Electric Car thread

Readytoride said:
As an EV owner I haven't had a dealer service checkup in....ummm....gee, make that ever. And I'm closing on 70,000 miles.

In the US each state has an annual safety inspection which covers a look at brakes and tire wear and lights, but otherwise suspension is not something that requires a special look-see unless the driver notices an issue. With the EV regenative braking taking over the lion's share of daily stopping, most brake sets are so rarely used that they can go 100,000 or more miles before they even begin to show any signs of wear, if at all. I know it has been suggested by the manufacturer for owners to tap those brakes periodically to make sure they don't rust from lack of use.

We also have our own vehicle specific apps downloaded to our phones or tablets to check various battery points for health, voltage, and ampature. The app I use for my car is called LeafSpy and communicates to my car via a simple dongle plugged into the OBD-II port under the dash. Easy. I check the car's internal computer every month for my record keeping. It takes a grand total of about 2 minutes while I sit in the driver's seat with my phone app up and send the LeafSpy screenshots to myself via email attachments. No need to have a dealership or mechanic run diagnostics. We have it all in our own pocket.

Oil? Nope. Air filters? One in the cabin of the car that takes a few minutes to change once every 40,000 miles. I'm lazy enough to have my inspection mechanic do that for me because mine is located under the dashboard, but changing it is something every owner can do fairly easily. That cabin filer costs about $7. My mechanic did the swap for free. I'll have my son do the next cabin filter change for me at 80,000 miles. My son is also free, although I may "pay" him with a deli lunch.

The only time my dealership ever sees me is when I stop in for a free Level 3 charge (on their dime). The only time my mechanic at my local inspection station sees me is at the annual safety inspection mandated by my state, and the only time my car's hood is opened is to show interested folk what an electric motor (packed under the hood in my case) looks like. Our tire place sees me the most due to my free lifetime tire rotation every 7,000 miles on the tires I buy from them.

EVs are a totally different ball game. My hybred still requires all the annoying mechanical overseeing because of its ICE, but all those wearout parts are being extended timewise because we just don't drive it much at all anymore. The EV is our daily vehicle of choice. Wanna guess why? (Hint: EV torque is addictive, the silence is blissful, no emissions is a major health plus, and no gas EVER is awesome!)

Until you've tried one, or own one, you'll never completely realize how truly fabulous and maintenance free the modern EV is today.
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We don't have that annual safety inspection, but I'm surprised you've clocked up 70,000 miles without touching the running gear - is that on one vehicle? I guess the conditions I drive in are a bit rougher than most urban drivers experience, but I'd have replaced dampers at least once by that stage! The condition of our roads is part of the reason I resent paying an ev road tax.....
 
PDoz said:
Unlikely - Australia has no national ev subsidy, but most of the states offer around $3000 - which they then claw back with road use taxes ( eg 2.5c / km in Victoria - this equates to around the same wewould pay in fuel tax if driving a vehicle that uses 7 l / 100 km )

Our ev's are still significantly more expensive than an ice equivalent - eg an mg zs is $45 k as an ev or $ 23 k as an ice version. ( at the same spec level)



It'll be interesting to see how far out they stretch the service intervals - with many ice vehicles getting 15-20 k service intervals now, it's hard to imagine going much further without suspension / linkages / brakes etc needing a check. Then add in the likely need to hook up to computers for analysis / battery checks etc . Oil and air filter changes are a very small part of the cost of servicing
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The lube and filter changes are a great annoyance to someone with decreasing mobility, however one can actually go with "Amsoil" and really stretch the service interval. Or do like some do, never maintain and trade it off or private sell.
 
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Roamers said:
Do you think there would be similar EV adoption rate without tax incentives?
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Doubt it, People are paying out the arse and not realizing it. When you can buy a nice Accord or a Corrola for 50-60% of a Tesla,I think the pocketbook speaks, now hear this there will be net zero liquid fuels on the horizon( or maybe more alcohol to keep "Big Ag" happy- Hey on a totally non-related subject does anyone think the Military-Industrail conglomerate is not happy now to replace all the toys and weapons we are supplying Ukraine with? Invest in precious metals, inflation is creeping upwards with the next trillion-dollar printing frenzy. Or go ahead and buy the tools you have been coveting before they are priced out of reach)
OTH,I am considering at least a "Bolt', the CT I put a deposit on will be comfortably out of reach.
 
PDoz said:
It'll be interesting to see how far out they stretch the service intervals - with many ice vehicles getting 15-20 k service intervals now, it's hard to imagine going much further without suspension / linkages / brakes etc needing a check. Then add in the likely need to hook up to computers for analysis / battery checks etc . Oil and air filter changes are a very small part of the cost of servicing
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I'm sure they will find something to ding you on.

For example... on our Leaf, Nissan had called us to come in and do a 6-month battery checkup... also called us again when it was 1 year. I'm sure if I went in, they would have found something to charge me for that wasn't covered under warranty.

On our Tesla... not a single call or reminder to bring it in for "service" and it's going on 2 years. Only thing I had to do was fill up the wiper fluid (for some reason it was empty even though we don't use it that much... maybe I should check for a leak) and put air in the tires.

On the other hand, our ICE vehicle is less than 9 months old and it has a low oil warning... and we've driven it less than 4k miles. Gah.
 
Deacon Blues said:
There seems to be a lot of ICE vehicles with oil consumption issues.
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Not necessarily consumption, could also be low factory fill. My factory fill required addition before 1st change in one of my 2020s. No addition was needed before 2nd change.

Depending on engine, there might not be a lot of leeway for short fills.
 
WattsUpDude said:
Fact. My 500 Abarth would burn about 1.5 quarts between changes. There were absolutely no leaks on the little 1.4T.
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The seals on the turbo sometimes contribute to that, most of these cars need a device to keep the bearings pressurized when spooling down,I get the feeling most turbo owners do not"idle down" their engines.
 
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Taylor57 said:
Yep, I have an Audi A3 Turbo that drinks oil. Makes me wonder why I keep pumping in Mobil 1 at 12 bucks a quart!
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Use the cheapest wally world synthetic you can get, it will be fine. My wifes CRV with its 90 cid turbo engine does very well and I get 33 mpg on the interstate,( spoiler don't always firewall these things) .
 
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