exxxviii
Member
Yeah. I’m counting the minutes before my first scheduled Model Y service…. Oh wait…..
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Does it make sense to own a Tesla or other EV's in So Cal?
- Thread starter E46M3
- Start date
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
exxxviii
Member · From Atlanta, GAJoined Nov 21, 2022
Do be sure to check in 5-6 years from now and let us know how that “maintenance free” EV is treating you.
exxxviii
Member
Do be sure to check in 5-6 years from now and let us know how that “maintenance free” EV is treating you.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member · From CaliforniaJoined Mar 10, 2016
I’ve owned 2 BMWs, so you are already holding my beer.
But seriously, these cars don’t have any scheduled maintenance, right? Should I expect my first brake job in 10 years? 20 years? What is the typical unscheduled maintenance? I’m looking forward to my first power steering fluid leak. There’s no universe where this can compare to an ICE car. Unless these use blinker fluid.
thesmokingman
Active Member
If you wanna reduce maintenance on a 3/Y using the friction brakes regularly like once a week prevents the calipers from seizing.
Last edited:
exxxviii
Member
Yes, I am aware of that. But isn’t that an issue for cars in areas where they salt the roads in winter?If you wanna reduce maintenance on a 3/Y using the friction brakes regularly like once a week prevents the calipers from seizing.
thesmokingman
Active Member
Hmm not really as this is a specific EV issue. The issue is an issue because of strong regen which means the brakes are rarely used. That lack of use over time means the lubricants and seals age/dry up and eventually breakdown, then the brakes end up seizing. Thus if you use them regularly every blue moon that will keep them from degrading over time.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
You’ll note my initial comment was in response to a user who said “no mechanics” as a way to incentivize someone on the fence to buy an EV (and specifically a Tesla).
In 6 years and 150,000 miles of driving a Tesla and participating in this community, I can say with a high level of certainty that’s a wholly unrealistic expectation to offer up to a prospective customer. Let’s be honest about what we’re getting into. I’ve had easily 20+ interactions with service over the term of my ownership. Others have had many many more than that. Say what you will about Tesla, anyone being honest can acknowledge that their build quality, reliability, and consistency is not exactly top-class.
Call it “maintenance”, “repair”, or just the cost of ownership, it doesn’t much matter - but anyone thinking they’re buying a maintenance or “mechanic free” car is deluded.
Unless you have some other reason to focus on Tesla besides cheap commuting (high performance, status, etc) you are better off with a less expensive EV as a daily driver. Personally I like the high performance available in Tesla's and that is why I have the MYP as my daily driver, but I used our Chevy Bolt as my daily driver for years... you can get one for less than half the cost of a MYLR right now. I would not recommend the Bolt if you were wanting to do road trips, but it is the perfect commuter EV.
Keith
exxxviii
Member
I figured that, but I am also curious about what is typical with a Model Y. Nothing has jumped out to me yet on this and a couple other forums. All of the things that commonly break or need routine maintenance simply do not exist on an EV. So, I assume that other things are breaking, but I have not read much about what yet.
I have owned a couple ICE cars that did go their entire lives with me (>10 years; >100K miles) with only 1 or 2 unscheduled service calls. All they needed were oil and tires. I'm guessing the Model Y may not be that great, but when you eliminate all the fluids and belt-driven ICE accessories, there really is not a whole lot left.
EVer Hopeful
Active Member
Wait ... you have to flush the transmission fluid in an ICE?
Well that'll explain what happened to my PoS Lexus
EVer Hopeful
Active Member
That really is a good point
When I used to commute to the office (80 miles rt), there were lots of mornings where I had to take a quick stop at the Easy-off-on QT. Sometimes I'd bottle it and stop somewhere earlier, but I did figure out that the Civic could do 12.5 miles after the last bar in the digital fuel gauge disappeared
No oil change is good too. Funny how those "five minute oil changes:" take about half an hour
thesmokingman
Active Member
Yea, it's an ironic one that ppl often don't realize, tranny fluid service intervals is like 60K miles, and you cannot just drain and refill. The only way is to flush, but then KICKER, you lose all those precious friction bits that have worn away and is part of old fluid mixture. Thus sometimes after flushing the tranny shifts liek crap cuz of the worn clutch packs with now reduced friction in the fluid. Think snowball... so ppl often don't ever change the fluid, then boom.
boulder.dude
Member
Suggest changing the cabin air filter in your 3 or Y every year. Can be done at home if you are flexible and watch the YouTube videos.
(The cabin air filter seems more susceptible to retaining moisture than any ICE cars that I’ve owned.)
(The cabin air filter seems more susceptible to retaining moisture than any ICE cars that I’ve owned.)
thesmokingman
Active Member
Yea if you don't have the biodefense. For non-biodefense cars the best thing to do is fashion a stainless mesh screen over the cabin intake snorkel and then lay some airfilter mesh/foam/etc over top. Now no debris will get sucked in and any polled will get caught in the pre-filter ya made.
Found this out back in the day with a Mercury Mariner SUV, it started shifting like crap around 80,000 miles and looked it up on a ford forums similar to this and found out that instead of paying a huge fee for a full system flush you can drain about 3/4 of the fluid, and replace it yourself every 30,000 miles. If you waited until it was shifting bad to do this you needed to do the drain and fill, drive for 100 miles and do another drain and fill and it would be fine. Never had another problem after I started doing this.
Keith
Using the brake once or twice a week sounds fitting for an EVIf you wanna reduce maintenance on a 3/Y using the friction brakes regularly like once a week prevents the calipers from seizing.
exxxviii
Member
Doesn’t auto hold use the brake every time you stop? When I stop, I can see the brake pedal depress a little and then release when I go again.
Similar threads
- Article
