# If You Buy An Electric Car, Be Ready For Battery Issues



## OC-Moe (Oct 6, 2018)

If You Buy An Electric Car, Be Ready For Battery Issues


Mainstream, mass-market electric cars haven’t been around very long. Nor has electric car battery tech.




www.forbes.com


----------



## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

and ICE vehicles have no issues at all, ever. Hum.


----------



## TomTheAnt (Jan 1, 2019)

SHalester said:


> and ICE vehicles have no issues at all, ever. Hum.


Wait what??? They DO have issues??? Stop the presses!!! 😱 😱 😱


----------



## tohunt4me (Nov 23, 2015)

SHalester said:


> and ICE vehicles have no issues at all, ever. Hum.


Well after 100 years Internal combustion engines Largest problems NOW are the Computers !( electronics !!!)

Maybe after 100 more years
Batteries will catch up.


----------



## OC-Moe (Oct 6, 2018)

for me, the biggest problems with the cult of ev is the lack of sufficient charging stations and the range issues to say nothing of the fact that if you have an urgent need to drive a long distance and the battery isn't charged enough, you in trouble.


----------



## Kurt Halfyard (Dec 13, 2017)

I have a Nissan Leaf that is 10 years old and nearing 100,000 miles (It's my wifes commuter car). It was the first edition (Made in Japan) of the first Mass Market EV on the market with the worst battery technology (air cooled) of any EV. And it has ran brilliantly for 10 years of service in Toronto Canada -20F winters and +100F summers. It has lost 30% of its initial range. In all the years of operating and driving, I've never been stranded or needed a tow, or otherwise had my plans compromised by driving electric.

I have a 2017 Chevrolet Volt with well over 100,000 electric miles (Ridehail vehicle) and daily charge cycles since August 2016. It has had no battery issues other than some warranty software-updates (free). It is still >95% of it's initial battery range (better tech, active cooling, etc.)

If nearly a decade driving EVs puts me firmly in the 'cult' it is because of data and experience has shown me that most of the 'gripes' and 'fears' of the EV conversation are nowhere near as extreme as people make them out to be, and that you adjust accordingly. It's been a non issue for me. I just wish the conversation was not dominated by the Fear-Uncertainty-Doubt people who have never owned or driven these vehicles.

Much of the Winter issues with the battery can be solved by using the heated seats and steering wheel, and not running the heat at full blast. Yes you will still lose 10% of range when it is consistently below 30F, but it is very manageable.


----------



## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

I only have two places I could charge an EV, one is a grocery store a few miles from my house and the other is a Hospital about 1/2 mile from my work.

Hospital is free: Level 2, J1772, 6.6 kW - What ever that means. During the day they are usually occupied by employees.
Grocery store charges: 1 - 350 kW: 0.43/min - I'm guessing that is a faster charge at 43¢ per minute.

So how fast will the grocery store charge charge a car with a nearly dead battery?


----------



## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

My other issue is at least once a month I am making a 300 mile one way trip and often am towing a boat. I imagine if I could even get an EV (SUV) that would tow a boat it would greatly diminish the range I could get. I am by no means against EV, it just needs to work for me.


----------



## OC-Moe (Oct 6, 2018)

Kurt Halfyard said:


> I have a Nissan Leaf that is 10 years old and nearing 100,000 miles (It's my wifes commuter car). It was the first edition (Made in Japan) of the first Mass Market EV on the market with the worst battery technology (air cooled) of any EV. And it has ran brilliantly for 10 years of service in Toronto Canada -20F winters and +100F summers. It has lost 30% of its initial range. In all the years of operating and driving, I've never been stranded or needed a tow, or otherwise had my plans compromised by driving electric.
> 
> I have a 2017 Chevrolet Volt with well over 100,000 electric miles (Ridehail vehicle) and daily charge cycles since August 2016. It has had no battery issues other than some warranty software-updates (free). It is still >95% of it's initial battery range (better tech, active cooling, etc.)
> 
> ...


EV might be good for Über and Lyft drivers but not so good for mass market, too many variables and bad actors


----------



## Kurt Halfyard (Dec 13, 2017)

OC-Moe said:


> EV might be good for Über and Lyft drivers but not so good for mass market, too many variables and bad actors


Let's put it this way. Any home in America that owns two vehicles, with access to a 120V regular socket or spare 'dryer plug', one of those vehicles should be EV.
Tow your boat or make your road trip in the ICE vehicle, do all your regular (predictable) commutes and run-about for groceries, kids-sports, etc. etc. in the EV. Save $$$.

big and small 'c' Conservatives, too often, let PERFECT be the enemy of GOOD.


----------



## OC-Moe (Oct 6, 2018)

Kurt Halfyard said:


> Let's put it this way. Any home in America that owns two vehicles, with access to a 120V regular socket or spare 'dryer plug', one of those vehicles should be EV.
> Tow your boat or make your road trip in the ICE vehicle, do all your regular (predictable) commutes and run-about for groceries, kids-sports, etc. etc. in the EV. Save $$$.
> 
> big and small 'c' Conservatives, too often, let PERFECT be the enemy of GOOD.


I wish all Americans could afford the luxury of a runabout EV and a gas burning auto too. Almost perfect one might say. I am against government deciding market outcomes


----------



## Kurt Halfyard (Dec 13, 2017)

This should be reasonably market driven If there were not hundreds of fear and misinform campaigns, and somehow EVs like wearing a mask bece politicized in the USA.


