Potential buyer questions

[Calypso850]

Hi All,
We are on our second EV, a leased 2015 Leaf after leasing & turning in a 2012 Leaf. We use it pretty extensively: my wife's 40 mile commute, sometime longer with side-trips, running errands, etc to the point I have to be careful not to bust our 15K miles per year lease.
On the other side of the scale is my commuter: a F-150, Supercrew, 4WD but even with the Eco-boost V-6, my mileage is not the greatest due to my commute: 5 miles each way, stop-and go, with downhills (won't warm up) at the beginning and uphills at the end, each way. It gets much better mileage when warmed up and on roadtrips.
After driving the Leaf, it really bugs me to swill gas in my truck plus the short commute is hard on the engine. I'd rather save it for what I wanted it for: getting big loads, longer road trips, skiing, and vacations. I also end up running errands in it often until my wife gets home with the Leaf.
I figure that I'd put about 5-6,000 miles per year on the i-Miev commuting, running home at lunch, & running errands: keeping 4-5 K off the truck and maybe 1K off the Leaf as trips to town are only a few miles and I could take the Miev instead of the Leaf. We have a 240 Volt outlet and a Level 2 charger in our house.
The lower range wouldn't be an issue as the most I'd put on it in normal usage would be 20-25 miles (commute, running home at lunch, and errand on the way home). I live near Seattle so it doesn't get that cold but the range would take a hit.
Questions:
Other than finding the tires are rather expensive for those little rubber doughnuts - what is the maintenance schedule for the i and expected costs?
Have people run into battery degradation issues due to heat similar to the Leaf? I might be able to find a cheaper used one out of state and should I avoid ones from Arizona/California etc?
Have people run into battery capacity loss in general? We didn't lose a bar on our Leaf when we turned it in but it could not go as far as when new.
There are several used 2012's around - is there a downside to these over new or is there a particular configuration/option I should look for?
What should I check for on a used one? Too bad they don't qualify for the sales tax break here.
Can I fit it in my truck's load bed? Just kidding..... maybe.
My son loves Mr. Bean and guess what it's name will likely be.

 

[DaveMiller]

The only maintenance cost that I have had in my 18 months of ownership was $2.00 for a gallon of washer fluid. Seriously, there are no maintenance costs for our I-Mievs. Oh, floor mats were another expense.

Dave
2012 black I-Miev
2012 black Prius

 

[Don]

No reported 'battery issues' that I'm aware of . . . . nothing like problems with the Leaf in hot climates. There have been a few reported battery failures and Mitsu has replaced those under warranty with new ones

You should never 'lose a bar' as the battery ages, at least not on a Mitsu. A newish battery might give you 5 miles of range to each bar while an older battery might only give you 4, but after a full recharge, you always get 16 bars. The big 'indicator' for a failed battery is they do not charge to 16 and then they get replaced very soon after

What to look for? A ChaDeMo socket on the drivers side would be nice - Some cars came so equipped, but many did not. A 2012 is a good choice . . . . there were no 2013's in the US and the 2014's just came out, so finding a used '14 might be pretty hard. You should be able to find a '12 with 15 to 20K on the clock for $10K to $12K . . . . they didn't hold their value very well

Your F-150 would tow one home from just about anywhere if you rent or borrow a tandem axle trailer

Don

 

[Calypso850]

I figured the maintenance would be about the same as the Leaf, but Nissan calls out annual battery checks. Does Mitsubishi do the same, and if so, how much do they typically cost (ballpark is fine).

In Wikipedia about the i-Miev was this in the battery section:

"In June 2011 Mitsubishi announced the introduction of lithium titanate oxide SCiB battery technology for its two new models of electric vehicles, the i-MiEV and Minicab MiEV. The SCiB technology was developed by Toshiba, which stated that its SCiB batteries can withstand 2.5 times more charge/discharge cycles than a typical lithium-ion battery. In addition, recharging via CHAdeMO takes much less time than charging at the AC Level 2 rate used by most electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), allowing the SCiB battery to reach 80% capacity in 15 minutes, 50% in 10 minutes and 25% in 5 minutes. In terms of performance, the SCiB battery offers a higher effective capacity than a typical lithium-ion battery, which combined with more efficient regenerative charging during braking or coasting downhill, allows the SCiB battery to deliver 1.7 times the driving range per charge of a typical lithium-ion battery of the same size."

That sounds promising if correct.

 

[JoeS]

Calypso 850. The i-MiEV sounds like a great match for you - need to be careful, because of the i-MiEV's smaller size, better turning radius, and larger storage capacity with the back seats down than the Leaf, you may find it being used more… besides, it feels more sprightly and is more fun to drive than the Leaf.

To answer your questions, based on my almost 35,000 miles of ownership -

Maintenance: zero cost so far other than a set of tires at 23K miles. No annual battery checks required by Mitsubishi. I had a significant range decrease when I mounted Yokohama INVigors instead of the OEM Dunlop ENAsave (and would not do that again), although I still routinely make a 70-mile round trip to the airport on one charge with some hypermiling. Maintenance primarily consists of occasionally checking the fluid levels in the reservoirs under the front hood and pumping up the tires at least once a month.

