EV Myth Busting: Electric cars break down more than petrol cars
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Compared to petrol and diesel cars, an electric car is comprised of fewer parts, which can result in less maintenance. However, a myth persists that electric cars break down more frequently than petrol cars, not to mention the fire myth. It may surprise some that, according to a study by Cap HPI via the AA, maintaining an electric car over three years can cost 23% less than maintaining a petrol counterpart. Driving an electric car eliminates the need to replace parts like the clutch or refill engine oil. General maintenance for parts like tyres, windscreen wipers, and paintwork remains the same. While an EV requires battery maintenance, it certainly involves fewer components overall.
The Electric Car Scheme is a cost-neutral employee benefit offered by employers to help more people drive electric. Employees can save between 30-60% on any electric car through salary sacrifice. Along with your EV, you can opt to include insurance, servicing, MOT, breakdown cover, and tyre replacements in the monthly price, saving money by paying from your gross salary. It is a great benefit to offer and helps boost employee retention, increase your talent pool and make an active step towards your ESG goals as a company.
In this blog, we will aim to dispel the myth that electric cars break down more than petrol cars, explore where this has come from and explain how servicing and maintenance work with an electric car compared to petrol or diesel cars.
Do EVs break down more frequently than petrol cars?
In short, the answer is no. Data from Smart Rescue indicates that electric cars are 59% less likely to require a breakdown callout compared to petrol and diesel cars. This statistic alone challenges the perception that electric cars are unreliable. EVs are also less likely to suffer from a flat 12V battery, which powers functions like opening doors, windscreen wipers, indicators, and starting the car. Data for these types of battery problems account for 23.7% of callouts compared to 29.7% for petrol and diesel cars.
What are the most common reasons for an electric car to break down?
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According to Cinch, the majority of breakdowns for electric cars occur due to running out of charge. If your breakdown is caused by a flat battery, you'll need to recharge your car. Currently, most electric car batteries cannot be charged at the roadside. In such situations, you may require towing. However, some recovery companies have equipped their patrol vehicles with facilities to charge stranded vehicles enough to move them to safety in certain cases. If you have broken down due to lack of charge, the battery will be fine.
Other common reasons for breakdowns in electric cars can include degradation, issues with the electric motor, problems with the charging infrastructure or electrical system malfunctions. Battery failure or degradation may result from factors such as extreme temperatures, improper charging practices, or ageing. Breakdowns of electric motors can stem from issues like overheating or mechanical faults. Challenges with the charging infrastructure may involve difficulties locating charging stations or encountering faulty charging equipment. Finally, malfunctions in software or the electrical system can trigger problems such as power loss or loss of control, necessitating repairs or updates.
Should I be worried about battery degradation in my EV?
Again, in short, no. As an EV driver, it's important to care for your car's battery despite the statistics above. Neglecting it will cause your battery to degrade much faster than if you take small steps to prevent degradation. There are two types of ageing for an EV battery: calendar ageing and cyclic ageing. Calendar ageing is an unavoidable aspect of battery degradation as they grow older and lose the capacity to hold as much power. Cyclic ageing is due to how you charge and recharge an electric car. EV batteries are designed to last longer compared to other electronic devices (like smartphones), but some charging habits you may be used to can decrease their lifespan.
An electric car battery has a lifespan of 8 to 15 years and a range of 100,000 to 200,000 miles. Similarly, according to Leaseloco, a well-maintained petrol car averages a lifespan of approximately 11 to 14 years or 200,000 miles. In comparison, the average diesel car lasts around 30 years or covers 1,000,000 miles. To address these concerns, several manufacturers, including Jaguar, Nissan, Renault, and Tesla, offer eight-year warranties on batteries. Real-world evidence suggests that battery decay rates are generally lower than feared, with some manufacturers expecting their batteries to outlast the entire vehicle, particularly when properly maintained.
If you lease an electric car, through a salary sacrifice scheme or otherwise, you can choose a two-, three-, or four-year lease and be confident your electric car will still be at peak performance when you return it to the lease provider. Battery degradation should not be a major concern, as there are many ways to properly care for your EV battery to ensure it lasts as long as possible.
Ways to preserve my EV’s battery
There are a couple of things that may be affecting your electric car’s battery, like the climate, driving habits and charging patterns or even the weight of your EV.
There are four main ways to look after the battery of your electric car: avoid fast charging when possible, minimise exposure to high temperatures when parked, maintain an optimal battery state of charge during long periods of storage, and avoid keeping the battery at a 100% state of charge. You can read about these steps in more detail in our blog: What is the lifespan of an electric car in the UK?
Petrol vs EVs: Maintenance costs
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Many people are familiar with what it means to get a petrol or diesel car serviced, but electric cars work differently and require different servicing and maintenance. Let’s examine what the maintenance process looks like for both.
The electric vehicle drivetrain has fewer moving parts compared to an internal combustion engine, making maintenance more simple and cost-effective. The process for electric cars is akin to that of petrol cars. Regular maintenance, such as maintaining recommended tyre pressure, is crucial. Electric cars, being generally heavier due to the battery's weight, can accelerate tyre wear, a factor worth considering. While electric cars feature conventional disc brakes, they primarily serve as an emergency backup to regenerative braking, which is more frequently used when braking in an EV.
How much does it cost to service an electric car?
According to BookMyGarage, the average electric car service costs between £100 and £250, depending on the make and model. This is less than the cost of servicing an ICE (internal combustion engine) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. An average EV service costs £103, while a PHEV service averages £153, a petrol car £151, and a diesel car £163.
