Random EV thoughts.....

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122058279#Comment_122058279

You're very optimistic, I'd be surprised if they managed more than two 😬

Jokes aside, there is already a scheme which allows councils to apply for funding up to 75% of the installation costs of charging equipment

Last I heard only 3 councils had applied, although that was over a year ago. Maybe they're doing better now but it's likely a lot of them don't want to bother

SchrodingersCat

Interesting article on the reliability of EV batteries.

They have gotten alot more reliable over the last 10 years, going from a 7.5% failure rate to 0.1%.

https://insideevs.com/news/717187/ev-battery-replacements-due-failure-study/

The most common failures were with the 2013 Tesla Model S (8.5%) and the 2011 Nissan Leaf (8.3%).

Just watched this at the lunch break and it's looking good for the Model 3 owners at least with Panasonic batteries. Ignore some glaring miles/km errors from this love/hate presenter.

420k miles is aprox. 670k kilometres, covered with the original 7X kWh battery and the drivetrain.

https://youtu.be/nWak1GBAPJg?si=9h8iXNdTt88qmSTA

slave1

LR has ~78kWh with just over 4kWh buffer, said to degrade a fair bit over the first year then taper off

denismc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122060582#Comment_122060582

This really should be posted on social media sites any time someone posts a "I have a friend" story whose battery failed/ blew up/ ran off with his wife etc.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122060582#Comment_122060582

So to clarify, these aren't failures due to age related degradation. This is for cars with batteries that had manufacturing defects and thus lower capacity when delivered, or degradation beyond what the manufacturer guarantees

Have I got that correct?

One thing they seemed to leave out was the age if the car at replacement time. For example the cars from 2011 were much worse, but how many got new batteries in 2011 versus the following years

I guess the majority of cars from that year were Leafs which had a 5 year battery warranty IIRC. So they wouldn't have replaced any batteries after 2016, plus that was when the 30kWh pack rolled out so Nissan wouldn't have had many replacements anyway

munchkin_utd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122061780#Comment_122061780

amazing stuff.

There was an article a few years back on a businessman from Liechstenstein who had lots of customers in Eastern Europe and he ditched his private plane when he got too old to fly it for a Maybach, so one of the most overengineered ICEs possible.

After approaching 1 million km, its still going like new BUT the list of stuff that had to be replaced over the time was long including something like a couple of engine rebuilds, gearboxes and endless brake replacements.

Costwise it makes no difference as the guy can afford it but still it shows how even the very best ICEs are prone to failure over time with their exceptionally complicated engines, and a simple electric motor on the other hand keeps on going.

The one thing I dont get with the Tesla reports is how people arent needing suspension replacements after high mileage. Are the things air suspension or is there some specific reason ? Or is it just that they are all relatively young and suspension failure is more age than usage related so doesnt affect them, yet ?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122066307#Comment_122066307

Yes, any well designed car can last for a very long time once you keep on top of servicing and maintenance. Many a car are sent to early grave for pretty small issues if maintenance is let to slip earlier in their lifetime as fixing it all in one go would be too much money.

In case of the Model 3, the upper control arms have been mentioned as potentially a weak point. The issue seem to affect mainly early builds, the design was changed sometime before 2021. We shall see what happens with ours when it ages, but in case of this particular model of car they are quite firmly sprung and I'm in opinion that stiffer suspension results in less wear and tear in the shocks and joints as there is a smaller range of movement. But I have no hard data on this and I may be totally wrong too.

Incedentally, I just changed the front wishbones in the 2016 leaf last weekend as the bushings were pretty bad at 108k. The front was wandering and when the car was jacked up there were visible cracks starting to appear in the rubber joints, and in general what causes that apart from aging is when the joints are streched to the extremes of their movement. NCT will be in June and I thought I'll be ahead of the game for once. As of other wear, apart from this known issue in Leaf all the rest of the suspension still feels tight.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122066307#Comment_122066307

The very best ICE doen't mean the longest lasting ICE and I'm not sure what is overengineered about a Maybach. Over complicated more like. My far more mundane Megane 1.5 diesel is approaching 600k kms and shows no sign of needing an engine rebuild or gearbox. The original front brake pads and discs lasted about 325k kms and that wasn't motorway driving either. It depends how you drive them. The car does not have a DPF and i think it has solid flywheel.

I 've had more replacement of the rear discs and pads as they got so little use that they rusted and scored with the pads separating from their backings - just as might happen with an EV that rarely uses its friction brakes.

The other unscheduled work that I needed to do on the car was suspension and steering. Front springs, front shocks, top mounts and inner tie rods have been replaced once as has one of the rear springs. If I got 600k kms out of a heavy EV with that amount of wear and tear suspension and brake work, I'd be delighted. Obviously I've had oil and filter changes and timing belt kits that wouldn't have on a EV.

cannco253

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur47okU3eUk

Are used EVs a rip-off?!

