Punx0r said:
Hillhater said:
i do know a little about maintenance systems and practices,.. enough to know that the most useful and cost effective maintenance is planned, regular, inspection and lubrication. which is what most of these services are.
So true! An ICE requires regular lubricant changes throughout it's life. A brushless motor (or an inverter or a traction battery) on the other hand requires none, ever. If the motor has a gear reduction then it will almost certainly be filled-for-life...
Tesla shedule is to change the transmission oil at 12500 miles , then every other service.
Leaf id to check level and topup every service.
Punx0r said:
The only maintenance you can do on any of these parts is maybe a coolant change if they are liquid-cooled and there's no reason that can't be at 5+ year intervals due to the lower demands these components put on the coolant.
That is just your opinion. The manufacturers have a more experienced view.
Punx0r said:
Inspections aren't servicing or maintenance. Sure, *maybe* a diagnostic could pick up a weak cell group in a battery, failing insulation in a motor or a dying IGBT in an inverter, but the best it's going to do is prevent a catastrophic failure stranding the vehicle - it's unlikely to reduce the amount or cost of the necessary repairs.
Its a good job you dont work in aircraft maintenance..or any practical cemmercial industry come to that !
inspection is the very foundation of any maintenance program, and the frequency of the inspections is carefully determined to detect faults BEFORE failure occures (think of that aircraft again!). Cars are no different.
Electronics are not "FIT AND FORGET" components. Industries have been using these DC drives and power electronics systems for many years, and there are some comprehensive maintenance schemes even for what might seem a simple control cabinet with all solid state components, simple things like cleaning heat sinks, and filters, checking cooling fans , thermal imaging of all components , cable runs, and connectors, to check for hot spots....before a fire destroys the whole cabinet or plant !
Are you happy for a cell to fail or just "go weak" without any warning ?
There will be hundreds of high voltage, high power , connections in an EV....none of those likely to dry up or work loose ?
So, there is much that could be done, but maybe some EV makers just dont worry.
That "carastrophic failure" might just strand the car....or it might burn it to the ground !