Earlier quoted context omitted.
Panel gaps don’t even matter from a pragmatic standpoint.
Big panel gaps = lowered fuel economy. Seems pragmatic to me to care about it.
Lowered by how much?
EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
101–110 of 224 posts
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
Still not the same category as engine failure though
Paint issues can cause problems much more severe in consequence and more expensive to repair than an engine failure. On the body, they may cause corrosion perforations and cause your vehicle to fail inspection. They may flake or peel and require expensive repainting. On structurally significant parts, a coating failure can do this: http://www.rustrepairinc.com/wp-content/gallery/tacoma/GQtFo...
Here are some failure modes to consider:
Paint fails:
- parts rust
- parts eventually fail
- vehicle might bend in two or stop working altoghether
- rust is slow, easily detectable by a mechanic. Takes months or years to do real damage
Engine fails:
- car won't go
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#103I drive a Ford Focus Electric. All of the non-drivetrain parts are standard focus stuff, and are fine. The same mostly-physical-controls UI that non-electric focus has. The usual wear parts wear out just like an ICE car, but the brakes need done a little less often.
And the car is responsive and fun to drive.
The new parts of the design have some rough edges; hopefully these are solved with the newer generation of EVs intended for mass production and making a profit:
- Just like a Tesla, there is a traditional 12V battery that runs accessories when the car is off. This can be drained by rogue modules not shutting down properly. See https://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4302 . I've had this happen several times. It's really annoying to need jump start when the main battery is at 100%.
- This year after 5 years and 50K miles something went wrong with the main battery. Replaced under warranty and apparently uncommon.
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#104I seriously question their methodology. I still daily drive a 2012 leaf, which has never been to a shop in its existence. 2 years on the Tesla and likewise zero issues.
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#105Tesla is(was?) the mover and shaker, basically forced the big makers to adopt and ramp up EV production and engineering operations. As many others here note, the decades of designing ICE vehicles (inhouse or sourcing/sharing designs/materials), and multiple generations of vehicles of various types is all adding up to inform their final product design in ways no engineering team (however highly paid or talented) can compete with. The grocery-getting person in Ohio is not going to think twice when it's an 60k for a buggy used Tesla when Hyundai puts out something for 30 that works and lasts twice as long.
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tesla software is not good overall. The engineering for the batteries is amazing. Drivetrain efficiency is good. The further the software gets from those two things the worse it gets. We ditched our model 3 for an e-tron and could not be happier. We gave up some range for an overall superior product. Our main complaint was the software, especially the shoddy constantly changing main UI. Tesla are good cars for what t…
Quoted post unavailable.
A few reasons why I much prefer the Audi Q4 E-tron to a Model Y;
* It has wireless Carplay - so I don't need to rely on Audi (or Tesla) engineers to provide Spotify or podcast integrations
* It has a physical lever to control the windshield wipers like every other car made in the past 50 years. You don't need to dig through menus to use a critical safety feature.
* It has physical buttons for the HVAC controls - so again, I don't need to look at an obnoxious screen for a feature that shouldn't be software-based to begin with.
I have no doubt that Tesla's "pace of development" is faster and that they're going to ship more updates to improve things but sometimes you don't need in-house software to solve all of your problems.
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
The EV drive trains are simpler, but they've come along with some silly bits like having to electronically open the glove box from the infotainment screen. Is that mechanism going to last 20 years? How about the pop-out door handles? I'm not optimistic. I'm sure the police are going to love that one. "License and registration?" "Sorry officer, they're in the glove compartment and when I tap the button it just makes a…
These are Tesla things though. My VW EV has normal door handles, glove box handle, air vent positioning, manual seats, etc etc.
They may be "Tesla things", but they're in no way related to Tesla's being an EV. The same gadgetry could very well be attached to an ICE vehicle.
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Makes me mad that my mustang has a spot for a spare... But no actual spare They give you a fix it kit and some good wishes edit: I suspect it's something to do with tire size as you say, but also brakes . Can't fit a donut with what's on the hub For > $40k I would've liked they throw in a real spare wheel/tire lol
At that point it was a cost cut. They engineered for a spare but the accountants gave you a can of foam.
The engineers may have pulled the spare to hit CAFE targets, but left the spare well as a cost cut to avoid retooling costs.
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#109In 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.
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.
We bought a model Y for two years of mortgage payments.
It's a dream to drive! But the user experience is abysmal. Menus are deep, the entire dashboard is wasted, including the most valuable real estate in front of the driver, and everything is just too hard.
E.g. Adjusting mirrors takes 3 menu clicks, don't even think of doing it while driving.
Adjusting heating takes two clicks, and when you adjust temp, it clears all your other settings and goes to "auto", which half the time will engage A/C because it's over desired temp by a small amount.
Seat warmer? 2+ clicks on center console. Radio stations? 2+ menus, minimum two if you set up a hotkey bar on the bottom of the tablet.
Map? You're practically looking at the passenger glove box to see it.
As mentioned below, the glove box itself is two menus deep.
I find my wife has a mental thermostat model where she expects the heat to turn off if she dials down the climate control, but that just turns on AC full blast.
I'd pay 5k more to have buttons and dials. I love the car for its drive, but really hate the interior interfaces. This model of "Bolt an ipad to the dash" needs to die.
Re: EVs are the least reliable vehicle type: Consumer Reports
#110This 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 maintenance compared to our EV, though.
We were able to install a level 2 charger in our garage, and this had made the car completely worry free. Also, the experience of driving an EV is so much better than driving a gas powered car. I can't stress enough how much of an upgrade going full EV has been for us.
I guess you need to be careful which specific model you buy, and we avoided Tesla because I felt that I had enough buggy software to deal with in my life, but I would guess that the most reliable EVs are much more reliable than the most reliable legacy gas engine cars. After having our EV, Ithink that they are simply just better, and a complete take over in the industry is inevitable.