Service Tesla Roadster v. mitshubishi / nissan leaf

[Olabt]

Hi everyone,

Currently considering buying a EV for daily commute.

Comparing current market offerings im a bit confused with the differences in practise of service visits...

Anyone have an idea why Nissan and Mitshubishi requires you to do a service on their cars every year, while tesla can do no regluar servicing at all?

I expect EVs to require less servicing than conventional fossile burners, therfore i was suprised it was as often as every year..

Never, which as far as i can understand is the practicse of Tesla sounds a bit sckethcy though.. do u just go get your brakes changed when you notice they arent working? whats your experiences with Tesla maintenance?

Informative replies appreciated

[VolkerP]

Tesla Roadsters do get regular maintenance. Read here: Scheduled maintenance. Anyone watch as it's done?

[Sparrow]

I am thinking the biggest reason for annual service is to do a more thorough check of the battery's health. This is still a learning experience for all EV makers and the batteries are such a high percentage of the cost of building the car that it make sense to watch them closely. Of course there are other items in the car that coould use an annual inspection too.

[Olabt]

Tesla Roadsters do get regular maintenance. Read here: Scheduled maintenance. Anyone watch as it's done?

Ahh.. I was reading an EV's buyers guide information sheet and it said that the roadster does'nt require regular maintenance.. Guess the practice has changed since the sheet was made (I live in EU so Tesla may not have offered at launch)..

Any rough idea on the regular servicing costs on the roadster? Also curios to what they do at the service.. although that may already have been asked in the linked thread

[strider]

Here's what I sent to one of my wife's co-workers who just put down a Model S reservation and asked about service:

The Roadster has a $600 annual service. The main reason for this expensive service is that the motor and PEM (Power Electronics Module – what converts AC-DC between the motor, batteries, and wall power) are air cooled. So as part of the service Tesla removes the PEM and fans (motor and PEM each have one) and cleans them and the filters which takes a few hours of labor. They also do some battery maintenance that can't be done by the car itself and load the latest firmware. Finally there are a number of checks they do as part of the Lotus recommended service for the chassis - torquing bolts, steering components, etc.

Tesla has not released annual service fees for Model S (or even if they will be required) but they have stated they will be dramatically lower than the Roadster. The motor and PEM are liquid-cooled (and the battery of course – that's liquid-cooled in both cars) and they have built much more capability into the car itself to manage its battery and report anything amiss to Tesla. They are also anticipating the capability of doing over-the-air firmware updates. Finally, the chassis and suspension will be lower maintenance than the virtual race car chassis of the Roadster.

Longer term, every 5 years you'll need to replace the coolant,. Other than that it's just windshield washer fluid and tires. Brake pads and rotors will last quite a long time due to the regenerative braking.

[vfx]

Every time a car goes in for service there are things that are required by the government (state, fed0 be done. Checking tire air pressure is one that comes to mind.

Those things take time.

[jerry33]

Every time a car goes in for service there are things that are required by the government (state, fed0 be done. Checking tire air pressure is one that comes to mind.

That is a new one on me. Or is this a German requirement?

[TEG]

I am 1 year + 2 months into LEAF ownership (12K miles).
So far, my expenses, other than electricity, has been $0.

I had a 1 year service done, which included rotating the tires, and doing a battery health check, which some dealers charge up to around $100 to do, but my dealer did it free saying "their marketing department covered the cost since I bought the car there."

There were some minor fit/finish/trim issues when I first got the car, but those got corrected quickly, and everything has been perfect since.

[bsimoes]

Strider, this is a huge relief. I had been worried about this ever since I'd heard about the $600 Roadster fee. It was perhaps a deal breaker for me. Did you find out anything about how they will offer service to an ever expanding set of buyers crossing the continent...world? Barb

[Doug_G]

That is a new one on me. Or is this a German requirement?

Me too... in fact I've had a dealer refuse to rotate the tires during regular service, saying"it's the customer's responsibility". (Needless to say I've never set foot in there since).