Mitsubishi class action overview:
- Who: Mitsubishi is facing a class action lawsuit involving its 2023 Outlander PHEV vehicles.
- Why: The Mitsubishi class action claims Outlander PHEV vehicle batteries lack a necessary heating component, causing the vehicles to fail to start in cold weather.
- Where: The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV lawsuit was filed in federal court in Pennsylvania.
Mitsubishi is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that its 2023 Outlander PHEV vehicles lack a battery heating component, making the vehicles unable to start in cold weather.
Mitsubishi internal materials acknowledge the issue and the company has heard from customers about the Mitsubishi battery issues, but it has done nothing to fix those issues, the Mitsubishi class action says.
The battery issue can leave vehicle owners stranded in cold and dangerous conditions, the lawsuit claims.
“The defect (i.e., the absence of a battery heating component) renders the class vehicles unsuitable for their intended purpose — transportation,” the class action says. “Moreover, the lack of a heater for preheating in colder weather also affects charging speed, capacity and battery degradation.”
Lawsuit claims Mitsubishi battery issues strand owners, leave them stuck with costs
Mitsubishi knew about Outlander PHEV battery issues that led to owners paying out of pocket to diagnose and fix their vehicles on their own, the Mitsubishi class action argues. Despite this knowledge, the company has done nothing to help its customers, the lawsuit says.
“Owners of class vehicles report claims of the vehicles shutting down and being undriveable in extreme cold, due in large part to the absence of a battery heating system,” the Mitsubishi battery lawsuit says. “Because the vehicle can neither be started nor operated if the drive battery is too cold, the absence of a drive battery heater leaves the owners with the sole option of waiting for the weather to change for the battery to warm up enough to become operable.”
In a separate case, Mitsubishi argued in March 2023 that there was no basis for reviving a faulty hood class action claim.
Have you had issues with your 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV battery in cold weather? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Marc Edelson and Liberato P. Verderame of Edelson Lechtzin LLP, along with Jonathan Shub, Benjamin F. Johns and Samantha E. Holbrook of Shub and Johns LLC.
The Mitsubishi class action lawsuit is Schecter v. Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-00246, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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19 thoughts onMitsubishi class action alleges Outlander PHEVs contain battery defect
I was stuck in the cold over an hour @ Walmart on evergreen way with a dead battery
I just bought 2024 outlander PHEV and has same problem-20 battery died and screen shows POWER REDUCED.
Because of this problem we have to go out in -30 and start our car manually.which is bad if you spending $65000 .i will recommend that Compony should recall thee new vehicle and add the 2 way car starter ..
Indicate POWER reduced and never warm up, car is freezing and very cold and freezing to drive around so we parked till warm weather comes.
I have a new gt premium coming in March ,but I do like in Nova Scotia and for last 10 winters 2-3 days it might hit -20 on the coldest day’s average winter degree temperature is around 1-2 degrees above celsius . But is still crazy that with all the sensors in cars that they couldn’t put a heating belt in to work
Like a block heater in normal gas cars just for 2 or 3 of the colder months , cutting corners
We also have the Outlander PHEV in Edmonton, Alberta. No warning to plug the car in or get out of the cold after magic temperature of -xx Celsius. Someone at Mitsu knows what that number is that stops your drive battery, won’t allow your car to start, strands its passengers, but they will not own the problem. After 5 days of -30 and worse Celsius temps we lucked out with -13c. 12 V by this time was dead which wouldn’t allow the charge port door to open….we charged the 12v to get the port door open, and on a lark tried the engine which did start! Hoping for a Canadian Class Action for Alberta. Not sure if the one in Quebec can piggy back on. Thanks
Same issue. Driving a 2023 Outlander PHEV. Living in London Ont, the weekend of Jan 20th we had a slightly cold day (-20) not unusual for Canadian winter, the car was unable to start, error message “PHEV system offline. Service required”. The dealership asked me if I had “parked the car outdoors”……..
