Mechanic saves a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV from the junkyard with a $1 fuse
Published on Aug 10, 2025 at 1:12 PM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Aug 07, 2025 at 12:45 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
This Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV was basically abandoned.
It spent six months in a UK parking lot, collecting dust and just looking plain sad.
The car wouldn’t start, charge, or even so much as cough when someone hit the start button.
Most people had already written it off as scrap waiting for a tow truck.
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The $1 fix that saved this Mitsubishi Outlander
Plug‑in hybrids are complicated beasts – you’ve got a gas engine, an electric motor, and a high‑voltage battery hiding under the floor.
All of it is tied together with bright orange wires that make regular mechanics nervous. One hiccup and the car just gives up.
This Outlander PHEV was throwing ugly high‑voltage error codes: current sensor, leak detection sensor – both buried inside the battery pack.
That’s the kind of diagnosis that makes shops start calculating four‑figure jobs… or tell you to just cut your losses.
But the crew at OGS & Mechanics didn’t jump to the nuclear option. They grabbed a wiring diagram and started tracing the basics.
Both sensors pulled power from the same 7.5‑amp fuse under the hood. When they checked it, it was toast.
They swapped in a new one – for about the price of a cup of coffee – cleared the codes, and hit the start button.
Boom: the Outlander PHEV woke up like nothing had ever happened. The engine was running, and the EV system was alive. Even the charging port worked again.
No one knows why that fuse blew in the first place, so the mechanic’s keeping an eye on it. But for now? The SUV is alive and back to doing Outlander things instead of rotting in a parking lot.
Why plug‑in hybrids spook people
PHEVs have a way of scaring off both owners and mechanics on account of their being more complicated than regular cars… and expensive to mess with.
A lot of mechanics would rather work on anything else.
Even Consumer Reports says plug-in hybrids fail more than gas cars or EVs – twice the tech means twice the headaches.
But then something like this happens: six months of stress, and the solution is a fuse you could lose in your pocket.
That dollar‑store part saved a perfectly good 80,000mi SUV from the crusher.
Sometimes fixing a car isn’t magic or money – it’s patience, and checking the obvious first.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