Learn more about how much it generally costs to run an electric car here.
What maintenance do electric cars need?
The main components such as the traction battery, drive motor, and electronics may require more maintenance in electric vehicles, but there are many aspects shared with both ICE vehicles and EVs (as previously mentioned). The unique aspects specific to electric cars are as follows.
Battery maintenance
You should use the manufacturer’s recommendations about charging the traction battery. You should generally:
Ensure the battery doesn't run out completely,
Charge your battery according to the owner’s manual - the most efficient is 20% to 80% full charge.
Brake maintenance
EVs use regenerative braking in addition to the brakes found in petrol cars. The energy lost when the car slows down through regenerative braking is converted back and stored in the battery, making braking more efficient. You may need to replace the following:
Brake pads and discs,
Brake fluid.
Tyre maintenance
With the additional weight and acceleration power of an electric vehicle, your tyres may experience more stress compared to those of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. As an EV driver, you should ensure you do the following:
Rotate your tyres as per the owner’s manual,
Keep your tyre pressure topped up,
Replace tyres when worn.
Do electric cars need oil or coolant changes?
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Most electric cars utilise coolant to regulate battery temperatures, and the frequency of coolant maintenance varies based on the make and model of your vehicle. As an EV driver, you shouldn't change the coolant in your car because the cooling systems are sealed in electric vehicles. Instead, they should be inspected and topped up by a qualified technician.
Electric cars don't require engine oil, but they do contain oil within their reduction gearboxes, which may need to be changed during the lifespan of your electric vehicle. Unlike petrol or diesel cars, you don't need to concern yourself with engine oil changes, spark plugs, or timing belt replacements.
What does an EV service include?
Without an engine, exhaust, spark plugs, or clutch, EVs undergo a quicker servicing process. Here's what's typically included in an EV service:
External lights and instrument warning lights,
Horn,
Windscreen wipers, washers and screenwash,
Condition of windscreen and mirrors, number plate and seat belts,
Top up brake fluid,
Brake pad and disc wear,
Handbrake operation,
Brake callipers,
Condition of wheels and tyres,
Condition of steering rack gaiters and other steering parts,
Condition of shock absorbers, springs and other suspension parts,
Wheel bearings,
Condition of high voltage and 12V battery (with a report),
Operation of all driver EV controls, warning systems and charging points,
Any oil leaks.
How often do electric cars need to be serviced?
You should check your owner’s manual for your manufacturer’s service schedule, but usually, they need to be serviced as frequently as a petrol car. Many drivers follow the MOT schedule and arrange an annual service, which is a safe general rule to follow.
EV maintenance is available through salary sacrifice
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As mentioned earlier, if you lease your car through The Electric Car Scheme, you have the option to combine your maintenance and insurance payments into your EV salary sacrifice contributions. This approach can lead to savings of between 30-60% on your service costs.
At The Electric Car Scheme, we've aimed to streamline the process of transitioning to an electric car, making it simple to include all necessary services in one package. With this bundle, you can enjoy full tax savings on maintenance, breakdown cover, comprehensive car insurance, and even a home charge point, making your journey to net-zero emissions hassle-free and potentially reducing costs even further than the estimates provided earlier.
Do electric cars catch fire more than petrol cars?
Millions of EVs are on the roads globally, and it's not uncommon to come across news reports suggesting that electric cars are more prone to catching fire compared to their petrol or diesel counterparts. However, a closer examination of the science reveals the opposite to be true. For instance, the recent car fire at Luton Airport car park in October 2023 garnered media attention, with many assuming it was caused by an electric or hybrid vehicle. However, the reality was quite different - the car involved was a diesel Range Rover.
“All the data shows that EVs are just much, much less likely to set on fire than their petrol equivalent. The many fires that you have for petrol or diesel cars just aren’t reported”
Why would an electric car catch fire?
There are many ways a fire could start. Car batteries store energy by moving lithium ions inside a battery cell. However, if cells are penetrated or impurities from manufacturing errors cause short-circuits, unwanted chemical reactions can trigger "thermal runaway," leading to rapid heating of cells and the release of toxic and flammable gas. In petrol cars, fires can start due to electrical faults causing sparks or if the engine overheats because of a cooling system fault, potentially igniting flammable fuel.
Interestingly, electric vehicle battery fires pose a new range of challenges to emergency responders and everyone handling the vehicle after the incident. EV Firesafe created a poster outlining the risks of battery fire and road traffic collision.
Petrol vs electric car fires: The data
The MSB demonstrated that to the total number of EVs and ICE vehicles on the roads, petrol and diesel vehicles were nearly 20 times more prone to catching fire than electric-powered vehicles. Meanwhile, EV FireSafe, an Australian company, analysed global data on reported EV fires from 2010 to 2022. Their findings indicated a 0.0012 per cent probability of a passenger EV catching fire, in contrast to the 0.1 per cent likelihood for an ICE vehicle. This represents a significantly higher (though still minimal) level of risk - 80 times greater, to be precise.
The issue is that despite the growing popularity of electric cars, they are still outnumbered by petrol and diesel cars which means the sample sizes are not always comparable.
Salary sacrifice, at The Electric Car Scheme, allows you to save between 30-60% on any electric car of your choice. You simply agree to have a portion of your pre-tax salary deducted each month to cover the car cost. Choose the car you want, add on any extras, and drive away saving thousands of pounds.
Life can be unpredictable, which is why you are protected from exit fees should you leave your employer. Whether it's due to resignation, redundancy, parental leave, sickness, or worse, you have protection should the unexpected happen.
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