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As a responsible car owner, it’s important to know the ins and outs of your vehicle and what is needed to keep it in good working order. The good news is, in many ways, electric vehicles and hybrids are often easier to maintain as they have fewer moving parts and less fluid than a traditional vehicle. That said, there are certain things you need to keep in mind.
As is the case with all vehicles, electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid
vehicles need to be serviced on a regular basis. Much like a diesel or petrol
car, you will be able to get your electric vehicle serviced at a main
dealership or an independent garage.As electric vehicles have fewer moving parts, their service intervals
are extended. This means you should be making fewer trips to the
workshop.
With that being said, on this page, we will reveal everything you need to know about getting an electric car service so that you can understand your requirements and what to expect.
Note: Just like a regular car, your EV will need an MOT once a year after it turns three years old.
If you have an electric vehicle, it will need to have a yearly MOT by
law once the vehicle is three-years-old. The rules are the same as the rules
that are in place for other cars.
While you still may be required to have an MOT on an annual basis, the process involved is very different when compared with MOTs for standard vehicles. To begin with, fluids such as transmission fluid and engine oil are not going to need to be changed with an EV. It only has a single-speed gear setup and it does not have an internal combustion engine (ICE), which means it is not necessary for either to be added.
With regards to the tests that will be carried out on your electric vehicle, let’s take a look at how your car will go through an MOT:
Unlike conventional diesel and petrol vehicles, you do not have to worry about belt changes, spark plugs, or engine oil changes if you have an electric vehicle.
Well, the good news is that the batteries that are used in these gadgets
are nowhere near the standard of electric car batteries. Car batteries have
been designed so that battery life is preserved for as long as possible.
To give you some understanding regarding how long your vehicle battery should last, most manufacturers provide a battery guarantee of approximately 100,000 miles, which will be around 12 years for the average driver. This means that you do not need to worry about your vehicle battery dying on you anytime soon.
As a consequence, you will tend to find that self-charging hybrids and
plug-in hybrid cars are more expensive to service and maintain when compared
with both conventional vehicles and electric cars.
One thing that is worth pointing out is that diesel hybrid models tend to be more expensive to service when compared with petrol hybrid vehicles. The reason for this is because diesel vehicles tend to have more complex technology under the bonnet, for example, extra emission control systems. As a result of this, the servicing cost can add up.
Checking the brake pads
Maintaining the brake pads is an important part of being an EV or hybrid driver. However, this is usually much easier to do thanks to regenerative braking. Regenerative braking uses energy that would otherwise be wasted to charge the battery. The system is smooth, sophisticated and advanced, but still needs to be maintained.
Checking the windscreen wipers
The windscreen wipers of an electric or hybrid vehicle are the same as those used for other vehicles and therefore need to be maintained the same way. If your windscreen becomes smeary when the wipers are on, this is a clue they’re not working properly and need to be replaced. As a rule, try to replace your windscreen wipers twice a year.
Keep an eye on the fluids
Electric vehicles have three main fluids that you’ll need to keep an eye on: coolant fluid, brake fluid and windshield washer fluid. Some also require transmission fluid that needs to be changed regularly.
The battery
Batteries can last for up to a decade. Some automotive battery systems use liquid coolant to maintain safe operating temperatures, in this case, these systems may require regular checks.
Several manufacturers offer 8-year/100,000-mile warranties for their PEV batteries, but it’s worth knowing that they can become less efficient over time and may eventually need to be replaced.