EVs are more reliable than ICEVs..... GO!

[GaRailroader]

I wholeheartedly believe in the reliability of a simple EV VS a gasoline powered vehicle.

That said, I am starting to ponder long term repairability. As I see it in the long term, my 2006 Tacoma should be repairable for the rest of eternity, but once the battery pack on my Slate goes dead, is it now a disposable vehicle?

I'm starting to doubt buying decision. Change my mind.

Drew on the Tailosive EV YouTube channel bought a used Model Y and several months in to ownership that battery wouldn't accept a charge. The battery was replaced under warranty and it took 6 hours in the shop. I think when Slate's battery pack get's to end of life there will be attractive options to replace. Heck by that time there will probably be solid state batteries, 3 times the capacity in the same form factor. If at that point you don't want to spring for the battery upgrade you could always sell the Slate at that point to someone that needs a small truck with 80-90 miles range. I think long term repairability is always an option though you run in to a situation were cost of repair might exceed the value of the vehicle so only makes sense if you intend to keep the vehicle to get your money's worth out of the repair. I imagine if your Tacoma has an automatic transmission that cost of repair if that fails would likely exceed the value of the truck.

 

[brian10x]

But if my Tacoma transmission fails (maybe by 300k) it is repairable. If my Slate battery pack goes completely dead I'm screwed.

 

[KevinRS]

I wholeheartedly believe in the reliability of a simple EV VS a gasoline powered vehicle.

That said, I am starting to ponder long term repairability. As I see it in the long term, my 2006 Tacoma should be repairable for the rest of eternity, but once the battery pack on my Slate goes dead, is it now a disposable vehicle?

I'm starting to doubt my buying decision. Change my mind.

I don't think you can count on any modern vehicle to be repairable for eternity. You've got to be able to get parts. If the engine, or transmission, or even something like the ECU goes out, you need to either be able to get it from the dealer, aftermarket, or a junkyard. Same even if you need to replace a headlight. Increasingly most of those parts are model specific, and change every few years. People have been increasingly having trouble getting parts, when the OEM discontinues them, and aftermarket doesn't make them. Even if you do find a used engine/transmission/ECU, you may find that it won't start, and you've got to get it to the dealer for reprogramming, which may or may not work.
Hopefully with the slate using many off the shelf parts, aftermarket is already in place.

 

[brian10x]

How would I replace a Slate battery?

 

[GaRailroader]

But if my Tacoma transmission fails (maybe by 300k) it is repairable. If my Slate battery pack goes completely dead I'm screwed.

I don't think you are screwed. I would submit there will be replacement battery packs to install in your Slate 15 years from now. Right now there are shops setting up to do battery replacements. There is a shop not far from where I live that buys batteries out of Nissan Leafs that are totaled where the battery isn't damaged and markets them to Leaf owners that want an upgrade. The original Leaf had a 24 kWh then they went to a 30 kWh and mine has a 40 kWh battery. All 3 of these batteries are the same form factor. A person that has a 14 year old Leaf with 50 miles of range remaining can buy a used 40 kWh battery from this shop and they will install it. Now their 14 year old Leaf has 150 mile range when it had 82 miles when it was new. The 24 kWh will get a new life as a home battery for someone before it gets recycled at actual end of life.

 

[brian10x]

That gives me hope. Can the Slate battery actually be removed? I thought it was an integral part of the chassis.

 

[GaRailroader]

That gives me hope. Can the Slate battery actually be removed? I thought it was an integral part of the chassis.

I am not aware that they have said one way or another but I would assume that it is. It would be a major drawback if it wasn’t. Even the Tesla Model Ys that have a structural battery pack, the pack is removable for repair or replacement.

 

[sodamo]

File under wishful thinking, but I’m hopeful battery repair becomes a common service

 

[brian10x]

File under wishful thinking, but I’m hopeful battery repair becomes a common service

I think they have a system in China where certain EVs can pull into a kiosk thing and get an automated battery replacement as you wait.

 

[brian10x]

 

[E90400K]

I wholeheartedly believe in the reliability of a simple EV VS a gasoline powered vehicle.

That said, I am starting to ponder long term repairability. As I see it in the long term, my 2006 Tacoma should be repairable for the rest of eternity, but once the battery pack on my Slate goes dead, is it now a disposable vehicle?

