How to Keep Your Electric Car Running Smoothly: A Guide

Maintaining an electric vehicle is straightforward. It involves significantly fewer tasks compared to those required for a gasoline-powered car.

Although electric cars might have a higher upfront cost compared to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, they tend to be less expensive to operate through economical home charging. Additionally, electric vehicles also help their owners save money continuously through reduced long-term maintenance expenses .

This is due to the fact that electric vehicles (EVs) remove more than two dozen mechanical parts that typically necessitate regular maintenance. As a result, an EV owner can avoid expenses related to tune-ups, oil changes, coolant system flushing, transmission services, and replacements of the air filter, spark plugs, and drive belts. According to sources, this significantly reduces costs for electric vehicle owners. approximately half as much as drivers with traditionally fueled vehicles spend on routine maintenance. .

EV Maintenance

Tesla Vehicles Offer Lowest 10-Year Maintenance Expenses: Consumer Reports

What Is the Optimal Electric Vehicle Service Timeline?

Nevertheless, an electric vehicle still requires some maintenance. Every automaker demands that owners adhere to a specific routine of inspections and servicing to maintain the vehicle’s warranty validity. Failure to comply with this suggested regimen could result in the car being ineligible for coverage should it require repair work.

Other than rotating the tires, swapping out the cabin air filter and wiper blades, and refilling the washer fluid, most of the maintenance involves different types of mechanical checks. The manufacturers recommend—and rightly so—that apart from straightforward chores such as verifying the tire pressure, replenishing the windshield washer fluid, and maybe switching the wiper blades, these services ought to be carried out by an experienced professional at the dealership’s service center.

Three Diverse Electric Vehicles With Their Respective Service Timelines

Chevrolet Bolt

Here’s a look at the typical maintenance schedule for the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV as an example:

Monthly (performed by owner):

Verify the tire pressure and make adjustments if needed. Inspect the tires for excessive wear. Ensure the windshield washer fluid level is sufficient and top up if required.

Every 7,500 miles:

Rotate the tires. Verify the coolant levels for the battery, passenger compartment heater, and power inverter, as well as the auxiliary power and charging units. Look for any visible fluid leaks. Examine the brake system. Conduct a visual inspection of the steering, suspension, and frame parts for any signs of damage. Assess the condition of the power steering mechanism, CV joints, and driveshafts for significant wear, leakage, or harm. Test the operation of the safety restraint system including airbags. Apply lubrication to exterior elements like door locks. Ensure the throttle pedal shows no indications of damage, stiffness, or sticking issues; replacement may be needed if problems persist. Perform a thorough visual examination of the strut dampers (part of the undercarriage), searching for evidence of deterioration such as fractures or similar impairments. Determine whether the sealant within the tire repair kit has expired—should your vehicle include this feature—as it’s designed to mend punctured tires quickly and reinflate them provisionally.

Twice a year:

Wash away corrosive substances such as road salt from the underbody using just water.

Every 15,000 miles:

Change the windshield wipers.

Every 36,000 miles:

Change the cabin air filter at regular intervals, replacing it more often if needed.

Every 75,000 miles:

Replace the hood and/or body lift support springs.

Every five years:

Empty and refill the vehicle's cooling system. Change out the brake fluid.

Every seven years:

Get the air conditioning desiccant replaced. (It absorbs and retains moisture within a vehicle’s AC system to aid in preventing rust and corrosion.)

Nissan Leaf

Nissan provides two distinct maintenance schedules for the Leaf. The first schedule applies under more severe usage conditions such as regular short journeys shorter than five miles during mild weather or ten miles when it’s below freezing, congested driving in high heat, prolonged slow speeds over long stretches, operation in dusty environments, or traversing bumpy, muddy, or salt-covered roadways, along with the use of rooftop carriers.

Schedule 2 demands less frequent upkeep but is applicable solely for highway driving under mild weather conditions. In essence, the majority of Leaf owners will find themselves needing Schedule 1 servicing.

Similar to the Bolt, this involves various routine maintenance checks. Nissan outlines these tasks as rotating the tires every six months or 7,500 miles, and replacing the cabin air filter annually or every 15,000 miles. Furthermore, the brake fluid needs to be refreshed every two years or 30,000 miles, and the coolant should be updated after 15 years or 120,000 miles.

Tesla Model 3 Alongside Model Y

Tesla suggests the following maintenance tasks and their respective frequencies:

Check the condition of brake fluid every 4 years (and replace as needed).*
Replace the A/C desiccant bags every four years.
Replace the cabin air filter every two years.
Replace the HEPA filter every three years.
Service and grease the brake calipers annually or after driving 12,500 miles (20,000 km), particularly if you live somewhere with salty road conditions during colder months.
Rotate the tires every 6,250 miles (10,000 km), or when the tread depth varies by more than 2/32 inch (1.5 mm), whichever occurs first.

Frequent heavy braking from towing, descending mountains, or aggressive driving—particularly in hot and humid conditions—might require more regular inspections and changes of the brake fluid.

Furthermore, Tesla includes these two points:

Battery coolant: Under normal conditions, you typically do not have to replace the battery coolant during the lifespan of your vehicle.
Brake fluid: Do not add more brake fluid.

Battery Pack

When considering an electric vehicle, the most expensive part to keep in mind is undoubtedly its battery pack. Over time, all electric car batteries tend to deteriorate and can hold less charge, although this process occurs slowly. This concern was more significant for earlier EV models that struggled to reach even 80 miles per charge compared to modern vehicles capable of traveling over 300 miles. However, very few electric cars built so far have experienced such severe degradation that their battery packs required replacement. Nonetheless, owning an electric vehicle for a sufficient period means witnessing a gradual decrease in its driving range. If this reduction becomes problematic, you might find yourself needing to replace the battery pack or opt for a newer model instead.

Conclusion

Lower maintenance requirements do not guarantee that an electric vehicle is indestructible. Eventually, EV owners might need to change the tires, get the brakes repaired, and possibly replace parts like the steering and suspension systems, hoses, headlights, taillights, among others. Always refer to your owner’s manual for detailed maintenance instructions tailored specifically for your electric car.

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