How To Know It's Time To Replace Your EV Battery
EV batteries usually fade gradually, so the real warning signs are often changes in behavior rather than age alone.
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An electric vehicle battery doesn't have a universal age or mileage at which it suddenly needs replacing. The high-voltage traction battery that powers the motors gradually loses some of its ability to store energy as it ages, which can reduce driving range without meaning the pack has failed.
Complete battery failure is also relatively uncommon in newer EVs. A Department of Energy analysis of about 15,000 plug-in vehicles found that 1.5 percent had batteries replaced because of failure, excluding recalls. Replacement rates were below 1 percent for every model year from 2016 through 2023.
The useful question, then, isn't whether your EV has lost any range. It is whether the changes you're seeing look like normal battery aging or a problem that needs professional diagnosis.
Gradual range loss...
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