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Comment by micromacrofoot | Hacker News Reader

ehhh, they certainly can and do... but I think there's a case to be made that this can be lower when managed appropriately

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My only experience is BMW EV, but my i4 aggressively prioritizes regeneration over using the brakes. It even has an energy meter that shows negative/positive energy flow. The positive flow is blue until the actual brakes engage where it changes to black. And this is in two pedal mode, one pedal driving is even more aggressive about regen.

I would not doubt I use my breaks 1/20th of the amount that our X5 or Silverado use theirs.

It varies by model, I know some lower end EVs from GM still use the breaks quite often depending on the driving mode.

I have an Equinox EV and the brakes do not get used often. They did a great job with blending kinetic regeneration with friction activation, but you can still feel the difference when it kicks in.

They are active in reverse, to ensure that they are used and so that any rust gets cleared from the rotors. They also activate if you slam on the brakes or if the battery is at 100% charge and the kinetic energy can not be used.

I have about 12,000 miles on the car over the last year and the rotors and pads look the same as when I got them. The first annual inspection showed no measurable wear.

I've rented a Chevy Bolt before and in the normal drive mode (D) the brakes almost always get used in addition to light regen. In the single-peddle mode (P) regen is prioritized a lot more but passengers complained about not liking the feel versus standard braking.

Blending brake with regen is normal to avoid rust to develop on the rotor but I haven’t seen any EV that don’t prioritize regen over normal braking.

They can, obviously, but it is done very very sparingly.

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