This was like talking to a real person that knew how to actually fix a battery pack instead of the you need to replace the whole thing story that most people think will happen. I now have 3 EV, would never go back to ICE.
Retired mechanic/Fleet Manager and I give you major props for this in-depth look at the "guts" of a Tesla S and some of the inherent flaws AND your enhancements to avoid those problems. Excellent video sir. Elon, are you watching Liked, Subscribed
Super awesome. That shop did a great job getting up to speed and making business on that. I figured it was only a matter of time a no-nonsense electric repair shop became available.
Alex is worth his weight in gold. He's the type of tech I would want working on my car. It's also nice to listen to someone that calls a motor a motor and an engine an engine.
I spent 36 years (half my life) in Vista, CA, so it's great to see new businesses thriving there. Great show there, Alex. You appear to be quite well informed and happy to be working on EVs. Continued luck to you!
Right on, pat. that stuff it's all yours. You have more knowledge about evs than everything else I've heard combined. WOW. I've been lived in Vista and Ocean side...my brother worked at a nuclear plant all this life, and this guy would impress him electronic discussion.
You Guys Have a Nice shop with customized Tools for every Job, That's Huge, and Your Knowledge on how its done is another Level ! I really hope your guys make your model a franchise
@@abdul-kabiralegbe5660 you have never seen a show called dark matter she was one of the main character's in that show the bad ass captain you can't kill they spaced her she got back in the ship and killed them all and she has a nice ass to boot
I think Mr Musk needs to get Alex onboard. When he said that, they place drains in the motor after a seal is replaced to facilitate any ingress of coolant into the motor at a later date, just shows he knows his stuff. If only others could have the same enthusiasm to their trade as this man.
I heard someone who got theirs replaced at a Tesla service center state that they already had redesigned replacement motors which addressed the issue, which was why he went with that option instead of a rebuilt version that only saved a couple thousand and did not have the same level warranty.
For 5000 a single repair I’m going to learn the electric motor and battery tech been on it for a few but now I’ll just learn all of it thank you for your time in making this
After 200,000 miles of service free, repair free driving. They are rarely in the shop. No oil changes, no cooling system repairs, no transmission fluid…..
@5400bowen How often do you think coolant system repairs are happening? I had a 2001 Chevy Tahoe that I bought brand new and put over 340,000 miles on in 17 years of ownership. I had a coolant leak from a hole in a hose that cost me less than $10 to repair. I had to replace the radiator once and it cost me $150. I also did two coolant flushes that were under $30. I did my own oil changes (the easiest darn thing to do on a car besides replace the engine air filter) for $40 a pop and the oil lasted 7500 miles, so about 50 oil changes. Over the entire 340,000 miles, the only major drive train related repairs was replacing a blown head gasket at 290,000 miles in my friend's home garage for $200, a transmission rebuild at 320,000 miles for $1300 at a transmission shop, 2 fuel filter replacements for $20 a piece, 2 alternator replacements at $80 a piece, and around 40 air filter replacements at $20 a piece. That sounds like a lot, but when you add the total cost, over 340,0000, (10+150+2000+200+1300+40+160+800=4660) it cost me less than $5000 to maintain a 5.3L V8 engine. It cost that much just to repair one drive motor on a Tesla Model S at less than 200,000 and it cost $10,000 to replace a Tesla Model S battery at the same interval. You're not saving any money at all on repairs for an EV. You're going to spend almost 3 times as much.
@@k4everut who ever talked about cost and convenience? In 340,000 miles that’s at least 11 coolant changes. Times 80,000,000 cars. Times all the cars since 1910-1920. You do know how to do arithmetic? My point is the poisonous chemicals and pollution on top of the cost, not your personal DIY cost and convenience. How much did it cost for all the oils changes and coolant changes? How much toxic fluids where used. 80 million is just the US. Learn reading comprehension and arithmetic. Now….no oil changes and no coolant changes, virtually no trani fluid…electric. Most people don’t do there own repairs. And you aren’t considering diesel trucks. My 2006 Ford F250 diesel uses 15 quarts of oil every 3-5 thousand miles. As a matter of fact, me being an ex auto machinist, you aren’t considering most of the drawbacks of internal combustion engines. And there are hundreds. Ever think about what it takes to move and process all that gas, diesel, motor oil, trani fluid, and the poison it takes to make and transport coolant? Where does it all go? To Jupiter? And what if you had not had to do that work, are you saying the average person would not enjoy not having ANY maintenance for about 200,000 miles as on electric cars? You really would sit down with people and tell them that is meaningless? Tell that to my daughter in law, and listen while she laughs hysterically in your face.
@@k4everut oh…and 200,000 miles on a motor. You are delirious. I just watched a video about a 1901 original electric car. An unknown brand…1901…the original motor was still working…let me repeat for the thickheaded, THE ORIGINAL 1901ELECTRIC MOTOR WAS STILL WORKONG. 200,000 miles you say, Mr automotive expert? And you did not get a “transmission rebuild” for $1,300, they fixed it, they did NOT rebuild it, $1,300 would not cover the parts alone for a rebuild on that trani. I worked in and automotive machine shop. You left out all the real facts.
Shops like this are so valuable. Was fortunate to find a place in the UK who repaired my on-board charger for a sixth of the price the dealer quoted to replace it.
@@debbiekonkin5768 Where is this happening? And how do we know for a fact that it's the EVs causing it? To my knowledge, blackouts can happen for a multitude or reasons, same as brown outs.
@@debbiekonkin5768 Well, like I said, where is this happening, and are we sure it's the EVs causing it. But seeing as you could not give me information for either, I'm going to assume it's a lie or just standard EV hate. By the way, an EV that uses a standard 110v outlet at 12A only consumes about 1,300 watts of power. This is enough to recover a bit over 10 kWh's overnight, which is a well over 50 miles, per day, which is also more than what most people drive every day.
@@debbiekonkin5768 “1300 watts at 120 volts x 14-16 hours NON stop might get you 10kwh, it will take a week to fully charge at 120 volts, NON stop.” This is assuming that all EVs have the same battery capacity and charging speed, as well as the battery being completely empty every time you charge, which is not the case at all. Assuming a person only charges their EV to 80% for daily use as recommended by most manufacturers, and considering the average person only drives around 37 miles per day. A level 1 charger (110v outlet at 1.4kW) will cover their needs and then some with overnight charging. This person would only have to resort to public chargers or a faster charger if they were going on a road trip. “UK, California Charge rage, California, brown out warnings, do not use your AC and do not plug in your EVs.” This implies that EV charging is causing power shortages and grid instability, which isn't supported by any of your claims, and is limited to one state in an entire country. EV owners can charge their vehicles during off-peak hours when electricity demand is low and prices are cheap, or they can use smart charging technologies that adjust the charging rate based on grid conditions and user preferences. Some EVs can also provide backup power to the grid or to the home in case of emergencies, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning or the Tesla Powerwall. The real reason this happens is much more complex and is due to a number of reasons. Some of them being extreme and widespread heat waves, which increase demand for air conditioning and reduce the supply of hydroelectric power due to drought conditions. Inadequate planning and forecasting for the peak demand periods and the transition from solar to natural gas generation in the evening hours, when the sun set and people return home. Market failures and inefficiencies that allowed some power plants to export electricity to other states when it was needed in California, or prevented them from importing electricity from neighboring regions due to transmission constraints or price differences. “It now cost more in the UK for a road trip using an EV vs a gas or diesel car.” This claim is based on a flawed comparison that ignores the differences in fuel costs, maintenance costs, and tax incentives between EVs and gas or diesel cars. The UK Department of Transportation says the average cost of driving an EV in the UK was 3.3 pence per mile, compared to 9.9 pence per mile for a petrol car and 8.9 pence per mile for a diesel car. EV owners can also benefit from various tax incentives, such as lower vehicle excise duty. “In the UK, you now have to pay an annual fee/permit if you want a charger installed at your home.” The annual fee/permit that you are claiming refers to a new regulation that requires local authorities to issue permits for the installation of on-street EV charging points, not for home charging points. This regulation is intended to ensure that on-street EV charging points are safe, accessible, and complaint with the national standards. It does not affect EV owners who want to install charging points at their homes, as they do not need to apply for permits or pay fees for that. Furthermore, EV owners who want to install home charging points can receive grants from the government that cover up to 75% of the installation cost, up to a maximum of £350. “Everyone who doesn’t use an EV now has to pay higher electricity costs.” This claim is false, as there is no evidence that EV charging is increasing electricity prices for non-EV users. For example, a study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy found that if 40% of light-duty vehicles in the US were electrified by 2035, the average electricity price would decrease by 0.5% for all customers, saving $17 billion per year. Another study by the International Council on Clean Transportation found that if 40% of new car sales in Europe were electric by 2030, the average electricity price would decrease by 1.3% for all customers, saving €13 billion per year.
