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Comment by Pigo | Hacker News Reader

I've been waiting to hear what repair and even general maintenance is like on these cars before I'd consider buying one myself. These cars are amazing, but I can't afford to buy a luxury car that I can't work on myself. Even if it's the fault of the infrastructure needing to be built up before cost of owning goes down, I'm forced to wait.

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You will not be able to work on virtually any new luxury car. They are so technically advance that usually anything outside putting in fuel have to be done by authorised service.

That is true, but I always figured Tesla was out of my reach until I heard about the Model 3, and it's non-luxury price tag.

General maintenance on my last two gasoline cars was: oil changes, windshield wiper changes, engine air filter change, oil filter change, new tires every 30K or so, new brakes every 50K or so, new shocks every 100K or so. Every 125K or so the engine mechanical thermostat went out on my GM, I needed two (lots of miles!) Every four to five years I needed a new starting battery. I can do the brakes myself its quite easy for the mechanically inclined and/or intelligent. The shocks require spring compressors and I fear failure so I went out for that. About every 100K I got tired of the old radio and got a newer one with better bluetooth or whatever, but thats a luxury hardly required. I'm about 40K into a toyota thats had nothing but oil, gas, and filters, literally nothing has broken or required unexpected service. I destroyed the oil pan on the GM around 100K by over-torqueing it, but thats not scheduled service.

So an electric needs suspension and tires and brakes and ... windshield wiper changes. So all work on an electric car would seem to happen in the wheel well, or replacing wipers. I think I can handle that. Everything else in my last two cars going back to the 90s has been IC engine related.

ICE Fluids:

Gasoline (or diesel)

Engine Oil

Engine Coolant (antifreeze)

Transmission Fluid (of one type or another)

Windshield Wash Fluid

Air Conditioner Freon

Brake Fluid

---

EV Fluids:

Battery pack Coolant (antifreeze)

Transmission Fluid (of one type or another)

Windshield Wash Fluid

Air Conditioner Freon

Brake Fluid

---

In an EV, you surprisingly only get rid of 2 fluids: Fuel and Engine Oil

I just had a turbo replaced on my turbo diesel van at 225,000k (140,000 miles). Definitely not something I felt competent doing myself. Brakes, oil filters, etc I can do.

It remains to be seen if an electric motor will do half a million kilometres without maintenance, or will the insulation in the motor breakdown, bearings need replacing. There's still CV joints too, or other drive-chain related components.

I'm certainly hoping electric vehicles will have reduced maintenance requirements.

The same type of motors used in EV's are already widely used in factory production lines, conveyor belts, pumps, etc.

There they run 24/7 for decades. Reliability is super high.

The controllers used in EV's have only been around in their current form for ~15 years, also used in factories for controlling big motors, but even they rarely see failures.

The new bit is the battery and associated computer system/sensors. That's where I expect possible reliability issues.

> The new bit is the battery and associated computer system/sensors. That's where I expect possible reliability issues.

Unlike mechanical systems, electronic systems are instrumented to the max, so Tesla can usually: (a) detect systematic issues, and (b) mitigate issues by software update to reduce stresses.

Good points. And if I'd taken the time to think about it, in the metal fabrication workshop I work in there are 27 electric motors within about a 30 meter radius of my desk, and we've never had to replace any of them, nor do any maintenance on them.

Is it really a luxury car? A lot of people say you pay the price for the tech and not for the quality (luxury). Maybe it is a luxury car from the buyers perspective just based on the price.

Either way, the quality in a Tesla is not luxury. Many people say that and I agree with them.

By luxury I simply mean the 'drop it like it's hot' factor. I have a feeling people will look past a lambo to scope someone driving a Tesla.

You know there are places where they use Teslas as taxis right? I was picked up in a Tesla at the standard Schipol Airport taxi line.

Well, some places also use Mercedes as Taxis and Mercedes seems to be considered luxury in the US.

I guess they are not $200k Mercedes, however.

What I meant more is like you are spending $200k or whatever for the tech, but you don't get the quality you would get for $200k in a different car.

I personally find a Lambo more special than a Tesla, especially since they are pretty much everywhere now (here in the Bay Area at least).

What exactly would you work on yourself with an EV? You can still swap the tires, wipers, etc. but there's no ICE to do anything on, and for the most part the motor and battery either work or they don't. EV drivetrains are way more reliable than ICE drivetrains as well, so your overall repair needs are going to be really low [1].

[1] http://www.energytrendsinsider.com/2015/04/13/nissan-leaf-dr...

EVs aren't solid state.

There is a whole raft of preventative maintenance and repairs that are common with ICE vehicles.

Springs, shocks, bearings, brake fluid, transmission fluid, washer fluid, AC fluid, bulbs, brake pads and discs, suspension bushes, accessory belts, rubber hoses and rubber boots, regular greasing of suspension components etc etc.

Non-drivetrain maintenance can usually still be done by owners on EVs if you really want to. Out of curiosity, how often are you actually doing maintenance on your suspension? OEM components for springs, shocks, bushes, and bearings typically last 100k miles, by which point an average vehicle has seen several owners

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