Tips For Electric Car Battery Care

Taking care of your electric car's battery is crucial to preserving its longevity and resale value. In this article, we'll show you how to extend the life of your EV battery, give you unbiased research on how quickly different batteries degrade, and tell you what a replacement might cost.

• How to Keep Your Electric Car Battery Healthy
• Things to Do When Charging an Electric Car
• How Often to Charge an Electric Car
• How Much it Costs to Replace an Electric Car Battery

Battery life is an important consideration for anyone interested in buying an electric car. Most EVs use lithium-ion batteries – the same type as those in laptops and smartphones – and these batteries can lose some of their capacity over time. However, while phone batteries and car batteries have many similarities, there are also significant differences that affect degradation. They allow EVs to travel without an issue for long distances, but things like harsh conditions, and heavy-duty tasks like towing and carrying heavy luggage drain them at an alarming rate.

The main factor that causes batteries to degrade is known as a charging cycle, which occurs when you charge or drain a lithium-ion battery from 0 to 100 percent or vice versa. Although this degradation is less crucial in phones since most people buy new ones every few years, it will eventually happen to your phone's battery if you don't replace it periodically.

Most carmakers include an electric car battery buffer to protect against the draining of power or overcharging beyond 100 percent. This safeguards against extensive damage that could reduce its lifespan and function.

To ensure the auto battery lives a long, healthy life and to avoid costly repairs and replacements later on, it’s important to practice auto battery care. This includes charging your batteries properly and taking into consideration auto battery sizing when selecting a new one. Auto battery sizing is an important factor in ensuring that your car has enough power to function without draining the battery.

5 methods to prevent your electric car battery from dying

1. Keep your battery between 20% and 80% charged to avoid any potential issues.

2.Many Australians find it difficult to minimize their exposure to warm temperatures, but there are some things that can help, like parking in an insulated garage or underneath a multi-level car park.

3. Make sure to let your battery cool off before you charge it again.

4. Try to use slower chargers whenever you don't need a quick recharge so that you can extend the life of your battery.

5. Don't allow your car to remain fully charged for extended time frames.

Is it better to charge my electric car every night, or only when I need to?

Cyclically charging your car's battery every night from 0% to 100% can damage the battery, particularly if you frequently utilize rapid or ultra-rapid chargers, which refill the battery much more quickly.

When you leave your car charging overnight, it's best to use a charger that top ups the battery at a slower rate like most home wallboxes or on-street chargers. This will reduce the chance of an entire charge cycle being completed and damaging the battery. Most electric vehicles come with an on-board buffer that stops the battery from topping up above 80% to protect against degradation, but not all electric cars include this feature so check your owner's manual before using any public charger.

To help keep your car battery in good health and make the most of its charge, it's best practice to only charge it up to 80%. If you're short on time or worried about overcharging, add enough power for the next day's driving and then remove the charger. Some cars also have a feature where they'll stop charging once they reach 80% - this is normally located in the car's charging menu or through a smartphone app.

How often does an electric car need to be charged?

Your electric car's battery will gradually lose power when parked and not being driven. To prevent the degradation of your vehicle's battery, it is important to check on its charge level regularly and keep it between 20% and 80%. An electric-car battery replacement can be costly, so by taking proper care of it now, you can save yourself money in the future.

How much does it cost to replace an electric car battery?

The price you'll pay to replace your old car battery will vary depending on the age and condition of the battery. It's cheaper to have a professional install a used or refurbished battery in good condition. Keep in mind that if you're replacing a 24kWh pack, this could cost around half as much buying an entirely new one – although it largely depends on how much you can find a secondhand pack for.

In some instances, an electric car's battery doesn't have to be entirely dumped; rather, just a few cells need to be replaced. There are independent specialist service centres for this that will cost much less than replacing the entire battery. So, how does one replace a whole battery? For first-generation Nissan Leafs, there is a replacement program wherein the new battery costs $9900 plus labour.

How quickly do electric car batteries degrade?

Select Car Leasing used data from GPS fleet tracking company Geotab to see how battery degradation affects electric cars built between 2012 and 2019. The research shows that newer models are more resistant to this effect.

The Nissan Leaf, as an example of one of the first modern mass-produced electric cars to be sold in the world, has around 80 per cent battery capacity left according to Select Car Leasing’s study.

Before buying a used electric car, what should I check for?

Amongst the most crucial things is to check how many years of the manufacturer’s original battery warranty are left. Also, it would be beneficial to get the car’s battery status checked by an independent specialist. The bright side is that – as mentioned previously – sometimes only certain cells need to be replaced instead of changing out the entire pack, and this costs much less money.