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You're overstating how much maintenance a modern gas car needs, and understating how much long-term maintenance and repairs an EV will need. A modern car with
by Grishnakh 10y ago
You're overstating how much maintenance a modern gas car needs, and understating how much long-term maintenance and repairs an EV will need.
A modern car with automatic transmission needs the fluid changed maybe 100k miles, and oil change intervals have gone up too; 7500 miles is more normal, and many cars with computers telling when to change the oil (based on actual driving conditions) are giving intervals of 10k. These are generally pretty easy to do yourself too. Most other service intervals are similarly long, usually not until 100k miles: coolant, brake fluid, etc. Brake pads usually last 50k-100k miles, but this depends a lot on how you drive. Modern spark plugs last 50-100k. Cars don't have distributors any more so you don't need to replace the cap and rotor and wires like you used to.
On your EV, you probably won't need to change the brake pads as often because of regenerative braking, but they are still there. However, some things will not change: it'll still need tires just as often as a gas car, and anything related to the wheels, tires, and suspension is no different than a gas car. You may still need to replace a wheel bearing at 125k, for instance, or a ball joint (these things usually wear out faster if you drive on rough roads). Your windshield will still get cracks from rocks and need to be replaced. Your brake fluid will still need to be replaced (100-120k probably), even though you aren't using them as much. Your A/C will probably need recharge or repair or even a new compressor after 100-150k miles or 10 years. And worst of all, you might need to replace the battery pack after 50-100k miles (we really don't know that much about how long these last yet, and it probably depends on the model; Teslas seem to last longer because they don't get discharged as much in regular usage).
- deelowe 10y agoLeaf tires tend to last a little longer than ICE tires b/c they are over-inflated, low rolling resistance tires. Handling suffers of course and an educated ICE driver could get similar results pretty easily.