With a gasoline (or diesel) engine in your car, you need to plan for a number of service events. The oil and filter need to be changed every 5,000 to 10,000 miles. The transmission fluid and engine coolant need replacement every 30,000 to 40,000 miles. In California, a smog check is needed every other year. There are air filters and fuel filters that need replacement every two to four years. The tune-up happens less frequently today than it did 40 years ago but hasn’t been eliminated. There are spark plug cables, belts, and coolant hoses that wear out over time. These service items are specific to internal combustion engines.
Electric
vehicles share a number of service requirements with gasoline powered
cars. Tires wear out. Wiper blades need replacement. Brakes wear down (albeit, much more
slowly). Power steering and brake fluids
need to be maintained. Bulbs burn out
and need replacing. The cabin air filter
needs replacing. All of these
maintenance items happen every 18 months to three years.
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| The service announcement in my car's app |
There is
one service item that is specific to electric vehicles: changing the coolant
for the main drive battery (except for Nissan’s Leaf). This has a similar service interval to the
other common service items above. The
net result is that an electric vehicle needs servicing about every two
years. Compare that to the gasoline
engine car that needs to be serviced at least twice a year. It’s easier to remember to bring your car in
for service twice a year. Remembering to
get service every other year is more of a challenge. I relied on my smartphone to remind me for
the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. My BMW i3 keeps
track of the passage of time (and miles) and informs me when the next service
appointment is due. Oddly, because the
service is so infrequent, it almost seems more inconvenient than expecting two
service appointments each year. Of
course, it’s not – it’s just more of a surprise. I don’t miss worrying about when to plan for
my next oil change.
