One of the best points for switching to fully electric vehicles is that they have different, often less expensive, maintenance costs. But what does that mean for the everyday driver? What’s the difference in price and convenience between getting an oil change for a gas-powered car every three months and replacing your brake pads every 90,000 miles when driving an EV?
Here you can find out everything you need to know about electric car maintenance and what makes it different from standard upkeep requirements.
Common Maintenance an Electric Vehicle Needs
As different as an electric vehicle may feel when buying and driving, a car is still just a car. That means you’ll still need wiper fluid and new wipers regularly, your A/C can still have problems, and your tires and brakes need to be checked, repaired, and replaced just like in a gas-powered vehicle.
There are going to be a few differences in these services, though.
For example, EVs often have regenerative braking that redirects the car’s energy back to the battery instead of just stopping it with physical brakes. That means your brakes will last longer and need replacement less often, saving you money and time.
On the other hand, tire rotations and replacements are more important and happen more often because the car battery can weigh more than the engine it replaces. Rotations are usually a free service alongside other upkeep, but replacing your tires can cost enough to make drivers balk at the idea of needing to do so sooner rather than later.
Service that Gas-Powered Cars Needed, but EVs Won’t
On the plus side, there are a lot of expensive and unexpected repairs that EVs will never need. Fully electric cars don’t have engines or gas tanks, so you can say goodbye to the oil change, gas leaks, spark plug replacements, and more.
Depending on the cooling system an EV uses – most use airflow or coolant fluid to cool down hot moving parts – you may not even need to worry about a radiator! Time-consuming, expensive, specialized repairs of engine parts are a thing of the past for EVs.
New Electric-Specific Upkeep to Keep in Mind
Taking out an engine means introducing a battery, which comes with its own service and upkeep challenges. Instead of regular oil changes, you’ll take your car to a mechanic to check on the battery and the electronic system attached every few months.
Experts in electric cars say it can cost you as much, if not more, to fast charge an EV regularly as it does to fill your gas tank – and it could reduce the life of your battery to charge or deplete it fully. You’ll also need to avoid extreme temperatures if you want to avoid replacing your battery often.
There are definite benefits to having and maintaining an electric car, but there are also new considerations to keep in mind. Now that you’ve learned about EV maintenance, it’s time to decide if you want to get your own!
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