26/04/2017
Electric cars offer comparatively little maintenance compared to the typical passenger vehicle. There are fewer moving parts, fewer fluids and extended brake wear intervals. However, electric car maintenance must not be avoided.
Brake Care
Regenerative braking, a process that harnesses energy from the parts stored in the battery system for later use, means your brake pads will last longer. Maintenance intervals may be twice as long as a conventional vehicle.
Tyre Rotation
There is no real advantage with tyre maintenance in electric vehicles, nor is there a disadvantage.
Coolant System
Electric cars with a thermal management system make use of coolant, just as they do in traditional vehicles. From time to time you may need to add to it.
Wiper Blades
There’s no difference between the wiper blade care for your electric vehicle and a typical car. Wipers should be replaced when worn, or twice annually, just before summer and again before winter settles in.
Fluid Check
Brake fluid should be checked and replaced, and Windshield fluid should be added periodically.
All electric cars come with air conditioning, and that system must be recharged on occasion.
Battery System Replacement
The one maintenance area that may cost you more is the electric vehicle battery system as they have a limited lifespan. Fortunately, many manufacturers provide a battery warranty covering the battery pack and related components for eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Electric batteries lose efficiency over time and if the car is kept long enough the battery pack will need to be replaced. These costs can be avoided by leasing the electric car or selling it before the battery system requires replacement.
Not on Your Electric Car Maintenance List
There’s no need for oil changes, spark plugs or air/fuel filters. Exhaust system maintenance, including the muffler and a catalytic converter, are simply not found in electric vehicles either.
Electric or not?
Many people worry how they will maintain their electric vehicle and where to find a mechanic. Initially most new electric vehicles will need to be serviced by the main dealer, with excellent warranties and options available.
Their main advantage is that they have fewer moving parts to go wrong and a lot less to replace. The motor contains just half a dozen moving parts, compared to hundreds for an internal combustion engine.
In the near future, there will probably be several mechanics in your local area that you can call upon. And estimates show that maintaining an electric car will cost just one third of the current cost of maintaining a petrol or diesel car.
Of course, battery life needs to be considered as battery memory reduces over time. Although they can cost between £10,000 and £20,000, most estimates believe that lithium ion electric car batteries will be good for more than one hundred thousand miles and this price will come down significantly.
In the future it will be common for electric cars to have their batteries changed as part of a service or maintenance visit.
It may be possible that the battery pack can be actually leased and therefore the battery being used is constantly of a good condition. In the future, many electric vehicles may have the same battery pack and rather than charging your vehicle, you may pull over at a service station and simply swap your battery over.
Ultimately, maintenance and servicing issues with electric vehicles is definitely nothing to worry about, as there is less to go wrong and the general maintenance will cost one third of your existing vehicle. As long as you get a good warranty from the manufacturer for your battery life, you can rest assured that you will not be out of pocket in the long term.
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