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I keep hearing about these things from people telling me how great it is that EVs have so few moving parts yet in almost 3 decades of owning ICE vehicles I've n

I keep hearing about these things from people telling me how great it is that EVs have so few moving parts yet in almost 3 decades of owning ICE vehicles I've never had to do more repair work under the hood than change a starter, a water pump and an alternator(once each). I've been stranded thanks to bad software, but that's not specific to ICE. Owning an ICE isn't all that much work. Oh wait, oil changes, but those are pretty easy.

theshrike79 3y ago
The last time I owned an ICE vehicle (a diesel VW Passat station wagon) I had to replace during the 4(?) years I owned it: - Diesel Particulate filter - Turbo - Clutch - Dual-mass Flywheel - Radiator Each was 1000-2000€ except for the radiator. The DPF would've been a 2k€ operation, but I found a sketchy mechanic who just drilled it out and chipped the car to think the DPF was just fine. I paid in cash, didn't get a receipt =) Then a tiny hex shaft broke in the bottom of the engine. It was the only thing running the oil pump to the engine and the only official repair was to replace the whole bottom part of the engine as a whole. Estimate: 2000€++. It was fixed with liquid metal or something by a different sketchy car mechanic and I sold it immediately.
magicalhippo 3y ago
It isn't more work until it is. Modern ICEs have been refined for over 100 years. Most are very reliable. But if a timing belt or valve breaks, or the automatic transmission, or... yeah you're looking at a very, very expensive repair most of the time.
- user_7832 3y ago
  Yeah, a well maintained reliable ICE engine isn't a problem but once issues start coming, they don't stop.
  - theshrike79 3y ago
    And there's the "well maintained" -bit. Unless you know to do it yourself, you're gonna get gouged by Jiffy Lube or something.
vel0city 3y ago
In the years of my car ownership I've seen failing engine seals, multiple kinds of EGR failures, catalytic converter degradation, intake manifold baffle solenoids fail, fuel pump failures, thermostat failures, and more. And that's just failures, not all the preventative maintenance like changing spark plugs, changing timing belts, fluid replacements, valve clearance adjustments, and more. Meanwhile the maintenance schedule for my EV drive train is a fluid change every 150,000mi.
- theshrike79 3y ago
  Same here, cabin air filter change yearly. The first "real" maintenance is at 150k km where they do something to the battery cooling system. After that the next one is at 300k. I have no intention of keeping the car that long. (of course there's the regular tire changes and brake repair, but it's not enforced by the manufacturer)

theshrike79 3y ago

The last time I owned an ICE vehicle (a diesel VW Passat station wagon) I had to replace during the 4(?) years I owned it: - Diesel Particulate filter - Turbo - Clutch - Dual-mass Flywheel - Radiator Each was 1000-2000€ except for the radiator. The DPF would've been a 2k€ operation, but I found a sketchy mechanic who just drilled it out and chipped the car to think the DPF was just fine. I paid in cash, didn't get a receipt =) Then a tiny hex shaft broke in the bottom of the engine. It was the only thing running the oil pump to the engine and the only official repair was to replace the whole bottom part of the engine as a whole. Estimate: 2000€++. It was fixed with liquid metal or something by a different sketchy car mechanic and I sold it immediately.

magicalhippo 3y ago

It isn't more work until it is. Modern ICEs have been refined for over 100 years. Most are very reliable. But if a timing belt or valve breaks, or the automatic transmission, or... yeah you're looking at a very, very expensive repair most of the time.

user_7832 3y ago
Yeah, a well maintained reliable ICE engine isn't a problem but once issues start coming, they don't stop.
- theshrike79 3y ago
  And there's the "well maintained" -bit. Unless you know to do it yourself, you're gonna get gouged by Jiffy Lube or something.

vel0city 3y ago

In the years of my car ownership I've seen failing engine seals, multiple kinds of EGR failures, catalytic converter degradation, intake manifold baffle solenoids fail, fuel pump failures, thermostat failures, and more. And that's just failures, not all the preventative maintenance like changing spark plugs, changing timing belts, fluid replacements, valve clearance adjustments, and more. Meanwhile the maintenance schedule for my EV drive train is a fluid change every 150,000mi.

theshrike79 3y ago
Same here, cabin air filter change yearly. The first "real" maintenance is at 150k km where they do something to the battery cooling system. After that the next one is at 300k. I have no intention of keeping the car that long. (of course there's the regular tire changes and brake repair, but it's not enforced by the manufacturer)