It surprises me independent shops can work on any of this. The OEMs work very hard to keep them out of their service business. For example, the newest iteration of Tesla battery packs are filled with expanded pink foam to prevent repair or replacement of individual cells.
This is what will kill the EV industry. There needs to be a standardised battery system, like A packs for small cars B packs for medium ect ect. The packs also need to have standardised bricks inside so repair centres can fix them, just how lead acid batteries get replaced and recycled. Corporate greed is killing the EV lols. Also they catch fire too.
I enjoyed the "interview" and am grateful that Alex could just talk to us without interruption. I have been driving EV's for several years including a Camry Hybrid, a Nissan Leaf (8 years), a Chevy Volt, and currently a 2023 Chevy Bolt. I haven't had any of the issues everyone feared but know they can break down. I am thankful to charge up at work and home and avoid the gas stations.
Hell, any backyard mechanic that has done a moderate amount of mechanical work has probably designed and built their own tools. Nothing new to see here
These repair cost numbers sort of scare me off. I don't know if the fuel savings is sufficient to vest a repair fund. And finding an honest EV shop is more difficult than finding knowledgeable ICE service stations.Very well presented video, thank you. Patent the fixtures before Elon does.
Comparatively, you will spend similar amounts for drivetrain failures in an ICE vehicle. Engine swaps range from $4,000 - $12,000 depending on vehicle and damage. Labor and parts add up on all the other systems that will fail too. Battery costs are dropping which is something ICE can't claim. Eventually, the long term, cumulative purchase of your gas will amount to buying a battery pack. EV failure rate is up to 35% lower per 1,000 vehicles according to the latest ADAC report.
@@mbabcock111it should also be mentioned, if you replace the engine or transmission in your car it’s the same as before. On the other hand, that pack replacement is nearly tripling the range of the vehicle! He didn’t mention it, but the car will have increased acceleration and the battery will run cooler increasing it’s life. I guess in a sense replacing a pack is like upgrading your engine to get much better fuel mileage while adding a small turbo and using better hardware.
This is the first in depth EV tech talk that has ever kept my attention. Watched the entire thing! I want an EV even less now than before I watched… but the video was great.
Every new technology takes time to mature. Currently EV's are for well off people owning a home for charging overnight (not for those who live in apartments and condos) and can actually afford higher costs EV's compared to regular cars. Just like you can pick up a $200 smartphone that works compared to over $500 10 years ago, same will happen with EV's.
@@BillAnt Back in 2010 when I bought a HTC Touch Pro 2, they were $850 for a proper real smartphone that can run internet services apps and HSDPA 3G connection.
@@evanthompson8925 Couldn't agree less, this is the worst case scenario for EVs. It's highly unlikely and will only get better with more modern EVs. Very comforting.
Outstanding, I saw this channel for the first time and have nothing but high praise for this type of repair work to bring costs down to something more manageable! This begins to break down the barriers that cause the EV market to repel prospective customers because of their concerns about long term reliability. BRAVO keep up the good work.
Oh GREAT! Glad to see folks like this shop looking at practical and value-added ways to serve the EV industry. Reckon we are gonna need a lot more of them very shortly.
Yeah worry not indeed, but what about the horrendous insurance premiums and equally horrific depreciation! If you’re wealthy enough you may be able to absorb the costs of running an EV but if you’re a blue collar worker with limited funds to spend on transport you’ll be out of luck and resigned to push bike’s for your transport requirements. The push for EV’s has nothing to do with climate control, it’s about control full stop where only the wealthy elites will have access to personal transport, the rest of us will have to suck it up if these clowns get their way. So yeah, no need to worry!!!……
@@Bluenose7 Well Sir, I think you may be way too pessimistic about so many things you mention. Tesla already has its own vehicle insurance company to specifically insure Tesla cars. It drastically alters premiums according to vehicle/driver behavior that they monitor all the time. The buy price of a quality EV is still rather high, but dropping precipitously in just one year due to tech and manufacturing advancements. There are many EV's already that sell at lower cost than comparable ICE cars due to Government rebate incentives initially but such support to encourage EV adoption by the public will not be required for much longer. The annual depreciation on a quality EV is VERY LOW. Wealthy elites? Oh what nonsense. Moving to Global mobile electrification is highly beneficial. Because over a million people will then NOT die each year from diseases caused by ingestion of particulate emissions. Climate change will likely not be halted by removing ICE power plants over time, but it will certainly arrest many of the weather extremes and also have a major impact on general health and wellbeing of most people globally. The rapid upsurge in local power generation (typically wind & solar + storage for 24/7 energy access) will almost certainly become an economical way to bring nearly free energy to remote and struggling communities - particularly in African nations.
@@Bluenose7 100 %correct, forced on us all, designed to fail to get us out of private auto ownership to subscription based ownership, which is a car loan that never. Ends
Having owned several Prius, changing out defective modules or cells is a temporary fix. Because other cells/modules will also fail in a few months. Thus its best to replace entire battery unless you’re going to fix the battery long enough to sale/tradein to make it someone else’s problem.
You make it sound like every EV suffers from all these problems. LOL Any of the EV-cost-of-ownership videos on YT should ease your mind a whole lot, including the guy who drove his Tesla for a million miles.
@@ljprep6250 And his Teslas "battery pack replaced at least twice, which isn't bad considering 1 million miles. In addition, he's on his eighth electric motor " , so Tesla is not better than regular car in case of reliability or longevity. Other can do better e.g. Toyota hybrids can go over 300K-400K miles without battery or engine change (google 400K Rav4 XSE).
@@igortokarev2350indeed, city cabs get 500k on average with a Camry. EVs should be reliable, but the quality and QC at Tesla is awful, and they keep changing designs to make the cars less servicable. Don't buy any car with a GigaPress frame, they cannot service the battery and minor collisions are write offs, which explains why Tesla insurance is so high. EVs will be great when better designs get to market from real car companies.
@@igortokarev2350they are much better in terms of reliability because they are at a fair earlier stage in development than internal combustion engines but allready reaching similar or better reliability
Very informative and if I had an electric vehicle with problems, I would think this shop would be able to fix it. However, this video also helped to convince me I don't want an electric vehicle. 5,000 dollars here, 12,000 dollars there, these are not costs most of us can adsorb and even more scary, it's very possible they happen while still making payments on the vehicle purchase. I own a Hyundai, with over 130,000 miles on it. The EV equivalent, well, there really is no equivalent, but maybe the Rivian at more than twice the price. The closest version I can get from Hyundai is smaller and 20,000 more. But at 130,000 miles, I have done most of my own work on the vehicle and the most expensive thing I had done is bought new tires, I just put on the second set. I have done the brakes once, changed oil, gear oil, filters and spark plugs (plus coils, but they had not failed, I just thought I would do it while changing the spark plugs). The vehicle has so far, zero dollars in unexpected repairs. ZERO. Nothing is broken on it. I drove it 1,200 miles for a wedding, which I don't know if it's even possible in a vehicle that might only have a 240 mile range and I did it in one day, adding 8 or more hours to that trip would have been pretty discouraging.
1,200 miles is 20 hours. It takes 30 minutes to recharge a Lightning truck to drive 240 miles towing a big load. So 3 stops at 1/2 hour each in twenty hours. Just enough for meal and bathroom breaks. And the charging was WAY cheaper than the gas would have been.
Here in France resale valueof a car is extremely affected by having proof of work done on the car from a professional shop like receipts. I was thinking about learning to do this work by myself but I realized i wasn't worth it from an economical perspective. I could do it as an hobby on an old beater just for fun, but I don't care too much about it.
There was a video on here that I watched yesterday about the scandalous $61,000 that Hyundai are charging for EV batteries in Canada. These crap milk floats aren't worth repairing; why bother? So many uploads on RUclips are now confirming that these abominations are throwaway consumer items.
You learned that they are very expensive to fix when they do break, parts are a pain to source, and that many times you are just paying four figures to put used or rebuilt parts in your car. 🤷♂️
Here is something I have been pondering as a farmer. Tractors and skid steers on my farm do two different types of work, haying, field work and then chores. The chores take a short time every day and electrified skid steers and tractors could easily do them between charges. What about using these used eclectic motors in second hand skid steers and tractors for that purpose? Could potentially be a huge market I would think.