Yes ,I have a similar problem with my outlander PHEV , last week weather was mines -4/-5
it didn’t start , the battery died ,
In the UK ,London
I have a 2023 outlander phev. I live in CO. Recently when it was -1 outside the car wouldn’t start or preheat. Such a big oversight by mitsubishi to leave out a battery warmer when the previous generation had one.
Yes have poblem with my phev 2023
I have similar issue related to this, I have 2023 model and living in Canada last week the weather temperature drop to -20, and then I got error on the screen shows “reduce power” and the battery range kilometres doesn’t show any kilometres, so I called the dealership asked them about this issue seems they didn’t know anything about this.
I too live in Canada on Alaska Highway 750 km from the nearest dealer. My situation is almost identical to that described by Mr. Coe except for the fact that when I contacted Mitsubishi roadside assistance to have the vehicle towed for a warm-up, the response was that they would tow it to the nearest dealer only, and since I was beyond the range covered by the program I would have to make up the difference between the limit of their range and the actual tow. When I expressed my thoughts that it was ludicrous to tow a vehicle that far for a warm-up when there were facilities available a kilometre from my dteveway willing to make space available. I was told that wasn’t possible and any tow could only have the destination of a Mitsubishi dealsrship. I was left to make my own arrangements. In weather sufficiently cold to disable the vehicle’s battery, the result would put life and limb at risk. To Mr. Coe’s suggestions for a resolution to the issue I would suggest that owners of such vehicles should be given the option to be made hole by having Mitsubishi take back the vehicle, and recommend the buyer for the purchase price and associated costs. I would further add that it is undeniable that the company was unaware that problems existed in as much as alerts appearing on the screen, including ones to the effect that the battery was too cold to start, or the vehicle should be parked safely and use discontinued, both of which were accompanied by the direction to plug the vehicle in to a charger and to wait for the (ambient) temperature to warm up were integrated into the unit before the time of sale. These alerts appeared on my vehicle’s display screen at temperatures of between -25 Celsius and -31 Celsius, temperatures which are common in this part of the world.
Incidentally, because the vehicle is a hybrid one might assume that we’re the EV components of the unit rendered inoperative, the internal combustion engine would still be available. This is not the case however since the main ‘traction’ battery is used to start the gas fuelled engine.
Hi there, not sure if this helps but I have a 2024 PHEV that experienced the same problem. The 24s are an identical design to the 23s (they were rebooted for the 22 model year I believe), which is, they lack a battery warmer. I understand previous years of this model had one, and it was left out of this design for whatever reason. I should also mention that I’m located in Canada so this may not have any bearing on this case at all, but if that’s the situation, I am hopeful that a similar case can be filed here. Anyway here’s my experience for whatever it may be worth to someone.
I too was left without a vehicle for almost a full week (discovered the issue the afternoon of Thursday the 11th after it got cold, and got the vehicle back the following Wednesday). I should point out in fairness that Mitsubishi Roadside Assistance did tow it at no additional cost to me, but due to the extreme volume of tow truck calls that weekend, it sat from Thursday to Monday evening before a tow truck was available. After it was towed it took an additional day and a half for the dealership to have space in which to thaw the vehicle and replace the 12V battery. So while it didn’t cost me any actual money out of pocket, I did have to borrow a vehicle for 3 days of work. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to have friends and family close by with vehicles available (and obviously not everyone does), it would have cost me several hundred dollars in transportation costs (2 of those 3 days I have a 50+ km commute, for example).
Further, obviously at some point in the future it will get cold again. If there is no effective way to heat the electronics/battery systems of the vehicle, it will undoubtedly fail again. Either battery warmers need to be retrofitted into the vehicles at Mitsusbishi’s expense, or another solution must be found that will ensure that this cannot happen again. It is a potentially dangerous situation for many people, not to mention we all paid for a car that is supposedly able to handle the weather in the countries in which it is sold. If that is not the case, then we have been sold a faulty vehicle and that needs to be rectified one way or another.