I'm not really sure why anyone thinks they can't. I guess it's an extension of everyone's fear of cars with diagnostics.
They're just electromechanical devices with mostly commercially available parts and standard manufacturing techniques.
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Building: It is an ex-Locost - it has gone to the IOW!
posted on 20/10/25 at 02:43 PM
Apart from the drive-train & battery they're same as petrol or diesel cars - they have wheels, tyres, cv joints, suspension, steering,
electronic modules (probably the same number as ICE cars!) and so on.
A mechanic may have to do a safety course to learn how to unplug and reconnect the battery, and safe handling, but otherwise they're no more
complex than a modern ICE car.
Any independent garage should be getting their mechanics on at least a basic ICE training course - those that do will be a good step ahead of their
competition.
quote:Originally posted by David Jenkins
Apart from the drive-train & battery ...
quote:
And HVAC, and brakes (servo operation; regenerative braking).
I use a local garage who specifically advertise themselves as being EV specialists, but they still wouldn't touch replacement of discs and pads
for the brakes on my Tesla Model X, claiming that they needed to be 'coded' to the car due to the regen braking. Looking at the workshop
manual (which Tesla make available online), I'm not sure that this is true, but I had better things to do with my time, so the car went into
Tesla themselves for the work.
Having said which, the car has otherwise been very reliable - only tyres, a main fuse (didn't fail; I got a dash warning that it needed
replacement, which Tesla did free of charge under warranty in about 1/2 an hour) and a cracked lens on the reversing camera (no idea how that
happened!), which I replaced myself... Tesla quoted about £550, so I got one off Ebay for £90.
I'm now up to 80K+ miles and the battery seems to have lost negligible capacity from new. I did a 750 mile round trip in one day, last
week (with business meetings in between), with three charging stops... in each case, by the time I'd stretched the dogs' legs, been to the
loo myself and checked my emails over a cup of coffee, the car was ready to move on before I was.
quote:Originally posted by coyoteboy
I'm not really sure why anyone thinks they can't. I guess it's an extension of everyone's fear of cars with diagnostics.
They're just electromechanical devices with mostly commercially available parts and standard manufacturing techniques.
Because many "traditional" small garages haven't as yet trained staff to deal with EV's. Also, it's quite a specialised
market - I would imagine a lot of stuff going wrong is going to relate to charging, ECU/communication issues or infotainment/dash issues. Listening to
the type of faults the guy in the video describes, I strongly suspect the vast majority of traditional mechanics wouldn't have a clue that your
problem with an expensive part could be fixed with a tuppenny halfpenny thyristor, capacitor or whatever .......
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quote:Originally posted by russbost
Because many "traditional" small garages haven't as yet trained staff to deal with EV's. Also, it's quite a specialised
market - I would imagine a lot of stuff going wrong is going to relate to charging, ECU/communication issues or infotainment/dash issues. Listening to
the type of faults the guy in the video describes, I strongly suspect the vast majority of traditional mechanics wouldn't have a clue that your
problem with an expensive part could be fixed with a tuppenny halfpenny thyristor, capacitor or whatever .......
so hopefully we shall soon have specialists who repair modules for traditional garages. (probably on an exchange basis to expatiate repair)
quote:Originally posted by coyoteboy
I'm not really sure why anyone thinks they can't. I guess it's an extension of everyone's fear of cars with diagnostics.
They're just electromechanical devices with mostly commercially available parts and standard manufacturing techniques.
Because many "traditional" small garages haven't as yet trained staff to deal with EV's. Also, it's quite a specialised
market - I would imagine a lot of stuff going wrong is going to relate to charging, ECU/communication issues or infotainment/dash issues. Listening to
the type of faults the guy in the video describes, I strongly suspect the vast majority of traditional mechanics wouldn't have a clue that your
problem with an expensive part could be fixed with a tuppenny halfpenny thyristor, capacitor or whatever .......