That was a most brilliant lecture by a very good lecturer, just like being in a classroom ! thank you very much for teaching me quite a lot about the "secrets" of the electric cars. Glad tidings from across the pond in Cornwall UK👋👍👊
Enjoyed this walkthrough. I’ve seen a lot of ICE repair videos but not any EV ones yet. So interesting to see how few parts there are but also the unique challenges and things to watch out for. Great work.
@@KonduitEV Here in the UK we have HEVRA - Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Repair Alliance - offering training courses for mechanics and technicians who wish to gain the necessary skills and qualifications to work on EV's....... We already have a sprinkling of independent EV specialists/repairers who can offer servicing, repairs and battery pack refurbishments here in the UK......
@@Brian-om2hh we have that here too. But regardless, EV’s are simple enough that a blind, deaf, r*tard can work on them. The issue is manufacturers who don’t play fair and lock us out of getting parts, software, and repair info.
i’m glad that he made the comparison that the leaking drive unit is the equivalent of the head gasket on an ice vehicle. This will be the hopefully the foundation of the next generation of mechanics creates jobs in the EV industry. We just need the manufacturers to start playing, nice and ensuring that the vehicles can be worked on by third parties and lock them out
It would seem to me that if you added a pump and pressure transducer to the coolant loop, you could create a slight pressure and monitor for significant changes, a realtime warning system that your coolant loop is not holding pressure.
The coolant drain mod allows you to monitor for lost/dripping coolant. You can also monitor your drive unit coolant level in the reservoir. The cooling system likely doesn't see a measurable loss of coolant pressure unless the seal is almost totally gone... the problematic shaft seal is on the lower pressure/return side of the rotor shaft cooling loop.
Model 3 & Model Y just does not use coolant inside the Drive Unit. Instead it uses Automatic Transmission Fluid specifically Pentosin ATF9 cooled and lubricated. That is how that problem was avoided.
@@Neojhun Indeed, as do the dual motor (non-performance) S/X which started production in late 2014. Generally speaking, the 2nd gen and up oil cooled motors are WAY more reliable than the 1st gen water/glycol cooled "Large Drive Unit". Tesla definitely learned from their mistakes on that one, it's just a shame they have never fixed the LDU issues, especially considering they continued to use them in RWD and Performance variants of the S/X all the way through to 2021. - Alex @ QC Charge
@@Alex_Bessinger Even from the video, I could see you're not only very knowledgeable, but good at explanations and open (honest/candid). Plus your willingness to interact in the comments section is great. I wish you the absolute best in your business because people like you are rare. I would gladly work for you if I lived in the US even though I'm on the ICE maintenance business. Cheers.
Inspecting & diagnosing issues with Tesla battery packs is an opportunity to see how their build techniques & materials/parts are holding up in real world use. Too bad Tesla is part of the “It’s broke, just buy a new one. See our sales dept.” mentality.
You described every manufacturer. It's actually more "Does it cost more in time to repair, or slot in a new unit?" . That's where the second tier "repairers" come to the fore. . Same situation, different day. . The difference now is that where every vehicle had their "Top ten faults", an EV has let's say "30 known but not so common" problems, where an ICE vehicle might have 200 similar issues. . As mentioned here. Seals (going to happen) Fluid (going to happen) Electronics (going to happen, often as a result of 👆) Component (cell) failure (falls into the "rare" category) Mechanical failure (Mounts, bushes, etc.... There's a lot of torque) But as far as drive goes, that's about it. ICE? How long have you got? . Re "Tesla build techniques / materials/ parts" . They suffered the same issues as others (Model S drive shafts for example, bought in component quality) it's one reason they build more in house now.
@@rogerstarkey5390I specialize on German brands,and the MB B Class is basically a Tesla powertrain. The drive motor on those is a common failure, and I’ve seen it happen in as little as 90k miles 🤷♂️. Sadly, they don’t want to sell you any parts to fix it. They want to sell you the whole motor. Which is north of 5k
Amazing video. This guy is so knowledgeable, and truly talented at explaining technical stuff in a way that makes it fun and easy to understand. I hope EVs do not take over the world but, if they do, I only wish there are more shops like this one.
You are right!!! We will have a hard time ,,,, finding someone to fix this engine,,, an. The cost is crazy !! Wow I think I will drive my gas car till the wheels fall off !!!! lol. 😮😮😮😮😮😮
Excellent video...It sucks that the seal may only last till 50,000 miles....I think that is so wrong....for what is paid for these cars they should last a minimum of 100,000 miles...and Tesla not trying to fix the battery packs...I'll stick with ICE cars where I can do alot of the work myself.....
Nice video, looking to see more data on the coolant leaks. 40-50k miles isn’t that much though, to have $5-7k repairs after 2-3 years is ludicrous, let alone $20k for a battery pack, that’s more than a cheap new car. As far as the reasons Tesla doesn’t rebuild/repair the individual modules, besides the labor, mismatching individual new and old cells in large battery packs puts a lot of stress on the old ones. Think of it as a bed with springs, over time they loosen up, replacing a single spring with a much stiffer one puts a lot of stress on the fabric and neighboring springs especially as they get rapidly compressed and released. Batteries, like the springs connected with fabric will end up charging/discharging each other, causing hot spots which is bad all around.
Always said it’s the battery and it’s issue’s but listening to all of the failures on motor’s and coolant issues makes my decision to ride a bike even better!
Same here, I've given up cars, ice too expensive to run these days and electric cars don't interest me in the same way ice does, looking at boats now instead of cars!
In Australia, they seem to have an issue with cost to company. It's more economic / quicker just to replace.. The time it takes to repair they could have done more replacements at same price or more. Example. I had brakes done and instead of machining discs they replaced the lot . Cost me $1000 easier for them.
Really informative video. I'm still reluctant to warm up to the idea of EV's. My three main concerns are 1) The initial price of ownership.. 2) Their limited range on a single charge and 3) The exorbitant cost of repairs or replacements of the batteries and or electric motors.
Here in the UK, we are beginning to see new EV's priced the same as equivalent ICE cars. Is 200 miles or more *really* a "limited" range? Exactly what "exhorbitant" repairs or replacements are you referring to? The battery pack can be refurbished for a fraction of the cost of replacing the whole battery pack. I never heard of a motor in an EV being replaced yet. Warranty-wise, a UK based used car warranty specialist published some details of claims made on the cover they offer, a little while ago. One particular claim, for a new engine in a prestigious German car, amounted to £8000+......
As much as I'm tempted to jump in now it's probably the wrong time. Solid state batteries are said to be coming to EVs in 2025. That will completely change the landscape of everything from range to charging. At 400 mile range and minutes to fill up they wouldn't be much different than ICE vehicles.
@@Brian-om2hh yes, 200 miles is limited….it’s okay if you don’t use A/C or lights and windscreen wipers, but if you do, range drops to 129 miles. Very stressful when planning a journey…….and…..especially if you plan your journey around charging stations that are out of order when you turn up. New charging stations are way behind government targets, and are not keeping pace with EV ownership. I believe the target ratio is 9-1 but is currently 16-1, so 16 vehicles to 1 charging point, not taking into consideration OOO points.
Great video. I was told that the 2011 Nissan Leaf can only use the original battery and the later, larger batteries would not communicate with the car's systems properly. I'm down to 30 mile range on mine. Any repair/replacement might be worthwhile for me. Any help there?
Just search Replace Nissan Leaf 🍃 battery - and there's companies that specialize in this very thing; potential to put you over 100 miles if the new pack fits! (2013 Leaf owner - typically getting 70 miles)
Nice to learn the motors use coolant, bearings wear out, stators rust, and more. Haven't seen this info anywhere else. Just nice to know what you're in for if you buy an EV. Thanks.
Just *this* motor design has these problems. It's important to keep in mind this was Tesla's first try at building a motor from scratch, and suffice it to say they learned from their mistakes on later iterations, which is a very different design and doesn't suffer from any of these failure modes... My own personal daily driver is a 2015 Model S which uses 2nd gen motors. The front one lasted ~375k mi, and the rear is still original at 447k mi and counting. -Alex @ QC Charge
@@Alex_BessingerYou do understand the EV market is not just Tesla? Plenty of EV’s use bearings, and fluids, and other items that will require service. The latest trend right now is hybrids with 48v systems instead of the traditional 12v systems. 48v allows many mechanical components on ICE engines to be replaced with electric variants instead. Things like cam phasers, brake calipers, eccentric shafts/auxiliary shafts. To name a few. Step outside the cult once in a while.
thank you 🙏 for awesome presentation. helps a ton deciding between an EV , Plug-in Hybrid or trusty affordable regular Hybrid ( my old NiMH Prius , 200k miles ongoing 😊👍 )
My 2014 Chevy Volt gets about 40 miles in summer and low 30’s in winter. I don’t think it’s degraded at all in almost 10 years. Love the Volt which they didn’t discontinue it. Not sure I can make the leap to full battery power seeing so many issues such battery packs.
