Why is EV Reliability So Bad? | Talking Cars with Consumer Reports #433

8:34 "They've had the Prius out for well over a decade at this point." LOL!! Talk about an understatement. The Prius has been out for 27 years now.

We are new to having an EV. We picked up our Model Y performance in May of last year. We looked at the alignment of the parts and the paint. We went through all the controls and drove away from the service center with no issues. The purchasing process was so much easier, you could say that it was great to have none of the normal dealership problems from buying from a manufacturer that uses dealerships. This is a major advantage for Tesla. The underhandedness and willingness to charge as much as they think they can get from any buyer is a major reason to buy from Tesla and not from a dealership. Unless you really want to buy the 300 dollar “paint sealer”. LOL. So here is all the problems we have had from our model Y so far:

I found your conversation about reliability and suitability to be interesting. But you failed to add another dimension to that discussion. I began driving and repairing cars around 1950. In 1950 a person would expect the following routine maintenance for their car. Oil change every 1000 miles with chassis lubrication of about 15 lube fittings. New spark plugs and ignition tune-up every 10,000 miles. New tires and shock absorbers every 20,000 miles. New exhaust system every 35,000 miles. Top end rebuild of engine with regrind of valves and tappet adjustment around 50,000 miles. At around 70,000 miles most people were trading in their vehicles because of excessive body rust out or need for an expensive rebuild of the engine or transmission. Today's cars are so much more reliable and sustainable with regards to their basic functionality, but they do suffer from too many components and unnecessary conveniences that compromise the overall reliability. Today I expect a car to be reliable transportation for at least 200,000 miles. Today I drive a 2018 Kia Niro hybrid with every convenience imaginable. I've got 55,000 miles on it without any maintenance except oil changes every 7,500 miles and one set of new tires. Recalling the hours I've spent over the years under the hood or under the car, I am absolutely delighted with the progress of automotive technology.

So most of these reliability issues are not related to the EV powertrain itself (batteries+motors), it's more all the "electrified" gizmos in the car... that you also find on ICE cars.

The CR panel missed one category from the 2nd question-cost of ownership. This is where the Model3 is far exceeding the Corolla. First, compare the weekly cost of gas to electric over a year. Secondly there are so many fewer systems to breakdown. Over the past month my Model3 cost $28 in electricity compared to the $140 it would have cost me in gas.

Been following CU auto reports for over 60 years. In the past CU relied on surveys mailed out to members for their collective information. Same procedure for appliances such as refrigerators , tvs, washing machines etc. I am member and not received a survey in 3 years, about the length of time that I have owned my 2020 Bolt. My observation with CU is that they list problems by frequency, not the cost of repair to the owner. This is common especially with cars.According to CU, the Bolt has a poor repair record, for example. Why? According to the Chevy Bolt Forum very few owners have had problems with their Bolts. The two issues the seat belt tensioners were recalled, and then there was the traction battery issue whereby 12 cars world wide have, what was probably, spontaneous fires. The cars in question had their batteries replaced in one day and the battery warranty started over from that day. NO COST to the owner. CU needs to be specific on issues that drag a "reliability" reputation down, and that is on any product. Until CU does that, its opinion will be taken with , as they say, with a grain of salt. Example the 1989 Dodge Dynasty with the Ultra-Drive transmission. Avg issues with the tranny, but after 4 years CU dropped the rating to Worse than Avg. A 25cent C-Clip would break and require a total R&R of the tranny. From that survey I gathered that Dodge had a minor issue. Some cars may have issue with a door handle breakage: they would receive a worse than average as well. Which repair would you rather spring for? Case in point.

I drove a Volt between 2014 and 2018, I drove a Bolt EV between 2018 and 2023 and now I drive a Tesla M3 LR AWD. None of the cars above had a single problem that was related to reliability. It would be great to know how CR decides what's reliable or not, in the layman terms, not too fancy. Reliability to me is something that works every time as intended and when it's about cars, it means I can use it every single time I need it. Over almost 10 years, the 3 cars I had were the most reliable of the all I had before. And like myself are many others. And I will give you a hint : I never was asked by any CR like company what I believe about my car or how I would rate it. How do you get your information for this kind of study and then put a verdict that the BEV are less reliable than the ICEV in 2023 ? If it were 2012, yeah, I would have said you are maybe right, given the Leaf and Ford Focus EV. But after 10+ years, the EVs of 2023 are above the 2023 ICEV in regards of reliability. P.S. I re-watched the video and I know now what reliability means to you : a pothole that is hit or the cost of a fender bender. From 24:40 to the end your guy explains it best. All things that have nothing in comon with reliability but it is telling why he wouldn't chose an EV.

