Everything You Need To Know About Replacing Electric Car Batteries

Electric cars (EVs) are the future of human transport. They are more economical and produce less pollution. The heart of these vehicles is the electric battery. Hybrid cars work in unison with combustion engines to give drivers immense power and control. In fully electric cars, they work alone to power the engine and provide owners with an extensive driving range as well as exciting automobile engineering.

So, the electric car battery is the most expensive component of an EV. It should not be changed for the vehicle’s lifespan unless it becomes damaged. If you are considering investing in an electric car, this article gives you everything you need to know about replacing your car batteries, including the cost and how to extend your EV battery’s lifespan. 

The Lifespan of the Battery

Even though initial concerns about electric vehicle batteries were that they would degrade over time like a laptop battery, automotive companies have found that these batteries have a longer life than they initially thought.

Currently, manufacturers estimate that their batteries will last up to twenty years. They are so confident of the batteries’ quality that several companies offer large time periods or a high amount of miles on their warranties. For example, Tesla offers eight-year warranties or 100,000 miles on some of their model’s batteries.  

Automotive manufacturers will not offer lifetime warranties on EV car batteries due to how expensive the batteries are and the extensive range of damage they can incur during their lifetime, as everyone drives their vehicle differently. 

If you feel there are any issues with your battery’s performance, a professional will be able to determine the battery capacity, which is the amount of energy the battery can store and if it will need to be replaced. 

Changing Your EV Battery

The main warning sign that your battery needs to be replaced is if the car takes a while to start or starts with difficulty. To check if there are any issues, attach it to a voltage testing probe that will give you the voltage present. An EV battery should be replaced if the voltage measures up to 12 volts.  

Several factors, including the vehicle’s make and model and the battery’s energy capacity (kWh), will determine how much you will have to spend on replacing an EV battery. The more power the battery has, the more it will cost to purchase. For example, the Tesla Model 3 EV battery costs a minimum of $13,000 to replace. 

A used EV battery can be reconditioned, reused several times, and then recycled, which makes them excellent for the environment. In Europe, the market for recycling EV batteries is quite large. Meanwhile, American recycling companies have just started to take off. Tesla has already launched a car battery recycling company called Redwood Materials, one of the many companies that will solve this recycling problem.

Optimizing Your Battery

Using such methods as charging the battery exclusively with rapid chargers will reduce its lifespan. Rapid charging stations can have between 150 kW for rapid chargers and 350 kW for ultra-rapid stations. These chargers will fill your battery in no time, but using them regularly will run the risk of burning the elements within the battery. 

Charging your vehicle’s battery correctly is the best way to prolong its life. Many electric vehicle owners, uo to 90 percent, charge their cars at home, which is more economical. A domestic charger powers the vehicle battery at a slower, steady pace. This is because most chargers have a maximum of 7kw of power. So, a battery with 77kWh of power would need approximately ten hours of charging time.  

Another way to preserve your EV battery’s life is avoiding extreme temperatures. They are sensitive to heat and will be under greater strain, which can cause premature degradation. It is best practice to let the battery return to room temperature before and after charging.  

Also, keeping the battery charged between 20% and 80% capacity most of the time will prolong its life. Shorter, frequent refills are preferred, as charging to full capacity, and discharging can damage the battery. 

Overview of Replacing Electric Car Batteries

Over time, as EV technology becomes more refined and mainstream, an electric car battery will become cheaper to replace and easier to repair. It will reduce the expenditure on replacing these parts. Already, Chinese manufacturer Nia is producing swappable batteries for their cars. In the future, this process may become standard practice throughout the world.