An iMiev for my wife

[kensiko]

Looking to get a iMiev for my wife, her first car (no license yet). I already got a Tesla but of course I don't trust her to drive it.

Anything special to look at ? I want a used one.

MCU can fail in the early models ? Rust issue ? Is the battery the exact same one from 2012 to 2016 ? Is the battery only air cooled ?

Thanks !

 

[sandange]

Great choice for an around town car if the range is sufficient for your daily needs.

The battery is actively cooled by the AC system while Charging on Level 3 .

The earlier 2012 models may have the older battery chemistry and some have reported AC failures .
I believe the 2014 & later models were improved in certain aspects.

Make sure you get the fast charge capability - this was an option in early models.

I live in Canada and do a rust treatment every fall so no rust problems with mine
Presently have a 2014 ES with 92,000 miles - (148,000 km) with out any major repairs.)

Here is a link to my info sheet ( Range, Charge times etc.) with my real world experiences if you're interested....
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb56/Sandange/Miev info sheet eng_zpslqkytf2p.jpg

Happy hunting

 

[JoeS]

kensiko, welcome to the forum.

Here are some ideas on what to look for -

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2435

Here is more discussion on the differences between the SE and ES:

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=3228

We have a number of related threads in this Buying/Leasing the i-MiEV subforum that you might wish to peruse. Note, I moved your post in here also.

One word of caution as you teach your wife to drive: the i-MiEV has no snout (long hood), in contrast to the Tesla. The i-MiEV is a wonderful city car with a small turning radius, making it a joy to park just about anywhere, whereas the Tesla demands very careful attention because of its long wheelbase and 'normal' turning radius. Both cars have an ambiguously-ending front end and it takes a few times of stopping and getting out of the car to look before one develops the confidence in knowing exactly where the cars' nose(s) end. Actually, the i-MiEV's turning radius and lack of a snout spoils us, as I find driving just about any other car a PIA when maneuvering and parking in tight spots.

 

[kensiko]

Thanks.

How is the battery degradation like ?

How do you check battery degradation level ?

Currently looking to test drive a used iMiev 2014 with 110000 km. http://www.jnauto.com/detail_page.php/ID/3196/Mitsubishi/i-MIEV/2014/vendre

 

[JoeS]

How is the battery degradation like ? How do you check battery degradation level ?
Currently looking to test drive a used iMiev 2014 with 110000 km. http://www.jnauto.com/detail_page.php/ID/3196/Mitsubishi/i-MIEV/2014/vendre

That i-MiEV looks very nice, and there is a $4000 'grant' as well?

Battery degradation is a complete non-issue at this point in the car's life, so I wouldn't worry about it. Any serious battery problem will be covered by warranty until 2022 (or maybe even 2024?). FWIW, this car has the 'better' battery that was introduced in late-2012.

If you would like to check the battery capacity, you would need a Bluetooth OBDII device, specifically a genuine (not knockoff) OBDLINK LX or MX http://www.obdlink.com and a free Android App called CaniOn or another app called EVBatMon for Android or iOS (I don't know how it performs under iOS) - both apps have a readout of what the car thinks is the battery capacity in ampere-hours, and I would expect a reasonable reading to be around 37Ah-41Ah, but it's not all that important, as many of us don't even notice any degradation in our daily driving.

Edit: Let me emphasize that the car should come with a Remote which can control both the timing of the car's charging as well as pre-heating or pre-cooling the car while it is plugged in. If this Remote does not come with the car that would be good grounds for negotiation, as a replacement Remote can run close to $1000 with dealer programming.

 

[phb10186]

The only thing I would add to this, is that yes the battery issue is not a problem as long as the Canadian warranty is the same as the US one, though note that this is a light car with narrow wheels, so I would just be checking the general condition items found on any car - seats, tyre wear, crash damage.

Uneven tyre wear especially would indicate suspension bushings etc wear, and the suspension does work quite hard on these cars, especially at the front.

Also, check the condition of the radiator through the front bumper - check it is OK and not too damaged, and lastly, check that the air conditioning works faultlessly, and there are no knocks or associated rattles on a test drive.

 

[JoeS]

Ouch, I misread the mileage: I thought it said 11,000km not 110,000km.

With this mileage I would indeed go to the trouble of verifying battery capacity and do a much more serious examination of the car than if it had 11,000km! Also, I would negotiate that price down, as that is serious mileage in a short period of time!

 

[phb10186]

Ouch, I misread the mileage: I thought it said 11,000km not 110,000km.

With this mileage I would indeed go to the trouble of verifying battery capacity and do a much more serious examination of the car than if it had 11,000km! Also, I would negotiate that price down, as that is serious mileage in a short period of time!

I would personally be tempted away from this - but not because of battery issues, but more general wear and tear. Replacement parts prices are very high on these, and I assume any warranty would not cover wear and tear.

About 68,000 miles:

About 4 years of use, it has done approximately 1100 charges I would assume (not including top-ups). However, if it has been charged twice daily (home and work), then it could have 2200 charges or more.

Likely a daily driver for a commute of about 50 miles a day I would guess. Well used in a short time, who knows - but it could well be electrically sound, though I would say it would need to be very cheap to be worth buying.

Certainly Canioning would be essential to ascertain the Ah and maximum cell potentials and balance.

 

[jray3]

Here's a promising 1st or 2nd i-MiEV. How about an SE Premium for $4k?

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...=false&filtersModified=true#listing=200241936

Looks good, would have to inspect for what the collision repairs did... I can go take a look for reasonable consideration.

 

[kensiko]

My wife took a Spark EV.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[Luddite]

My wife took a Spark EV.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Hope you have good experiences with your EV
That dealer had an amazing selection of vehicles -

http://www.jnauto.com/hybrides_electriques_eng.php

I hadn't even heard of the spark ev. We have the volt in the uk (extremely rare) and we are not getting the bolt
I liked the tractor too...
http://www.jnauto.com/detail_page_eng.php/ID/2770/Farmall/Tracteur%20Cub/1952/vendre

 

[kensiko]

Spark EV is a car with a pretty good battery and powerful motor, but cheap interior.

Yes the tractor is home made!