When are you going fully electric?

Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
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@FerretBoy, I was just going to post something similar but you beat me to it. To add to your post…

As well as making the full service manual available for free and the service mode available in the car, they also give access to their dealer level software tools for a reasonable price. You can pay for a days access for a ~£30 I think.

The ‘secret’ service mode isn’t a secret either, there is literally a page on their website which explains how to access it.

There is a full parts catalog online:

The only things they won’t sell you is a new battery or drive unit. But if you’re doing an out of warranty DIY repair, let’s be honest you are not buying a brand new battery or drive unit for the job. You’d be using a used part.

Tesla don’t code random parts to the car either. You can pull used parts from one car and they’ll work in another. But where you need their software tools, you can just pay for a days access.

There’s whole YouTube channels dedicated to taking them apart and putting them back together.

As for mods, Tesla don’t care. The only thing they won’t do is put back on any stick on tat they need to remove for a warranty job.

I hate to break it to you but you probably picked the wrong car to pick on there.
 
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Soldato
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18 Oct 2003
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Probably also worth pointing out that you don't even need to service a Tesla in order to keep the warranty. If you choose to service it then they provide guides and parts if you wish to do it yourself.
 
Soldato
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29 Jun 2004
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Most ICE cars are typically something you can rebuild thanks to the abundance of parts and knowledge where as the EV market is taking off in a time when a lot of companies design their products to be repaired and maintained by their own specialists or even worse: be non repairable so you have to buy a new one.

It would be nice to see some DIY friendly electrics emerge so people could gain the knowledge and keep their own EV's going but i'm not seeing that from new EV's.

What do you drive that needs constant rebuilding? In the last 12 years of motoring, Saab 9-5 for 9.5yrs and currently a Jaguar XF for 2.5yrs, neither car needed much more than routine servicing. The few extra jobs that the Saab needed weren't things that I could do easily on my drive anyway. In the case of EVs the drivetrain is vastly simpler than an ICE anyway.

When was the last time that you saw someone working on a car on their driveway with a Haynes manual next to them? This was a common sight in the 80s/90s but has just about disappeared to the extent that huge numbers of auto factors have shut down.

I have a hybrid at the moment and I can't see myself going fully electric unless I have to. For longs journeys they just don't charge fast enough. I can still pull up and fill a tank of petrol in less than 5mins and be leaving the forecourt. Even with rapid chargers I can't get that kind of mileage in that amount of time and that ultimately will always be the problem. Until they can provide a similar range for a similar length of stop. That and there is still a woeful lack of charging across the country. My local large supermarket has 4 chargers, 4!. How do they think that is going to work? Every space or at least 50% of the spaces are going to need chargers so that people aren't fighting over them. Sorry it's a great idea and I am fully supportive of the environment but infrastructure has a long way to go.

There are plenty of EVs with a 200 mile+ range which is a good 3-4hrs driving in the UK. Do you really drive for 6-8hrs with nothing but a 5 minute refuelling stop for the car in the middle of the journey? Factor in a couple of coffee / toilet breaks and a meal and you have plenty of time to recharge.
 
Soldato
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1 Mar 2010
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22,379
10 years in and the drive unit electronics go awol - you cant rebore the cylinders or over-size the bearings,
ic technology / Moores law those semiconductors won't be in production, or stockpiled (like if your 10yr old laptop or tv gos)
Automotive environment is harsh compared to home, and despite simulated aging with the quanity of mcu's in an ev failure odds multiply.



new enyaq with smaller batteries/range V doesn't seem to be the new more efficient drivetrain though - I thought customers wanted more range not less,
where is the estate.

The new Enyaq 50 and Enyaq 50 Edition models are being added to the SUV range with prices starting from just £36,970. Order books for both new models are now open.

The new Enyaq 50 and Enyaq 50 Edition are fitted with a new 55kWh battery pack that delivers up to 234 and 232 miles of range respectively on the WLTP cycle. The rear-mounted electric motor generates 170PS and 310Nm of torque and can accelerate the Enyaq from 0-62mph in just 9.1 seconds. Top speed is 99mph
 
Soldato
Joined
23 May 2006
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7,247
indeed. i did 200 miles up the M6 today. arrived at destination with 23% on the battery after leaving on a full charge. my car is now at my folks next door neighbours after they saw me charging on my parents 3 pin plug, and offered me access to their ohme charge point on intelligent octopus

edit I should have quoted Alibaba99 as was responding to his comment about 200 mile range but forgot and my phone is rubbish at editing on quotes.
 
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Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
Posts
15,004
10 years in and the drive unit electronics go awol - you cant rebore the cylinders or over-size the bearings,
You aren't doing that in your run of the mil ICE car either. It would cost thousands for that kind of service, if you can find someone who could even do it. You'll only ever do that kind of fix for something really special.

ic technology / Moores law those semiconductors won't be in production, or stockpiled (like if your 10yr old laptop or tv gos)

No, you'd bang in a used part from a crashed car... who is putting a brand new engine in a 10 year old mass produced ICE car? Who is even putting a used engine in a run of the mill ICE car if the old one decides to lunch itself. Oh yes, no ones doing that either unless it's a rare/special car.

Automotive environment is harsh compared to home, and despite simulated aging with the quanity of mcu's in an ev failure odds multiply.

Except they don't, cars have had screens and computers in them for a REALLY LONG TIME. It's not even an EV thing, my 10+ (12?) year old ICE car I had before I bought my first electric car had 2 screens in it and a plethora of electronic control units which controlled literally everything.

Tesla had a specific issue in their early cars because wore out the EMMC storage in the MCU with too much logging. They recalled it and replaced the part with a revised part. That issue is not a trend of modern cars or even Tesla.

Can we stop now?
 
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Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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I thought customers wanted more range not less,

You'd be wrong then, I want an Ioniq 6 but for some stupid reason you an only get the 77kWh in the UK, but they sell the 58kWh version in Ireland/Eu and USA (of all places), the smaller battery version also has much more efficient 18" wheels.
 
Caporegime
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21 Oct 2002
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You'd be wrong then, I want an Ioniq 6 but for some stupid reason you an only get the 77kWh in the UK, but they sell the 58kWh version in Ireland/Eu and USA (of all places), the smaller battery version also has much more efficient 18" wheels.
Exactly. 140kg lighter. Cheaper and still enough range for most. Bigger battery isn’t always better
 
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