Electric cars are dying fast and the repair industry is lagging (2024)
When you were a kid and you had a little radio control car that you zoomed around the kitchen floor or built jumps for in the back yard, did you throw it away when the batteries died? For many owners of early electric vehicles from a decade or more ago, that seems to be the answer to electrical issues. If your 2012 Tesla Model S sh*ts the bed, should you throw it to the scrappers, or invest some time and money and get it back on the road? Unfortunately, the demand for mechanics who can take apart the battery pack and repair a dead cell has vastly outstripped supply.
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A recent report form NPR affiliate KUOW Puget Sound tracked down a Tesla driver who had to decide what to do with a bricked Model S. Christine Barnes was told by Tesla that the car needed a brand new pack, and it would be around $20,000, more than the car’s value.
“We thought about spending the money just because it was a perfectly good car other than this happening,” Barnes said. “There was nothing wrong with it, and I loved that car. But then, we decided that was just not smart.”
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Early EV adopters with cars no longer covered by a warranty of any kind are running into issues with longevity of these complex electric systems. The non-dealership car repair industry has not kept pace with the proliferation of EVs, and as such, there are very few places that can affect the repairs needed to keep these cars on the road. As luck would have it, Barnes found a shop that could do battery repairs to her Tesla, Medlock and Sons, but the shop was so backed up that it would still take years.
“We have like 350-plus appointments for Model S battery repairs, and we just don’t have time to go any faster,” Medlock said.
“Tesla told them it needed a battery, because Tesla only replaces the whole thing. They don’t do component replacement like we do,” he continued. “Any Model S that has been supercharged a lot, early ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, those cars, their batteries are failing,”
If there were more technicians trained to work on batteries, the life of older EVs could be extended, said Gary Fantozzi, director of automotive programs at Shoreline Community College. His department trains future mechanics for carmakers like General Motors and Tesla.
“We could start changing out small sections of those batteries that are degrading on us and allow the battery to go longer,” he said.
But Fantozzi said carmakers aren’t particularly motivated to invest in that kind of workforce training, and many of them don’t allow mechanics to work on the batteries at all.
“There’s only a couple of manufacturers out there that actually allow you to get into the batteries and actually do some of the repairs,” he said.
Fantozzi believes that there isn’t much financial incentive for carmakers to work on batteries if customers — faced with the high costs of replacing them — are willing to buy new cars instead.
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For a little while I had an old Nissan Leaf that I truly enjoyed driving. It was extremely cheap, though its battery pack had degraded to the point that it could really only do 40 miles on a charge. I had wanted to find a new battery pack for it to increase range, but sourcing a known-good pack was difficult and expensive, and finding a shop to do the work was even more difficult. That car is still on the road, and I hope it remains so for many years to come, but I’m worried about who will do the work when it eventually needs to be done.
If you’re a young mechanic getting into the industry, learn how to safely and reliably repair electric and hybrid vehicles. I’d stake a claim on you having plenty of work to keep you busy for the rest of your life.
Electric cars have more niche parts than ICE cars, such as electric drivetrains, control systems, and the batteries that power the vehicles themselves. Due to the specificity of their parts, more advanced diagnostic tools and equipment are usually needed to perform more in-depth repairs.
EVs are certainly not dead, and while there has been a drop in private buyer adoption at the start of 2024, the growing popularity of new fleet and business EVs, as well as the growing used private buyers' market, has been more than enough to strengthen the industry.
Nearly 269,000 electric vehicles were sold in the United States in the first three months of this year, according to Kelley Blue Book. That was a 2.6 percent increase from the same period last year, but a 7.3 decrease from the final quarter of 2023.
Because electric vehicles require far less maintenance and repair than traditional combustion engines, the state predicts that nearly 32,000 auto mechanic jobs will be lost in California by 2040.
These vehicles can generally travel farther than EVs and don't have the same limited refueling infrastructure. There are simply a lot more gas stations than there are charging points—if you can't find a gas station, chances are you won't find a place to plug in nearby either.
The most obvious reason for consumer disenchantment is the hassle of charging EVs. Few drivers are willing to plan their lives around finding a charging station and waiting around for their battery to top up. During the nation's recent Arctic blast, motorists found that getting a full charge took even longer.
The EV giant said its Q1 revenue decline was primarily due to a reduced average vehicle selling price and a drop in vehicle deliveries. Tesla added revenue was also hindered by issues with the Model 3 refresh rollout at its Fremont factory.
While bigger batteries allow drivers to travel farther between charges, they also make the cars heavier, more dangerous, more expensive, and worse for the planet. The "range anxiety" that has resulted in massive batteries is another reason EVs don't work as a replacement for gas cars.
In some ways, they still require traditional maintenance. Electric vehicles still need their tires rotated, their transmission fluid cycled, their suspension and brakes checked, and their windshield wipers replaced. In this sense, electric cars affect mechanics minimally, but that's about where the status quo stops.
This can compromise the battery's protective case, or high-voltage wiring harness and can lead to shock hazards, explosions and fires at the repair facility unless precautions are taken.
Embracing Technology: The Role of Automation in Car Repairs
The automotive industry is on the brink of a technological renaissance. With the advent of autonomous vehicles, the repair needs are bound to evolve. Traditional repair methods might soon become obsolete, making way for innovative techniques and tools.
All-electric vehicles typically require less maintenance than conventional vehicles because: The battery, motor, and associated electronics require little to no regular maintenance. There are fewer fluids, such as engine oil, that require regular maintenance.
These disadvantages include finding charging stations, charging times, higher initial costs, limited driving range, and battery packs can be expensive to replace.
EVs can only be repaired by mechanics and technicians with specialist training and equipment, including high-voltage safety apparatus. This means that many local repair centres may struggle to cater for EV or hybrids, requiring them to be taken to a specialist when repairs are required.
Electric vehicles have almost 80% more problems than gas-powered ones, Consumer Reports says. Electric vehicles have nearly 80% more problems and are generally less reliable than cars propelled by conventional internal combustion engines, according to a new report from Consumer Reports.
Introduction: My name is Arielle Torp, I am a comfortable, kind, zealous, lovely, jolly, colorful, adventurous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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