Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

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Buddy just bought a used (90,000kms) Model 3 and damn I was impressed with the drive. It's the standard range RWD but it still went like stink, felt very well planted, and overall it seemed to have way less kms than what was on the odo.

Plus the car was in an accident, and he got it stupidly cheap (27k) so he's super happy with it.

I didn't even ask if I could drive it, just jumped in and asked him to show me how to start the damn thing (apparently it was on as soon as he got in).

My only hangup with Tesla as a heavily used vehicle...out of warranty service costs.
 
mimico_polak said:
Buddy just bought a used (90,000kms) Model 3 and damn I was impressed with the drive. It's the standard range RWD but it still went like stink, felt very well planted, and overall it seemed to have way less kms than what was on the odo.

Plus the car was in an accident, and he got it stupidly cheap (27k) so he's super happy with it.

I didn't even ask if I could drive it, just jumped in and asked him to show me how to start the damn thing (apparently it was on as soon as he got in).

My only hangup with Tesla as a heavily used vehicle...out of warranty service costs.
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But in reality what level of service are we talking here? Moving parts are at a minimum comparatively.
 
mimico_polak said:
Buddy just bought a used (90,000kms) Model 3 and damn I was impressed with the drive. It's the standard range RWD but it still went like stink, felt very well planted, and overall it seemed to have way less kms than what was on the odo.

Plus the car was in an accident, and he got it stupidly cheap (27k) so he's super happy with it.

I didn't even ask if I could drive it, just jumped in and asked him to show me how to start the damn thing (apparently it was on as soon as he got in).

My only hangup with Tesla as a heavily used vehicle...out of warranty service costs.
Click to expand...

Electric motors are tough. My beer fridge is well over 60 years old hasn't had a service call since we acquired it with the house 45 years ago.

The wiring system consists of a light switch, a bulb, a thermostat and compressor motor. Imagine a Tesla with just an on-off switch. It's the controls that get you.

ICE is good for 300,000 Kms+ but allow for 50-70 oil changes, filters, plugs, injector flushes, timing stuff etc. All fluids need changing but I don't know if that includes Tesla.
 
If the EV industry wanted to take a big kick at the ICE market they could standardize battery sizes. The concept is simple but patents, copyrights, engineering concepts all differ but transfer that to the flashlight market.

Imagine if every flashlight maker had its own proprietary battery. You couldn't just pop by the local five ands dime and pick up a few AAA's or AA's. C's and D's are getting harder to find. High intensity, low current LED's don't need the power. Compare that to the button cell market. While 2032's are probably the most common there are numerous different other ones that only fit a few purposes. I bought a card of them at Sayal and there was a fistful of different sizes for a few dollars. My occasionally worn wristwatch takes special silver one at ~ $15.00 :(

If 1000 pound, 80 Kw batteries were broken down to 100 pound 8 Kw ones at $1,000 each the battery anxiety would largely disappear. Small independent shops could do the switch instead of King Tesla. Musk wouldn't like that.

In the late 50's my aunt had a battery powered radio with 80 volt and 6 volt batteries. It ran about two hours, then you forked out a day's pay for new ones. Along came the cigarette package sized 9 volt transistor radio and here I sit with a rechargeable cell phone smaller than that. And it has a flashlight.
 
nobbie48 said:
ICE is good for 300,000 Kms+ but allow for 50-70 oil changes, filters, plugs, injector flushes, timing stuff etc. All fluids need changing but I don't know if that includes Tesla.
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Don't know about Tesla, but with the Chevy Bolt, it has oil in the transaxle (really just a gear-reduction and the diff), and there's no specified change interval. DIY video (looks like the oil drained out looked pretty clear)
 
Brian P said:
Don't know about Tesla, but with the Chevy Bolt, it has oil in the transaxle (really just a gear-reduction and the diff), and there's no specified change interval. DIY video (looks like the oil drained out looked pretty clear)
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Lifetime fluid should be prosecuted as the false advertising it is. Make the brands pick up fluid changes until the vehicle gets crushed as they sold it with a lifetime worth of fluid. If my transmissions takes a dump with broken down or contaminated fluid, they can pick up that bill too.

Imo, nothing wrong with telling people that fluid changes every xxk km are required. Instead of everyone lying, they should all tell the truth.
 