I had a 2001 Corolla which I give away about 2 weeks ago. after getting my new 2024 Rav4 Hybrid LE. The Corolla was faithfully reliable transportation, at over 168000 miles. I decided to get rid of it due to the location of an oil leak which I consider to expensive to fix for such an old car. I never regret owning it. The RAV4 Hybrid, I am loving the fuel economy and the thing I training me to drive efficiently. I am no hypermiler, but on one day of the second week of driving it I decided to try to see what's the best I can get and I manager an averaged of 52.1 mpg coming from work. Today Nov 30th I avaged 49.0 MPG. I can drive to work and back home and do not go to the gas station for a month. I got it the 3rd of November and fuel up for the first time on 26th November and for two days last week I did more driving then I normally do, so I already knew from looking at the progress my fuel gage each week that I can drive for a month without pulling into a gas station. The two things that are priority in a vehicle ownership for me are reliability and fuel efficiency of a vehicle.

I wonder if we looked at the EV and perhaps verified how many major issues cars faced. How many EV's are disabled and underivable. How do we account for recalls where there was a manufacturing defect. If I buy a Chevrolet Bolt and have a pre-tensioner recall does that count as unreliable to your survey. I wish you gave more info on what the "reliability" measurement works. I own a Gas Sorento and a Chevy Bolt and I have had recalls on both the 2022 Kia and 2019 Bolt. None have caused me to find my car reliability impacted as the companies did the service efficiently and without cost to me. So if my Infotainment system has a glitch today and you ask me about my thoughts in a few months time and I mention that does that count as unreliable. I don't find your video is backed by scientific data which would let me understand your premise.

Things Toyota hybrids and PHEVs REMOVE from a gas-powered car: Timing belt, accessory belt, alternator, starter, rear differential (AWD), torque converter, drive shaft (AWD). The electric drive and regen motors are not added to a Toyota hybrid, they replace other components that have historically required maintenance and were very troublesome. There is a strong case to be made that in the most reliable designs, hybrids and PHEVs actually don't have more potential trouble spots, but fewer.

We’ve been driving Honda’s for 45 years. Great cars. We’ve had our Bolt EUV for one year. It’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned; Silky smooth, quiet, super quick and completely reliable. All this and no gas and no maintenance. It’s an amazing car and now after 45 years or more of Honda’s Toyota’s and a few other brands I got my first Chevy it an EV and we love it! You use a generic term, Reliability, which then gets repeated giving a negative impression which I think is a very unreliable impression especially when you lump in little inconveniences like a transient Bluetooth connection. The first thing my friend said when I got the Bolt was, oh I read they were unreliable… so your negative one word meme opinion gets out there and gets repeated and yes, EV naysayers thrive on that stuff. As does the fossil fuel industry. I know GM had a few battery fires in the first release and they had a massive recall to remedy that. We talked about that and factored that into our decision. No-one wants to risk a fire But, as I said, GM quickly addressed that. I think battery technology as all modern technologies will continue to improve so I am leasing and looking forward to my next EV but at 75 I don’t know how many new cars are in my future but I am so glad I lived to see this day when EV’s are on the road and that hours in smog filled traffic jams may be on the way out. Around town, with all my charging at home, this car is perfect. Range anxiety for longer trips will easily be eliminated as the charging infrastructure increases.

I don't completely trust cr anymore. The comments are an education 👍.

Great episode. I want to clarify something without getting too nit-picky. (I won't go into the use of the word "less" vs. "fewer".) In the answers to the last question about the Tesla Model 3, the viewer as well as the hosts mentioned "rebates". There may be state government or other private rebates for EVs. But the federal government program if I remember correctly involves EV tax credits and not rebates. The big difference is that you must have enough tax liability (i.e. earn enough) to get the full rebate. E.g. if your yearly tax bill is not >=$7,500, then you would not get the full EV tax rebate possible but only as much as your tax liability for that year. Also the tax credits vary depending on whether the EV and the batteries in it were domestically-made, and whether the car is new or used.

My 2018 Tesla Model 3 has been so reliable I doubt I will ever buy another gas car. I can drive it 100 miles for $1.40. 150,000 miles and still going. I did have to replace the 12 volt battery after 5 years but they did it for free still under warranty.

None of these folks should be having this discussion. They are so ignorant. Such a hit piece.

Their data collection methods would never pass the smell test in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Uh oh, Consumer Reports got their new marching orders from Ford!

I have had 3 Nissan Leafs 😂last one being 2019, never had any problems other than the 2019 model wearing out it’s tires in 30K miles. Also have a 2017 Tesla S for trips and it has not had any reliability problems.

First year, 2012, Sonic LS with 1.8 normally aspirated, 5M. Arizona burned off the clearcoat, but it's never had a recall or TSB, never an oil leak, AC, alternator, water pump and thermostat, suspension and brakes work well and have never been touched. Electrical, I've changed the MAF sensor, battery and one low beam bulb. All coolant hoses and the serpentine are just new. Over 12 years and 96k, it's been 100% reliable.

Tell you how they can get that F150 to have better mileage. Reduce the unnecessary bulk. Like most Americans, this vehicle model needs to lose weight. But instead, it has been getting more and more obese and over sized.