EV Preventive Maintenance

A great advantage of EV over ICE is that they need very little maintenance. Compared to ICE, EVs have very few moving parts: no crankshafts, pistons, valves, coolant, clutches, torque converters, or even transmissions.

Although the manufacturers have specified a preventive maintenance schedule for all EVs, some question the need for a service.

විදුලි රිය පාවිච්චියේ තවත් විශාලතම වාසියක් තමයි ඉතා අඩු නඩත්තු වියදම්. ඉන්ධන රථ සමග සැසදීමේදී විදුලි රථයක ඇත්තේ ඉන් 80% පමණ අඩු කැරකෙන සහ සෙලවෙන කොටස්. විදුලි රථයක සේවා කිරීමේදී වැදගත්වෙන්නේ නිවාරණ නඩත්තුවයි.

The first mass market EV, Nissan Leaf, was built in 2011 upwards delivering great service, and it is still debatable about the need to adhere to the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. No wonder any manufacturer wants to ensure minimum expenditure on its warranty repairs, and keeping an eye on intervals is justified from their side.

But what about the costs? For some, E.V. stands for Economy and Value.

Are we doing too much or too little?

The question needs answering for both cars with a warranty and without. Grey EV with no dealer warranty are very popular in most parts of the world, from New Zealand to Sri Lanka, due to their cost-effectiveness and higher features. Even for grey cars, there are third-party warranties that need you to adhere to specific schedules.

There are two standards for maintenance. The “severe use” schedule is the default. It’s labeled Schedule 1, and it is listed before Schedule 2 (“less severe operating conditions”). Now, this indicates most owners need to adhere to Schedule 1.

Let’s apply to Sri Lanka:

Most drivers live in cities with stop-and-go traffic and less usage on highways at moderate speeds. Again, warmer and highly humid and dusty conditions make the severe operating conditions more applicable.

All automakers have mandated comprehensive MPI checklists to follow. There’s no argument that it is a must, whether the EV is Grey (non-destination oriented) or not. And it’s not a costly affair to follow, although a dealership may apply a fee based on its structure. In Sri Lanka, eMotion executes this from $10 + taxes (25 $ inclusive of the battery and diagnostic scan/analysis)

Here is a Schedule eMotion practice on BYD SEAL

There’s a lot less to replace in an electric car during periodical maintenance. However, there are some new systems, and owners need to be aware that the very lack of use can increase the need for maintenance of some items. These requirements are largely based on the manufacturer’s preventive maintenance schedules and guidelines. But not limited to, there are some destination-related checks also based on our learnings over time.

Let’s look at the need to check some of the critical areas.

Before that, we observed that some of the repair places had replaced the transmission fluids and the coolant (of Nissan Leaf). This is simply a waste. Coolant is for 15 years or 200,000 km, and the reduction gear replacement has not even scheduled. However, this does not eliminate the need for checks as scheduled.

Brake service & fluid replacement.

We agree upon the valid need for brake servicing, including caliper lubrication, especially in the tropics. But even under Schedule 2 (less severe conditions), the Leaf manual calls for changing the brake fluid every 2 years or every 30,000 kilometers. This is interesting as we are not used to doing the brake fluid change under these intervals

Brakes & Battery Check

All at what cost?

eMotion offers a preventive maintenance service package that includes the following.

• MPI inclusive of but not limited to: Preventive maintenance program # Drive shafts & suspension check # Complete brake service (Brake pads, rotors, pins – cleaning and lubrication) # Mounts & boots check # Ball joints & tie rod ends check # Steering gear & linkage # Brake fluid, Inverter coolant fluid check # 12V Battery scan # Charging ports # Cabin microfilter check/clean # Rotate tires # Reduction fluid check # Displays & controls check: – LKR 3,800.
• Consumable cost for above (WD40, Brake cleaner, Grease, Rubber grease, etc.) – LKR 4,100.
• HV/Traction Battery scan and consultation (ChaDeMo-LeafSpyPro) – LKR 2,000.
• Electrical system diagnostic scan (Launch) – LKR 2,500.

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• The above Preventive Package total cost ~ For Japanese Brands (done together) – LKR 9,650.
• The above Preventive Package total cost ~ For European Brands (done together)- LKR 11,500.

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The total process will take up to 4 hours if no additional work is required.

• EV/PHEV Diagnostic scan and analysis 30 min (equipment used – iSmartSafe): LKR 5,000

• Optional: Undercarriage degreasing and high-pressure wash –  LKR 2,250.
• Optional: Motor bay de-greasing – LKR 2,500.
• Optional: Body wash and interior vacuum – LKR 850.

Other services at a flat rate: LKR 2,300 per hour (excluding specified/specialized services)

• Please note that all the above prices are subject to VAT.

eMotion is situated at 294, Gangarama Road, Boralesgamuwa. (You may Google for the location as eMotion or Mobility Alliance)

Further information on other services & reservations: https://mobility.lk/product-category/evservice/

Or dial our Hotline – 0768 177 044

Another advantage of having the softcopy scans saved on your PC or phone is that you will surely have a much higher resale value if all your scans are available in 6-month intervals to prove the authenticity of your EV. Because, the car trade is not very ethical, and sadly we cannot expect all to be honest.

Prevention is better than cure, and it needs to be within the fundamental principle that maintenance of EVs is a fraction of the cost of an ICE.

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