I'm not a fan of electric cars, but Alex is certainly very impressive with his knowledge. Having to make his own specialist tools to service these monsters shows a real pioneering spirit. These things are never going to be as popular as ICE cars, unless the servicing costs can be substantially reduced, and reliability and durability increased. Replacement costs of batteries are frankly laughable for most people.
It's worth remembering that most things get cheaper as technology develops. The Model T was $850 in 1909 but was under $300 by 1924. The original Model S in 2012 was around $75,000 in today's money, but tech evolution has allowed the creation of far cheaper models that get more range on a charge than the original Model S. Obviously, we can't predict the future. But, with technology for EVs already evolving so fast, it'll be hard to believe if another decade doesn't bring much more affordable repairs and replacements to the table.
Climate change is real and is driven by the use of fossil fuels. EV's are part of the solution, along with solar and wind power sources. So, sorry but ICE cars have a limited future. We have an EV; it is incredibly cheap to run (Mostly charged from our rooftop solar), goes 500km on a charge, never had any "range anxiety" once we realized how good it is. No servicing costs, ultra reliable. And it is by FAR the peppiest car I've ever owned. Like other EV owners, would never want an ICE again. Cheers! Chris, NZ.
WTF? reliability and durability has never been the problem and is the key point where it is better than ICE? The servicing and parts replacement problem is not based on cost. It's main cause is lack of Supply Chain and Organizational Resources to deploy these necessity. Granted all these 1st gen mass produced BEVs are being neglected and not enough resources is being spent on Servicing and Parts availability. This is very much another chicken and egg problem not wanting to spend resources on a limited market.
@@Neojhun Very astute observation. Right now, you can walk into any dealer service department or auto parts store and buy most parts you could ever want for an ICE vehicle, and usually there are cheaper aftermarket part alternatives available as well. Right now though, the same can't be said for EVs, so supply chain is a very real issue. That's why we've had to create our own supply chain with custom parts, tools and lots of research. For many parts and repairs we are forced to lean heavily on used parts. With time and higher volume, parts vendors will conform to meet the needs of the market, but for the time being, we work with what we've got. Right now we are actually currently working with a partner for aftermarket batteries for the Nissan LEAF, and there may be a potential to expand to other vehicles as well. - Alex @ QC Charge
I hope EV manufacturers see content like this and get feedback so they can make their cars easier to work on as well as start to make tools for shops like this one. Or maybe the shops can start making the tools to sell at production level?
that's never going to happen, the money for automakers is in servicing and planned obsolesce, not in initial sales. There is zero reason for them to do what you suggested.
Have cars gotten easier to work on in the last twenty years? Despite what people want cars have become almost impossible for the regular guy to work on. Just to change a battery you almost have to remove the entire front end of the car. What makes you think auto manufacturers give a hoot about what the people want?
If you gave me the choice of driving coast to coast in the first car I ever drove, a 1941 Packard Super 8, or a brand new electric, I'd take the now 83 year old Packard!!!! BTW, I am past 80.
very good video! the realities of car ownership is not just paying for it and driving but also servicing, repairs, parts, etc throughout its lifetime or at least how long an owner drives it...
I can tell you why a dealer would not repair a battery, especially a high mileage one. When 6 months go by and there is another bad cell in a different section(module) they are gonna expect it to be repaired for free under warranty. Its a good idea but if you have 4 failures over 2 years you could have had a complete new unit for the cost of 4 repaired sections and 12 original sections that are just waiting to fail. Have you run into issues like that and if so how do you address it?
Dude what a fantastic video. Kudos to you man. The knowledge you have is dope. Hope you can educate the rest of the future youth engineers down the road. Your skills are priceless for the electric future. Props man.
Pioneers in a new field… establishing a new standard…best of luck to you guys! Question? Tesla parts availability … lead time? How much do they mark up their parts?
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
This was excellent. Someone that calmly knows their stuff, and speaks carefully and diplomatically with no exaggeration.
wait wait wait hold on a sec you thought Tesla made cars that can be fixed oh you silly french people and your castles🤣🤣🤣
This was like talking to a real person that knew how to actually fix a battery pack instead of the you need to replace the whole thing story that most people think will happen. I now have 3 EV, would never go back to ICE.
@@Fleshybitz have you put a nuclear reactor in the back to recharge your battery pack yet?
@@SaraMorgan-ym6ue I ordered one on Amazon. 😁
A real engineer
Retired mechanic/Fleet Manager and I give you major props for this in-depth look at the "guts" of a Tesla S and some of the inherent flaws AND your enhancements to avoid those problems. Excellent video sir.
Elon, are you watching
Liked, Subscribed
Elon cares about one thing $$$
@@CODY1989........... that's a pretty silly claim.
Well I bet you learned now why the bearings fail on the LDU :)
Alex was impressive. I'm not much of a RUclips commenter, but Alex was knowledgable and succinct. A big Thank You !
You're very welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
Super awesome. That shop did a great job getting up to speed and making business on that. I figured it was only a matter of time a no-nonsense electric repair shop became available.
Your only error was “a” no-nonsense shop. The phrase is no non-sense shops..gotta put that s on the end of shop! HIH-HEEEEE!
Alex is worth his weight in gold. He's the type of tech I would want working on my car. It's also nice to listen to someone that calls a motor a motor and an engine an engine.
Gone are the engineers, here come the motoreers.
I spent 36 years (half my life) in Vista, CA, so it's great to see new businesses thriving there. Great show there, Alex. You appear to be quite well informed and happy to be working on EVs. Continued luck to you!
Only government "thrives" in California!
I’m wondering if these guys have patents on their modifications. Seems like a good idea anyway.
Right on, pat. that stuff it's all yours. You have more knowledge about evs than everything else I've heard combined. WOW. I've been lived in Vista and Ocean side...my brother worked at a nuclear plant all this life, and this guy would impress him electronic discussion.
An EV ambassador for his engineering skills. Excellent consumer information. Calm unassuming modest presentation.
Boy, saying QCCharge is a pioneer is a serious understatement.
You Guys Have a Nice shop with customized Tools for every Job, That's Huge, and Your Knowledge on how its done is another Level ! I really hope your guys make your model a franchise
Shops like this are so important! Awesome job❤
Agreed!
Alex is very impressive with his knowledge of and presentation of the EV components. Very, very informative and interesting. Thanks for sharing.
it goes to show that ev battery's can last a long time if you maintain them by replacing the bad cell instead of the whole pack simple
He says over 200k miles? He’s acknowledging the car lasted less than infinity or maybe infinity? No he’s gaslighting idiots
@@raven4k998 Isn't your profile picture that of a Hispanic soap opera actress (from the Charlie Flow TV series)?
@@abdul-kabiralegbe5660 you have never seen a show called dark matter she was one of the main character's in that show the bad ass captain you can't kill they spaced her she got back in the ship and killed them all and she has a nice ass to boot
@@raven4k998 Thanks. I'll look up the show on Google.
I think Mr Musk needs to get Alex onboard. When he said that, they place drains in the motor after a seal is replaced to facilitate any ingress of coolant into the motor at a later date, just shows he knows his stuff. If only others could have the same enthusiasm to their trade as this man.
I heard someone who got theirs replaced at a Tesla service center state that they already had redesigned replacement motors which addressed the issue, which was why he went with that option instead of a rebuilt version that only saved a couple thousand and did not have the same level warranty.
For 5000 a single repair
I’m going to learn the electric motor and battery tech been on it for a few but now I’ll just learn all of it thank you for your time in making this
Thanks for watching!
After 200,000 miles of service free, repair free driving. They are rarely in the shop. No oil changes, no cooling system repairs, no transmission fluid…..
