The promise of owning an electric vehicle (EV) that provides decent range at a relatively affordable price is just starting to be realized. We’re past the 100-mile maximum range, and we’re now starting to see the price of EVs reach a level that competes with cars with internal combustion engines, especially if you’re researching the vehicles that still qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax rebate and you live in a place where electricity is relatively affordable.
Overall, the lifetime cost of owning an EV is significantly lower than the cost of owning an ICE car, even accounting for the elevated base price. That’s because the cost of fueling an EV is lower. Even in Hawaii, where the cost of electricity is around $0.41 per kilowatt hour, driving a battery electric vehicle (BEV) would save you $1,000 per year if you drive 15,000 miles annually. And that’s if the price of gas is $4.50 per gallon (a pretty good price on the islands these days)!
To be sure, purchasing, insuring, and fueling a vehicle is only part of the equation. What about the total cost of ownership, which includes maintenance? This is where an EV really starts to shine.
We’re not claiming that an electric vehicle is “maintenance-free.” Everything requires some kind of attention at some point. But as we’ll enumerate here, there is a solid list of items that EVs simply aren’t going to need, and one giant one that most people are never going to have to think about.
Batteries
The elephant in the room of EV ownership is the battery pack. It’s absolutely true that an EV that needs a new battery pack is going to be expensive to get running again, just the way an engine replacement would be for an internal combustion-powered vehicle.
The larger the battery pack, the more expensive replacement would be. As cars start utilizing 66-, 72- and even higher kilowatt-hour battery capacity, the cost of replacement will theoretically go up. But market forces have already driven that cost down, and should continue to do so.
Naturally, all of these prices are shocking. Who wants to spend thousands of dollars for a battery? But also consider, who wants to spend thousands of dollars for a new engine, or thousands of dollars for a transmission?
For many electric vehicle owners, none of this is a concern. The Federal Regulation for Electric Car Battery Warranties states that the manufacturer must cover a battery for eight years. Most EV warranties provide better coverage than that, for between eight and 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. For new car EV shoppers, most people will never see the point where they’re presented with a bill for battery replacement.
Oiling System
Since the 1950s, full-pressure oiling systems have been an integral part of keeping an internal combustion engine running for 100,000 miles or more. Prior to full-pressure systems, oil was just slung around by the crankshaft in the hopes that it would reach the cylinder walls.
Oil and filter changes are a routine part of owning an internal combustion engine. Maintenance intervals have extended to around 7,500 miles, due in part to more advanced synthetic fluids, but there are no real cost savings since the materials are that much more expensive.
An EV has no oiling system, so an average oil change that might cost $35 for dino oil versus $70 for synthetic in an internal combustion engine is $0 in an EV.
Cooling System
The cooling system is the Achilles’ Heel of the internal combustion engine. The “combustion” part generates tremendous heat, which has to be cooled in some way to keep the engine from cooking itself. Emission requirements made air cooling obsolete, so every single vehicle sold in America today has a radiator, hoses, a thermostat, a water pump, and belts to turn the pump.
The cooling system requires regular maintenance, including fluid flushes, thermostat replacement, and belt replacement. Those items are generally inexpensive, but replacing a water pump can be a $1,000 repair when it’s ganged together with other maintenance items like timing belts, idler pulleys, serpentine belts, and other expendable items.
A radiator is also getting pretty expensive to replace, and radiator repair is a thing of the past. Every town used to have a radiator shop, but they’re all gone now, in favor of replacement, and a typical radiator replacement costs between $700 and $850, including labor.
EVs have a cooling system, but it’s a type that essentially requires no maintenance. The schedule for the Bolt EUV, for example, is a drain and fill at 150,000 miles. While the annual maintenance cost for maintaining the cooling system in a Camry might be $200 for antifreeze, belts, thermostats and the like, the cost for an EV is near $0.
Fuel and Ignition Systems
Modern internal combustion engines have increasingly complex fuel and ignition systems. There used to be a carburetor, a distributor, and plug wires, but all of that technology is gone. Even on the simplest vehicle available today, the fuel system has fuel injectors, fuel rails, coil packs, and engine control units (ECUs) that manage fuel, spark, and air, the three things that make an engine work.
Replacing a fuel injector on a six-cylinder engine can cost upwards of $400. That’s one injector out of six. An ignition coil replacement can run in the $110 range, again for one coil.
For the EV, the corresponding average annual maintenance cost is $0, since there’s no fuel system to manage.
Emissions and Exhaust System
Ah, the dreaded check engine light. You might know folks who’ve driven a vehicle with a check engine light on for years—not something we would recommend—but if it’s flashing, you’ve got problems that could cause the destruction of your catalytic converter.
O2 sensors are the most common point of failure in an emissions system. Replacing a bad O2 sensor in a popular vehicle like the Kia Soul runs in the $250 range. The Soul has two O2 sensors, one upstream and one downstream of the catalytic converter.
If the catalytic converter goes bad, the replacement cost is around $475. A full exhaust system for the same car runs in the $1,400 range, including the full exhaust pipe and muffler.