Carwow

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122066981#Comment_122066981

Having brake pads make 325k is criminal tbh. There is no way they are in a good enough state over that mileage.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122073046#Comment_122073046

You'd wonder are they actually engaging at all with that mileage before replacement. They're supposed to wear.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122073257#Comment_122073257

They'd deteriorated just from age and water ingress alone. Completely unsafe.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122073046#Comment_122073046

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122073502#Comment_122073502

Said with such confidence. First he says it's "criminal" because of the mileage then moves on to "completely unsafe" because of age and water. In actual fact, you have no idea what age the pads were as I didn't state it. You also have no idea of the effect of water ingress and obviously, no idea of the condition or remaining friction material thickness. FYI the pads (and discs) could have gone more than 325 kms, were in fine condition and nowhere near the NCT thickness limit of 1.5 mm. Their replacements are in situ for over 200 k kms and are in excellent condition.

Do you, as a habit, go around accusing others of criminal behaviour when they do something you don't agree with? How does that work out for you?

What we have here seems to be a case of EV fan Butthurt that it isn't just EVs that can have very low friction brake use. I'd suggest improving your driving and learning how to read the road.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122073637#Comment_122073637

EV fan ? My friend I've just bought an ev in Feb. I run a diesel van and 3 petrol motorcycles. I service my own vehicles. Currently today replacing the injector in the van as she's running soft, leak down test showed that injector 2 was returning 46 percent more fuel to the line. So not gone but going.

Anyone running brake pads to 325k needs a kick up the hole. Visual checks will not tell you how the aged material is performing being that old in weathered condition.

I said criminal yes because it's not safe.

So EV fan, sure why not. But all vehicles that move. More accurate.

I'd also suggest bringing your vehicle to a different mechanic if he's advising you that they're OK.

BrianD3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122073921#Comment_122073921

So in other words it's unsafe because you say it is. And you still don't know the age of the pads.

I'm aware that you work on your own vehicles and only recently got an EV. I recall a post from not too long ago where you mentioned cutting a brake disc off with an angle grinder. Given that I also work on my cars and despite infrequent pad and disc changes, have never had to do anything like that, which of us needs to examine our approach to brake maintenance?

Also I have a different 25 year old car family owned from new that has never had the brake fluid changed or topped up and is on original brake lines, calipers and cylinders. Have had many confident individuals tell me over years that not changing brake fluid was going to cause all manner of problems including rusting the brake lines. Bollocks - brake lines rust from the outside in.

And to bring this back to the topic of EVs, if not changing brakes often enough (by your definition) is unsafe, then there goes one of the maintenance advantages of EVs that fans like to boast about. So the car isn't wearing its brakes - but it'd be criminal not to replace them anyway.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122074152#Comment_122074152

... actually why am I arguing with someone who thinks 325k brakes are grand. Even at high miles they'd be 11 years old. Crazy shenanigans.

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122074300#Comment_122074300

Well if you were doing 900km every single day you'd get that milage up in a year. Maybe that's what happened? And they had a Flintstones Flap so they could drop their feet through the floor to stop.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122074837#Comment_122074837

Near spit my tea out.

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122074152#Comment_122074152

You should change the brake fluid! It’s hygroscopic. Your brakes are not what they were.

prawnsambo

Getting back to EV matters, Polestar have successfully tested StoreDot's silicon based batteries by charging from 10 to 80% in just ten minutes.

https://www.polestar.com/global/news/how-we-charged-a-polestar-in-10-minutes

fits

now that’s cool.

Need more stuff like this and less of the boring EV vs ice stuff on this forum.

prawnsambo

As an aside, that Polestar 5 looks absolutely gorgeous. Probably will cost a fortune though. Especially with that battery pack if they go ahead with it.

Charge curve on that battery is ground breaking as well. There is none.

SchrodingersCat

Teslas price war may be having an effect:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9rznkq3vqro

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080068#Comment_122080068

Ya it's having an effect on the perception of ev vehicles.its not a good thing. People won't buy because they hear 2 things. The cars don't hold value. And then all the nonsense about battery's blowing up.

They aren't a car company they're a tech company and they'll take car companies down with them.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080077#Comment_122080077

Me thinks you're right…

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080077#Comment_122080077

It's had one effect on me anyway, and that's to never buy a tesla again unless its for cash and an older one, as the volatile pricing makes it a fools errand otherwise.

innrain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080380#Comment_122080380

Just got an email that Cybertruck will be in Dundrum on the 15th and in Sandyford 10-14th. 😁

L.E. June sorry

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080573#Comment_122080573

Got the same email. I've booked in for Dundrum.

I mean, obviously the cybertruck transcends all the stuff I said above. If they ever bring it here.

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122080573#Comment_122080573

Booked Cork 17-24th June. If it ever gets there…