Electric Cars Could Last Much Longer Than You Think | Rather than having a shorter lifespan than internal combustion engines, EV batteries are lasting way longer than expected, surprising even the automakers themselves.
https://www.wired.com/story/electric-cars-could-last-much-longer-than-most-think/
29 Comments
The thing is you can’t rebuild a battery after 1 million miles
BS post. Auto manufacturers are pumping the brakes on going full EV. Can anyone show me an actual odometer reading on an electric car that proves they have long life spans?
It’s also compounded by the fact that their reputation comes from the batteries failing today, which are mostly ones made 10+ years ago. Battery technology has come a very long way since then, so the ones being used today will last substantially longer, it will just take a long time before that is evident
Remind me in 35 years. This sounds like straight up propaganda.
Coworker with an electric f-150 needed 3 battery replacements in the first year of ownership. A different coworker needed 2. I’ll stick with my V-6 ecoboost
Can anyone tell me why we have (anecdotally) noticed a huge uptick in horrific car fires this year?
Edit: For clarity I have personally seen about 7 serious car fires on the short stretch of motorway near my home. Prior to this year, I’d seen 2 in my whole life. No social media or biased journalism involved, just my eyes.
Edit 2: Also, I have no particular bias towards or against EVs. The ones I’ve seen are probably ICEs too. Just looking for other people’s experiences and evidence.
Dont worry, now that they realize this, they’ll start to build them worse. They won’t let proper build quality get in the way of selling you replacements batteries.
Im sure all the electronic systems of ev cars will hold for years and years to come
That may be true in some regions, but the salty strips many drive on will still rust the vehicles away just as fast as ICE. Many ICE owners never have powertrain problems by the time the bodies and frames rot away.
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Batteries NEED to last 20+ years if we expect EVs to replace ICE cars for most passenger vehicles. I have a 2007 Chevy impala with exactly the same horsepower as the day it rolled off the lot in 2006. That’s 18 years ago.
The battery, just like the engine in an ICE car, is the most expensive part. As such, most consumers are going to want their EV battery to last as long as an engine does. It’s only a natural comparison to make.
I don’t doubt that this article is accurate and EVs are out performing expectations. What just upsets me is that you know a Prius battery which is only a few kWh should only cost $2k would probably cost $10k to change. The manufacturers will make the fix ridiculously expensive due to the proprietary nature of the battery. Completely disconnected from the market forces driving battery costs down
Fewer moving parts means less wear and tear. Plus – EVs don’t have as much bad engineering tradition baked in – there’s more room to tweak when you are still setting precedence! (Best practices that are more emotional than effective type things)
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How the hell does my laptop battery die within few years and the best survived for like 6
Give it time they will figure a way to depreciate faster
I mean Tesla released their million mile battery in 2017 thanks to real-world data they were able to gather from their fleet to improve their battery technology. But even those batteries actual lifespan is probably closer to 4 million.
Once we get batteries that can survive longer than the chassis they’re bolted onto, EV’s are gonna be one hell of a cheap transportation system.
Don’t worry they’ll push a software update to brick those pesky long lasting EV’s sooner. Gotta keep the people on the planned obsolescence schedule.
[This guy](https://insideevs.com/news/699413/highest-mileage-tesla-model-s-3-batteries-14-motors/) is a current practical example of motor/battery duration.
Lasting longer than the transmission in a RAM 1500 is not the flex you think it is.
Does this take into account the Canadian winter?
Going to minus 35 for a few weeks every year has gotta hurt
however if there is a problem with the batteries, probably it’s total loss all at once.
You won’t be seeing anyone driving a 20+ year old EV unless they’ve paid out the ass for a new battery.
And the battery is only the beginning of the savings. Far fewer moving parts to break. Fewer linkages to fail, etc.
When they perfect the battery, it will be a no-brainer for most.
I would rather see replacement battery packs that are decreasing in price and increasing in range, power and lifetime.
I am reading the technology is happening, but I am not seeing that happen in terms of the battery packs.
Maybe. But what is the TCO per year?
Between all the electronics, the sensors, and the cost of replacing the battery itself it’s a lot more than traditional ICE autos that lasted 10+ years/200+K miles (Hondas/Toyotas).
What I want is batteries that don’t weigh like a small car. The electric motor is great! Small, powerful, less moving parts than an engine, it weighs less and *should* be cheaper. Imagine the car designs when you don’t have to have a huge block of metal to power the thing.
Now throw all those designs away cause batteries are the exact opposite of motors. They’re bulky, large, heavy, and expensive.
In the end, the future was never electric cars. It’s mass transit.
Gonna have to fix that longevity like the lightbulb cartel did in the early 1900s or people won’t have to buy cars again.
Replace “could” with “doesn’t” in any article headline and you’re done reading the article.
I know Reddit hates tesla, but the 1 million miles (lack of) wear on the drive unit is seriously impressive. If only the battery and interior needs regular maintenance, as well as doing rust treatment, you’ll have a car that can last for a very long time.