service at 24 month..how much should it cost?

[rkarl89203]

Hi all..

In March my imiev will be mine for 2 years! The wrench symbol says I have a service in 5 months (March). I called Biggers Mitsubishi in Elgin and they quoted about $200 for the service.
Seriously? The first one was $226. And that one included a battery test. This one doesn't.
Is this normal? Do I need this at that cost to keep the warranty valid?

 

[melloyello]

Hi all..

In March my imiev will be mine for 2 years! The wrench symbol says I have a service in 5 months (March). I called Biggers Mitsubishi in Elgin and they quoted about $200 for the service.
Seriously? The first one was $226. And that one included a battery test. This one doesn't.
Is this normal? Do I need this at that cost to keep the warranty valid?

I'm at 2.5yr 33k miles, I have never taken it in for any service and they just replaced my battery under warranty no problem. Have you asked them what the service includes?

 

[rkarl89203]

1.5 years, 13000 miles here. Didn't specifically ask... I will...this seems excessive.
I mean, if its $200+ a year for routine service, that sort of negates the savings for the oil changes and tuneups we don't need.

 

[Don]

Dealers *hate* a car which doesn't require regular service and this is why many Mitsu dealerships want nothing to do with EV's

At 24 months, they will change your cabin air filter, check your brake pads for wear (only the front ones though . . . . checking the rears would require removing a wheel and the brake drum) and check the air in your tires. Their service sheet might even say they rotated the tires for you :lol:

The main reason the bill is so high is because they have a 'minimum labor charge' which is probably $125 for an hour . . . . but they will do whatever they decide to do in far less time than that

We have two iMiEV's, the first of them was bought new in May of 2012. Neither of them has ever been to a dealer for anything other than recalls. There is no 'dealer service' which is required to keep your warranty valid

Don

 

[rkarl89203]

I suspected as much....I am curious though...is there a way to turn off the annoying 'wrench' symbol on the display?

Seemingly this car is quite amazing in durability. It runs great on our infrequent 200-300:mile trips, the regen is awesome, and the 10-15 miles per day to work and back are easy.

I guess they have to make money somehow on service LOL.

 

[PV1]

I've taken Bear in for annual service twice. The only thing they charged me for was a gearbox oil change that I didn't see as necessary. Oh, well, it's good until 100,000 miles now.

I do have to take Koorz in to get serviced and recalls done before December. That will probably be the last service visit for both cars unless something is wrong or there is a recall. Most everything listed as regular service is checked during state inspections anyway. I know someone with an auto lift if I decide to get under the car and re-torque the battery bolts.

The instructions on resetting the wrench are in the manual.

 

[rkarl89203]

Hmm..now I wonder.
We don't have state inspections here.
I will look in the manual for the 'wrench' reset ...
Thanks for the info!

 

[justidutch]

This morning I received a phone call from Mitsubishi, explaining that according to their mileage estimates I was due for an oil change, would Wednesday next week be okay?

I asked the nice lady if she knew what kind of car I owned. A moment's hesitation, then "…oh! You have one of those electrics, I'm sorry to have bothered you". She apologized and hung up.

Made my day.

 

[tigger19687]

I got a Card & Email for that kind of stuff.
I had to call them and ask them to not send those as it is not for my car.

She then tried to get me to come in anyway just to have them "check things out every 3,000 miles

 

[Jon]

I've had mine since spring of 2012 with over 36k miles and the only service I've had was the gearbox oil and one set of tires. I let the dealer do the service because I felt so guilty for all the warranty and recall notices I've come in for. I figured that I should at least pay once for my dealer visit.
All and all it has been a very reliable and frugal car, I especially enjoyed it when gas was over $4/gallon.
Jon

 

[dniemeyer99]

Been driving the car for 3 1/2 years (54,000 km) and needed to replace the windshield wiper (left side) today. The only other out of pocket maintenance was the windshield wiper (right side) done last year. I guess I do not need to send any Christmas cards to my mechanic.

Dave

 

[oilerlord]

I've had mine since spring of 2012 with over 36k miles and the only service I've had was the gearbox oil and one set of tires. I let the dealer do the service because I felt so guilty for all the warranty and recall notices I've come in for. I figured that I should at least pay once for my dealer visit.
All and all it has been a very reliable and frugal car, I especially enjoyed it when gas was over $4/gallon.
Jon

Mitsubishi pays dealers for performing warranty service and recalls on your car. No reason to feel guilty.

After 36K miles, how has the battery been holding up?

 

[RobbW]

I bought my Meepster in July 2013. Feeling guilty and like I needed to take it in t=for the recommended service to maintain the warranty, I DID take it in for the first 1-year check-up. Pretty much all they did was change the cabin air filter and top off the windshield wiper fluid. They did tell me that I should consider having my rear brakes changed soon because they were pretty rusty. I chalked that up to the infrequent use of my brakes.

