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How to Take Service, Maintenace & Repair of Evs for EV Dealers

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Maintenance and Safety of Electric Vehicles

While all-electric vehicles require less upkeep, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) share similar maintenance and safety requirements with conventional automobiles. These vehicles are being designed and published by manufacturers with maintenance and safety in mind.

Maintenance Comparison

Maintenance requirements for PHEVs and HEVs are comparable to those of conventional vehicles due to their internal combustion engines. Due to regenerative braking, the electrical system (battery, motor, and associated electronics) typically requires little routine maintenance, and brake systems typically last longer than those of conventional vehicles.

All-electric vehicles commonly require less support than ordinary vehicles on the grounds that:

Regenerative braking significantly reduces brake wear because there are far fewer moving parts than in a conventional fuel engine. The battery, motor, and associated electronics require little to no regular maintenance. There are fewer fluids, such as engine oil, that require regular maintenance.

Battery Maintenance

The advanced batteries that are used in these vehicles have a limited number of charging cycles, which is also known as the “cycle life” of the battery. Consider the manufacturer’s recycling policy and talk to the dealer about battery life and warranties. Liquid coolant is used by some automotive battery systems to maintain safe operating temperatures. Regular checks may be necessary for these systems. For additional information, consult your owner’s manual or your dealer.

The batteries in electric-drive vehicles are typically constructed to last for the vehicle’s anticipated lifespan. The advanced batteries in EVs, like the engines in conventional automobiles, are made to last for a long time but will eventually break down. Although there is no comprehensive data on EV battery failures, several manufacturers offer warranties of eight years and ten thousand miles for their batteries.

Usually, manufacturers don’t say how much replacement batteries cost, but if the battery needs to be replaced outside of the warranty, it should cost a lot. However, as technology advances and production volumes rise, it is anticipated that battery prices will decrease.

Safety Requirements

Electric-drive vehicles that are sold in the United States must meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and pass the same stringent safety tests as conventional vehicles. The only exception are neighborhood electric vehicles, which are typically restricted to low-speed roads in accordance with state and local regulations and are therefore subject to less stringent regulations.

The high-voltage electrical systems of PHEVs, HEVs, and all-electric vehicles typically range from 100 to 600 volts. Their battery packs are encased in fixed shells and satisfy testing guidelines that subject batteries to conditions like cheat, vibration, outrageous temperatures, impede, discharge, impact, and water submersion. These automobiles are constructed with safety features that deactivate the electrical system in the event of a collision or short circuit, as well as insulated high-voltage lines. Because they typically have a lower center of gravity than conventional automobiles, all-electric vehicles are more stable and less likely to tip over.

Emergency Response and Training

The response to an emergency that electric-drive vehicles provide is very similar to that of conventional vehicles. Cutoff switches are built into electric-drive vehicles to isolate the battery and disable the electric system, and orange markings are used to clearly identify high-voltage power lines.

Manufacturers provide training for emergency responders and publish emergency response guides for their vehicles. The Public Fire Security Affiliation has preparing and data assets accessible at evsafetytraining.org.

Electric Cars Still Need Maintenance

One of the primary reasons to purchase an electric vehicle is the lower cost of repairs and maintenance. Electric motors are much simpler than gasoline engines, which have hundreds of moving parts, and they don’t need oil changes, valve adjustments, spark plug replacements, or any other costly maintenance. Additionally, EVs lack rust-prone fuel systems and intricate transmissions.

On account of their enormous, weighty batteries, electric vehicles are probably going to go through tires and brakes more regularly than their gas partners, and their other frameworks’ life cycles will be comparable – so EVs will in any case require support over the long run as they collect mileage and mileage. It’s just that the amount of maintenance that needs to be done will be different, and you won’t have to worry about spending a lot of money on the engine and transmission.

Investing in Infrastructure

Dealers are having to seriously invest in their facilities in order to be ready to service the cars of the future. Frequently, they are spending millions of dollars on upgrades to support electric vehicles.

One significant area is the charging infrastructure. In order to maintain battery level during service and for customer convenience (so they can drive home in a car with a full charge), more and more electric vehicles will end up in service centers. That necessitates dealers installing level 3 DC fast chargers, which typically come at a price of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Dealership charging systems often have a huge “battery” where energy from the grid is slowly brought in and quickly transferred to customer vehicles because of the sheer volume of electricity required. In addition to the typical commercial electrical installation, these battery solutions necessitate sophisticated transformers that require specialized cooling and cabling.

In addition to the specialized tools and equipment required to work on specific EVs, dedicated service bays in the workshop for electric vehicles require their own charging infrastructure, which costs approximately $15,000. In fact, these work bays must also be marked as high-voltage bays and physically separated from the rest of the workshop (usually by a physical barrier). The high-voltage bay must be inspected and certified twice a year, and technicians are required to wear specific personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, face shields, and even special clothing.

A lot of special equipment that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars supports these work bays. To remove large, bulky batteries from vehicles, you need specialized lifting tables, and you also need tools to work on the EVs’ specialized cooling systems. Additionally, the majority of electric vehicle service centers have needed to purchase forklifts due to the large batteries’ need for movement.

High Voltage Rooms and Training

New showrooms being fabricated likewise require a high-voltage room, with its own fire-coded twofold thickness roof and its own ventilation framework. The dealership can thus isolate a critically ill battery or electric vehicle. Similar to this, an external battery bunker reduces dealership staff risk.

Technicians need specialized training before they can work on electric vehicles because of the unique risks associated with working on high voltage electrical systems. This could mean that a technician needs master certification before they can even take EV training, depending on the manufacturer. The training itself typically consists of four to five courses, each of which can be completed in a few days, and work experience in between. It can take up to a year or more to receive full EV certification.

Looking at the Future

Since electric vehicles are still a relatively new phenomenon, it is difficult to predict precisely what they will require in the years to come. It is essential to keep in mind that they are still automobiles and possess many of the characteristics of automobiles: air conditioning and heating; wheels, tires, brakes, and suspension; electronic structures In addition, despite the fact that the system that powers an electric motor and battery is much simpler than the system that powers a gasoline vehicle, there is still a cooling system that consists of liquid, pipes, pumps, and control units. All of them will eventually require maintenance or repair.

Additionally, the significance of having sensors that are accurately calibrated for sophisticated driver assist systems will only grow as EVs acquire more and more autonomous driving technology. Nearly all of them already have some form of active cruise control, and many of them are already able to steer for themselves in limited circumstances. To actually be safe—and to actually keep you safe—your car’s radar systems, cameras, proximity sensors, LIDAR, and the electronics that connect them to the drivetrain, brakes, and steering need to work perfectly.

Numerous sellers were worried toward the start of the electric upset that maintenance and support will disappear; Nowadays, the general consensus is that electric cars are still cars and will still require maintenance. It’s just possible that the future of service will look very different.

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