We all know the story by now: EVs require less maintenance than gas cars. As in significantly less maintenance. As in so little maintenance that you are here, reading an article to remind you that there are, in fact, maintenance requirements for your EV!
That’s the bad news. The good news is that you still have very few things to worry about when it comes to maintaining your EV.
Most of the regular maintenance on internal combustion engine cars stems from the fact that they have many moving parts, and moving parts wear down. The average internal combustion engine car contains over 2,000 moving parts.
The average EV contains 20.
EVs are not strictly maintenance-free. Manufacturers still recommend scheduled maintenance to replace parts that wear down over time. This includes things like replacing and rotating tires, keeping fluids topped off, and installing a fresh set of wiper blades from time to time.
Your EV will also need to get annual inspections in order to be allowed on the road legally. This can be done at a dealership or at independently certified inspection centers.
Here are some pieces of regular maintenance you’ll need to perform on your EV.
Tires are where the proverbial and literal rubber meets the road. So it doesn’t matter what safety features your EV has — if the tires wear down, it won’t be safe to drive.
Rotating tires every 5,000 to 8,000 miles ensures that your tires wear evenly, which prevents your car from riding unevenly or having compromised traction on one or more tires.
Service centers will also regularly check the battery’s coolant level (for EVs that use thermal management), as well as for the charging components and the interior cabin heater.
The brakes, along with the brake fluid level and brake system lines, need regular servicing. The same goes for steering and suspension components. Chassis components and drive shafts need to be checked and potentially serviced.
Eventually, the parts of the car that may need to be replaced are:
That’s pretty much it. Providing you treat your car well, there are very few breakable parts on EVs compared with internal combustion engines.
Maintenance may be a breeze, but there’s plenty to know about EVs — and there’s no better place to find out than evee life. Join our mailing list for tips on buying an EV, living a carbon-free lifestyle, and getting the scoop on things like EV rebates and EV incentives.
Published January 4, 2023 1:00AM
Eveelife is an eco-oriented lifestyle platform that helps consumers make more purposeful choices about how they live and what they consume. We do it by curating content and products that help them make more conscious, carbon-free choices while amplifying their EV ownership experience.
