Common EV issue: Rusty brakes caused of underusage because of regen

[eggy]

Hi all

Does anybody know, whether Tesla has foreseen any measures to overcome the common EV issue of having rusty breaks after a few years, caused by the underusage because most of the breaking is done by regen ?
I personally have driven several used EVs and accumulated more than 60'000 km over the last 5 years and experienced this problem in several cars.
This issue usually results in the need of replacing the breaks much earlier compared to "normal" gas cars.

Looking forward to your feedback
Cheers
Eggy

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

Does anybody know, whether Tesla has foreseen any measures to overcome the common EV issue of having rusty breaks after a few years, caused by the underusage because most of the breaking is done by regen ?

I don't think it's a problem because most EV drivers 'clean' the brakes on a regular basis by intentionally using them. I've driven almost 30,000 miles in 2 years and the disc's look as good as new.

 

[VolkerP]

Hi Eggy,

This problem is discussed in the Roadster technical forum. See this thread: Lesson Learned: Keep your Brake Rotors Conditioned!!

In short: Yes, some roadster owners experienced reduced braking performance. Only after cleaning up the brakes they found out about what a huge difference clean rotors make.

There are reports of a special brake rotor used in the Chevy Volt to tackle that problem. Sorry have no reference at hand.

 

[Andrew Wolfe]

I doubt this is a common issue. Everyone uses the brakes some.

My experience with 2 Prius (Prii?) is that brake pads can last 150K miles or more and rotors are still in great shape. Prius taxis have reported 100K brake life and we all know how taxis use brakes. Regen on EVs should not be any different.

 

[NielsChr]

would'nt the solution be to use Cercamic breaks ?
Audi Worldwide Ceramic brakes

this also have the bennefit of low weight - Tesla should make a product and sell for after marked / future upgrades

 

[NielsChr]

another interesting article
Tough, light, inexpensive composite brake rotors could make their way to regular cars

 

[KBF]

I spoke to the Canadian head service manager about this. He said all you need to do is brake hard once per week and it burns off the dust and cleans your brakes. On the Tesla at least, they should last way longer than on an ICE. Unless you're on a track often.

 

[strider]

would'nt the solution be to use Cercamic breaks ?
Audi Worldwide Ceramic brakes

this also have the bennefit of low weight - Tesla should make a product and sell for after marked / future upgrades

Carbon and Ceramic brakes are good because they can handle heat better than regular brakes. EVs have the opposite problem. Note this section:

When wet or exposed to road salts (e.g. after going through a car wash, overnight dew, etc.) the braking effect may correspond to that of a conventional brake system. This reduced braking effect will be noticeable to the driver as he will already have become accustomed to the high braking standards of the ceramic brake system – greater pedal pressure can compensate for this.

This is the problem we have on the Roadster. Because the brakes are rarely used they are often cold and tend to build up gunk on them resulting in reduced stopping power. Based on the above this won't be helped with ceramic brakes.