I don't think this is a logical conclusion. Right now if the ECU dies your mechanic doesn't whip out a soldering iron. Same with the BCM, or
any of the other modules that run lights, accessories, infotainment etc. They just spot the code, rip the unit out and get an exchange unit. The same
applies to EVs. Right now you'd either buy new genuine ECU, buy used, or send it to a specialist. Same applies.
quote:Originally posted by coyoteboy
I don't think this is a logical conclusion. Right now if the ECU dies your mechanic doesn't whip out a soldering iron. Same with the BCM, or
any of the other modules that run lights, accessories, infotainment etc. They just spot the code, rip the unit out and get an exchange unit. The same
applies to EVs. Right now you'd either buy new genuine ECU, buy used, or send it to a specialist. Same applies.
we can hope there will be
more specialists repairing modules
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Building: It is an ex-Locost - it has gone to the IOW!
posted on 25/10/25 at 08:36 AM
I actually got round to watching this video - really interesting! And very factual, IMHO.
Tyres - yes, I do go through them quicker than I did on previous ICE cars, but, as he said, there's a lot of torque and the temptation is always
there to use it.
Brakes - there used to be a problem where brake disks would go rusty because they weren't being used. Now, on my Kia Niro, all I have to do is
hold down a particular button for a few seconds and the next 10 - 12 brake applications will be without regen - this clears off any dirt or rust from
the disks.
Servicing - much, much cheaper, even at the main stealers.
EVs are going to get even more interesting quite soon - for ages scientists have been trying to make sodium batteries that would work as well as
lithium ones. Up to now they've not been as good, being heavier and less efficient. Now one of the biggest Chinese manufacturers is starting a
production line in December, making battery cells that can directly compete with lithium, and other manufacturers are getting worried. Sodium is
available everywhere (no need to special mining in remote areas), the risk of fire is far less, they will last for much longer, and can be recharged
faster. This is their claim, anyway - we'll see what reality brings!
quote:Originally posted by coyoteboy
I'm not really sure why anyone thinks they can't. I guess it's an extension of everyone's fear of cars with diagnostics.
They're just electromechanical devices with mostly commercially available parts and standard manufacturing techniques.
Indeed.Relic tech of bygone years with unobtanium parts being made to work again using workaround methods!
That is an interesting watch. Looks like the battery issues are going to be kicked into touch. Timings are good for me, I am just thingking more
seriously about solar, but reckon a house battery and hybrid inverter are essential to make it value. That will go alongside a leccy car for general
use.
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Building: McSorley 7+4 with Rover V8 (See avatar for latest
posted on 27/10/25 at 07:45 PM
quote:Originally posted by cliftyhanger
That is an interesting watch. Looks like the battery issues are going to be kicked into touch. Timings are good for me, I am just thingking more
seriously about solar, but reckon a house battery and hybrid inverter are essential to make it value. That will go alongside a leccy car for general
use.
We’ve had a BMW i3 94Ah BEV from new in January 2017 and it has now done over 102k miles and the battery and drivetrain seem to perform just as well
as when we bought it. I’m sure there must be some sort of battery degradation but honestly it’s negligible if there is any at all.
We had the car serviced by BMW under a 5 year plan which we bought with the car for £325 (total, not per year!). During that time it had a failed
wheel speed sensor and a failed infotainment screen which were both replaced under warranty. I have done a few jobs on the car since then including
replacing brake discs and pads either once or twice, I forget. And I’ve replaced the front strut top mounts and rubber gaiters which was a weakness on
earlier cars. I’ve also replaced the brake fluid every 2 years along with the cabin filters which are the only regular service items.
The only major issue we have had is when the high voltage electric powered AC compressor started to make a lot of noise and needed replacing. The part
alone is about £1500 and requires about 5 hours of labour to flush the AC lines to ensure there is no debris, then replace the compressor,
condensor/dryer and some AC lines which include filters before recharging and testing. The AC system is critical on the i3 (and probably most EVs)
since it not only cools the cabin but also heats the cabin, and heats and cools the battery and motor. So it’s not really a job you want to leave to
your local Kwik Fit or similar. We ended up getting it done by BMW and it was £2940 inc VAT. Not cheap but we do get a 2 year warranty on the parts at
least. We’ve had no MOT issues either.
As for solar panels and house batteries, I installed my own setup a couple of years ago and followed up with a heat pump last year. What I would say
is that having an EV gives you access to special electricity tariffs which lend themselves very well to having a house battery (or four in my case!).
