Maintaining your car’s battery health is crucial for optimal vehicle performance, especially in hybrid and electric vehicles. Over time, the battery management system (BMS) in vehicles like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV may miscalculate the battery capacity, leading to inaccurate readings and potentially affecting your driving range and efficiency. Fortunately, with a professional-grade diagnostic tool like a Thinkcar Car Scan, you can easily reset the battery capacity estimation and ensure your vehicle operates at its best. This guide will walk you through the process of resetting your car battery capacity using a Thinkcar scan tool, ensuring accuracy and improved vehicle management.
Before you begin the battery capacity reset procedure, it’s essential to prepare your Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV properly. The first crucial step is to ensure your drive battery is almost completely discharged. The original recommendation advised a state of charge below 30%, but the latest guidelines suggest depleting the battery until the dashboard displays just one bar. Using a tool like the PhevWatchdog app can provide a precise reading of your battery’s state of charge, making this step easier to monitor. Alternatively, driving your car until the internal combustion engine (ICE) engages is generally a reliable indicator of low battery charge. If you need to expedite the discharge process, you can run the air conditioning or heater with the windows open while parked.
Once your battery is sufficiently discharged, park your vehicle near a charger, keeping in mind that the reset procedure can take several hours. While older procedures mentioned up to 12 hours, newer guidelines suggest a maximum of 72 hours, with 6 hours being a typical duration in some cases. The exact time can vary depending on factors like battery temperature and whether your car is equipped with a battery heater.
With your car parked and prepared, do not connect the charger yet. Plug in your Thinkcar diagnostic tool and turn your car to ready mode. If you have any charging timers set, disable them to prevent interference with the reset process.
Now, navigate to the diagnostic functions on your Thinkcar device. Open the Thinkcar app on your Android device and select “ALL SYSTEMS DIAGNOSTIC” to begin.
Next, initiate the VIN decoding process by clicking on “VIN Decoding”. Allow the Thinkcar app to automatically identify your car model. If prompted, download the specific Mitsubishi software to ensure compatibility and access to all necessary functions.
After successful VIN decoding, proceed to system selection. Choose “System Selection”, then navigate to “BMU” (Battery Management Unit), followed by “Special Function”, and finally, select “Battery Maintenance Function”.
Within the Battery Maintenance Function menu, you will find the options to reset the battery capacity estimation. First, select “BATT. Capa. Estimated Info. Reset” and confirm your selection. Then, choose “Control Information Reset” and confirm this action as well. It’s important to perform both resets to ensure a complete and accurate recalibration.
In some cases, like the original author experienced, the ICE might start immediately after the last reset. If this happens, simply turn off your car and then turn it back on in ACC (Accessory) mode.
To verify that the reset was successful, return to the BMU screen and select “Read Data Stream”. From the data stream options, choose “Battery Current Capacity” and confirm. After the reset, the display should now show the original factory battery capacity (e.g., 38Ah in the example). If the old capacity value is still displayed, repeat the reset procedure until the correct original value appears. While in the data stream, you can also observe the “Battery Remaining Capacity” to check the state of charge, which should be low (around 24% in the example).
Once you have confirmed the battery capacity reset and verified the original value is displayed, turn off your car completely and connect the charger. The battery should begin charging, and you should see the charging indicator illuminate on your dashboard, confirming that the system is now ready for a full charge cycle with the reset capacity parameters.
Finally, to initiate the battery auto capacity measurement, navigate back to the “BMU” menu, then “Special Function”, and select “Battery Auto Capacity Measured”. The “Execution Status” should initially show “Not Run” (or “Complete” if a measurement has been performed previously). Click on the “Perform” button and confirm your action. You should hear the AC and cooling fans start, indicating that the auto capacity measurement process is now executing. The “Execution Status” will change to “Executing”, and the “Capa. Measured Discharge Current” should display “Ok”, signaling that the process is running correctly.
By following these steps with your Thinkcar car scan tool, you can effectively reset your Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV’s battery capacity estimation, ensuring accurate readings and helping maintain optimal battery performance and longevity. This procedure empowers car owners and technicians to take control of their vehicle’s battery management, contributing to better efficiency and reliability.
