5 BIGGEST PROBLEMS With Electric Cars That Will Make You Think Twice
Why might electric cars be a lot more problematic than you might think that’s what we’re going to find out welcome to cop corner where we help you the consumer Master the process of car buying and car ownership for this video I’m going to share five of the biggest
Issues that electric vehicles have that might make you seriously think twice before buying one now this video is not meant to scare it’s meant to educate on the serious and legitimate concerns that exist including some extremely costly ones that need to be addressed with electric vehicles the first major ones
Have to do with driving range and charging issues now many are probably somewhat familiar with this one but the problem goes far beyond what most ever expect it has become clear that most electric vehicles fail to actually travel as far as they claim to and the driving range drops alarmingly fast
During high-speed highway driving during really hot and really cold weather and especially when doing any kind of Towing for example many EV owners have have reported their driving range Dro by as much as 30 to 40% when driving in extremely cold winter weather and if you
Add Towing on top of that it can drop by as much as 60 to 70% and then you have public charging which is now famous for being extremely unreliable with chargers often being broken and the few that are working often have really long lineups to cars waiting yes Tesla superchargers
Are the exception and far better than the rest but that’s no help to other EVS until they’re able to actually use them many are probably familiar with the media reports from Chicago which showed parking lots filled with dead Teslas that were frozen solid and couldn’t charge because the superchargers were
Also Frozen causing a total nightmare situation now I have to admit the story was a bit sensationalized but being that this was just Chicago I have to wonder what it would be like in a much colder location like say the Prairie provinces of Canada like Alberta or Manitoba where
It can get a heck of a lot colder than that currently the only half-baked solution to all of this is to charge at home where you can easily precondition or preheat the battery to help reduce range loss and other problems before you drive and if you can’t charge at home
And don’t have a parking spot let alone a warm garage well you’re pretty much out of luck or at best stuck doing really short distance drives so now let’s move on to the next major issues with EVS which has to do with their reliability more and more data is
Revealing that electric vehicles are generally not as reliable as hybrids or traditional gas vehicles in fact reports from both consumer reports and IC cars have found that EVS are one of the least reliable categories of vehicles according to Consumer Reports latest reliability survey aside from the Nissan
ARA not a single EV on the market ranked above average for liability they attribute this to EV still being relatively new to the market with a lot of untested technology that still have a lot of teething issues that need to be sorted out just one example of this is
The Chevy Blazer EV after major delays released to the market the first batch to hit the roads had so many reported reliability problems that GM had to stop selling them so that they could come up with fixes and there are many other examples out there similar to this one
Which just goes to show that when you’re the early adopter of brand new technology that hasn’t had a lot of time to be thoroughly debugged you kind of become a quality control tester or a guinea pig and you’re left having to deal with all these issues through the
Warranty of course just to be fair there are many EV owners who have had a great problem-free ownership experience and many claim to have actually saved a lot of money on maintenance on top of the savings from charging at home but that doesn’t change the fact that the
Majority of EVS still have a lot of work to do to catch up to the proven reliable track records that many hybrids and traditional gas vehicles have had for a really long time and that brings us to the third major issue with EVs and perhaps the biggest reliability concern
Of all and that of course is the battery by now you’ve probably heard how ridiculously expensive it is to replace a battery in an EV depending on the brand an EV battery can cost any from 12 to 15,000 us or 15 to 20,000 Canadian on
The low end to as high as 45,000 us or $60,000 Canadian on some models luckily battery failure seems to be very rare any EVs do come with an excellent battery warranty for most it’s an 8year 100,000 Mi warranty but on some it can be as long as 10 years 160,000 Mi or
240,000 km but I’m not sure whether that’s still enough reassurance for a vehicle owner that holds on to their vehicle for say at least 10 to 15 years we still don’t have a proper large sample siiz real world data that shows how long batteries really last on the current popular EVS predictive modeling
From the national renewable energy laboratory indicates that today’s batteries May last 12 to 15 years in moderate climates or 8 to 12 years in extreme climates whatever the real life span ends up being there’s no question that the five figure price tags to replace an electric vehicle battery is
