Cell Monitoring Unit "recall"

TaosEV · Sep 13, 2012

Got the notice yesterday from Mitsubishi that our car is subject to a "customer satisfaction campaign" (note: it's not a recall in the NHTSA sense) for the Cell Monitoring Unit software update.

Since we live well beyond driving range to our Mitsubishi dealer, I called Mitsubishi to find out 1) how likely it was that a car would experience the described failure, 2) whether Mitsubishi might pay to trailer our car to the dealer for the work, and 3) whether or not the work could wait until the scheduled one year service interval.

While the customer service reps were very pleasant, they didn't know anything aside from the car should be brought to a dealer for service. So the answers to my questions were:

1) I don't know the answer to that.
2) No, but you could always use your roadside assistance for a one-way tow to your dealer for a "failure" of the car.
3) I don't know, but it's not a recall, so maybe you could wait.

They suggested I call and speak to the service manager at my dealer. I haven't done that yet ... trailer to the dealer and back is a $500 proposition for us.

Has anyone experienced the described Cell Monitoring Unit failure??

BillThompsonMIEV · Sep 13, 2012

I have also received the notice SC-12-002. I do not have the distance factor to contend with, as I am eight miles from the dealer. I do not want to call yet. Solictining opinions on what this "satisfaction campaign" really means. Any opinions?

oahumiev · Sep 14, 2012

I also received this here in Hawaii today, my dealer is about 15 miles away but not sure what this "fix" will entail. If it were urgent, would my dealer that I purchased from not call me directly? Hope they even know how to fix the issue that is being mentioned in letter. Would appreciate any updates from a Miev owner who has had this issue fixed by Mitsubishi.

Don · Sep 14, 2012

I called yesterday to see about an appointment and they said 'Bring it in tomorrow at 9AM' so I asked if they actually had the software and the training to do the upgrade and I got 'I'm not sure - We'll call you back'

They called back this morning and confirmed they do have everything they need and wanted to schedule me for Monday. I asked if they had done this procedure on either of the unsold cars they've got on the lot and he told me that was scheduled for Tuesday, so I made an appointment for Wednesday at 9AM

So - I'll know more next week

Don

jjlink · Sep 14, 2012

They San Jose Calif Mitsubishi Service Dept won't even call back for the "customer satisfaction campaign" or the previous SRS recall.

MLucas · Sep 14, 2012

I have not yet gotten this notice yet and I also have the same problem with getting my i to a Mitsubishi dealership. But, I did get a friendly e-mail from the service department telling me its been three months since purchase and I should take my car in for routine service. That is not going to happen, I'm thinking about responding nicely and tell them I own the i MiEV which doesn't require service for another 8 months.

jjlink · Sep 14, 2012

Maybe they will offer a free oil change :lol:

TaosEV · Sep 15, 2012

I too got a very friendly email from the dealer service department reminding me my first service was at three months and they did in fact offer a free oil change as an incentive to make an appointment. I wrote a very nice email back to the service person to remind them that I had an electric car, the recommended service intervals were annual, and that perhaps she might spend a few minutes with their knowledgeable EV salesman to help update her email reminder system.

The sales guy called me a few days later; we both got a good laugh out of it. Funny how rigid the old dealer/service paradigm is!

UnderPSI · Sep 17, 2012

It's just a software update. I had mine done a little over a week ago.

oahumiev · Sep 17, 2012

UnderPSI, how long did revision take, notice anything different?

UnderPSI · Sep 18, 2012

oahumiev said:
UnderPSI, how long did revision take, notice anything different?

Took about 1/2 hr and didn't affect anything but we didn't have an issue anyway.

oahumiev · Sep 19, 2012

UnderPSI said:
oahumiev said:

UnderPSI, how long did revision take, notice anything different?

Click to expand...

Took about 1/2 hr and didn't affect anything but we didn't have an issue anyway.

Just scheduled mine for two weeks from today, haven't had any issues in 9 months of ownership. Wonder if they can also run a battery capacity test

Don · Sep 19, 2012

Mine took longer - About an hour. The tech said it upgrades 13 different segments (he called them CPU's??) and each one took about 5 minutes. He plugged it in and let it run and it was over in about an hour

Several steps to set up the process, one of which was to put a battery charger on the car's 12 volt battery - Since the car has to be turned on to do the upgrade, I guess it would be nothing short of a disaster if the car's battery went dead in the process of doing the upgrade

Don

JoeS · Sep 19, 2012

Wow - 21st Century car servicing consists of plugging in a computer and letting it do its thing.

CMU must be a subset of the BMU (Cell Monitoring Unit does not show up in the manual).

I, for one, am happy that we're having this software upgrade, and I hope it's not simply to fix the stated problem "The current internal software programming for he Cell Monitoring Unit (CMU) may falsely detect a failure of the Main Drive Lithim-ion Battery, which may result in illumination of the warning light and reduce battery output.".

The body of knowledge regarding Lithium chemistry battery management optimization is still in its infancy, and I'd like to think that Mitsu engineers are staying on top of it and maybe improving the algorithms. I'm also curious to see if their present ten-minute 'timeout' during the charging cycle will have been changed or if our Remote "Error" problem goes away.

I'll be going in for an upgrade in October...

oakvilleblake · Sep 19, 2012

I got the following email today from the service department of the dealer where we bought our iMiev:

Also there is a technical campaign on your vehicle that just came out. Basically there is a cell monitoring unit that may show falsely a failure of the main battery and turn on the warning indicator. We need to upload a new software program that takes appx 45 mins to complete.

.

Sounds like the same thing

I had a similar issue on my Zero motorcycle and unfortunately the software update didn't cure the problems I was having with the vehicle 'stalling' (sudden shut-down). Hopefully Mitsubishi has the situation under better control.

blake

sandange · Sep 20, 2012

I received my notice in the mail also

MLucas · Sep 20, 2012

Me too, now - how to get the car to the dealership? This is going to be interesting.

leec · Sep 21, 2012

My i-MiEV was subject to an airbag sensor recall. The dealership also did some kind of software update and downloaded data related to quick charging failures on the Blink DCFC units in Seattle CASE 24861

Don · Sep 21, 2012

MLucas said:
Me too, now - how to get the car to the dealership? This is going to be interesting.

I'm guessing this may be a once or twice per year thing until all the bugs are worked out. How far away is the dealership? You can leave home with a full charge of course and also when you leave the dealership - Can you find some place halfway in between to get a recharge?

Don

MLucas · Sep 21, 2012

Don said:
MLucas said:

Me too, now - how to get the car to the dealership? This is going to be interesting.

Click to expand...

I'm guessing this may be a once or twice per year thing until all the bugs are worked out. How far away is the dealership? You can leave home with a full charge of course and also when you leave the dealership - Can you find some place halfway in between to get a recharge?

Don

The Erin Mills Mitsubishi in Mississauga, Ontario is 90.1 kilometers. I can make that one but I'll probably be on turtle by the time I get there. It's mostly 100kmh highways there and back. Then I'll need to be there at least six hours for a recharge to get back home. I think I'll be okay after checking the Plug'nDrive Ontario website. Once I get to Burlington there are plenty of L2 Chargers along the 403. If I need to pull in for a charge, I can do it. Another thing I've gotten used to is driving below the speed limit at around 90 kmh and just stick to the slow lane. I can go over 80kmh mostly highway for my morning commute and still have 4 bars left.

Plug n Drive Ontario http://plugndriveontario.com

Cell Monitoring Unit "recall"

Help Support Mitsubishi i-MiEV Forum:

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Moderator

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!