Ford stops taking orders on the lightening

valhalla360 wrote:

Reisender wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

time2roll wrote:
Good chance there will need to be far fewer mechanics for EVs.
I speculate half the current service locations could be out of business.

I could see a small reduction but looking back at the work I've had done over the last couple decades...vast majority was tires/suspensions/brakes and other minor things that had nothing to do with ICE vs EV.

There may or may not be some advantage to brakes on an EV. The last two times I've had brake issues, it was from lack of use (truck got stored for 6 months over the winter while working overseas). If you are easy on the brakes and the regenerative does all the work, will the hydraulic brakes develop similar issues on EVs?

Other than an oil change or two per year (3000miles is long gone), the actual drivetrain is incredibly reliable and doesn't take much to keep it going.

We can speculate a bit but I think it's too early to really state how much maintenance costs will be relative to ICE. Currently, there are very few 15-20yr old EVs kicking around and the vast majority have been purchased by higher income individuals who are less likely to hesitate paying for preventative maintenance.

As a commuter vehicle or for a local contractor not needing heavy towing, I see it as quite viable. With a 230mile base range and an extra $10k to get 330mile range, I can't see it being popular for towing when you will lose 1/3 to 1/2 that range.

True on the brakes causing problems because of non use. This is showing up on almost every brand of EV. Now Informed people are getting in the habit of a once a week hard brake application to try and avoid the issue. We make a point of it every time we come into town on a certain route with a big hill and a stoplight at the bottom. So far so good for us but I know Tesla and Kona owners that have had brake issues from non use.

Very interesting. It was speculation on my part but appears to be true.

Of course, if it's a common issue that might be solvable. If the system requires you to press the brake pedal when putting it in gear (I think all modern cars do), you could just adjust the sensor, so it has to be pushed far enough to actuate the hydraulic brakes to get it in gear.

Definitely have to press the brake to put any EV we have owned in gear.