"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
07/15/2014 at 16:51 • Filed to: electric bugaloo
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"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
07/15/2014 at 16:51 • Filed to: electric bugaloo | 0
| 6 |
I see someone here is buying a Leaf, and one was behind me in traffic the other day, plus last night I R saw Tesla S from FL.
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So, since your car is all electric and stuff, and you do not require regular oil change services, how does the dealer or mechanic profit off of you? Or, rather, how do you maintain your car and have it inspected to make sure the brakes are okay, the tires are wearing properly, and the filters are being changed regularly?
Not US, or other auto enthusiasts, but the bread and butter appliance drivers. How do THEY know? If they're not in the garage every 3-5 months, how do they know what is or may be going bad and in need of attention?
This may or may not have popped into my mind because early Mazda CX-5's seem to be burning through rear brake pads quite quickly, and because Mazda does not recommend any service to clean and lube brakes anymore (every 15k seems to be the industry norm), the lack of lubrication and insufficient brake hardware design is causing the pads to stick and grind away on the rotor.
I'd just imagine an all electric car having this problem exacerbated by the fact it's not in the shop as much for oil changes like it's gasoline powered brethren.
daender
> Takuro Spirit
07/15/2014 at 16:56 |
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The electric motors might require some greasing every now and then? Maybe replace worn out motors or batteries?
Brian Silvestro
> Takuro Spirit
07/15/2014 at 16:58 |
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They probably have scheduled "maintenance" just to bring the car in to make sure everything is still functioning properly.
Racescort666
> Takuro Spirit
07/15/2014 at 16:58 |
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With all of the computers becoming more and more common in cars, I would imagine that maintenance notices come up in a notification display. This is already common in some cars. For example, VW/Audi have electronic pad wear indicators and a plethora of sensors that notify the driver of wearing/service items. If there is a regularly scheduled inspection interval, it would (should) come up in a notification display.
That being said, people that are completely oblivious to issues with their cars are usually the same type of people that ignore these notifications and other indicators that there is something wrong.
Alex B
> Takuro Spirit
07/15/2014 at 16:59 |
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The only maitenemce that our leaf has had is a tire rotation in the first year of ownership. Every year you get a battery check up done for about 50 bucks I think. But nissan gives you the first 4 (?) years free I think. Our leaf passed the first battery test. All 5 stars. :)
NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
> Takuro Spirit
07/15/2014 at 17:00 |
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This is one of the arguments that Tesla makes about selling direct, that there is less incentive for privately-owned dealerships to promote electric cars because they don't stand to make much money from maintenance.
But to your question, our Leaf still wants us to take it to the dealer every so often for a software upgrade and / or a checkup. They do the usual checks of brakes, tires, alignment, wipers, etc. So I would think they'd catch things like that.
But we'll see! We've only had the car three years, so there may be strange things yet to come.
JGrabowMSt
> Takuro Spirit
07/15/2014 at 17:06 |
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Software updates. Plenty of mid-size sedans have them all the time, for the active suspension, etc etc.
Sort of like how a software update can make a game stop working on your computer, a software update can make the difference between 10 more miles of range, or 20 less.
There's still brake jobs, considering the regenerative braking systems, the lifespan of a set of pads can be a little lower than a normal car. Don't forget that electric cars can be heavier as well.
But what it boils down to is that you're essentially a guinea pig for the company. Tesla does their "maintenance" on your car, and the collect more diagnostic and real-world test data out of the owners than they ever could have collected on even 10 test mules. All that data gets factored into updates for the cars, and they run the updates on them. It's a lot of give and take with many electric cars.
It wont go in for service in the normal sense nearly as often, you're absolutely correct. But a guy with a laptop may come out and take an hour or two along a similar service interval.