@5400bowen How often do you think coolant system repairs are happening? I had a 2001 Chevy Tahoe that I bought brand new and put over 340,000 miles on in 17 years of ownership. I had a coolant leak from a hole in a hose that cost me less than $10 to repair. I had to replace the radiator once and it cost me $150. I also did two coolant flushes that were under $30. I did my own oil changes (the easiest darn thing to do on a car besides replace the engine air filter) for $40 a pop and the oil lasted 7500 miles, so about 50 oil changes. Over the entire 340,000 miles, the only major drive train related repairs was replacing a blown head gasket at 290,000 miles in my friend's home garage for $200, a transmission rebuild at 320,000 miles for $1300 at a transmission shop, 2 fuel filter replacements for $20 a piece, 2 alternator replacements at $80 a piece, and around 40 air filter replacements at $20 a piece. That sounds like a lot, but when you add the total cost, over 340,0000, (10+150+2000+200+1300+40+160+800=4660) it cost me less than $5000 to maintain a 5.3L V8 engine. It cost that much just to repair one drive motor on a Tesla Model S at less than 200,000 and it cost $10,000 to replace a Tesla Model S battery at the same interval. You're not saving any money at all on repairs for an EV. You're going to spend almost 3 times as much.
@@k4everut who ever talked about cost and convenience? In 340,000 miles that’s at least 11 coolant changes. Times 80,000,000 cars. Times all the cars since 1910-1920. You do know how to do arithmetic? My point is the poisonous chemicals and pollution on top of the cost, not your personal DIY cost and convenience. How much did it cost for all the oils changes and coolant changes? How much toxic fluids where used. 80 million is just the US. Learn reading comprehension and arithmetic. Now….no oil changes and no coolant changes, virtually no trani fluid…electric. Most people don’t do there own repairs. And you aren’t considering diesel trucks. My 2006 Ford F250 diesel uses 15 quarts of oil every 3-5 thousand miles. As a matter of fact, me being an ex auto machinist, you aren’t considering most of the drawbacks of internal combustion engines. And there are hundreds. Ever think about what it takes to move and process all that gas, diesel, motor oil, trani fluid, and the poison it takes to make and transport coolant? Where does it all go? To Jupiter? And what if you had not had to do that work, are you saying the average person would not enjoy not having ANY maintenance for about 200,000 miles as on electric cars? You really would sit down with people and tell them that is meaningless? Tell that to my daughter in law, and listen while she laughs hysterically in your face.
@@k4everut oh…and 200,000 miles on a motor. You are delirious. I just watched a video about a 1901 original electric car. An unknown brand…1901…the original motor was still working…let me repeat for the thickheaded, THE ORIGINAL 1901ELECTRIC MOTOR WAS STILL WORKONG. 200,000 miles you say, Mr automotive expert? And you did not get a “transmission rebuild” for $1,300, they fixed it, they did NOT rebuild it, $1,300 would not cover the parts alone for a rebuild on that trani. I worked in and automotive machine shop. You left out all the real facts.
Shops like this are so valuable. Was fortunate to find a place in the UK who repaired my on-board charger for a sixth of the price the dealer quoted to replace it.
Alex is extremely well versed in these EVs...opens your eyes about repairs on these.
Well done.
Excellent portrayal of the pros and cons of owning an electric vehicle Alex, thank you!!
So why is the comments option blocked
More full anyone owning an EV
@@debbiekonkin5768 Where is this happening? And how do we know for a fact that it's the EVs causing it? To my knowledge, blackouts can happen for a multitude or reasons, same as brown outs.
@@debbiekonkin5768 Well, like I said, where is this happening, and are we sure it's the EVs causing it. But seeing as you could not give me information for either, I'm going to assume it's a lie or just standard EV hate. By the way, an EV that uses a standard 110v outlet at 12A only consumes about 1,300 watts of power. This is enough to recover a bit over 10 kWh's overnight, which is a well over 50 miles, per day, which is also more than what most people drive every day.
@@debbiekonkin5768 “1300 watts at 120 volts x 14-16 hours NON stop might get you 10kwh, it will take a week to fully charge at 120 volts, NON stop.” This is assuming that all EVs have the same battery capacity and charging speed, as well as the battery being completely empty every time you charge, which is not the case at all. Assuming a person only charges their EV to 80% for daily use as recommended by most manufacturers, and considering the average person only drives around 37 miles per day. A level 1 charger (110v outlet at 1.4kW) will cover their needs and then some with overnight charging. This person would only have to resort to public chargers or a faster charger if they were going on a road trip.
“UK, California Charge rage, California, brown out warnings, do not use your AC and do not plug in your EVs.” This implies that EV charging is causing power shortages and grid instability, which isn't supported by any of your claims, and is limited to one state in an entire country. EV owners can charge their vehicles during off-peak hours when electricity demand is low and prices are cheap, or they can use smart charging technologies that adjust the charging rate based on grid conditions and user preferences. Some EVs can also provide backup power to the grid or to the home in case of emergencies, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning or the Tesla Powerwall. The real reason this happens is much more complex and is due to a number of reasons. Some of them being extreme and widespread heat waves, which increase demand for air conditioning and reduce the supply of hydroelectric power due to drought conditions. Inadequate planning and forecasting for the peak demand periods and the transition from solar to natural gas generation in the evening hours, when the sun set and people return home. Market failures and inefficiencies that allowed some power plants to export electricity to other states when it was needed in California, or prevented them from importing electricity from neighboring regions due to transmission constraints or price differences.
“It now cost more in the UK for a road trip using an EV vs a gas or diesel car.” This claim is based on a flawed comparison that ignores the differences in fuel costs, maintenance costs, and tax incentives between EVs and gas or diesel cars. The UK Department of Transportation says the average cost of driving an EV in the UK was 3.3 pence per mile, compared to 9.9 pence per mile for a petrol car and 8.9 pence per mile for a diesel car. EV owners can also benefit from various tax incentives, such as lower vehicle excise duty.
“In the UK, you now have to pay an annual fee/permit if you want a charger installed at your home.” The annual fee/permit that you are claiming refers to a new regulation that requires local authorities to issue permits for the installation of on-street EV charging points, not for home charging points. This regulation is intended to ensure that on-street EV charging points are safe, accessible, and complaint with the national standards. It does not affect EV owners who want to install charging points at their homes, as they do not need to apply for permits or pay fees for that. Furthermore, EV owners who want to install home charging points can receive grants from the government that cover up to 75% of the installation cost, up to a maximum of £350.
“Everyone who doesn’t use an EV now has to pay higher electricity costs.” This claim is false, as there is no evidence that EV charging is increasing electricity prices for non-EV users. For example, a study by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy found that if 40% of light-duty vehicles in the US were electrified by 2035, the average electricity price would decrease by 0.5% for all customers, saving $17 billion per year. Another study by the International Council on Clean Transportation found that if 40% of new car sales in Europe were electric by 2030, the average electricity price would decrease by 1.3% for all customers, saving €13 billion per year.
It surprises me independent shops can work on any of this. The OEMs work very hard to keep them out of their service business. For example, the newest iteration of Tesla battery packs are filled with expanded pink foam to prevent repair or replacement of individual cells.
Yeah. When companies like Tesla spout the environmental credentials of their cars & then make them impossible 6o repair, they are such hipocrites.
This is what will kill the EV industry.
There needs to be a standardised battery system, like A packs for small cars B packs for medium ect ect. The packs also need to have standardised bricks inside so repair centres can fix them, just how lead acid batteries get replaced and recycled.
Corporate greed is killing the EV lols.
Also they catch fire too.
what?!
That foam is for fire protection as far as I know.
@@Chastity_Belt Maybe the fact that it makes the pack unservicable is just an added bonus.
A really great video that answered a lot of my questions about the technology - Alex knows his stuff!
I enjoyed the "interview" and am grateful that Alex could just talk to us without interruption. I have been driving EV's for several years including a Camry Hybrid, a Nissan Leaf (8 years), a Chevy Volt, and currently a 2023 Chevy Bolt. I haven't had any of the issues everyone feared but know they can break down. I am thankful to charge up at work and home and avoid the gas stations.
you kept on buying a new one? why not keep the original one and have no more payment like gasoline car?
You all are doing a great job, and I hope you expand by opening shops throughout the United States!
Very refreshing to listen to someone who is really knowledgeable. Great innovation making your own special tools too.
Hell, any backyard mechanic that has done a moderate amount of mechanical work has probably designed and built their own tools. Nothing new to see here
These repair cost numbers sort of scare me off. I don't know if the fuel savings is sufficient to vest a repair fund. And finding an honest EV shop is more difficult than finding knowledgeable ICE service stations.Very well presented video, thank you. Patent the fixtures before Elon does.
They added taxes to electric in 2025. Soon charging at home will have the same cost as buying gas. Government needs its pound of flesh.
