Electric vehicle maintenance

Rat407

Rat407

Joined
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Maybe time for an Electric vehicle section on here?

Anyway, with all the manufactures coming out with EV's, what exactly will those of us DIY'er's be able to do to them? I know they still have shocks, brakes, ball joints that will need replaced I'm sure over time. Anything else? Isn't coolant still used for the battery? What all will be serviceable? Are gearboxes on any of these or is it all motors direct drive? I know grease isn't an issue anymore. Seems all the new vehicles come with sealed suspension components and not more zerk fittings. Just curious as to if one will be able to do what ever maintenance would need to be done if one kept the vehicle for a long time.
 
Nothing. The makers will do their best to discourage the owner doing anything but driving.
 
Rat407 said:
Maybe time for an Electric vehicle section on here?

Anyway, with all the manufactures coming out with EV's, what exactly will those of us DIY'er's be able to do to them? I know they still have shocks, brakes, ball joints that will need replaced I'm sure over time. Anything else? Isn't coolant still used for the battery? What all will be serviceable? Are gearboxes on any of these or is it all motors direct drive? I know grease isn't an issue anymore. Seems all the new vehicles come with sealed suspension components and not more zerk fittings. Just curious as to if one will be able to do what ever maintenance would need to be done if one kept the vehicle for a long time.
Click to expand...
Really other than the ICE and doing things like oil changes, spark plugs, air filters, etc; there is little that is different on an EV than there is on an ICE vehicle. You still have tires, suspension parts and I believe that they also have a cooling system for the batteries.
There is a little less maintenace with an EV but they are not maintenance-free vehicles.
 
Coolant: no combustion byproduct seeping through head gasket, they will last at least 10 if not 15 years regardless of miles.

Ball joints: this is 2021, they last till 150k and certainly last longer than your battery pack. If they don't last 150k you need to buy a better car.

Struts / shocks: same as normal gas car, they may last longer than your battery pack depends on which car you get and where you drive. It also depends on whether manufacturer engineer enough quality to last.

Brakes: like hybrid, they will likely last way longer and into 70-100k due to regenerative braking.

Gear oil: no shifting means nothing to wear out on I guess, how often do you change your differential fluid in a gas car?
 
The Tesla recommended service:
Tire rotation
Cabin air filter
WW fluid
Test brake fluid
Lube brake components in inclement weather conditions

That's all I can remember right now...
 
Here’s the 2021 Chevrolet Bolt maintenance schedule. Also says coolant every 5 years if that comes before 150,000 miles. Brake fluid every 5 years. A/C desiccant every 7 years.

The gearbox apparently uses 2.9 liters of DEXRON HP.

https://my.chevrolet.com/content/da...t-ev/2021-chevrolet-bolt-ev-owners-manual.pdf

114C0E0A-86B1-4CF6-B7D8-F08121846FDE.jpeg


Some info on servicing the gearbox fluid on the Bolt. Starting at about 3:00
 
Last edited:
Same question was asked back in early October. Here was my response:

I own a Chevy Bolt EV. Chassis is lubed for life. Tires need to be rotated every 7500 miles. Cabin air filter every year. Brake fluid flushed every five years. AC desiccant replaced every seven years. Trans axle and coolant circuits fluids need to be changed every 150 thousand miles. Normal lube hinges, check wipers' and stuff every year but that’s it. Battery and power unit is warranted for 8 years.

it’s a great car for commuting. I put 3500 miles on it so far and cost of the electricity has been slightly under $75 total. If I charge between 8pm and 8am the cost per kwh is .066 vs my normal .129 per khw. The car automatically charges during that time period. Car is a little rocket. Seats could be better typical GM. I am 6 foot two and have plenty of room inside it’s amazing how big the car is when you sit in it.
 
Your subscription-based, autonomous electric vehicle will pick you up and drop you off and you never work on vehicles again. You will own nothing and be happy. I see this as a future for many people. Many younger people have no interest in driving, plus they can use their phones without stopping. Just sayin...
 
ron17571 said:
Your subscription-based, autonomous electric vehicle will pick you up and drop you off and you never work on vehicles again. You will own nothing and be happy. I see this as a future for many people. Many younger people have no interest in driving, plus they can use their phones without stopping. Just sayin...
Click to expand...
Exactly. People dying or injured in motor vehicle accidents will drop dramatically. Kids will brag that their uncle Wally's old truck is so old that it has a steering wheel.
 
barryh said:
EV DIYers are going to need a good 3 tonne trolley jack to do the brakes etc. I can't see my 2 tonne jack being good enough given the weight of EV's.
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At least in the case of Tesla’s, they’re not significantly more heavy than other vehicles in the same size segment. Base spec Model 3 weighs in at 3,582lbs, that’s VW Passat territory. Model S long range AWD is 4,883lbs, about 700lbs heavier than the venerable and BITOG favorite Crown Victoria. Seems like a lot, but that’s also comparing a plane jane RWD vehicle to an AWD luxury vehicle.
 
