Do electric cars need maintenance?

Obviously, numerous maintenance issues do not exist in EVs, but it is required that you do regular check-ups for its electrical systems including the battery, electrical motor, and minor electronics.

Battery

The battery is the most critical, expensive, and the largest component in an electric car. Depending on how you treat your electric vehicle, such as the options you make about your battery and your battery charging habits directly determines the longevity of your vehicle.

- Keep your battery charge between 20% and 80% whenever possible. Frequent full charge to the battery degrades it more quickly. Leaving the battery at a low charging state for an extended time also is a negative influence on it.

- Extreme temperature is a bad factor for the battery. EV parked in the hot sun for several hours should be strongly avoided. Extreme cold also temporarily reduces the battery range.

- For electric cars, Kia provides a battery warranty of 3 to 10 years. The coverage of Kia’s battery warranty varies, so we recommend to check our warranty page or contact an authorized Kia dealer to find out detailed information of battery warranty.

Brake system

Lifting your foot off the accelerator and/or brake pedals, you are controlling the electric motor to work as a generator, producing electricity that’s fed into the battery pack. The regenerative braking system in your electric car slows the car by using the motor resistance and sends energy back into the battery that allows the brake pads to last for longer. However, electric cars still have friction brakes, as a kind of back-up system situation, it is important for you to be aware that the pressure determines the response of the brake pedal and practice good driving habits, not pushing too hard on the brakes.

Fluids

Electric cars have far fewer fluids to maintain than internal combustion engine cars. Having a thermal management system, the electric car requires a coolant for regulating the temperature of the battery. A windshield wiper fluid and brake fluid also require maintenance. Check your owner’s manual to find out the coolant system intervals which vary from model to model.