Comparatively, you will spend similar amounts for drivetrain failures in an ICE vehicle. Engine swaps range from $4,000 - $12,000 depending on vehicle and damage. Labor and parts add up on all the other systems that will fail too. Battery costs are dropping which is something ICE can't claim. Eventually, the long term, cumulative purchase of your gas will amount to buying a battery pack. EV failure rate is up to 35% lower per 1,000 vehicles according to the latest ADAC report.
@@mbabcock111it should also be mentioned, if you replace the engine or transmission in your car it’s the same as before.
On the other hand, that pack replacement is nearly tripling the range of the vehicle! He didn’t mention it, but the car will have increased acceleration and the battery will run cooler increasing it’s life.
I guess in a sense replacing a pack is like upgrading your engine to get much better fuel mileage while adding a small turbo and using better hardware.
@@Uriah625 good points. Likely a module fails but not an entire pack. That seems to be the process currently.
Haha, and you're still burning coal! Haha!
Kudos to the young man in a pioneering industry. Hopefully he patents these special tools.
All of us mechanics have had to create our own tools. Part of the trade.
This is the first in depth EV tech talk that has ever kept my attention. Watched the entire thing! I want an EV even less now than before I watched… but the video was great.
Every new technology takes time to mature. Currently EV's are for well off people owning a home for charging overnight (not for those who live in apartments and condos) and can actually afford higher costs EV's compared to regular cars. Just like you can pick up a $200 smartphone that works compared to over $500 10 years ago, same will happen with EV's.
@@BillAnt "I want an EV even less now than before I watched." Totally agree
@@BillAnt Back in 2010 when I bought a HTC Touch Pro 2, they were $850 for a proper real smartphone that can run internet services apps and HSDPA 3G connection.
@@evanthompson8925 Couldn't agree less, this is the worst case scenario for EVs. It's highly unlikely and will only get better with more modern EVs. Very comforting.
Outstanding, I saw this channel for the first time and have nothing but high praise for this type of repair work to bring costs down to something more manageable! This begins to break down the barriers that cause the EV market to repel prospective customers because of their concerns about long term reliability. BRAVO keep up the good work.
Question: Is this information included in their manual?. Has this issue ever been resolved in a newer Tesla model
Oh GREAT! Glad to see folks like this shop looking at practical and value-added ways to serve the EV industry. Reckon we are gonna need a lot more of them very shortly.
Worry not, the industry will grow as demand for it increases. Just as repair garages did 120+ years ago, when the motor car first appeared......
Yeah worry not indeed, but what about the horrendous insurance premiums and equally horrific depreciation! If you’re wealthy enough you may be able to absorb the costs of running an EV but if you’re a blue collar worker with limited funds to spend on transport you’ll be out of luck and resigned to push bike’s for your transport requirements. The push for EV’s has nothing to do with climate control, it’s about control full stop where only the wealthy elites will have access to personal transport, the rest of us will have to suck it up if these clowns get their way. So yeah, no need to worry!!!……
@@Bluenose7 Well Sir, I think you may be way too pessimistic about so many things you mention.
Tesla already has its own vehicle insurance company to specifically insure Tesla cars. It drastically alters premiums according to vehicle/driver behavior that they monitor all the time.
The buy price of a quality EV is still rather high, but dropping precipitously in just one year due to tech and manufacturing advancements. There are many EV's already that sell at lower cost than comparable ICE cars due to Government rebate incentives initially but such support to encourage EV adoption by the public will not be required for much longer.
The annual depreciation on a quality EV is VERY LOW.
Wealthy elites? Oh what nonsense.
Moving to Global mobile electrification is highly beneficial. Because over a million people will then NOT die each year from diseases caused by ingestion of particulate emissions.
Climate change will likely not be halted by removing ICE power plants over time, but it will certainly arrest many of the weather extremes and also have a major impact on general health and wellbeing of most people globally.
The rapid upsurge in local power generation (typically wind & solar + storage for 24/7 energy access) will almost certainly become an economical way to bring nearly free energy to remote and struggling communities - particularly in African nations.
@@jimparr01Utube lol
@@Bluenose7 100 %correct, forced on us all, designed to fail to get us out of private auto ownership to subscription based ownership, which is a car loan that never. Ends
Alex is my type of mechanic...Freely swooping information and advice . Top man 👍🏴
Props to Alex. He is an excellent presenter - on par with a lot of dedicated RUclips science content creators.
Kudos to Alex from QC for a quality, objective presentation.
Having owned several Prius, changing out defective modules or cells is a temporary fix. Because other cells/modules will also fail in a few months. Thus its best to replace entire battery unless you’re going to fix the battery long enough to sale/tradein to make it someone else’s problem.
This video is a real eye opener into the realities of owning an electric vehicle. PHEW!
You make it sound like every EV suffers from all these problems. LOL Any of the EV-cost-of-ownership videos on YT should ease your mind a whole lot, including the guy who drove his Tesla for a million miles.
@@ljprep6250 ?
@@ljprep6250 And his Teslas "battery pack replaced at least twice, which isn't bad considering 1 million miles. In addition, he's on his eighth electric motor " , so Tesla is not better than regular car in case of reliability or longevity. Other can do better e.g. Toyota hybrids can go over 300K-400K miles without battery or engine change (google 400K Rav4 XSE).
@@igortokarev2350indeed, city cabs get 500k on average with a Camry. EVs should be reliable, but the quality and QC at Tesla is awful, and they keep changing designs to make the cars less servicable. Don't buy any car with a GigaPress frame, they cannot service the battery and minor collisions are write offs, which explains why Tesla insurance is so high.
EVs will be great when better designs get to market from real car companies.
@@igortokarev2350they are much better in terms of reliability because they are at a fair earlier stage in development than internal combustion engines but allready reaching similar or better reliability
Very informative and if I had an electric vehicle with problems, I would think this shop would be able to fix it.
However, this video also helped to convince me I don't want an electric vehicle. 5,000 dollars here, 12,000 dollars there, these are not costs most of us can adsorb and even more scary, it's very possible they happen while still making payments on the vehicle purchase.
I own a Hyundai, with over 130,000 miles on it. The EV equivalent, well, there really is no equivalent, but maybe the Rivian at more than twice the price. The closest version I can get from Hyundai is smaller and 20,000 more.
But at 130,000 miles, I have done most of my own work on the vehicle and the most expensive thing I had done is bought new tires, I just put on the second set. I have done the brakes once, changed oil, gear oil, filters and spark plugs (plus coils, but they had not failed, I just thought I would do it while changing the spark plugs).
The vehicle has so far, zero dollars in unexpected repairs. ZERO. Nothing is broken on it. I drove it 1,200 miles for a wedding, which I don't know if it's even possible in a vehicle that might only have a 240 mile range and I did it in one day, adding 8 or more hours to that trip would have been pretty discouraging.
This guy went 200,000 miles with no repairs…no maintenance and no breathing gasoline fumes when refilling. Balance that out.
1,200 miles is 20 hours. It takes 30 minutes to recharge a Lightning truck to drive 240 miles towing a big load. So 3 stops at 1/2 hour each in twenty hours. Just enough for meal and bathroom breaks. And the charging was WAY cheaper than the gas would have been.
Here in France resale valueof a car is extremely affected by having proof of work done on the car from a professional shop like receipts. I was thinking about learning to do this work by myself but I realized i wasn't worth it from an economical perspective. I could do it as an hobby on an old beater just for fun, but I don't care too much about it.
There was a video on here that I watched yesterday about the scandalous $61,000 that Hyundai are charging for EV batteries in Canada. These crap milk floats aren't worth repairing; why bother? So many uploads on RUclips are now confirming that these abominations are throwaway consumer items.
This was awesome! I learned more today about EV and whatnot than i ever knew! I would love to see how they diagnose and do a complete repair a car!
You learned that they are very expensive to fix when they do break, parts are a pain to source, and that many times you are just paying four figures to put used or rebuilt parts in your car.
🤷♂️
Here is something I have been pondering as a farmer. Tractors and skid steers on my farm do two different types of work, haying, field work and then chores. The chores take a short time every day and electrified skid steers and tractors could easily do them between charges. What about using these used eclectic motors in second hand skid steers and tractors for that purpose? Could potentially be a huge market I would think.
That was a most brilliant lecture by a very good lecturer, just like being in a classroom ! thank you very much for teaching me quite a lot about the "secrets" of the electric cars. Glad tidings from across the pond in Cornwall UK👋👍👊
Well, that was an eye opener. Thanks for producing and sharing your knowledge of electric car maintenance and failure issues..
