171–180 of 224 posts
I know that the Twitterpolaypse is a separate discussion, but I think it directly impacts Tesla EV's as well. If Tesla goes bankrupt, your cars will *NOT* work, given how tightly they are integrated with servers at Tesla. When Musk was forced to buy Twitter, he used significant leverage from SpaceX and Tesla to do so. And from his actions as of recent, he's opening significant legal liability to him and the company,…
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My cousin recently had a flat tire in her EV. Roadside Assistance did not have a spare, required an expensive tow & her day was a total loss. Dragging a toddler along made a stressful experience worse, as well. I did not previously realize most(?) EVs have no spare tire included.
The lack of spare tires is correlated with the increase in tire size, IMO. My first car was a 1987 Mazda with 14" tires. It was a two seat sports car, with a tiny spare mounted vertically. They could do that since it was 14". Modern sports cars are 18-20" and the spare tire is a big cargo compromise.
In Europe, the automakers are really getting card into Emission bands by the smallest possible margins, and as this effects tax buyers do care.
For EVs it's range - buyers pay a lot of attention to the headline range figures and a spare wheel plus the tire is not going to help.
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I've seen the argument that "traditional auto makers" don't "get" how many people think - they concentrate on panel gaps or wind noise or door closing bump noise. Tesla isn't great there, but the Tesla software is good, and what some people call "kids" treat the car more like a smart phone. They don't care if your panel gaps are great - if your infotainment software is very laggy or crashes, it's a low quality car.
Expectations are simply different once you step into the luxury segment. Tesla, pre Model 3, had real issues that went beyond panel gaps. Modern Tesla is doing much better, but they're competing against established players who differentiate through great interiors and "the little details". Large portions of this customer segment are willing to trade long term reliability for perceived build quality and overall luxury…
Are you aware that Tesla's MCU bricks itself after a few years due to eMMC wear? They also dragged their feet before finally caving in and agreeing to a recall. I wouldn't call any Tesla reliable long-term. The older models have proven themselves to be not reliable, and the new models are too new for these issues due to poor design to surface.
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If it's like most VW's that I've seen with no apparent way to unlock with a key, the physical key mechanism is hidden under the door handle trim piece. But maybe you're just saying that opening with the key is not provided as a primary option? For better or for worse, the "feature" is aesthetics.
Huh, so there's some magic panel or something? I'll have to poke around.
I've owned 3 EVs and Tesla is the lowest quality car I've ever owned. Teslas weigh down the average b/c they're the majority of EVs on the road.
Teslas the majority? I always assume Tesla was a more luxury brand of EVs. Is there any ranking of amount of EVs by brand sold to date? AFAIR Nissan Leaf was selling quite well some time in Europe. And in 2022 I see BYD sold more vehicles than Tesla, but I can't find data for all the EVs sold in the past.
In Which magazine, EVs were about as reliable as normal cars, however if you removed tesla from the ratings, then EV reliability jumped significantly to way above standard petrol/diesel. https://www.which.co.uk/ has the details, but you need to be a member to find out. Basically the fit, finish and reliability of the accessories were trash.
From the paywalled https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/new-and-used-cars/article/ca... > Tesla's electric cars may look like the future, but once again, feedback from owners reveal the brand's disappointing dependability. > 39% of Tesla owners we heard from with a car aged up to four years old had at least one issue they needed to get repaired in the past year, which is twice as high as the average fault rate for cars th…
This has been very contrary to my experience. We have had a fully EV Kia for almost a year now, and it is the most low-drama new car that we have owned by far. Literally zero issues with it (unless you count the slow leak in a tire from a nail). 10 years ago we had a Subaru that came with so many factory defects, we swore off Subaru forever. We have had many VWs, none of which ever broke down. They took a ton of main…
"Almost a year" is hardly enough time to see what the long term reliability will be! Need to track realiability over 20-30 years to see how these models turn out.
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An ICEV chassis does not make a very good EV. The ICEVs that have been converted to EV, like the Ford Focus EV, don’t have enough room for a larger battery and have usually only had a battery with around 70-100 mile range. The battery usually intrudes into the cargo area reducing the space for luggage and groceries. Another problem is that the EV conversion adds a lot to the price. Then at the dealership, customers s…
Serious question, as I don't know much about vehicle physics: Why not just put a bunch in the (now empty) engine compartment and gas tank area to spread them out a bit? Do they weigh a lot more then a fully built ICE engine+transmission/clutch assembly+full gas tank?
A 2018 Fiat 500e (electric, with a tiny battery bank good for only ~90 miles) weighs almost 3000 pounds, whereas the same car with ICE is ~2400lb.
So yes, electric is a lot heavier. And that Fiat battery bank is mostly too small to be practical (had two of these on lease, gone now) so a a larger bank with usable range is even heavier.
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Teslas the majority? I always assume Tesla was a more luxury brand of EVs. Is there any ranking of amount of EVs by brand sold to date? AFAIR Nissan Leaf was selling quite well some time in Europe. And in 2022 I see BYD sold more vehicles than Tesla, but I can't find data for all the EVs sold in the past.
> I always assume Tesla was a more luxury brand of EVs. Aren't EVs in generally really still luxury (or at least high middle tier) brands? Are there EV equivalents of a Civic?
There must be a better way to report these numbers. If Tesla picks a shoddy trunk latch supplier that may reflect poorly on Tesla as a brand, but it tells us nothing about the reliability of EVs. I would be more interested in seeing the reliability of components that are critical to the propulsion of the car.
But at the end of the day if the car is in the shop, it's in the shop. Regardless of reason.
I've had Fiat 500e EVs and they spent more time at the dealer for repairs than any other car I've had in almost 40 years. No, it wasn't for electric motor drivetrain repair but that's no consolation, I still didn't have a car to drive for those weeks.
(Well I have other cars, but had it been my only car, I'd have been stranded.)