Battery degradation: non-issue so far. I do stroke my battery pack by never fully discharging and only fully charging just before taking off on a longer trip which is still very conservative as the i-MiEV "full" charge is a little below battery maximum, anyway.; otherwise, I normally charge to about 80%.

That Wikipedia battery writeup - if I recall, that is not what the US-configuration i-MiEV has. So far (three years after the i-MiEV US introduction), there have been very few battery issues (I think four on this forum) and they simply received new battery packs.

What to look for in a used one? Simply drive it and everything should work and it should drive straight. Check the front tires for even wear. If you can pick up a low-mileage 2012 that should work well for you - $10K would be a very good price, depending on your location. As Don mentioned, the primary option to look for is CHAdeMO DCQC. The fancy SE premium model had a nav center console if you like that sort of thing (I just use a $50 Garmin GPS). Depending on your state rebates, a brand-new 2014 can also be a bargain.

Have fun and do let us know what you finally end up with!

 

[jray3]

Welcome Calypso! I'll answer your questions somewhat out of order.
First and most importantly- I make no claims of exclusivity to the MR BEAN title, and would welcome another Bean to our salad, but since you're also in Washington- that license plate is already taken! You'd be welcome to make use of my car for a couple of days as an extended test drive. There's also a MiEV'er in Seattle who rents out his car on https://relayrides.com/car-rental/seattle/mitsubishi-i-miev/11583
Next- I have an old F250, and am convinced that an i-MiEV will fit 'on' the bed, with the tailgate down and a platform that's tall enough to let 'er straddle the wheel wells. Haven't built that yet, as I've got an enclosed car hauler that fills the bill.
Maintenance wise- I've just swapped onto new OEM rubber at 29,000 miles because the worn originals aren't suited for slush, but am going to get the last few 32nd's of rubber off the originals next summer. Otherwise its only been a cabin air filter and windshield washer solution!
Around Seattle, CHAdeMO is a near-must. It really extends the practicality of the car. I'm south of Tacoma, and have made day trips up to Bellingham and down to Portland in the i-MiEV. I regularly go to Bellevue and back for meetings, using only L2 EVSE at my destination.
Lastly, I've put hundreds of miles on LEAFs, but enjoy driving the i-MiEV more. It's got a spunky go-cart feel, compared to the Buick-like stateliness of a LEAF.
In stock setup (I've lowered the front) the i-MiEV can climb over an 8" curb, and fits onto a golf cart path (but the skinny tires tend to rut the greens.....) :twisted:
After you discover the cavernous carrying capacity of these beans, the truck will see far less usage. The i can carry two 55 gallon drums in the back, or a dozen nested 32 gallon trash cans, or a 50" flatscreen TV, or any number of odd loads, from bicycles to beer kegs!
Torklift Central down in Kent makes a great receiver hitch for the car, and I tow a 600 lb camping trailer with it. One member has towed many 800 lb loads of firewood to his cabin in the mountains!
The regenerative braking is much better than the LEAF, and if you enjoy downshifting a manual transmission, you'll love sliding into B mode to scrub off speed.

And when the guys in F150's with a pair hanging off their hitch look sideways at you- you'll just leave 'em behind when the light turns green! :mrgreen:

 

[Calypso850]

Thanks All, I think renting the MiEV would be a good idea to try out.
I was wondering about the battery chemistry as I hadn't heard anything about it or come across that information anywhere else.
A tow hitch would be useful but for my purposes for mounting a bike rack. It looks like the MiEV could swallow a bike pretty easy but two or three bikes would be a challenge thus the bike rack. Right now Bike rack = Truck. Haven't looked into a hitch for the Leaf as it is leased and unless it doesn't alter the Leaf and can be removed that won't work.
I'll start plugging information into a spreadsheet and figure a price point that can justify a MiEV. But even if I can justify it, I know my wife will insist that one of the other two extra cars go before she'll let me get another.
Maybe I'll tell her it is a portable battery back-up unit for the house :lol:

 

[PV1]

Our original maintenance interval included a battery capacity check every two years, but Mitsubishi seems to have axed the requirement. Instead, they tell us to simply run the car down to 2 bars, I believe at least once every two years, and charge to full without interruption.

As for the SCiB batteries, they are an option on the i-MiEV, but only in Japan. The SCiB battery is much better for quick charging frequently, but it has a lower capacity of 14.5 kWh instead of 16 kWh, taking the range from 62 miles to 56 miles, which may break the car for a lot of people. The standard lithium ion battery can be quick charged, but it's not recommended to do so multiple times a day. We can reach 80% in 25 minutes.

If you want to see why the SCiB is offered in Japan, go to http://plugshare.com and look at the quick charging map, and the difference between the US and Japan. Unless you filter the results, most of the orange pegs in the US that aren't in the northwest corner (Oregon and Washington) are Tesla Superchargers and don't count for us. The LEAF and i-MiEV use CHAdeMO.

My maintenance in almost 2 years has been a set of wiper blades, washer fluid, a set of tires (ugh), and an unwanted gearbox oil change that the dealer was so nice to charge me for, as well as two going on three recalls (airbag sensor, brake pump #1, underbody rust).