New owner of 2012 on Oahu

[Pekelo]

Aloha, I have been following you folks for a while and want to thank you all. Kamehameha Day,Saturday June 13, I paid 7,500 cash for a iMiev from craigslist. It had 15,000 miles and has the upscale radio, backup camera, GPS etc. The pevious owner had every Dillon and Phish album installed! It has been almost a month of ev driving on windward Oahu. Learned a bunch from this forum. Now have a quiver of charging app cards in the glove compartment and on the iPhone.Know bout the sounds this car makes.Read most of your posts. Got this car cause it will fit in the small space avaiable in the garage and will use my solar electric charge from the house. Had the 15,000 service done at the only dealer here on Oahu. They did some recalls and had to keep it overnight to let the undercoat dry. Drove me home and picked me up! The iMiev is pehaps the most underrated car made. Guess that was good for me cause I could get this one. Mahalo again to you folks on this forum.

 

[JoeS]

Aloha Pekelo! E komo mai. Welcome to the forum. Yes, indeed, the i-MiEV is certainly the most underrated EV out there, to your significant benefit. We have had a number of Hawaiian i-MiEV owners on this forum, one of whom put some vortex generators on top of the aft end of the car... never did follow up. Your being able to charge at home using solar is fantastic, especially with your high electricity rates! Hope you'll enjoy your car as much as the rest of us do, and feel free to pelt us if you have any questions. Malama pono (apologies if the wrong terms were used)

Edit: ah, finally found the AirTabs photos by oahumiev - http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2725#p2725

 

[ChaplainBill]

Aloha from Kaneohe! Happy to read you are pleased with your new car!
I have been working on a few problems with my range, and have an appointment next week to check out a possible bearing problem (as per the techs at Lex Brodie's Tire shop) that is making a humming noise from the left front wheel. If the bearing is bad, that might be why my car never gets the high range number in the morning after a full charge, like I got consistently for several years. My range is now down to about 55 miles, when it used to be at least 85 every morning. More will be revealed. Keep in touch. I think you know how to reach me? "Punahou Forever"

 

[Pekelo]

Mahalo ChaplinBill! Keep us posted. Yes my wife is true Buff and Blue!

 

[ChaplainBill]

I was just informed by the Dealer service dept that the front wheel bearing that is making the humming noise is no longer covered by any warranty, as I have over 3 years of ownership and 50K miles! I though the "drive train" would have a longer warranty. I read here in these forums that the battery warranty has been increased to 10 years, and I hope I do not have to try to make a claim for new batteries if the original ones continue this steady degradation. More will be revealed. Aloha to your singing Punahou grad wife!!!

 

[Pekelo]

ChaplinBill,my range has been around 65 using AC all the time. Hope the bearing was the cause. May want to post if that was the cause. Standing by.

 

[ChaplainBill]

The bearing noise turned out to be the "hub" and it IS a warranty repair after all. They are sending the parts and will get the repair done this week, hopefully. Once I have the smooth roll going again, I am hopeful that my range indication will increase! will keep you posted. Mahalo!

 

[Pekelo]

Should work. Yes keep us posted!

 

[ChaplainBill]

It has been a few weeks since the replacement of the bad wheel bearing on the front left, and my indicated mileage (RR?) is going up slowly after my overnight charging. Most recently showing 56 miles. Not as good as when I first got the car and it was as high as 92, but often 75-85. I have read here about a recall for replacement of the "MCU" Motor control unit, which may be another problem/reason for my range deficiency. I have not gotten a recall letter yet, but will check my manufacturer date to see if I am one of the "lucky ones" to have to take my car in for a recall. More will be revealed. Aloha.

 

[JoeS]

ChaplainBill, thank you for the update. I presume that, with the new wheel bearing, that your previous rumbling noise has disappeared? I wouldn't hold my breath that the MCU might be a contributor to your reduction in range. Am I correct in understanding that for most of your 50,000 miles you have been fully charging the car, basically every day? How far down do you typically discharge the car before recharging?

 

[PV1]

I wouldn't hold my breath that the MCU might be a contributor to your reduction in range.

We can find out. Koorz is under the recall, and since I purchased it, it has had less range compared to Bear, even after switching tires around. I can see if I notice a change in range after the swap.

 

[ThomasValentine]

Hi Captain Bill...Thomas Valentine here in Atlanta GA.
Last July my 2014 imiev was t-boned, on the drivers side while i was at a near stop, taking out both doors. The front drivers side wheel sustained impact too, though there was no detectable major damaged, other than impact marks on one side of the rim.
But while driving away, right after the impact I noticed an accoustical difference fron the front of the car....A hum, that resembled bearing or tire noise.
The car is cosmetically fixed now, but the hum from up front persists. Mitsubishi has replaced the wheel bearing....and front the tires, too suspecting cupping noise. Potential rim wobble from the side impact was checked with a dial caliper and other balancing devices. i even had the wheels checked/rebalanced independently. I'm certain Mitsubishi techs here in Atlanta have tried to remedy this, though they are stumped to find a cause.
The problem i'm facing now, is that they don't know where to go further with this, and have nearly convinced themselves that this sound is normal, or varies from vehicle to vehicle! But they have not done a comparitive side-by-side test with anoher imiev.

Your mention of the hub replacement...I'd like to contact your Mitsubishi Oahu service tech on Oahu who determined your fix, to discuss your situation/ remedy, and then put my service in touch with him.
May i ask where your hub replacement was performed?