Many car owners perceive electric cars as an expensive toy that does not need regular technical inspection and will work without failures for decades. They have serious design differences from cars with internal combustion engines. The owner of an electric car can forever forget about the regular replacement of candles, oil filters or drive belts. However, regardless of the type of power plant, the car always remains a car, and operation inevitably leads to wear and tear.
To ensure that the internal filling does not let the driver down and work like a clock, it must be checked at regular intervals. This is not only about a simple check of tire pressure, but also about more serious procedures: replacing the coolant and brake fluid, air filter, hood gas struts, wiper blades, checking the condition of the brake system and battery, inspecting the general condition of the car. Let's find out what procedures are necessary for the owner of an electric car.
Features of the filling of an electric car
The internal filling of electric cars and hybrid cars has practically no differences. They do not have any unusual nodes or blocks. The only problem is their location. Manufacturers always hide power cables and high-voltage batteries in special areas where the risk of damage in an accident is minimal. Some common components, which are also found in a car with an internal combustion engine, are powered by a high voltage circuit, and not from a standard 12 V. For more information about the design differences of an electric car, contact the manufacturer.
Full repairs of all units and blocks can only be carried out in dealership service centers. The issue here is not the complexity of the procedure. If the owner of an electric car turns to a regular service station, local specialists are unlikely to be able to help him, since they do not have either software for diagnostic equipment or special tools.
Red button
Electric vehicle manufacturers take care of the safety of the driver and passengers. Emergencies can arise both in an ordinary car and in an electric car. Nobody is immune from them. In this case, manufacturers have implemented several options for disconnecting the battery.
In the event of an emergency, the car blocks it on its own. For these purposes, there is SMR in the filling. This is the main relay of the system, which operates in the event of an accident and automatically interrupts the high voltage circuit within the battery pack.
For safety reasons, manufacturers have provided an option with manual battery disconnection. Each electric car has a breaker. This is a service connector that allows you to manually disconnect all power circuits and de-energize the vehicle. It looks like a big red button that should not be pressed unless necessary.
What is needed to service an electric car
The set of equipment for servicing an electric car is small. To conduct a technical inspection you will need:
- Universal ratchet wrench.
- Rubber gloves for hand protection.
- Megohmmeter.
- Universal scanner.
The latter allows you to diagnose the electronic filling of the car. Today KTS 590 is considered one of the best scanner models. It can be used for complete diagnostics of almost all existing models of hybrids and electric vehicles. Everything is clear with the equipment, but can you carry out maintenance yourself? It is impossible to diagnose the condition of the car without special training that the workshop workers undergo.
Skill with a scanner or megger is not enough. All employees of service centers undergo mandatory safety training, but this is not enough. To diagnose the state of individual blocks and units, you need to know their exact location.
About the battery
The battery is the heart of the electric car. As in cardiology, the repair of this unit is laborious and expensive. How long can an electric car battery last? Perhaps this is the main question that worries the owners of such cars. For answers, you should contact dealership service centers, where specialists can diagnose using special scanners. Such equipment allows you to measure the voltage in each battery module. The data obtained is analyzed by a specialist, who makes a verdict: how long it will last, what condition it is in, whether it can be repaired and how much this procedure will cost.
The mechanical part of the car
If you carefully study the mechanics of electric cars, then you will not find any miracles there. Models of such cars were developed based on vehicles that run on gasoline. Why re-invent a bike if the old one works without failures? There are no significant differences in the mechanical part. The only caveat is that there are different donors for each model. For example, the mechanics of the famous Tesla Model S were taken from the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
How often should an electric vehicle be serviced?
Everything is quite simple here, the owner of an electric car must strictly adhere to the maintenance schedule set by the manufacturer. Of course, in the event of emergencies, it is worth another ride to the service station. The maintenance schedule for the vast majority of electric vehicles includes the following procedures:
- Checking the coolant level for the battery. It is carried out after a run of 12,000 km. Additionally, you should diagnose the condition of the suspension, brake system, steering system and door locks.
- Replacing the glass cleaner brushes. It is carried out after the mileage of the "electrowinning" increases to 24,000 km.
- Replacing the air filter. Carried out when the odometer shows 57,000 km.
- Replacing the gas struts of the hood. It is carried out after a run of 120,000 km.
- Complete replacement of brake and coolant fluids. Held once every five years.
If the car works without failures, nothing knocks or squeaks, then you can simply blindly follow the manufacturer's regulations and, for peace of mind, visit the service center once a year to check the condition of the battery, suspension, brake pads, shock absorbers, discs, steering.
Planned work
Scheduled auto maintenance work includes:
- External inspection of the electric vehicle.
- Checking the brake system and adjusting it.
- Diagnostics of lighting and signaling devices.
- Battery charging (battery replacement if necessary).
- Lubrication of individual parts and assemblies.
- Checking the brake fluid (replacing or topping up if necessary).
- Checking the condition of the oil (changing or topping up if necessary).
- Tightening the contact connections that are in the engine.
- Adjustment of the size of the break of contacts.
- Cleaning the inside of dirt and dust.
- Carbon deposits removal.