Enjoyed this walkthrough. I’ve seen a lot of ICE repair videos but not any EV ones yet. So interesting to see how few parts there are but also the unique challenges and things to watch out for. Great work.
Great job Alex, I loved your presentation and explaining the ins and outs of what your shop does. Kudos!
The young man made this presentation is glowing from intelligence, knowledge and experience 👍🙂
Thanks for educating us 😊
👍 👍👍👍
This is an amazing video. Thanks to the author and Alex for his professional knowledge and sharing this tour.
Wow this is one of the best information video I ever watched regarding Tesla battery replacement 😊
Nice! Love to see more and more indipendent repairs shops for EVs coming up!
QC CHARGE will be expanding to new locations in 2024.
@@KonduitEV Here in the UK we have HEVRA - Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Repair Alliance - offering training courses for mechanics and technicians who wish to gain the necessary skills and qualifications to work on EV's....... We already have a sprinkling of independent EV specialists/repairers who can offer servicing, repairs and battery pack refurbishments here in the UK......
@@Brian-om2hh we have that here too. But regardless, EV’s are simple enough that a blind, deaf, r*tard can work on them. The issue is manufacturers who don’t play fair and lock us out of getting parts, software, and repair info.
I hope they'll do a video of that leaf battery swap/upgrade. That's awesome!
i’m glad that he made the comparison that the leaking drive unit is the equivalent of the head gasket on an ice vehicle. This will be the hopefully the foundation of the next generation of mechanics creates jobs in the EV industry. We just need the manufacturers to start playing, nice and ensuring that the vehicles can be worked on by third parties and lock them out
Impressed with the technician and the shop..tools
I wish I open one un Chicago area...under your . Kind of franchise expertise..
It would seem to me that if you added a pump and pressure transducer to the coolant loop, you could create a slight pressure and monitor for significant changes, a realtime warning system that your coolant loop is not holding pressure.
The coolant drain mod allows you to monitor for lost/dripping coolant. You can also monitor your drive unit coolant level in the reservoir.
The cooling system likely doesn't see a measurable loss of coolant pressure unless the seal is almost totally gone... the problematic shaft seal is on the lower pressure/return side of the rotor shaft cooling loop.
Model 3 & Model Y just does not use coolant inside the Drive Unit. Instead it uses Automatic Transmission Fluid specifically Pentosin ATF9 cooled and lubricated. That is how that problem was avoided.
@@Neojhun Indeed, as do the dual motor (non-performance) S/X which started production in late 2014. Generally speaking, the 2nd gen and up oil cooled motors are WAY more reliable than the 1st gen water/glycol cooled "Large Drive Unit". Tesla definitely learned from their mistakes on that one, it's just a shame they have never fixed the LDU issues, especially considering they continued to use them in RWD and Performance variants of the S/X all the way through to 2021.
- Alex @ QC Charge
@@Alex_Bessinger Even from the video, I could see you're not only very knowledgeable, but good at explanations and open (honest/candid). Plus your willingness to interact in the comments section is great. I wish you the absolute best in your business because people like you are rare. I would gladly work for you if I lived in the US even though I'm on the ICE maintenance business.
Cheers.
Inspecting & diagnosing issues with Tesla battery packs is an opportunity to see how their build techniques & materials/parts are holding up in real world use. Too bad Tesla is part of the “It’s broke, just buy a new one. See our sales dept.” mentality.
You described every manufacturer.
It's actually more
"Does it cost more in time to repair, or slot in a new unit?"
.
That's where the second tier "repairers" come to the fore.
.
Same situation, different day.
.
The difference now is that where every vehicle had their "Top ten faults", an EV has let's say "30 known but not so common" problems, where an ICE vehicle might have 200 similar issues.
.
As mentioned here.
Seals (going to happen)
Fluid (going to happen)
Electronics (going to happen, often as a result of 👆)
Component (cell) failure (falls into the "rare" category)
Mechanical failure (Mounts, bushes, etc.... There's a lot of torque)
But as far as drive goes, that's about it.
ICE?
How long have you got?
.
Re "Tesla build techniques / materials/ parts"
.
They suffered the same issues as others (Model S drive shafts for example, bought in component quality) it's one reason they build more in house now.
90% of car frame is the battery
@@rogerstarkey5390I specialize on German brands,and the MB B Class is basically a Tesla powertrain. The drive motor on those is a common failure, and I’ve seen it happen in as little as 90k miles 🤷♂️.
Sadly, they don’t want to sell you any parts to fix it. They want to sell you the whole motor. Which is north of 5k
Outstanding ! the Tech was extremely knowledgeable
Thanks. Highly informative without any sales pitch.
Amazing video. This guy is so knowledgeable, and truly talented at explaining technical stuff in a way that makes it fun and easy to understand. I hope EVs do not take over the world but, if they do, I only wish there are more shops like this one.
You are right!!! We will have a hard time ,,,, finding someone to fix this engine,,, an. The cost is crazy !! Wow I think I will drive my gas car till the wheels fall off !!!! lol. 😮😮😮😮😮😮
Very knowledgeable mechanic, great presentation.
nice video, great to watch, this man def knows his job!
Excellent video...It sucks that the seal may only last till 50,000 miles....I think that is so wrong....for what is paid for these cars they should last a minimum of 100,000 miles...and Tesla not trying to fix the battery packs...I'll stick with ICE cars where I can do alot of the work myself.....
Wow, I just learned a lot. Thank you very much brother.
I am somewhere between ten thousand and a hundred thousand times more knowledgeable than before! Thank you Braden and Alex.
Alex: Such a great presentation. Content, format, communication skills. Bravo bravo.
Excellent lecture…..the technician is brilliant👍
Excellent insight. Well presented. Bravo!
A reason why the NIO battery swap makes perfect sense!
... Sarcasm, one hopes.
Brilliant presentation.
No salesman bull 🐂 just the facts
Well done 👍🏽
Nice video, looking to see more data on the coolant leaks. 40-50k miles isn’t that much though, to have $5-7k repairs after 2-3 years is ludicrous, let alone $20k for a battery pack, that’s more than a cheap new car. As far as the reasons Tesla doesn’t rebuild/repair the individual modules, besides the labor, mismatching individual new and old cells in large battery packs puts a lot of stress on the old ones.
Think of it as a bed with springs, over time they loosen up, replacing a single spring with a much stiffer one puts a lot of stress on the fabric and neighboring springs especially as they get rapidly compressed and released. Batteries, like the springs connected with fabric will end up charging/discharging each other, causing hot spots which is bad all around.
Great stuff. Very informative. Thank you for posting this content.
Great service provided by this shop! 👏👏
Thank you. Tony @ QC CHARGE
Great to see this shop taking steps and making mods to fix design flaws.
Thank you very much for all that information. It's great that you are innovative with upgrades and repair methods.
Awsome video,a real education on Ev motors and battery replacement, Damnskippy!
Always said it’s the battery and it’s issue’s but listening to all of the failures on motor’s and coolant issues makes my decision to ride a bike even better!
"failures on motor’s" is extremely rare or a very simple fix like cleaning out the motor internals.
Same here, I've given up cars, ice too expensive to run these days and electric cars don't interest me in the same way ice does, looking at boats now instead of cars!
When he was talking about bearings and bearing races it made me think it was like bicycle maintenance.
In Australia, they seem to have an issue with cost to company.
It's more economic / quicker just to replace.. The time it takes to repair they could have done more replacements at same price or more. Example. I had brakes done and instead of machining discs they replaced the lot . Cost me $1000 easier for them.
He's so gentle in this example-"they like to burnout ."
They should have this video in every dealer so car buyers can have a better idea about what they are buying
Really informative video. I'm still reluctant to warm up to the idea of EV's. My three main concerns are 1) The initial price of ownership.. 2) Their limited range on a single charge and 3) The exorbitant cost of repairs or replacements of the batteries and or electric motors.
Here in the UK, we are beginning to see new EV's priced the same as equivalent ICE cars. Is 200 miles or more *really* a "limited" range? Exactly what "exhorbitant" repairs or replacements are you referring to? The battery pack can be refurbished for a fraction of the cost of replacing the whole battery pack. I never heard of a motor in an EV being replaced yet. Warranty-wise, a UK based used car warranty specialist published some details of claims made on the cover they offer, a little while ago. One particular claim, for a new engine in a prestigious German car, amounted to £8000+......