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GreyGhost said:
Lifetime fluid should be prosecuted as the false advertising it is. Make the brands pick up fluid changes until the vehicle gets crushed as they sold it with a lifetime worth of fluid.
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Define lifetime. I had a clamp on ammeter that came with a lifetime warranty. They defined lifetime as "Reasonable usage expectancy".

Somewhere in the USA an old lady is driving an ancient Ford Comet. When the original battery died she bought one with a lifetime warranty. Ten or twelve batteries later she's still on that warranty. Good advertising for the shop though.
 
Brian P said:
Don't know about Tesla, but with the Chevy Bolt, it has oil in the transaxle (really just a gear-reduction and the diff), and there's no specified change interval. DIY video (looks like the oil drained out looked pretty clear)
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The average Toronto lawn is probably 3000 square feet and with a 18" swath it would take about 1/3 of a mile per mow. Based on 5,000 mile oil changes that's every 15,000 mowings. At 40 mowings a year it works out to 375 years between oil changes for the battered old B&S. Some have tried.

Sometimes I play with numbers. Don't get me started on infinity which I do not consider a number.
 
nobbie48 said:
The average Toronto lawn is probably 3000 square feet and with a 18" swath it would take about 1/3 of a mile per mow. Based on 5,000 mile oil changes that's every 15,000 mowings. At 40 mowings a year it works out to 375 years between oil changes for the battered old B&S. Some have tried.

Sometimes I play with numbers. Don't get me started on infinity which I do not consider a number.
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I dont think you can compare splash lubrication in an air-cooled engine and a pressure lubricated liquid-cooled engine directly.
 
The PHEV Escape doesn’t have DC fast charging so it’s limited to J1772 plugs. I’ve found some free charging for a couple of my work trips and topped up. There is something to be said about electric motion of a vehicle that just seems calmer. It’s simply quiet and smooth.

Driving back from Ottawa during the Civic Holiday and stopped at the Enroute around Napanee, the charging stations were a gong show but, the whole place was. Petro, Timmies etc.

You can always avoid the Enroute and find something with less traffic and better service.

I can see ourselves getting there in our next vehicle. (Full ev) I’m already looking at updating the panel.



On a side note, I’ll have a new to me iron horse to burn up petro and provide some two wheel therapy. Separate post to follow.
 
GreyGhost said:
Lifetime fluid should be prosecuted as the false advertising it is. Make the brands pick up fluid changes until the vehicle gets crushed as they sold it with a lifetime worth of fluid. If my transmissions takes a dump with broken down or contaminated fluid, they can pick up that bill too.

Imo, nothing wrong with telling people that fluid changes every xxk km are required. Instead of everyone lying, they should all tell the truth.
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A gear-reducer like the Bolt's transaxle has the best shot at actually being "lifetime fluid". It doesn't run all that hot, there's no clutches so no slippage and no clutch material getting into the oil like there is in a normal automatic transmission, there's no contamination with combustion gases like there is in an engine (and I realise that nobody has gone to "lifetime engine oil", but there's sure some suspiciously long specified oil-change intervals out there), and there's no hypoid gears like in a traditional rear axle assembly. It's being suggested elsewhere that a probably-reasonable oil change interval for this transaxle is 150 000 - 200 000 km.

GM uses their standard 5-year coolant-change recommendation for the cooling systems. I suspect this is extremely conservative, given that they don't run all that hot.
 
Brian P said:
A gear-reducer like the Bolt's transaxle has the best shot at actually being "lifetime fluid". It doesn't run all that hot, there's no clutches so no slippage and no clutch material getting into the oil like there is in a normal automatic transmission, there's no contamination with combustion gases like there is in an engine (and I realise that nobody has gone to "lifetime engine oil", but there's sure some suspiciously long specified oil-change intervals out there), and there's no hypoid gears like in a traditional rear axle assembly. It's being suggested elsewhere that a probably-reasonable oil change interval for this transaxle is 150 000 - 200 000 km.

GM uses their standard 5-year coolant-change recommendation for the cooling systems. I suspect this is extremely conservative, given that they don't run all that hot.
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Yeah none of the enthusiasts are buying the 'lifetime' oil when it comes to transmissions (ZF 8 speed). Every 40k/2 years is the typical agreed upon interval if you beat on your ride.
 
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