Electric cars, or EVs as they’re commonly known, are well on their way up the annual bestseller list in the UK, with these renewable energy vehicles becoming more prominent on our streets year on year. In fact, premier EV brand Tesla has found itself comfortably within the top-10 highest selling vehicles for the past three years running, with no signs of slowing down. But, with this surge in popularity sure to continue, repair garages and the mechanics that run them need to ensure they don’t fall behind the times themselves. Can you take your EV to any garage, or are only a particular few currently equipped to deal with electric cars at this point? Read on to find out.
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Can Normal Garages Service Electric Cars?
Despite the boom in electric car sales, not every single garage in the UK is able to effectively service these vehicles. However, many can do this thanks to specialised training and equipment that is required to give the technicians the knowhow and resources to understand the ins and outs of an electric car. As many parts do differ from those found in an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) car, it’s vital that an EV servicing technician knows what they’re doing, otherwise problems with the vehicle that a service should uncover may be missed.
It’s more likely that large chain business garages will offer electric car services, while smaller, independent garages may not have invested in this yet. Some may say that they can complete an EV service when, in reality, they have little to no experience in this field. As such, you should do some research before deciding where to take your car.
Can Any Garage Perform An MOT On An Electric Car?
Like with services, any garage that is trained to do so can perform an MOT test on an EV. The MOT test checks the condition of the vehicle and the safety of essential components, but does not go anywhere near as in-depth as a service would. Therefore, you’re far less likely to find a car garage that is unwilling or unable to perform your electric car MOT test. If you do struggle though, don’t assume you can go without an MOT just because your car is electric. It still needs to pass its test just like all the other cars on the road.
What’s The Difference Between A Regular & EV MOT Test?
There are a number of significant differences between an MOT test for a traditionally fueled car and an electric vehicle. The most obvious of all is the emissions test. Whereas an ICE car will produce fumes from its exhaust system as a result of the combustion process, an EV does not produce any emissions (and does not even have an exhaust). This means that this entire section of the test does not need to be performed.
Similarly, the lack of a combustion engine means that very little noise is produced by an electric car, so the decibel level of your vehicle when running also does not need to be tested.
There’s also the issue of testing the levels of certain fluids, like transmission fluid and motor oil. There’s no engine to require motor oil, so that’s off the checklist, and since most EVs only have one gear, transmission fluid is obsolete, too – though they do use a small amount of oil here to keep the parts lubricated!
What’s The Difference Between A Regular & EV Service?
Services are generally quite similar between the two types of car, however there are some glaring differences, mainly due to the lack of the many moving parts that sit within an ICE vehicle’s engine bay.
The battery and electric motors in an EV will need to be checked, but these are much less likely to have suffered from wear and tear damage than an ICE engine would. That being said, electric car batteries are notorious for losing their capacity after years of service, so in the long run, you might find that you have more serious problems here.
Other fluids which are used elsewhere in the vehicle are checked, topped up and changed as required. Motor oil may be a thing of the past for EV drivers, but the oil used in the transmission needs to be kept at a steady level and, perhaps most importantly, the coolant required to keep the batteries at a safe temperature must also be checked.
As for the rest of the car, the checks on a service are pretty much identical!
What To Do If You Can’t Find An EV Garage Near You
If you’re in one of those more remote areas that has yet to embrace the EV lifestyle, it’s possible that you won’t have an EV qualified garage within a sensible distance of your home. If this is the case, you could opt to skip the service (but not the MOT, of course) which is actually quite common for electric vehicle drivers to do. Due to the lack of intricate moving parts that require constant lubrication and will wear out over time, many EV owners simply deem an annual service unnecessary, putting their faith in the reliability of their car.
Alternatively, you could ask your local garage to service the parts of the vehicle that they do know about, though this would not be classed as a ‘proper’ service, and they’d probably charge you more than the average electric car service cost.
When it’s time for the annual MOT though, you will have to find somewhere that can do it for you, even if that means travelling further afield than you’d like to. This test is a legal requirement and while electric car maintenance is less labour-intensive, the safety of the vehicle has to be confirmed before it’s allowed on the road.
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