A few months ago, our Hyundai Kona Electric gave me a message: “Maintenance Required.” We had driven about 11,000 km and since Hyundai offers free maintenance on new vehicles, I made an appointment only to find out that the work required was a wheel rotation.
ELECTRIC CAR MAINTENANCE: Everything You Need to Know
One benefit that has been shouted to the heavens about EVs is their relatively maintenance-free life cycle. Gone are oil changes, spark plugs, valve adjustments, radiator flushes, etc. I’ve spent most of my life working on vehicles, and while I enjoy the challenge of making something that’s not working right work again, it’s not exactly great for the wallet.
It’s also not for everyone, meaning you’ll have to take your vehicle to the mechanic or stop by your local oil change station and wait in line to have your fluids changed. But because an EV doesn’t have an internal combustion engine with all the parts and juices that help control the little explosions that propel a car forward, there’s a lot less to maintain.
Normally, with an EV, you’re looking at tire changes after about 100,000 miles. This is something you would have to do with a gas vehicle, so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Then there’s the cabin filter change. This isn’t the same as the air filter you may have been asked about when you had your gas car serviced. It’s something your gas car likely has, but it’s not the filter that keeps bugs and other debris out of your vehicle’s intake.
