also been replaced by the generator. The number of V-belts therefore minimized. Of the Service and maintenance of the plug-in hybrid is thus reduced to a minimum.

And if in 8 years the battery is defective?

Then Mitsubishi will fix this. Because Mitsubishi is currently the only brand in Germany, the one Offer repair of the battery cellsinstead of selling an expensive replacement of the package! These are extremely good arguments in favor of the plug-in hybrids.

Mitsubishi does everything to minimize the risks of the new technology for the customer. Long guarantees and afterwards? The offer to replace battery cells individually!

When the cost trap becomes a pillow

It shows: Not only in the last two years the cost risk was low and the actual scope of service went “to zero” - no - you don't have to worry about the future either. The complex technology of the plug-in hybrid is not only specially developed, but also particularly well secured by Mitsubishi.

Will we still be driving our Plug-In Hybrid Outlander in 8 years? - If you had to talk to Mitsubishi 😉