Having fewer moving parts makes an electric vehicle more mechanically reliable than a combustion engine car. EVs don’t need oil changes, their brake pads last longer, and electric drive units require less attention than engines. This seems to hold up in the real world too, as exemplified by Tesla, which only sells electric vehicles and has the lowest maintenance costs, according to Consumer Reports.
This analysis by CR looked at maintenance costs after the first few years of warranty have run out. It examined the out-of-pocket expenses that car owners who participated in the 2023 Annual Auto Survey incurred to adhere to the maintenance schedule. The graph below uses data on maintenance costs for specific brands over 12 months, presenting two figures for each brand: the one- to five-year cost and the six- to ten-year cost.
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Teslas aren't perceived as the best-made cars but maintenance is cheap
Teslas have had a lot of problems over the years, most of them having to do with build quality and the ones that didn't could be solved with over-the-air updates. However, they are electric vehicles, and you have to do less maintenance on EVs, which will save you money in the long run.
Tesla’s maintenance costs were the lowest for both periods, followed by Buick and Toyota. Premium German automakers BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche were all at the bottom of the tables, but the worst was Land Rover, especially in the six- to ten-year span.
According to Steven Elek, the CR analyst who compiled the data, “The difference to maintain a car on average between some brands can be thousands over a ten-year time frame. Also, expensive luxury vehicles are often quite expensive to maintain as well over time.” He concluded by saying “If you are considering a luxury model, it may be wise to purchase one from a domestic brand that may have lower maintenance and repair costs,” pointing to the poor results of the German brands.
The German brand with the lowest maintenance costs was Volkswagen. It’s also interesting to note how much lower on the list Lexus is compared to Toyota. They are products of the same company, yet a Lexus will cost more to maintain, even with the brand’s legendary reliability record.
Now, even though EVs have fewer maintenance items and are generally quite reliable, they are by no means maintenance-free. Aside from what powers them, they have a lot in common with combustion cars, so you still need to change the brake fluid every couple of years, the cabin air filters yearly and the coolant every five years, among others.
The maintenance schedule is different from model to model, so you should follow the guidelines set by the manufacturer. Tires on an EV may also wear out faster due to their extra weight, but there are special EV tires that help alleviate this to a degree.
If you crash your EV, there is a strong chance it will cost more to repair than a comparable gas car. According to insurance data, the average repair bill for a Tesla in Q1 2024 was $6,066, which is $1,363, or nearly 30% more than an average fuel-burning car.
