How to maintain an electric vehicle: battery, servicing and lifespan

Maintaining an electric vehicle (EV) is generally simpler than maintaining a combustion engine vehicle. There are no oil changes, timing belts, spark plugs or complex gearboxes. Fewer mechanical parts means less wear and tear and maintenance costs that are 20 to 40% lower on average.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to watch out for. Certain components remain essential, including the battery, brakes, tyres and electronic systems.

The battery: how long does it really last?
The battery is the heart of the electric vehicle. Its lifespan depends on usage, climate and charging habits.

On average:
• 8 to 15 years of service life
• 1,000 to 2,000 charging cycles
• 250,000 to 500,000 kilometres possible before replacement
Most manufacturers guarantee the battery for 8 years or 160,000 kilometres, with at least 70% of its capacity remaining.
Therefore, batteries are not replaced at a fixed mileage.
At 150,000 km, they generally work very well.
At 200,000 km, a slight loss of range may occur.
Replacement often occurs after 10 to 15 years, not before.

How to preserve the battery?

A few simple rules will extend its life:
• Avoid charging to 100% every day
• Ideally, keep the charge between 20% and 80%
• Limit repeated rapid recharging
• Avoid prolonged exposure to high temperatures
• Perform software updates
Average degradation is 2 to 3% per year, which is moderate.

Other items requiring maintenance
Even without a combustion engine, certain checks are still necessary:
• Brakes: check every 20,000 to 30,000 km
• Tyres: check every 10,000 km (replacement between 30,000 and 50,000 km)
• Cabin filter: every 15,000 to 30,000 km
• Coolant: according to manufacturer (60,000 to 100,000 km)
• Air conditioning: check every 2 years
A service is generally recommended once a year or every 15,000 to 30,000 km.

Cost of replacing the battery
Depending on capacity:
• 6,000 to 8,000 € (small battery)
• 8,000 to 15,000 € (medium)
• Up to 20,000 € (large capacity)

However, prices are falling steadily and it is often possible to replace only certain modules.