Random EV thoughts.....

What often happens is that one cell in the battery degrades faster than others and pulls the others down as a result

It probably is an outlier, but it's still considered fine from Nissan's perspective. I went on a bit of a rant a few pages back about how manufacturers test their products beyond their spec limit to ensure they last the expected lifetime. That's why generally the batteries last longer than expected but it is basically borrowed time

Because the battery is a sealed unit, and requires "special training and equipment" to work with, garages won't fix them. They'll just swap them out

The batteries in Tesla's, or at least the Model S, were almost hand crafted. The individual cells were matched very closely to each other and they were very carefully put together. Again, they were specced way beyond any competitors batteries which is what is allowing them to expect a million miles from some of them

I’m on my first driving holiday since getting an EV. Went smoothly in Clare. Saw plenty of availability in chargers I didn’t need to use. I charged daily in Shannon, once on the DC at Circle K and twice on the AC by the Garda station when I had enough leftover juice that AC speed was enough.

Crossed over to Wicklow today and used a fair bit so went for DC again. Popped in to Coynes Cross services for a bite to eat and a charge if available. Lucky I wasn’t counting on the charge. ID3 on CCS and a van on AC. Then a Leaf came and was still waiting when I left. I drove the few minutes to Tesco Wicklow and charged there, with a backup plan to use one of the ACs if that was in use. Topped up a bit more on a Tesla hotel AC for my last day and trip home tomorrow and of course moved the car to a normal spot when done.

At this point, it’s clear that a single unit at motorway services is crap. They should have banks of the things.

As an aside, I saw loads of EVs on my travels, in all sorts of places in the back of beyonds. Was good to see. Several from UK and the continent too.

I think you're putting a lot of faith in the dealership to be able to spot any battery issues ahead of time. I know that they can all output things like cell voltage via OBD but you also need someone who can interpret the results, and I've yet to see anything that gives me confidence many dealerships can do that

The differential in rapid and fast charging pricing I find is a bit of a dilemma.

On one hand its good to have the ability to pay a premium for convenience - Im all for that. But on the other, there are many EV users who dont fully comprehend that an EVs ability to charge rapdily is dependant particularly on the state of charge and battery temperature.

It all to easy to go for a quick top up and find you are paying for rapid charging, only to find your charge rate is no higher than you would acheive on a fast charge (eg less than 50kW).

If you're in LA keep an eye for one of the two Fisker Ocean test vehicles that recently landed (amongst the 2.5 million cars there!)

Warranty and lifetime of battery are 2 different things entirely. Are there stats showing significant battery failure, as against degradation, just outside of warranty periods? TBH if that was the case, that would be a really strong argument not to buy a used EV and yet in many cases used EVs are selling for more than they were when new.

In any case degradation does not equal failure. And even if batteries suffer degradation they are still perfectly operational especially now in bigger battery cars. In a 400km range car, 20% degration will still leave you with 320km range which is nearly twice the range of a new L24.

While the Leafs are rigjtly derided for their poor battery chemistry and non existent cooling, there are still loads to be seen on the roads and you can be sure the vast majority are still on the original battery. My own L30 has 148k km on the original battery and while it has degraded to high 70's % it still has been flawless since I got it 5 years ago. I only wish it had a bit more range.

Electric vehicles are already displacing 1.5 million barrels per day of oil usage, equivalent to about 3% of total road fuel demand.

You over there on hols or on a job mf?

Holidays!! They should just rename California, Teslafornia!!

Helps when you have a Government that has a clear EV policy combined with generous supports & incentives.

There's zero federal incentives on GM and Tesla EVs any more, making them artificially very expensive compared to any other EVs! And Tesla has been able to repeatedly and significantly increase their prices over the last few years. And they still sell everything they make. With an average 30% margin (most other EV manufacturers have about 0%)

The charging situation is mad. In Dingle today, needed a top up and the charger app said it was free. Got there to find a Kia EV6 parked in the spot, had a look and he wasn't even plugged in.

There was a woman in a leaf already waiting, got chatting and she had been waiting for over an hour. So we went off to the aquarium. It was free when I came out so plugged in and grabbed an ice cream.

But if I had to sit and wait in this heat with the kids going bonkers it's not an enjoyable experience.