Absolutely ridiculous and until there are proper solutions to that how many consumers are really going to feel comfortable holding on to an electric vehicle for the Long Haul and this ties very closely to the next major problem with EVS which is the poor resale value it has become more clear that EVS just
Do not retain their value well over time in fact electric models tend to be the fastest depreciating ones in the lineup part of that is due to changing EV prices and incentives changing demand and it’s also due to older EVS being replaced by newer better and much more capable ones EV technology is
Progressing and changing extremely rapidly which dates the older EVS making them a lot less desirable but the one major factor that leads to the most appreciation at least the long-term depreciation of EVS is the potential fear of battery failure let’s face it nobody wants to be stuck with an 8 to
10-year-old EV with no warranty that has a $330,000 ticking Time Bomb repair bill that could go off at any time as it stands now in many cases if a battery dies on an older EV the vehicle basically becomes worthless and it will be a challenge for anyone to sell an
Older EV or at least get a decent trade in value because nobody wants to take that chance these are all very serious and legitimate concerns that electric vehicles still have but I still think one of the biggest concerns of all with EVS is the unaffordable pricing aside from certain regions where very strong
EV incentives exist EVS remain far more expensive to purchase than a comparable hybrid or a regular gas vehicle and although it is certainly possible to recoup that extra 0 to $15,000 price premium or whatever it is that you pay for an EV in the form of fuel Savings in
The long run saving money on gas might not be enough to cover it not when you factor in potentially higher insurance rates certain repair costs and the small possibility of battery failure which would almost certainly wipe away most of your savings now again I’m certainly not
Trying to be an EV hater or suggest that EVS are some kind of a scam I believe that these are all real legitimate concerns and concerns that I know that many consumers have that need real solutions if widespread Eevee adoption or supposed government mandated adoption is to be successful in the future
Certainly in some parts of the world such as Norway Eves already make up around 90% of sales and they are no strangers to freezing Winters that create hurdles so it can be done as it stands right now though at least here in North America EVS are certainly not for
Everyone at least not yet not until we have better charging infrastructure lower price EVS with better range better reliability and reasonably priced battery replacement options until then I think the best type of consumer for an electric vehicle is someone who lives where there are really strong EV incentives and discounts where you can
Get a really good lease deal on one lease it for just 2 to 4 years so that depreciation repairs and battery failure are absolutely no concern and of course it must be someone who has the ability to charge from home and I really have to emphasize the must for everyone else who
Doesn’t fall into that category I really think that a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid would be a much better option many of the popular hybrids from reputable brands have excellent efficiency proven reliability very high resale value and the rare possibility of a battery failure after 10 plus years won’t be a
Financial catastrophe a hybrid battery only costs one tenth of that of an EV battery and a plug-in hybrid gives you even more benefits because it’ll even allow you to drive on electric power emissions free if you have the ability to charge and still enjoy the same
Incentives of an EV so you get the benefits of an EV without the drawbacks as time goes on it’s almost certain that many of these issues will gradually improve and EVS will become more and more desirable with time but in the meantime let me know your thoughts would
You consider buying an electric vehicle a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid let me know in the comments and if you enjoyed this video make sure to like And subscribe you can also check out my other videos by clicking these links over here make sure to follow me on Instagram and if
You need additional car buying advice recommendations or help with getting a great deal on your next new car purchase make sure to check out carh helpc can.com thanks so much for watching and see you next time
5 biggest problems with electric cars you must know before buying one. We explain the biggest problems with owning an electric car that you might not know about. Are electric cars worth it? Are electric cars better than gas cars? Are electric cars the future? Are electric cars more reliable? How long do the batteries last? Are electric cars safe? Are electric cars sustainable or better for the environment? If you are buying a new electric car or electric SUV, make sure to watch this video.
Predictive Models of Li-ion Battery Lifetime: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/62813.pdf
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With over a decade of experience as a professional car buyer and auto consultant, Shari Prymak has helped thousands of consumers with their car buying needs. Car Help Corner provides honest, objective, consumer advice with all aspects of car buying and car ownership. For more professional advice, check out Car Help Canada, become a member, and subscribe!
