You may remember a story from the end of March regarding several electrified Mitsubishi models that had serious problems with their batteries on an Outlander PHEV and an i-MiEV.
Now, the Japanese automaker has come up with an answer as to why the issue occurred. They are blaming microscopic contaminants that somehow managed got through the materials screening process.
Tests are still being run, even as you are reading these lines, but a full large-scale recall has yet to be announced. Once done, some 4,000 vehicles will be recalled, all of which were sold in Japan, as it was the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid’s first market.
It is by no means a good thing that this happened, but it is far better that it happened before the hybrid Outlander went on sale elsewhere, as they didn’t get a chance to sell that many.
Still, until the recall is issued, owners of the affected Outlanders are advised to turn off the hybrid system and just run the vehicle with the petrol engine, without electrical assistance. What’s interesting is the fact that all the owners will be compensated for the larger fuel bills they will have to contend with until the issue is fixed.
By Andrei Nedelea
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