The EV Maintenance Checklist Essential Tasks for Long Term Performance

Electric Car Maintenance: Everything You Need to Know

Electric motors have far fewer moving parts than internal combustion engines. This means electric cars often require far less maintenance (and can be cheaper to operate) than their gas-burning counterparts. Still, EVs require regular maintenance.

This includes familiar tasks such as rotating the tires, replacing various fluids, and changing out cabin air filters. There are also a number of EV-specific services that drivers of these battery-electric vehicles need to keep on top of.

Battery Maintenance

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States predicts today's EV batteries will have service lives between 12 and 15 years if used in moderate climates. This falls to between 8 and 12 years if regular use occurs in extreme environments.

Regardless, EV batteries require next-to-no maintenance throughout their service life. That said, there are a number of things drivers can do to extend the service life of their EV's battery pack.

Steer Clear of Extreme Temperatures

Extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) are Kryptonite to batteries. Automakers factor this into the development of their EVs, fitting them with the necessary auxiliary cooling and heating systems to help keep the temperature of the battery in acceptable levels.

Don't Plan to Use Fast Chargers All the Time

Despite their convenience in rapid recharging, fast chargers degrade battery packs at a quicker rate than slower 120- or 240-volt charging. However, just how much fast charging impacts battery life isn't known precisely in these relatively early days of modern EVs. Of course, in a road-trip scenario fast charging is necessary and there's no reason to avoid it. But buying an EV with the plan to use fast charging exclusively isn't a great idea, both from a battery life and a cost perspective. Fast charging costs three- to four-times more per kilowatt-hour of energy than you pay at home, a price that can bring the fueling cost of EVs on par with gas-powered vehicles. For example, we found it's possible to pay $100 to fast charge a Hummer EV from empty to full.

Try Not to Fully Charge or Deplete the Battery

Batteries degrade more quickly when charged to full capacity or when depleted of all their energy. On the plus side, many manufacturers prevent full-capacity charging in order to assist in the battle against battery degradation. Most cars have settings to charge to a level less than 100 percent, and many automakers suggest charging to a level of 85- or 90-percent for daily use.

EV Maintenance vs. Gas Cars

Converting electricity into mechanical energy creates heat, and like gas cars, electric vehicles need to keep their powertrain components cool to ensure everything continues to work as it should. Some use air to do this, while others use some form of coolant or refrigerant to prevent components from overheating.

Check the Cooling System and Wiper Fluid

For EVs that use coolant or the like, it may be necessary to flush or recharge the system periodically. The Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning owner's manuals recommend checking the integrity of cooling system hoses, as well as the cooling system level and strength, at six-month intervals. Meanwhile, the Porsche Taycan owner's manual recommends checking coolant levels as part of the car's routine service.

Regardless of what's powering your car, you're going to need to regularly refill your windshield washer fluid. Same goes for replacing the windshield wipers, as well.

Keep an Eye on Brake Fluid and Pads

Similarly, both EVs and gas cars rely on brake fluid to modulate their binders. Flushing and replacing this fluid at regular intervals is a necessary service no matter your vehicle's powertrain. Though replacement times vary between vehicles and manufacturers, Ford recommends replacing the brake fluid in the Mach-E and Lightning every three years.

Brake pads are also something EV drivers need to keep an eye on. The good news is that an EV ought to eat pads and rotors at a far slower rate than a gas car. Credit electric motors' regenerative braking function, which allows the motor to slow the vehicle by recovering its kinetic energy (and subsequently feeding that energy back into the battery pack). Though EVs still rely on their mechanical brakes, they tend to use them more infrequently, which subsequently puts less wear on pads and rotors.

The fact that the brakes aren't exercised as much on an EV is exactly why Tesla's service schedule includes lubricating the brake calipers every 12 months or 12,500 miles in areas that use salt to melt snow and ice. That service cost us about $100 each time, roughly oil-change money on a gas-powered car, on our long-term Model 3.

Tire Wear

Maybe this one's a bit obvious, but yes, you still need to replace the tires on your EV. In fact, you may even have to replace them more frequently. Partial blame goes to the extra weight of EVs (batteries are heavy).

The Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires on our long-term Tesla Model 3, for instance, have less tread depth than typical all-season tires. We suspect this is to help boost the range figure. But this decreases these all-season tires' lifespan. The ones mounted to our Model 3 required replacing after 30,000 miles and set us back a whopping $1157.

EV Maintenance vs. Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids

Since hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars have gas engines on board, their maintenance routines are closer to those of a gas-powered car than an EVs. Nonetheless, these vehicles' electric motors allow them to slow down via regenerative braking. This means that hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles' brake rotors and pads tend to have longer service lives than those of gas cars.

Jack Fitzgeralds love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldnt afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.

The Ultimate Guide to Electric Car Maintenance: Batteries, Tires, and More

The main difference between the maintenance of an electric vehicle and a gasoline car is that there's less of it. Without an internal combustion engine, there are far fewer parts in an EV to need repair or replacement. The running joke among EV owners is that all you need to maintain are windshield washer fluid and air in the tiresbut there is certainly more to do than that.

EV Maintenance Overview

The elements that EVs share with gas vehicleslike wheels and brakesdo need maintaining. Filters get dirty. Taillights burn out. As with any machine with moving parts, lubrication is needed to make the vehicle run, well, fluidly. Coolants are needed so that parts don't overheat.

But as their name suggests, internal combustion engines run much hotter than electric vehicles (190 degrees C compared to 40/50 degrees C), which means EV coolants break down more slowly and need less frequent replacement.

Along with the lower price of electricity compared to gasoline, the cost to maintain an electric vehicle is one of its greatest selling points in terms of the lifetime cost for owning an EV. Consumer Reports estimates that, on average, the maintenance of an electric vehicle adds up to $0.03 per milehalf that of a gasoline-powered car.

If a function or part of an electric vehicle isn't mentioned in this maintenance guide, it's because it's the same as on a gas-powered car. But some functions in common with gasoline cars have different maintenance requirements, as do elements that are unique to EVs.

What Doesn't Need Maintenance in an EV

• Alternators
• Catalytic converters
• Engine air filters
• Engine gaskets
• Fuel pumps
• Mufflers
• Oil changes
• Oil filters
• Pistons
• Serpentine belts
• Spark plugs
• Timing belts
• Tune-ups

Batteries

The battery pack is the most expensive component in an EV, and replacing it can wipe out the average lifetime savings of $4,600 in maintenance costs for owning an EV. A replacement battery for a Nissan Leaf, for example, can cost $5,500 plus installation fees.

Despite worries about having to replace expensive lithium-ion batteries, however, an EV battery is likely to outlast the rest of the vehicle, especially if you take care of it properly, and that likelihood is bound to increase. Unlike internal combustion engines, which haven't changed much in the past 40 years, new developments in EV battery chemistry (such as lithium iron phosphate) hold out the promise of extending the lifetime of EV batteries to more than a million miles.

The lithium-ion battery that fuels an EV is sealed for safety reasons, and any maintenance should be performed by a professional. An EV battery is actually a pack of thousands of individual lithium-ion cells, with electronics and a thermal cooling system tying them all together. The thermal cooling system has coolants that need flushing periodically; EV batteries have long warranties, so this may be covered under your warranty.

You may be surprised to learn that there is a second battery in an EV: a standard, lead-acid 12-volt battery like the one you'll find in a gasoline car. Without it, you wouldn't be able to unlock your car, since it's needed to run electronics like lights, door locks, and other low-energy functions that have long run on 12 volts. Scaling down the energy from a 300+ volt lithium-ion battery to run electronics that run on 12 volts is highly inefficient and costly, not to mention dangerous. Periodic inspection is required.

Tires

As with internal combustion vehicles, EVs have tires, rotors, shocks, struts, driveshafts, and boots that periodically need regular rotation, inspection, maintenance, or replacement. Maintaining proper tire pressure and tread depth is important on any car but may be more even more so on an EV.

EVs have instant torque (rotational force of the wheels), which on slippery roads can increase the likelihood of spinning. And EVs are, on average, heavier than comparable gas-powered cars in the same category, so once the vehicle begins to slide, it may be more difficult to control. Proper tire maintenance, a good set of snow tires in the winter (where applicable), and sensible driving habits can prevent slippage.