Rat407 said:
Anyway, with all the manufactures coming out with EV's, what exactly will those of us DIY'er's be able to do to them?
Click to expand...
My Hyundai Kona EV has just dropped out of both the bumper to bumper and mechanical warranties this week so I'm going to step up and change the gear reducer oil at only 19,000 km. The reason for doing this so early is that there have been a small handful of gearbox failures globally and so I'm keen to ensure that the oil is clean. I've just special-ordered the best oil match available, Redline MT-LV 70W/75W GL-4, nearly $50 shipped for only 1 qt! I would expect that a common ATF would do just fine but it's not worth the risk.

Other than normal maintenance stuff, the one standout is the brake fluid. It's just a conventional DOT 3 or 4 but the brake system is more complicated because there is a second "master" cylinder that is driven by a motor and used to simulate brake pedal resistance and feel while regen is used instead of the disks. There are also a number of solenoid valves that divert fluid here and there to control what happens.

The dealer did this maintenance a year ago (at 2 years since new) and I'd be inclined to have them continue with that because they have the pressure bleeder and OBD tools to effect a complete flush. The other option for DIY is to do similar to an auto trans "drain and fill" on perhaps a yearly basis.

The coolant is the only other item. It doesn't actually get boiling hot, never more than lukewarm. It's a conventional green on my example but later revisions of this EV use an expensive non-conductive blue type with a shorter change interval. The change interval for mine is 8 years or 192,000 km.
 
Because a handful Kona and Kia EV owners have had gear reducer reliability issues, I replaced my EV's factory-fill oil yesterday. For only 19,000 km I thought it was darker than I would have expected. My 4WD ICE diffs, transfer and even the manual transmission were way cleaner at more than twice the distance, the first two still a clear gold colour. I made a short video of draining the EV plus a slowed-down recording of pouring it into a bottle.

From studying the gearbox design I can see that the splash-lubricated 2-stage reducer does not have a debris magnet, either inside or in the drain plug. I was able to draw some fine ferrous debris out of the old oil with a strong magnet (see photo), so it seems that wear particles simply circulate until they are ground down to almost nothing. That doesn't seem like a good strategy to me to save the cost of a magnet, even if the gearbox service life is still adequate.

So, unless I can find a high-quality magnetic drain plug I think I'll be replacing the oil more frequently than what is called out, perhaps biennially.



IMG_1561.webp
 
So almost 2 year E-Golf owner here.

I am overpaying by having the requisite "inspection" every year so there is no question from VWoA on warranty should battery degrade before 8 years is up. Other than that it is basically.

Cabin filter - 2 years. (I do this myself on the Golf because its so easy)
Brake fluid - 2 years
Tire rotation - 1 year

I basically pay $99+tax for a tire rotation, car wash and inspection. Every other year is a brake fluid exchange so its $108 - $218 - $108 - $218. I do my own cabin filters so that would be extra on one of the visits if you don't do it yourself.
 
Disclaimer: Totally not Tesla bashing (I own stock in them).

I work in Northern Virginia which is one of the highest areas of concentration for Teslas. I have 6 coworkers that all have Teslas. They are all getting bent over backwards on routine maintenance. For example, one coworker just paid $700 for AC check, tire rotation, cabin air filter change, brake fluid check, and general safety inspection.

Their problem is that small independent shops are unwilling to touch “these spaceships on wheels” at this time. I think that as older mechanics retire and younger mechanics get comfortable with EVs, their routine service costs will plummet. Unfortunately for now though, my workers realize that they aren’t saving anything when it comes to maintenance but they are still thrilled with their vehicles.
 
PandaBear said:
Coolant: no combustion byproduct seeping through head gasket, they will last at least 10 if not 15 years regardless of miles.

Ball joints: this is 2021, they last till 150k and certainly last longer than your battery pack. If they don't last 150k you need to buy a better car.

Struts / shocks: same as normal gas car, they may last longer than your battery pack depends on which car you get and where you drive. It also depends on whether manufacturer engineer enough quality to last.

Brakes: like hybrid, they will likely last way longer and into 70-100k due to regenerative braking.

Gear oil: no shifting means nothing to wear out on I guess, how often do you change your differential fluid in a gas car?
Click to expand...
Chryslers will probably still use cheap suspension parts like there ball-joints that don't last long. And if the owner takes it to a Chrysler dealer for repair they will put the same cheap garbage on them that also will not last long.
 
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