@bleme The article you posted was written about the time my buddy let me test drive his 2012 Leaf. He was telling me at the time how he noticed his battery was starting to degrade. He got it replaced a few months later under warranty and told me it would have cost $6k if it had been out of pocket. Its still his daily commuter and hasnt had any issues since. According to him, just charging at home means an extra $20-40/mo on their electric bill with SoCal Edison rates. With the exception of the battery, He’s essentially done nothing to the car other than A set of brake pads and a few sets of tires. A set of pads will generally last 60-100k if your careful with the regen.
As for a used Prius, I’ve come across these videos that might be worth a watch.
Chrisfix:
Savage Scotty
The Craigslist seller quotes:Ask taxi drivers if the Prius battery is an issue. I talked to a driver on my way to airport and the Prius we were in had just shy of 300k miles on the original battery.
he said that when it needs changing there are cheaper batteries available andthe cost of replacing is less than $1,500. I’m assuming he gets a discount but that’s still far from the belief that they only last 150k miles and replacement batts cost 6k.
I was referring to Scotty’s videos. I didn’t watch this clip but have seen his videos on the Prius where he stated the cost of batteries at 4 or 5k (going by memory).@Kent88 thank you for posting that video. They essentially came to the same conclusion I did as to why we went with Hybrid vs full-EV. My recent trip to west Yellowstone in an older Camry averaged 75 mph. Those speeds combined with the Nevada and Idaho desert temps would have meant plenty of charging time instead of a quick stop to fill up and go. Even in the Prime, the engine kicks on at 85. I have to say Toyota really screwed up with their dash display compared to most other EVs. Theres hardly any useful info regarding operating temps, battery capacity vs charge etc. its like PEV for
idiots. Unless theres a scary light flashing, dont worry bout it.
@AzOr Which video, Chris or Scotty? Also I think you might be getting the battery prices between a Prius and a Leaf mixed. I believe the standard prius has a 4.5kWh battery. My prime has an 8.8kWh. I think the leaf battery is 3X larger than the Prime. Still, $4500 for a new prius battery is steep.
@Kent88 thank you for posting that video. They essentially came to the same conclusion I did as to why we went with Hybrid vs full-EV. My recent trip to west Yellowstone in an older Camry averaged 75 mph. Those speeds combined with the Nevada and Idaho desert temps would have meant plenty of charging time instead of a quick stop to fill up and go. Even in the Prime, the engine kicks on at 85.
Sorry, my mistake in omitting nuclear..... Semantics...
Point is that only 17% of the electricity to recharge your electric vehicle comes from renewable energy sources.
And show me where lithium batteries are at least mostly recyclable.
My thoughts exactly. Until there is an evolution in battery technology and charge times; EVs will be better served for errands and short trips.
My thoughts exactly. Until there is an evolution in battery technology and charge times; EVs will be better served for errands and short trips.
Depends on your definition of "short", I suppose. I think one really has to look at what their existing vehicle does, where they typically drive in a week, how frequently they have an outlier week where they need to drive further, what their charging options are, and what EVs are capable of handling that.
Well, hadn't thought of rental cars for those outliers.
I could've bought a Bolt after all. As I've said, my wife and I almost never go on road trips at the same time, and we already have a big Jeep that we are used to taking on road trips.
It's exceptionally rare that neither of our vehicles are within 40 miles of our house. So yeah, a rental car for a road trip once every few years, it's worth considering. At least in my case.
Not that I'm looking to buy/trade anytime soon. Neither of my vehicles have hit 30,000 miles yet.
That is correct. Chevy has used up all of their credits as of about March 2020. Even then they were reduced from the full credit.I believe the federal tax credits for chevy are either very reduced or have run out. State and local tax credits are likely a different story. It was one of the reasons we bought last Sept instead of waiting a longer. Saved us a few pennies
They were mostly used up from Volt sales. It’s based on EV sales for an entire company, not individual models. In lieu of that, Chevy is offering incentives which are about the same amount.Is the tax credit still going for the Bolt? Do you know if the upcoming Bolt EUV be considered a different enough vehicle that it gets the full tax credit, or do existing Bolt sales count against it?
I'm just going to put this here.
The electricity produced is by fossil fuel and the batteries are toxic when disposal time comes. It’s a false sense of ‘green’ to buy an elec car.
Oh here we go again.
The Volt has 4 modes. Normal, Sport, Mountain, or Hold. Hold uses the engine and maintains current charge. Sport is fun, but uses more battery.A bit OT, but for the others with PEV’s how does the charging mode affect your mileage while your driving. By this I mean the engine charging while driving and not regen from the brakes. Toyota has a “charging” mode that diverts a significant portion of the power to the battery, but absolutely kills your mileage (roughly 35mpg) if your driving at highway speeds (for me thats 70-80mph). Curious what the Rex, Volts etc do for this. I’m honestly not sure WTH toyotas charging mode is supposed to do except keep the battery pack from getting to low.
I tried this on a roadtrip before I found out that the prime will indeed recharge at 70 if on flat ground in hybrid mode. I can drive 200 miles in hybrid mode and end up a few percentage points higher while getting 60-65mpg.
I guess there’s more than one opinion on the matter. I evidently don’t share yours.
When I was looking at getting my car I did wonder whether I'd be stuck replacing the high-voltage battery someday.
While I was car shopping I spoke to a Volt owner who had driven his car for over 200,000 miles and had never had an issue with his high-voltage battery. He wanted to buy another Volt and have one of his kids start driving the old one when he got his license.
Then I saw this. The GM exec did exaggerate the claim, but even after they clarified what Barra meant, it still sounds like the batteries are pretty solid. And as I was looking for a new or gently used vehicle, and I only intend to put 120,000 miles on it (give or take) before selling/trading it, I figured I was in pretty good shape.
May I direct you to your own post, #101, where you mentioned EV carbon footprint. Last time I checked nuclear does not produce any carbon emissions so... thats 39% of the grid that is not producing CO2. I'm a big fan of Nuclear precisely because it isn't causing global warming. I think we should have more electricity made this way.
Ok how about this place.
https://www.retrievtech.com/lithiumionor this one
https://www.batteryrecyclersofamerica.com/electrical-vehicle-battery-recycling/or here
https://cleanlites.com/our-services/battery-recycling/lithium-ion-battery-recycling
There are miles, recharge cycles and time... The differences on whether you would need to replace the battery in your time could vary dramatically.
I guess there’s more than one opinion on the matter. I evidently don’t share yours.
enjoy:
... This video does not take into account the building of the car and mining the lithium. That said it's still good information. Same with Solar Panels. I like the technology and what it can do though I think it is still not as
efficient as it needs to be to make a real difference.
And I don't think you'd get an argument from anyone that solar should become more efficient, but it's already pretty darn efficient, and has a lot of potential to become more efficient.