Brakes

Since electric vehicles primarily use regenerative braking rather than traditional friction brakes, discs and pads are subject to less wear and tear. While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has tweeted that brake pads on a Tesla literally never need to be replaced for [the] lifetime of the car, brake pads can still wear out, depending on how you drive. Even the Tesla Model 3 Owner's Manual recommends replacing worn brake pads. Brake drums, linings, hoses, and fluid also need regular inspection.

Motor

Compared to an internal combustion engine, an electric motor is a rather simple machine that will in all likelihood never need replacing. Most electric vehicles have a single multi-speed motor, meaning there's no transmission that shifts the vehicle between multiple gears. (Some EVs have two to four motors, but power is distributed electronically between them rather than through shifting gears.) That means no transmission fluid, at least in the traditional sense.

EVs do have a reduction gearboxwhich some people call a transmissionbetween the motor and the wheels that need lubricationwhich even EV manufacturers may call transmission fluid. Usually, the gearbox is sealed, so a qualified mechanic will need to perform inspection and maintenance on it.

Climate Control

While gas-powered vehicles draw heat from the engine to heat the car, EVs use either resistance heaters that draw their energy from the battery, or highly efficient heat pumps that, in general, need less maintenance. Cooling the vehicle tends to work the same, with an air conditioning compressor that needs refrigerant inspected and air filters periodically replaced.

Software Upgrades

EVs run on electrons, so keeping your electronics updated is more important in an EV than in a gas-powered vehicle. Software and firmware upgrades can increase the efficiency of an EV, add new features, or increase the vehicle's electronic security. Some EV manufacturers offer over-the-air updates, just as you would get for other digital devices. For many vehicles, this requires being within range of your home wifi. Other manufacturers require a visit to the dealership to perform upgrades.

Owner's Manuals for Popular EVs

A Typical EV Maintenance Schedule

Note that schedules vary per model. These are some general guidelines:

Monthly

• Inspect interior and exterior lights.
• Inspect tires for wear and proper pressure,
• Check for loose wheel lugs.
• Inspect windshield washer fluid level.
• Check coolant level.
• Check exterior lights.

Six Months

• Check 12-volt battery connections. Clean if necessary.
• Check body and door drain holes for obstructions.
• Check cooling system fluid level and coolant strength.
• Check door weatherstrips for wear.
• Lubricate hinges, latches, and outside locks if necessary.
• Check parking brake for proper operation.
• Inspect safety belts for wear and function.
• Inspect safety warning lights for operation.
• Inspect windshield wipers and washer spray for wear and function.
• Use plain water to flush corrosive materials like road salt from the underbody.

12 months or 10,000 miles

• Rotate tires.
• Replace climate control filter.
• Perform a multi-point inspection (12-volt battery, lights, fluids, horn, half-shaft dust boots, suspension, steering, tires, windshields, washer spray and wipers).
• Inspect brake pads, rotors, drums, brake linings, hoses, and parking brake.
• Inspect steering linkage, ball joints, suspension, and tie rod ends.

Every 15,000 miles

• Replace the windshield wiper blades.

Every 20,000 miles

Every three years

• Change brake fluid.
• Change coolant.

10 years or 150,000 miles

• Change transmission fluid.
• Change air conditioning dessicant.

Maintenance Required

No machine as complicated as a motor vehicle is maintenance-free, and the simplicity of maintaining an EV can be overstated. Taking good care of your electric vehicle is just as important for your safety and the longevity of the car as it is for a gasoline-powered car. Fortunately, that safety and longevity can come at half the price.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How long do electric vehicles last?

  It's often said that electric car batteries last anywhere from 10 to 20 years, but the cars themselves only last about a decade. With EVs being so new to the mainstream, it's impossible to calculate an average lifespan just yet.

• Do electric vehicles need servicing?

  Electric vehicles do need to be serviced occasionally. Regular EV services include tire pressure checks, windshield wiper replacement, and brake fluid changes.

• Do electric vehicles need oil changes?

  Electric vehicles don't use engine oil like gas-powered cars do, so there's no need for EV owners to get regular oil changes. EVs may use oil (or the equivalent of "transmission fluid") inside their reduction gearboxes, which need to be checked and potentially changed over the car's lifespan.

• Do electric vehicles require as much maintenance as gas-powered cars?

  Electric vehicles reportedly require 66% less maintenance and 22% fewer repairs than conventional gas-powered cars.