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The battery of an electric car is the most expensive part. The average cost of an EV battery is $10,000 to 12,000. Thankfully, electric vehicle batteries last a long time. This article will cover the life of EV batteries, warranty cover for them, and even some tips and tricks to maximize the battery life.
The life of EV batteries varies from one manufacturer to the next. However, you can make an educated guess by looking at how long their warranties cover the battery components. Most manufacturers quote above 100,000 miles as their warranty period. However, this does not mean that that is the entire life of the battery. EV Batteries are expected to last 200,000 to 250,000 miles if they are well taken care of. In fact, a Tesla(add link) drove 317,000 miles on the same battery before it needed to be replaced.
The average American drives 13,500 miles a year. Therefore, it would take approximately 12 to15 years to drive 200,000 miles. Considering that anEV battery loses 2.3% of its capacity every year. The average driver would still have 90% of the original capacity available after 5 years, or 75% of its capacity after 12 years!
The typical car ownership period in the US for a new car is around 8.4 years. Hence, the battery of an EV is clearly built to outlast the typical life of a new car.
To give the electric vehicle owner peace of mind, automakers provide robust warranty coverage on the battery. The warranty for the high-voltage batteries in EVs is typically different from that of the rest of the car and will cover catastrophic failures or cases where the battery levels drop below some predefined limit (which is usually around 70%). Tesla’s warranty, for example, covers the owner if the battery capacity drops to 70% of the original capacity during the warranty period (something it is not supposed to do). In these cases, the electric vehicle owner is entitled to a free repair or replacement, if needed.
Battery warranties are generally specified in terms of a range and a timeline in years. For example, Tesla offers a warranty for up to 150,000 miles (depending on the model) and 8 years. Similarly, Hyundai offers a warranty on their high voltage battery packs for 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. The warranties cover the service costs and also any replacements that may need to be performed during the repair.
Electric vehicle drivers ideally want to keep the battery between 20% and 80% state of charge. It is important not to frequently drain the battery to near empty or charge it till its completely full. This not only reduces the life of the car’s battery, but it could also be unsafe. Most manufacturers restrict the usage limits of the battery via software to ensure that you stay within these safe operating ranges. Some car companies even give you the option to vary this limit by yourself. Hence, nowadays, you might see two versions of the battery capacity mentioned for cars – the actual capacity and the usable capacity. Smart chargers can allow you to set preferences for the charging limits of your car.
Studies have shown that frequent use of DC fast chargers can reduce the life of an electric car battery. High speed charging supplies high current to the battery which increases the battery’s temperature, causing degradation.Hence, you should ideally use DC fast chargers occasionally and useLevel 2 or lower level chargers for regular charging. A healthy balance of fast charging to slower speed charging will help boost your car’s battery life.
Batteries do not fair well under extreme temperatures and degrade faster. For optimal operation, battery packs in EVs have thermal management systems to keep them operating in the correct temperature window. A study by Geotab has shown that cars operating in a hot region (a region which receives over 27 degrees C for more than 5 days a year) degrades their battery faster than ones operating in colder regions. Unfortunately, owners do not have much control over the weather. But, one way to increase the battery life is to ensure that you park in a cool shaded area, especially if you live in a particularly warm climate.
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