That allows you to charge the house batteries while charging you EV, and then you can use cheap rate electricity during peak rates with some help from
solar PVs to stretch it out. What this means is that in the summer, you can store excess solar in the batteries and then export once batteries are
full. Then in the winter when solar is minimal, you can just use the batteries so that you almost never use peak cost energy. We started off with two
4.8kWh batteries without any solar, then added a third battery when we got our 6.8kWp solar array, and a fourth when we installed our heat pump. So we
now have 19.2kWh of battery which works very well for us.
Getting back to the original post - yes EVs are repairable and even the high voltage parts are no more or less dangerous than dealing with solar
panels and house batteries where voltages can be anywhere from 300V to 800V DC. Definitely not something you want to mess with unless
competent/trained but there are plenty of jobs which don’t involve the high voltage systems or only require that the high voltage interlocks are
disabled first which is trivial to do on the i3. I had to do that a while back when I replaced the 12V battery which is charged from the high voltage
battery.
Re house batteries, it's arguably such a good idea that you should do it even without the solar panels. Get the ev tariff, even if you don't
have an electric car (lie), and charge the batteries overnight. Once you're doing that, the solar panels are only worth 8p per kW, rather than 30
odd, and I'd suggest barely worth doing at that point. Plus the battery and inverter can be installed far cheaper than the panels (scaffolding
etc).
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Building: McSorley 7+4 with Rover V8 (See avatar for latest
posted on 27/10/25 at 10:46 PM
quote:Originally posted by JoelP
Re house batteries, it's arguably such a good idea that you should do it even without the solar panels. Get the ev tariff, even if you don't
have an electric car (lie), and charge the batteries overnight. Once you're doing that, the solar panels are only worth 8p per kW, rather than 30
odd, and I'd suggest barely worth doing at that point. Plus the battery and inverter can be installed far cheaper than the panels (scaffolding
etc).
Just my thoughts.
[Edited on 27/10/25 by JoelP]
What i often do is fill my batteries overnight at 7p/kWh then any solar i generate is sold back to Octopus at 15p/kWh. Also, we live out in the sticks
and rely on overhead lines to supply power but having 6.8kW of solar panels lets us charge our batteries even if the grid is offline. In fact we had
2.5 days with no power earlier this year after the big storm and yet we had power for essential loads throughout. We couldn’t run our range cooker or
heat pump or charge our EV, but we have a log burner for heat and cooking, plus a microwave oven and a gas hob and oven in our touring caravan so
managed just fine. We could also charge the EV at public chargers.
So, I take your point that batteries alone can give most of the economic advantages at lower overall cost, hence why i got batteries first, but there
are other good reasons to have solar panels. Besides, what if cheap rate tariffs are withdrawn?
Also, at least with Octopus, it’s not possible any more to just lie about having an EV to get the best EV tariff. My EV charger is actually controlled
by Octopus so they can load balance the grid better. I always have 7p/kWh between 23:30 and 05:30 but Octopus schedule when my charger runs during
that period to maximise green energy consumption. This is the Intelligent Octopus Go tariff. We used to have just Octopus Go and it didnt need proof
of EV ownership.
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Building: It is an ex-Locost - it has gone to the IOW!
posted on 15/11/25 at 09:02 PM
I pay Octopus £135 a month for gas & electricity. This is with solar and a house battery, using Octopus's Go tariff.
The thing to consider is that this includes just about ALL of my EV fuel costs (overnight charging mostly, or solar) for approximately 10K mileage per
annum (only using public charging on occasional cross-country family visits). When I owned an ICE car I used to put in £70 - £80 per month of petrol
or diesel, minimum. That was quite a few years ago, so goodness knows what my monthly fuel bill would be now... probably around £100.
I did a 1500 mile round trip to visit friends and family in Scotland this year, and the total cost of 'fuel' on public charging was still
less than I'd have paid to buy fuel for an equivalent ICE car. I drive a Kia Niro, so I estimated that 40mpg from an equivalent-sized car would
be reasonable, considering the type of driving I was doing - motorway or fast A-roads, mostly.
Octopus do have a tariff for people with house batteries but no EV. Similar setup, with cheaper overnight charging periods.
