High Voltage Maintenance

Simple High Voltage Maintenance Tips

Electric cars are astonishingly simple under the hood; with few moving parts in the electric motor, combined with the traction battery and solid state controller compared with hundreds of parts in an internal combustion engine.

Not many electric cars will make it to the garage or junk yard as they are pretty much problem free compared to their gasoline counterparts.

Remember there are no oil changes, no transmission, no starter, no exhaust, no water pumps, no tune ups.

ALSO

Oil changes, radiator rebuilds, air filter replacements, spark plugs, muffler replacements, distributor cap replacements, blown head-gaskets, etc.

It's incredible what you have to spend during the life of your car that isn't required for an electric car.

Electric Car Maintenance 35% Cheaper Than That Of
Dinosaur Vehicles 

The entire drivetrain has less than 20 moving parts. You can look forward to 100,000 miles trouble free driving.

As such, electric cars are a breeze to maintain in stark contrast to the laundry list of maintenance work inherent with traditional vehicles.
No more pesky oil changes, transmission fluid replacements and mechanical shortcomings.
Even with an electric car's simplicity, the vehicle must still must be maintained in a similar manner.

Tires

Tires, as with all cars, require the most attention they wear down the quickest. Heat, sunlight and overall climate affect the rate at which tires decay. Whether you're rolling on discount Nitto tires or any other brand, be sure to rotate and inflate them often. Under-inflated tires require more power to move, resulting in less range and more money spent on recharging. Consult the owner's manual to verify proper tire pressure and maintenance schedules.

Brakes

Courtesy of regenerative braking, brake wear is dramatically reduced with electric vehicles. A good rule of thumb is to check brakes at 20,000 miles. Any changes in sound, feel or effectiveness in braking indicates that work is needed on the double.

BMW i3 Concept Driving the BMW i3 price will be between
$43,000 – 50,000 USD

Battery

The fundamental component of any electric car is the traction battery, an array of power cells that power the car. It is a high voltage maintenance component, but most of that heavy lifting has been taken care of by the manufacturer.

Inside the car, you also have another battery that is used by the accessories circuit. Check your owner's manual for location and maintenance tips

Once per month, check and tighten the connections if loose and look for corroded terminals.

Most of the batteries produced today are sealed and do not require water for the whole of their lifespan.

But if yours does, maintain proper water levels inside the battery, if needed and refill when low. Each battery has a life cycle measured in charging cycles, gradually losing the ability to hold a charge with every passing day.

Your traction battery is different and your car or your dealer determine when the battery is due for replacement.

Replacement of the traction battery may be required after 10 years or so, depending how many recharges you have given the car -

Most batteries have a number of recharges in their lifetime, before the charge level drops to about 70% or thereabouts

The one caveat that the car salesman may neglect to mention.

Check your owners manual or ask the dealer about this aspect of ownership

A traction battery pack for the all-electric Ford Focus costs between $12,000 and $15,000, approximately a third of the cost of the vehicle, Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, stated on WashingtonPost.com.

That's a jaw-dropping price to ask a consumer who saved bundles of money buying and using an electric vehicle for it's lifetime in the first place.

Unfortunately, most electric car batteries run around the same price as the electric Focus.

Wipers

Whether running on gasoline or electricity, windshield wipers need maintenance all the same. Baking under the Arizona sun in summer or freezing into icicles during a Minnesota winter, the rapidity in which wiper replacement is necessary is dependent on climate. MSN.com suggests autumn as the ideal season for replacing windshield wipers; it's after the destructive heat of summer and before your car frosts over in the winter when you'll need them most.

Easy high voltage maintenance tips!

BY

Allison Rodriguez Ally drove her first car when she was 8 years old, while sitting on her dad's knee. She thought it was a fun game and still thinks that driving is fun, but it definitely isn't a game.