Since an EV doesn’t emit anything, it doesn’t have an emissions or exhaust system to maintain. The average annual EV maintenance cost for emissions systems would be $0.
Tires
Here, we’ve reached parity between an EV and a conventional vehicle. No matter what powers the vehicle, the tires are all essentially the same.
At the time of this writing, according to TireRack.com, a full set of the Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422 Plus tires Ford uses for the Escape Titanium would be $890 for four, plus the cost of mount, balance, disposal, and applicable tax. A comparable electric-powered crossover like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 uses the same diameter wheel, but a more expensive tire. According to TireRack.com, a replacement set of Michelin Primacy A/S tires would be $1,076.
General maintenance includes tire rotation, which is the same cost for an EV or an ICE car.
Brakes
Brake replacement is surprisingly costly, no matter what you’re driving. It’s not unheard of for a customer to roll into an automotive service center, be presented with an estimate for brake rotors, calipers, pads, and a set of tires, and decide to simply trade the vehicle in rather than expend the cash on maintenance.
A single brake caliper replacement for a Subaru Outback can run in the neighborhood of $600. That’s the caliper alone. Throw in another $200 for a rotor and $30 for pads, plus labor.
What favors an EV, though, is how the electric motors scavenge energy through the regenerative braking system. A vehicle like the Nissan Leaf, for example, has a “one-pedal driving” feature that dials up the resistance from the electric motor. Instead of shuffling your foot from the accelerator to the brake any time you want to slow down, in this mode, you can simply lift off the accelerator in many cases. The Leaf uses the electric motor’s resistance for most of its braking needs without involving the actual braking system at all. At the same time, it’s using that energy to replenish the batteries.
That doesn’t mean that an EV will never need brake pads, as Elon Musk rather infamously tweeted. But it does mean that if you’re using an EV in this regenerative mode, you can dramatically increase the life of your brake rotors, calipers, pads, shoes, and drums, translating to less maintenance.
What’s more is that “brake-by-wire” technology is starting to filter into vehicles like the Audi e-tron, eliminating the need for a hydraulic system to operate the brakes. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning that it tends to absorb moisture. This not only makes the fluid in the brake lines more susceptible to boiling under extreme conditions, but it also can cause the brake lines to rust from the inside, all while they’re also rusting from the outside during normal operation in winter climates.
Brake-by-wire eliminates brake lines entirely, relying on position sensors and electric brake modules to engage the brakes.
For the moment, most EVs have a conventional hydraulic brake system, so the price comparison is essentially equal, though an EV could be expected to get more out of its brake components when the vehicle is used in the “Eco” or “one-pedal-drive” mode.
Suspension and Steering Systems
As is the case for tires, suspension and steering system maintenance is basically the same for an EV as it is for an ICE. No matter what kind of vehicle you’re driving, it will have springs and shocks or struts to smooth out the ride over bumps, urethane bushings to isolate things like subframes from the passenger cabin, and control arms to keep the wheels located where they’re supposed to be. Any vehicle also has a steering system to point the wheels in the direction you want to go, and all of the components—ball joints, tie rod ends, steering stabilizers, steering racks, and more—require occasional replacement.
Charging
If you drive an EV and you’re like 85 percent of the other EV owners out there, you’ll want a Level 2 home EV charging station of some sort. That can be one that’s hard-wired to your electric panel, or it can be a portable unit that plugs into a dedicated 220-volt plug.
Either way, there’s a cost. The cheapest way out is to have a 220V plug wired either in your garage our outside the house, the way you would for an electric dryer. Costs vary based on location, but figure that the electrician's labor cost will likely start around $500. Then there's the cost of the Level 2 charger itself. Prices vary from below $400 to over $800, depending on the model, and they can be purchased on Amazon and at big-box retailers like Lowes.
Note that manufacturers like Chevrolet are including the cost of a Level 2 charger in the price of a vehicle like the Bolt EUV, and Subaru is offering either a discounted installation of a charger or several free months of charging at one of the remote charging networks. Most manufacturers are offering some kind of assistance, as well.
Average Annual Maintenance Cost
According to AAA, the average annual maintenance cost to keep a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine in top condition every year is $949. The same study suggests that an EV would cost approximately $330 less every year, which makes sense when you consider the individual systems required to keep an ICE running, versus the common systems that both EVs and ICEs share.
Electric Car Maintenance Schedule vs ICE Maintenance Schedule
We've compared two relatively similarly sized vehicles from the same manufacturer. We chose the Chevrolet Trax and the Chevrolet Bolt EUV, which have essentially the same footprint, and looked at the recommended maintenance schedules provided by the automaker. As you can see from the chart we compiled, below, items like replacing cabin air filters and wiper blades and draining and filling coolant circuits apply to both vehicles. Replacing spark plugs and inspecting accessory drive belts, however, are only relevant to the Trax and all the moving parts of its ICE.
The Bottom Line
In general, an initial new EV purchase price is going to be higher, but charging costs will be less than half of what it costs to pump gas, and vehicle maintenance costs will be reduced by about 35 percent.
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