Electric Car Battery Maintenance

A common concern of anybody purchasing a new or used electric vehicle is the longevity of the battery as well as the costs associated with repairs or replacing it. Data collected using vehicle battery health over the past 10 years shows a decrease in battery health by about 10% over a five to six year period, however a number of factors can influence battery health degradation.

There are a number of general tips to help maintain and improve the longevity of the battery including:

  • Minimise rapid charging, using slower chargers where possible
  • Don't leave the battery unused for long period of time
  • Only fully charge your car to 100% when necessary, preferably keeping charge levels between 20-80%
  • Keep charge levels between 20-80%

Electric car batteries have a number of differences compared to a typical battery found in a laptop or phone, therefore the battery doesn't deteriorate. A phone or laptop typically contains one battery, whereas a car will contain thousands of individual batteries in packs that work together. A number of manufacturers also cover the battery with a special warranty to help alleviate some of the anxiety associated with this. The warranties vary dependant on whether the car is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or full electric vehicle (EV), with the EV cars typically having a longer warranty period as standard. The warranty that typically comes with an EV is 100,000 miles or 8 years (whichever comes first), however this can sometimes differ so we've created the below list:

Manufacturer

Warranty Period

Audi

100,000 miles or 8 years; whichever comes first

BMW

100,000 miles or 8 years; whichever comes first

Jaguar

100,000 miles or 8 years; whichever comes first

Mercedes-Benz

100,000 miles or 8 years; whichever comes first

MINI

100,000 miles or 8 years; whichever comes first

Porsche

100,000 miles or 8 years; whichever comes first

Smart

62,000 miles or 8 years; whichever comes first



Discover the range of new and used hybrid and Electric cars for sale from Stratstone



*Information is correct at the time of publication (20/01/2021)