Common Sense Maintnanace Questions

[DriveGreen]

We own a 2012 unit we picked up new in 2014. It is just over 21000km. (We keep the car garaged in the winter. (Yes it is great to be wealthy and have two cars )

Based on the common knowledge (or misconception if you look at Tesla service) the cost of electric car maintenance is peanuts compared to maintain an ICE in good working order. EV owners only need to maintain their viper blades, tires, cabin filters - and yes keep an eye on their 12V battery. iMiEV owners also have a couple locations for coolants and break and power steering fluids to check from time to time. All of these can easily done "by owner", even if he/she has two left hands.

With these assumptions I have the following questions:
1. How does the dealer tests the "Main Drive Li-Ion Battery for capacity?
Our car still charges to full and shows, depending on the temperature, 107km to 140km range. 140km is only under ideal conditions around 20C - not too cold/not too warm. From my own observations the iMiEV's estimated range calculation is pretty accurate. Considering all the variables maybe it is as good as one can realistically get. Owners should notice when things no longer work right.
What can the dealer do? Do they have some special load generator? And even is he had to invest in some equipment what good does it do? It seems to me like measuring the capacity of the gas tank of an ICE by sticking a rope inside it and see how wet it will get. It seems to me that this "test" is a trick to replace the loss of revenue for changing the oil.

2. What are the two - seemingly independent - cooling systems used for?
I assume one in the back cools the electronics, like power converter(s), drive motor and the main battery?
The other one on the front, equipped with an ICE like radiator, controls cabin heat after some heating element warms the liquid. But I am not sure. Is the main battery liquid cooled?

3. Can someone help me to find both;
- the type of cabin filters which fit (I assume buying it form the dealer can be avoided.)
- how to replace/install the cabin filter - I don't want to rip the dash apart for nothing and I could not find help on YouTube either.

Thanks
Laszlo

 

[Don]

iMiEV owners also have a couple locations for coolants and break and power steering fluids to check from time to time

iMiEV's, just like many ICE's these days, have fully electric power steering, so there's no 'fluid' of any kind to keep a check on

With these assumptions I have the following questions:
1. How does the dealer tests the "Main Drive Li-Ion Battery for capacity?

They don't, really - You can do a better job of this yourself using EV Bat Mon

What can the dealer do? Do they have some special load generator? And even is he had to invest in some equipment what good does it do?

Pretty much nothing. Taking ANY car to the dealer when nothing is wrong is almost always asking for trouble . . . . or being sold something you don't want or need

2. What are the two - seemingly independent - cooling systems used for?
I assume one in the back cools the electronics, like power converter(s), drive motor and the main battery?
The other one on the front, equipped with an ICE like radiator . . . .

. . . . is the radiator which cools the drive motor and MCU

3. Can someone help me to find both;
- the type of cabin filters which fit (I assume buying it form the dealer can be avoided.)
- how to replace/install the cabin filter - I don't want to rip the dash apart for nothing and I could not find help on YouTube either.

There's a thread here somewhere about this - A bunch of us went together on a 'group buy' to get the filters for about a third of what Mitsu sells them for. I'll see if I can find it and link you to it - Here it is: http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1307&hilit=air+filter+group+buy

Don

 

[JoeS]

In addition to what Don said, the battery is air-cooled - all cars with CHAdeMO (like your 2014) have forced-air cooling, whereas those without have passive air cooling which seems to work just fine.

Funny you should mention cabin air filters - I just bought one for my Tesla, a carbon-impregnated air filter for $7!

For the i-MiEV, I simply take out the filter (need to remove the glove compartment door) and blow it clean with compressed air (although I do also have a stockpile of new replacement filters for the 'future').

 

[DriveGreen]

Thanks Don and Joe. It all makes sense.
Because I like to know "how things work" I would love to know what the two cooling systems do. The dealer has no clue.

I am currently waiting for the passenger airbag recall to be installed.

Laszlo

 

[Don]

I think you're mistaking the radiator in the front for a separate system - It's the radiator for the system in the back which cools the motor and the MCU. I am not aware of a second system, other than the use of the car's air conditioning to cool the battery when fast charging

Don

 

[DriveGreen]

Yes the cabin filter is hidden the same way as in my Priuses (Prii?), behind the glove compartment. I just found a YouTube link - uploaded by a funny, 'silent type' guy. It is like an old silent movie - but it does the job.

As for the coolant. This is what bugs me; there are two locations where you can check/add (if needed) coolant of the same type. One is under the hood (like for a typical ICE), the other is at the back, under the metal cover over the drive system. So I figure these are independent cooling systems - unless some gizmo somewhere mixes the coolant - which is highly unlikely.

At the end it really does not matter, I just would like to know. Why the two check/fill locations? What are these two systems doing? One thinks there must be a reason for the two coolant fills. Why is this a Japanese secret?

Laszlo

 

[Aerowhatt]

At the end it really does not matter, I just would like to know. Why the two check/fill locations? What are these two systems doing? One thinks there must be a reason for the two coolant fills. Why is this a Japanese secret?

Laszlo

The rear fill location is for the electronics and the motor in the rear of the car. That fluid goes forward to be cooled through the radiator then back to the rear again.

The front fill location is for the cabin heating system. It circulates through a heating element housing under the car and then into the cabin to heat the air when you have the heating system on.

They are completely separate systems that don't intermix.
Aerowhatt