EVs have 79% more reliability problems than gas cars, says Consumer Reports
Teething problems abound with new electric powertrains.
@arstechnica The power train has really not been a huge issue in most cases. It's usually that the MFGs like VW ship cars with operating systems that are similar to what Windows XP was like when it came out.
@systemadminihater @arstechnica I would actually say it's worse than that. Because the development team on Windows has been programming specifically for that probably for a decade or more Knowing the environment they are working on. I legitimately suspect the folks being brought in to work on the software for let's say Ford as an example have not done this kind of thing before.
(Again I suspect I don't know for a fact.)
The folks you want to hire for this kind of job deal with mission critical software. You would want somebody who works with things like medical hardware, pacemakers, flight control systems. But those type of programming professionals don't come cheap. And also I'll be perfectly honest programming in the last 15 years has become lazy where you can just pushing update. Quality control isn't what it used to be.....*shakes his cane at the clouds*
@KellicTiger @arstechnica Buddy the lane keeping system on a VW ID4 tried to kill me for 18 months until they released an OS firmware upgrade that required them to keep my car for 3 weeks. It says OTA updates on the window sticker.
@arstechnica interesting that hybrids are the most reliable, which implies the bugs are fixable.
"...simpler not-plug-in hybrids bucked this trend, with 26 percent fewer reliability problems than conventionally powered vehicles.
"...Hybrids continue to surpass EVs and ICE vehicles for reliability even though hybrids are more complex ...This is because hybrid technology is now over 25 years old and is offered mainly from the most reliable automakers."
@DennisSweitzer @arstechnica ... and the persistent bugs in Priuses have nothing to do with the hybrid system. Bells and whistles like proximity sensors that don't work when they're wet, or auto-high beams that stop working intermittently. I've had my current car four years, these problems go back to the first 4th Gen Prius, and Toyota shows no interest in fixing them.
@DennisSweitzer @arstechnica it doesn’t surprise me that hybrids are great. My partner has a Prius and it seems to me that the way the computer manages the ICE rather than giving us dumb humans direct control over it is a huge win for both efficiency and damage caused by aggressive/careless driving habits. eg you just can’t pin it at redline in too low of a gear up a whole long hill. It won’t let you.
@DennisSweitzer @arstechnica I have to say, for all the crap people still give me about having one (for whatever dopey reasons) I love my Prius. It's a 2006, has 160K miles on it, is incredibly reliable, gets about 47mpg, and my mechanic says if I keep taking care of it the way I already am I'll easily get 250K miles out of it.
@DennisSweitzer @arstechnica This is 100% BS. Hybrids contain all of the flaws of ICE and the increased complexity of working in convert with the electric motor, & somehow the auto industry got THAT right??
Never mind that my 2011 leaf is still in perfect working order, save the complete absence of battery upgrade options (looks askance at Nissan).
I'm going to follow the money on this one... I suspect that rabbit hole leads to exactly where one would expect.
("But CR is..." No. Just... no.)
@yohannon @arstechnica 25 years of experience with a technology makes a big difference, but the other factor--the company and it's engineers--is also important when there is little tolerance for errors.
Software issues, battery inefficiency, etc. I'm waiting for solid state batteries, and I hope there's more public blowback about privacy and security problems (and performance issues) in the software.
@arstechnica The hardware is probably perfectly fine in most cases. Again it comes down to fewer moving parts which is a fantastic thing. The issue is these companies just like Internet of s*** things have no idea how to code.
@arstechnica Less moving parts should help with the math :-) Is there a declining industry involved with sponsoring?
@arstechnica Can we have separate data for each company? Because I bet Tesla skews the results.
@arstechnica
Had multiple Tesla's since 2012 (this will be my last because of course fuck Elon Musk).
Reliability has been great as compared to my wife's hybrid or previous vehicles. The car is simple and reliable. The fit and finish is crap, but reliability is not an issue. During this time, my daughters Rav4 turned into a car-b-que on the freeway. So there's that.
@arstechnica
Wait, what happened to the claims that EVs would be dramatically cheaper to operate and maintain?
@arstechnica not what they said a few years back: https://www.consumerreports.org/hybrids-evs/evs-offer-big-savings-over-traditional-gas-powered-cars/
@arstechnica
Like others, I’m gonna press “x” to doubt here.
I’ve had an ID.4, a Model 3, and a Model Y. Reliability has been amazing.
What’s not amazing is the gee-whiz crap that VW tried and failed at. No OTA software, unlit capacitive sliders for temp control, the stupid front/rear window switch, and don’t even get me started on EA's complete failure as a charging solution.
My EVs are way cheaper than ICE cars to run, even after higher insurance and Texas’ stupid $200/year EV fee.
@arstechnica I’ve had a Tesla Model 3 for 5 years with no reliability issues whatsoever and zero maintenance other than tire rotation and a 12v battery replacement.