@@Brian-om2hh
In the US, about a 200 mile range is very limited for a LOT of people.
As much as I'm tempted to jump in now it's probably the wrong time. Solid state batteries are said to be coming to EVs in 2025. That will completely change the landscape of everything from range to charging. At 400 mile range and minutes to fill up they wouldn't be much different than ICE vehicles.
@@Brian-om2hhin Britain sure 200 miles is fine but in the USA thats nothing
@@Brian-om2hh yes, 200 miles is limited….it’s okay if you don’t use A/C or lights and windscreen wipers, but if you do, range drops to 129 miles. Very stressful when planning a journey…….and…..especially if you plan your journey around charging stations that are out of order when you turn up. New charging stations are way behind government targets, and are not keeping pace with EV ownership.
I believe the target ratio is 9-1 but is currently 16-1, so 16 vehicles to 1 charging point, not taking into consideration OOO points.
Great video. I was told that the 2011 Nissan Leaf can only use the original battery and the later, larger batteries would not communicate with the car's systems properly. I'm down to 30 mile range on mine. Any repair/replacement might be worthwhile for me. Any help there?
Just search Replace Nissan Leaf 🍃 battery - and there's companies that specialize in this very thing; potential to put you over 100 miles if the new pack fits! (2013 Leaf owner - typically getting 70 miles)
Upgraded to Used Tesla S 2013 for $12k on FB marketplace
great video and super informative!
Great explanation Alex you know your stuff enjoyed watching
The most informative minutes in my day! Thanks!
Absolutely fantastic - so informative - thanks !
Excellent video on the workings of EV cars, well done Alex on explaining and passing on your knowledge.. 👌
Nice to learn the motors use coolant, bearings wear out, stators rust, and more. Haven't seen this info anywhere else. Just nice to know what you're in for if you buy an EV. Thanks.
Just *this* motor design has these problems. It's important to keep in mind this was Tesla's first try at building a motor from scratch, and suffice it to say they learned from their mistakes on later iterations, which is a very different design and doesn't suffer from any of these failure modes...
My own personal daily driver is a 2015 Model S which uses 2nd gen motors. The front one lasted ~375k mi, and the rear is still original at 447k mi and counting.
-Alex @ QC Charge
And you're not going to hear this information anywhere. They're build for failure.
@@Alex_BessingerYou do understand the EV market is not just Tesla? Plenty of EV’s use bearings, and fluids, and other items that will require service. The latest trend right now is hybrids with 48v systems instead of the traditional 12v systems. 48v allows many mechanical components on ICE engines to be replaced with electric variants instead. Things like cam phasers, brake calipers, eccentric shafts/auxiliary shafts. To name a few.
Step outside the cult once in a while.
Maybe you should explore some Norwegian EV channels, and you would discover it sooner.
@@Roban554 Maybe you should be more kind to someone that knows plenty about EVs. Perhaps you should try a channel about courtesy.
It's really cool seeing a repair shop, without oil and gas all over the floor and the walls
2:35 i love the emphasis on " try " because like everything anything can go wrong.
I wish we had EV mechanic like Alex in Australia. EV mechanics here just replace, there is no pull down and repair, just replace.
Liability would be my guess
@@westcoast3595 I doubt it has much to do about liability and a lot to do with "right to repair" and manufacturer control
@@en2oh you are allowed that. Its not like people don’t sue.
@@westcoast3595If they were worried about liability, they wouldn’t work on your car and insist you trade for a new one.
too dangerous... can easily kill you
This guy is great and deserves to get very rich using his knowledge over the next few years.
Very informative Alex! Well stated, clear. Appreciated!
thank you 🙏 for awesome presentation.
helps a ton deciding between an EV , Plug-in Hybrid or trusty affordable regular Hybrid ( my old NiMH Prius , 200k miles ongoing 😊👍 )
My 2014 Chevy Volt gets about 40 miles in summer and low 30’s in winter. I don’t think it’s degraded at all in almost 10 years. Love the Volt which they didn’t discontinue it. Not sure I can make the leap to full battery power seeing so many issues such battery packs.
Very informative, keep up the good work
What a great explanatory video… really impressive!
I'm not a fan of electric cars, but Alex is certainly very impressive with his knowledge. Having to make his own specialist tools to service these monsters shows a real pioneering spirit. These things are never going to be as popular as ICE cars, unless the servicing costs can be substantially reduced, and reliability and durability increased. Replacement costs of batteries are frankly laughable for most people.
It's worth remembering that most things get cheaper as technology develops. The Model T was $850 in 1909 but was under $300 by 1924.
The original Model S in 2012 was around $75,000 in today's money, but tech evolution has allowed the creation of far cheaper models that get more range on a charge than the original Model S.
Obviously, we can't predict the future. But, with technology for EVs already evolving so fast, it'll be hard to believe if another decade doesn't bring much more affordable repairs and replacements to the table.
@@motorbiscuit
Climate change is real and is driven by the use of fossil fuels. EV's are part of the solution, along with solar and wind power sources. So, sorry but ICE cars have a limited future. We have an EV; it is incredibly cheap to run (Mostly charged from our rooftop solar), goes 500km on a charge, never had any "range anxiety" once we realized how good it is. No servicing costs, ultra reliable. And it is by FAR the peppiest car I've ever owned. Like other EV owners, would never want an ICE again. Cheers! Chris, NZ.
WTF? reliability and durability has never been the problem and is the key point where it is better than ICE? The servicing and parts replacement problem is not based on cost. It's main cause is lack of Supply Chain and Organizational Resources to deploy these necessity. Granted all these 1st gen mass produced BEVs are being neglected and not enough resources is being spent on Servicing and Parts availability. This is very much another chicken and egg problem not wanting to spend resources on a limited market.
@@Neojhun Very astute observation. Right now, you can walk into any dealer service department or auto parts store and buy most parts you could ever want for an ICE vehicle, and usually there are cheaper aftermarket part alternatives available as well.
Right now though, the same can't be said for EVs, so supply chain is a very real issue. That's why we've had to create our own supply chain with custom parts, tools and lots of research. For many parts and repairs we are forced to lean heavily on used parts.
With time and higher volume, parts vendors will conform to meet the needs of the market, but for the time being, we work with what we've got. Right now we are actually currently working with a partner for aftermarket batteries for the Nissan LEAF, and there may be a potential to expand to other vehicles as well.
- Alex @ QC Charge
I hope EV manufacturers see content like this and get feedback so they can make their cars easier to work on as well as start to make tools for shops like this one. Or maybe the shops can start making the tools to sell at production level?
😂
that's never going to happen, the money for automakers is in servicing and planned obsolesce, not in initial sales. There is zero reason for them to do what you suggested.
The car gets written off after a fender bender. Why would you want to fix it? Besides, they probably start on fire a week after.
I hope so, but they haven't really done it for gassers. It's a shame we have to resort to legislation sometimes.
Have cars gotten easier to work on in the last twenty years? Despite what people want cars have become almost impossible for the regular guy to work on. Just to change a battery you almost have to remove the entire front end of the car. What makes you think auto manufacturers give a hoot about what the people want?
Excellent informative video except for the squeaky * music* in the background.
Excellent info, great video.
If you gave me the choice of driving coast to coast in the first car I ever drove, a 1941 Packard Super 8, or a brand new electric, I'd take the now 83 year old Packard!!!! BTW, I am past 80.
... Packard for the win!
very good video! the realities of car ownership is not just paying for it and driving but also servicing, repairs, parts, etc throughout its lifetime or at least how long an owner drives it...
Absolutely. The rub comes with how much you need to spend.
The major selling point of electic car is low or no service need
Very nice. Thank-you for sharing your information. Will follow and share for sure. Good luck and keep making updates to videos!!
Great content! Alex knows his stuff for sure!
I didn't think the repair part cost issues could get any worse than now, but I was mistaken.
I can tell you why a dealer would not repair a battery, especially a high mileage one. When 6 months go by and there is another bad cell in a different section(module) they are gonna expect it to be repaired for free under warranty. Its a good idea but if you have 4 failures over 2 years you could have had a complete new unit for the cost of 4 repaired sections and 12 original sections that are just waiting to fail. Have you run into issues like that and if so how do you address it?
Most informative, thank you .
Dude what a fantastic video. Kudos to you man. The knowledge you have is dope. Hope you can educate the rest of the future youth engineers down the road. Your skills are priceless for the electric future. Props man.
Pioneers in a new field… establishing a new standard…best of luck to you guys! Question? Tesla parts availability … lead time? How much do they mark up their parts?