If you are considering purchasing an electric vehicle, it may benefit you to familiarise yourself with the most common problems current electric vehicle owners face on a regular basis as well as how to solve them. It can allow you to prepare for any accidents or emergencies that may occur on the road and prevent you from making a decision you may come to regret down the line. If you are interested in purchasing an electric vehicle but require more information before you can proceed with confidence, continue reading to find out everything you need to know ahead of time.
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A greater risk of fire
In recent years, there has been a growing number of reports of electrical vehicles catching fire unexpectedly whilst on the road or parked. This is largely due to the fact that the battery temperature tends to range between 15 and 45 degrees for electric vehicles but between -30 and 45 degrees for traditional vehicles. In addition, battery components of electrical vehicles are significantly more flammable than those of traditional vehicles which contributes to a greater risk of fire. In response to this, a number of electrical vehicle manufacturers have attempted to thwart this problem by separating the battery into smaller cells and installing firewalls to avoid the dangerous process of thermal runaway from materialising or designing and producing batteries with fewer harmful components that are, as a result, less likely to catch fire.
Too many technology-heavy features
If you are unfamiliar with the process of owning an electrical vehicle, it can take a great deal of time and effort to familiarise yourself with the technology-heavy features they tend to include. This is especially important if you are considering purchasing a Tesla and are struggling to make an informed decision when it comes to Model X vs Model Y with various differences between both models, as outlined in this article, depending on how tech-savvy you consider yourself to be. It is, therefore, worth pondering which features are a must and which are only likely to confuse you as you grapple with becoming an electrical vehicle owner for the first time. In addition, the more technology-heavy features your electrical vehicle includes, the more likely it is to be hacked or encounter software-related problems on a regular basis with more vulnerabilities to contend with from the very onset. If your electrical vehicle is connected to the internet, it may also be prone to internal or external data leaks.
Multiple safety and security concerns
It is a widespread belief that electrical vehicles are equipped with greater safety and security features than traditional vehicles, but this may be far from the truth. If the engine catches fire, for example, it can be immune to a number of fire suppressants such as water. In addition, there is also a greater risk of electric vehicles reigniting before sufficiently cooling which can lead to a long-lasting fire that burns for several hours. It may, therefore, be worth carrying an additional fire extinguisher with you in your car for much-needed peace of mind or brushing up on your fire-fighting skills in the event of an accident or emergency whilst you are behind the wheel.
A significant lack of choice
In the past couple of years, the choice available to electric vehicle owners has vastly improved and appears to be increasing faster than any other type of vehicle on the road. It does, however, continue to pale in comparison to traditional vehicles as it continues to be a relatively modern phenomenon around the world and the cost of electric vehicles remains significantly higher than that of traditional vehicles regardless of whether you are leasing or buying. This has led to electric vehicle ownership remaining somewhat unattainable and unaffordable for the vast majority of car owners. In addition, there may also be a significant lack of choice when it comes to finding suitable charging points in your local area as they remain relatively few and far between on a global scale. It may also take a considerable amount of time for the trend of electric vehicle ownership to catch on and, therefore, a number of years before the range is expanded to cater to growing demand.
If you are considering taking a leap of faith and purchasing an electric vehicle in the near future, it may benefit you to familiarise yourself with the most common problems existing electric vehicle owners face on a regular basis. This includes a greater risk of fire, too many technology-heavy features, multiple safety and security concerns, and a significant lack of choice. It is, however, worth noting that progress is being made and that widespread electric vehicle ownership is more than possible in the future as consumers analyse their carbon footprint and costs continue to drop in line with what most car owners can comfortably afford.
