Does electric cars require maintenance?

Electric cars still require maintenance, but is less than a petrol or diesel car due to the lack of spark plugs, oil changes, and multiple gears. General 'consumables' still need attention, including tyres, brakes, and electronics systems.

How often do you need to service your electric car?

EV servicing intervals depend on the manufacturer. Some still require the traditional maintenance every 12 months/15,000km, but a growing number only need 24 months. Similarly, some car brands may require servicing every 12 months, but the distance interval may be extended to 20,000km.

What is the most common problem with electric cars?

The most common problem with electric cars usually concerns the electronics and tyres. Software issues are common in EVs, but often they can be addressed with an over-the-air update (if the vehicle is capable of it). Tyres can also wear out quicker and brakes may be more easily corroded due to the heavier vehicle weight, strong instant torque, and constant use of regenerative braking.

How much does it cost to replace the battery in an electric car?

Depending on the battery size, it could be between $5000 to $20,000 for an entire pack. However, individual faulty modules can be replaced to limit costs. EV batteries are made to last well beyond 10 years, with the lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry being even more longer-lasting than traditional lithium-ion packs.

Do Electric Cars Need Servicing?

Electric vehicles house significantly fewer moving parts than internal combustion engine vehicles.

Theoretically, this means EVs are more reliable and cheaper to maintain.

But do electric cars still need regular maintenance and is it really cheaper to service in reality?

Check out➡️🆚 Electric Car Servicing Costs Comparison

Check out➡️🚗 Electric Car Database

Do electric vehicles need servicing and maintenance?

Yes, electric cars still need to be serviced, but potentially not as regularly depending on the car manufacturer requirements. However, what is maintained differs compared to a petrol- or diesel-powered vehicle.

EVs don’t require any check and replacement of spark plugs, engine oil and filters, multiple gears, clutch fluids, exhaust system, fuel lines and hoses to the tank, and so on.

Instead, electric cars have unique parts that need inspection, including: the high voltage battery pack; electric motor/s; charging port condition; and the battery management system (BMS) liquid cooling tubes, fans and software. EV models often only have a single gear, while high performance models like the Porsche Taycan may have two gears to maintain.

Both electric and combustion vehicles share the same consumables that require routine checkups, maintenance and replacements, such as:

Brake (fluid, discs and pads)
Gear fluid
Cabin air filter
Air conditioning
Tyres (pressure, tread wear, balance and rotation)
Suspension joints
Parking brake
Steering rack and power steering system
12-volt auxiliary battery
Electronic systems, vehicle and infotainment software
Lighting, wipers and other accessories
Airbags and seatbelts

How often do electric cars need servicing?

Although EV hardware and engineering is theoretically simpler, car manufacturers often require similar servicing intervals as combustion powered models.

However, some carmakers such as Tesla, BMW and Mini adopt a condition-based servicing schedule to undergo specific routine maintenance tasks when needed.

Other brands like MG, Audi, Porsche, Volvo and Polestar demand less frequent service visits.

For example, electric car models require the following scheduled servicing intervals:

Tesla Model 3/Y: Condition-based
Polestar 2: 24 months/30,000km
MG ZS EV (pre-facelift): 24 months/20,000km
BYD Atto 3: 12 months/20,000km or 12 months/12,000km
Hyundai Kona Electric: 12 months/15,000km
Kia EV6: 12 months/15,000km
Mercedes-Benz EQA: 12 months/25,000km
Volvo XC40 Recharge/C40 Recharge: 24 months/30,000km
Porsche Taycan: 24 months/30,000km

Are electric cars cheaper to service?

Unfortunately, not all automakers set significantly cheaper capped price servicing costs for electric cars compared to their combustion engine equivalents.

In some cases, EV maintenance savings aren't as drastic like the Hyundai Kona Electric and BYD Atto 3 small SUVs.

Brands BMW, Mini and Mercedes-Benz sell upfront prepaid servicing packages to reduce total maintenance costs over time.

Meanwhile, Polestar, Volvo, Genesis and Jaguar even offer free servicing for up to five visits to entice the switch to zero emission models.

Based on some analysis we did in this comparison, the cost to service an electric car is on average 5% (per 12 months) and 35% (per 10,000 km) lower compared to petrol cars.

You can view how electric vehicle servicing costs compare across all brands in the comparison here.

EV servicing FAQs

Datawrappers by Danny Thai

About the author

Henry Man

Henry Man is a motoring journalist passionate about the intersection of technology and transportation, with a focus on electric vehicles.

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