----------



## Diamondraider (Mar 13, 2017)

Kurt Halfyard said:


> Let's put it this way. Any home in America that owns two vehicles, with access to a 120V regular socket or spare 'dryer plug', one of those vehicles should be EV.
> Tow your boat or make your road trip in the ICE vehicle, do all your regular (predictable) commutes and run-about for groceries, kids-sports, etc. etc. in the EV. Save $$$.
> 
> big and small 'c' Conservatives, too often, let PERFECT be the enemy of GOOD.


Love that phrase. Haven’t heard it in a while. Excellent advice too


----------



## 142605 (Mar 4, 2018)

OC-Moe said:


> for me, the biggest problems with the cult of ev is the lack of sufficient charging stations and the range issues to say nothing of the fact that if you have an urgent need to drive a long distance and the battery isn't charged enough, you in trouble.


I would agree with you for non-Tesla EV. For Tesla’s owner, non-issue.


----------



## 142605 (Mar 4, 2018)

FLKeys said:


> I only have two places I could charge an EV, one is a grocery store a few miles from my house and the other is a Hospital about 1/2 mile from my work.
> 
> Hospital is free: Level 2, J1772, 6.6 kW - What ever that means. During the day they are usually occupied by employees.
> Grocery store charges: 1 - 350 kW: 0.43/min - I'm guessing that is a faster charge at 43¢ per minute.
> ...


What about charging at home?

I don’t think anyone has suggested that an EV is right for every person in every situation… yet. For a lot of people, it makes sense now, and for a lot more people, it will in the future.


----------



## 142605 (Mar 4, 2018)

OC-Moe said:


> If You Buy An Electric Car, Be Ready For Battery Issues
> 
> 
> Mainstream, mass-market electric cars haven’t been around very long. Nor has electric car battery tech.
> ...


What a lame article… what “issues”? That Bolt had a recall? Big surprise.


----------



## June132017 (Jun 13, 2017)

I guess if I ever buy an electric car i'll nick name it the electric chair.


----------



## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

OC-Moe said:


> I wish all Americans could afford the luxury of a runabout EV and a gas burning auto too. Almost perfect one might say. I am against government deciding market outcomes


You are not against government deciding market outcomes when it works in your favor though. For example, the United States has gone to war to maintain a cheap oil supply.


----------



## FLKeys (Dec 27, 2018)

Authority said:


> What about charging at home?
> 
> I don’t think anyone has suggested that an EV is right for every person in every situation… yet. For a lot of people, it makes sense now, and for a lot more people, it will in the future.


I could plug in to a 110/120V receptacle at home, my understanding is that is a very slow charge. I would have to upgrade my electric service in my house if I wanted to add a 220/240v charger system. I have already maxed out my current electric service over the years.


----------



## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

FLKeys said:


> I could plug in to a 110/120V receptacle at home, my understanding is that is a very slow charge. I would have to upgrade my electric service in my house if I wanted to add a 220/240v charger system. I have already maxed out my current electric service over the years.


Correct, 110 will get you something on the order of 4 miles per hour of charge while a dryer plug connection (220 NEMA 14-30) will get you maybe 25 miles of charge per hour.

I don't use my EV for rideshare but I absolutely love it. reliably 240 miles of range, more if I work at it, charges overnight for a few bucks and hopefully little to no maintenance aside from tires and wiper blades. It's liberating to be able to fill the car for 5 bucks and get have fuel costs be 4 cents a mile.


----------



## OC-Moe (Oct 6, 2018)

Disgusted Driver said:


> You are not against government deciding market outcomes when it works in your favor though. For example, the United States has gone to war to maintain a cheap oil supply.


Most Americans could care less if Uncle Sam imposes his will on some foreign nations. However Uncle Sam needs must refrain from imposing major societal or economic changes without American's consent.


----------



## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

OC-Moe said:


> Most Americans could care less if Uncle Sam imposes his will on some foreign nations. However Uncle Sam needs must refrain from imposing major societal or economic changes without American's consent.


You have made my point perfectly.


----------



## OldBay (Apr 1, 2019)

An ice car is wrecked and all the parts can be salvaged, rebuilt, reused in other vehicles.

The largest, most expensive component in an ev, the battery, has a finite number of charge cycles, then it is done. When an ev reaches 10 years, the battery has negative value. Do you bury it? Try to sell it to someone so they can get another two years from it?

No one is going to spend 20k to put a new battery in a 10 year old car.

My truck is 15 years old. I plan to keep it another 15. If it was an ev, id have had to scrap it already. I keep it for rare occasions i need a truck and as backup transportation.


----------



## 232200 (7 mo ago)

I heard of many Tesla’s with 300k or more miles on the same battery


----------



## 232200 (7 mo ago)

I saw a video of a guy that bought a 2013 Tesla that needed a new battery at only 100k miles. He paid $20000 for it, got the battery replaced aftermarket for $9000, because not all the cells needed to be replaced, something tesla does. The company warrantied the batt for I believe 150k miles. i don’t know if the guy was an Uber driver, but if he was, he got a great deal. That model is grandfathered in for free unlimited super charging. As a hybrid owner, I pay currently at least $600 a month full time with Uber. I would imagine a luxury car would be twice that. So in 2 years the dude, if he was a full time Uber driver that would choose a luxury car, he basically got the car for free.


----------