The 2nd year of ownership came an went, and I never took the Meepster in for the "recommended" service. I haven't had any problems with her and didn't feel it was necessary. I don't recall how long it took, probably a couple months, but the wrench icon on the gauge eventually went away on its own without me having to do anything.

Currently, I don't have any plans to take my Meepster in for any more service other than warranty work or recalls. Speaking of which, I do have one recall outstanding. So, I guess she'll be making a visit sometime in the near future.

I love having a vehicle that is virtually maintenance free! All I have to do is top off the wiper fluid, change the cabin filter now and then, and slap on some new wiper blades every once in a while!

 

[PV1]

Recalls, tires, washer fluid, and windshield wipers chalks up "regular" maintenance. Other than that, charge it and drive it, and wash it occasionally.

I've yet to change a cabin air filter, although I did pull the one out of Bear a couple of years ago and knocked some dust out of it. I try to see if there is dust or smoke (no shortage of either with heavy natural gas activity and coal-rollers :twisted: :roll: ) that I'll have to drive through and hit the recirculator before I go through it. That cuts down on having to clean the filter.

Also, a couple of weeks ago, I did have to stomp the brakes to clear off the rust on the brakes. Put the car in neutral, the brake pedal gets the front rotors, and the emergency brake takes care of the rear brakes. Makes for a quieter ride after a rain or wash.

I've done three service visits for Bear and one "catch-all" visit for Koorz. Except for recalls and any major work, that will probably be the last of dealer visits.

 

[JoeS]

...I DID take it in for the first 1-year check-up....

Just to make us feel smug, how much did that cost you? After over four years the only thing I've replaced on our Mitsi are tires and the cabin filter (once - now I just blow it clean). Haven't even added any fluids, not even windshield washer fluid. :|
Edit: oops, forgot that I had replaced a domelight.

 

[BarryP]

...

Also, a couple of weeks ago, I did have to stomp the brakes to clear off the rust on the brakes. Put the car in neutral, the brake pedal gets the front rotors, and the emergency brake takes care of the rear brakes. Makes for a quieter ride after a rain or wash.
...

Are you saying you do this while coasting in neutral?
Thanx,
-Barry

 

[PV1]

Yes, in neutral. Otherwise, regen causes too much speed loss.

Obviously, this is done at your own risk.

 

[DriveGreen]

...I DID take it in for the first 1-year check-up....

Just to make us feel smug, how much did that cost you? After over four years the only thing I've replaced on our Mitsi are tires and the cabin filter (once - now I just blow it clean). Haven't even added any fluids, not even windshield washer fluid. :|
Edit: oops, forgot that I had replaced a domelight.

I 'missed' the first year checkup. :roll: Now, Bubbles in her second year with 16,500 km on her ODO. So I decided to take it in for service. I was charged C$129.36 for what is described as "yearly inspection". (By the way the same dealer charges $54+tax for an oil change to gas cars.) Does this feel like a rip-off or what?

I know I was suckered but I look at this cost as an insurance, should the car develop some issues and in that case avoid hassles with the warranty - hopefully. I have warranty coverage till Feb, 2017. So this was my first and last 'insurance policy' payment for "yearly checkups".

Just for fun I have inquired about the purpose of a radiator in the car and the need for the two coolant filling locations. At my previous visit (warranty work) no one in the dealership had an answer, not even the certified iMiEV technician. He looked at his service manual on-line and found no answer -hmmm This time my service advisor Googled the question and here is the explanation, printed from http://www.carpartdiscount.com: "our vehicle has a water-cooled motor, and the cooling liquid needs to travel through the radiator before it can do its job. The heat produced by the combustion process (WHAT ) gets absorbed by the antifreeze, and that coolant has to enter your Mitsubishi iMiEV radiator through the top and flow down to the bottom so it can reduce its temperature etc. etc ......" When I asked the reason for coolant in two locations, the service advisor said "it cooled the inverter".

 

[PV1]

..And these guys are trained to work on our cars :roll: .

Unless you know already, the rear coolant tank is the reservoir for the cooling system that cools the charger/DC-DC converter, drive inverter (MCU), and electric motor. This coolant flows up to the radiator to be cooled and flows back to the rear reservoir.

The front reservoir is for the cabin heater. It is a water-based heater mounted under the car just ahead of the battery. That loop flows from the reservoir to the heater, then to the heater core (where the cabin air is heated) and back to the front reservoir.

The battery is air-cooled and heated using the cabin HVAC system (2012 i-MiEVs with cold weather package, quick charge package, or premium package, and all 2014, 2016, and 2017 models sold in the US).

(By the way, the dealer service manual highlights all of this.)