I'm starting to doubt my buying decision. Change my mind.

I think there is enough lab test data and empirical real-world data that indicates EV battery cells and packs are quite robust and easily have lifespans of multiple hundreds of thousands of miles under decades of use. But like any manufactured machine with thousands of parts especially manufactured by mass production there is statistical probability a battery pack could fail or become severely degraded (below 70%). Good news is the Federal Government mandated a minimal standard warranty of 8 years and 100,000 miles. The reasonable position as with most electronics, if the battery doesn't fail within the warranty parameters, generally the battery will enjoy a trouble-free or minimal trouble-free lifecycle.

I think there is no reason to expect the battery pack in the Slate to have a short lifespan and it should be one of the lowest priority concerns especially with recent information from Slate regarding battery cooling testing. Heat management seems to be pretty well engineered.

 

[E90400K]

I don't think you can count on any modern vehicle to be repairable for eternity. You've got to be able to get parts. If the engine, or transmission, or even something like the ECU goes out, you need to either be able to get it from the dealer, aftermarket, or a junkyard. Same even if you need to replace a headlight. Increasingly most of those parts are model specific, and change every few years. People have been increasingly having trouble getting parts, when the OEM discontinues them, and aftermarket doesn't make them. Even if you do find a used engine/transmission/ECU, you may find that it won't start, and you've got to get it to the dealer for reprogramming, which may or may not work.
Hopefully with the slate using many off the shelf parts, aftermarket is already in place.

Agree 100% and have direct experience. Parts availability is the major drawback to maintaining a vehicle long term. Some manufacturers are really good at keeping parts available for their models and others are not. My direct experience is BMW is very, very good at maintaining part availability. I currently own a 28 year old BMW and most every part is still available from BMW. If I had to render a guess, I'd say it is still up near 95%. GM is the opposite. I have a 2009 Hummer and critical chassis parts that are subject to corrosion (due to GM's poor engineering - my opinion) are no longer available. Out of the five BMWs I have owned, every one had excellent new part availability well past 20 years of the date of last model year production.

Don't get me started on headlights. Ridiculous. Get in a minor accident that damages a headlight on a modern car, and it can total it (ask me how I know). It is why in several threads I have suggested Slate go with a standard glass headlamp like an H6006. Standardized form factor and inexpensive to replace. And no need to engineer a specialty plastic to ward off opaquing.

 

[KevinRS]

Agree 100% and have direct experience. Parts availability is the major drawback to maintaining a vehicle long term. Some manufacturers are really good at keeping parts available for their models and others are not. My direct experience is BMW is very, very good at maintaining part availability. I currently own a 28 year old BMW and most every part is still available from BMW. If I had to render a guess, I'd say it is still up near 95%. GM is the opposite. I have a 2009 Hummer and critical chassis parts that are subject to corrosion (due to GM's poor engineering - my opinion) are no longer available. Out of the five BMWs I have owned, every one had excellent new part availability well past 20 years of the date of last model year production.

Don't get me started on headlights. Ridiculous. Get in a minor accident that damages a headlight on a modern car, and it can total it (ask me how I know). It is why in several threads I have suggested Slate go with a standard glass headlamp like an H6006. Standardized form factor and inexpensive to replace. And no need to engineer a specialty plastic to ward off opaquing.

I think they are going with a standardized lamp, from the photos it's smaller than the 7 inch H6006 that appears to be a replacement for 60-80 year old cars. It is shielded compared to many car and SUV lights now, and probably not need to be replaced much.

 

[AZFox]

The poll question is bogus. It should have read "Some BEVS are more reliable than some ICE". It also could have said with perfect accuracuy that "Some ICE are more reliable than some BEV". Because there are some super reliable, 250,000+ mile ICE vehicles out there. And there are some absolutely garbage BEVs out there.

There are super-reliable and garbage vehicles of both types, yes, but that doesn't make the question bogus.

Recent large studies have shown that recent-model ICEVs are more than twice as likely to break down and need roadside assistance compared to EVs.

This means If all you know about a vehicle is whether it has an electric or ICE powertrain your chances of a experiencing breakdown that needs roadside assistance are much higher with an ICE vehicle.