Common breakdowns you'll have in a combustion car but not in an electric one

Electric cars have their advantages and their drawbacks. It must be acknowledged that, at first glance, they are more expensive, and they can meet considerable reluctance due to factors such as the time needed to recharge them and even the debate over whether their range is acceptable or not.

But there is no doubt that the transition toward the electrification of the automotive sector will lead to a point where we forget about breakdowns that electric cars will never have, since they are exclusive to traditional vehicles, those whose dependence on one fuel or another entails wear or failure of parts or systems, the same ones we now invite you to forget once every car we see on the street is electric.

Putting the wrong fuel in the tank

Perhaps the most obvious, but, hard as it may be to believe, this is one of the most frequent reasons why combustion-engine cars end up at the workshop or, at the very least, arrive on a tow truck.

And that is without counting that the transition to the new labeling at petrol stations has been much simpler than it seemed, though we can’t help but think of the time when, through an oversight or lack of knowledge, someone has picked up the wrong pump nozzle…

Filling a petrol car with diesel or the other way round is difficult given the size of the nozzles and fuel tank filler necks, but even so, it happens.

Problems with polluting gas emissions

Regarding hydrocarbon combustion, the issue of the famous NOx emissions, the introduction of the particulate filter or DPF in petrol or diesel cars, cracks, breaks or deterioration of the exhaust system in combustion-engine cars… these are problems that anyone who buys or uses an electric car need not worry about, because an electric vehicle will never suffer them.

From problems with gas measurements outside the new MOT limits, to the problem with the EGR valve and gas recirculation, through to the diesel car needing AdBlue refills, none of that affects an electric car.

Replacing spark plugs or glow plugs

An electric car is switched on, not started. This means it does not depend on a “spark” to initiate the thermal activity of its engine. Simply put, if it has enough stored electricity, it will begin to move; if not, it won’t move.

But it will never need to preheat the diesel to start, it won’t take a while of turning the key until the petrol catches, nor will it stutter when cold or while being driven due to erratic fuel consumption, since electricity is either used or it isn’t.

Clutch kit replacement

Electric cars do not have a gearbox as traditionally known. In fact, they have no gears. That is why, once the foot presses the accelerator, it delivers torque progressively up to a maximum without transitions, as happens with cars with multi-speed gearboxes.

Although some manufacturers and companies are committed to gearboxes in electric cars, for now, those on the market do not have them.

Timing belt maintenance

There are two types of car owners: those who live worried about proper car maintenance and those who don’t even remember when they last changed the oil… for the first group, electric cars offer one more incentive: forgetting about the timing belt.

One of the most troublesome issues in car maintenance: if it wears out without being replaced, it can lead directly to the car being scrapped or, in the best case, require an engine rebuild at considerable expense to fix the problem.

In the best case, replacing the timing belt on time is one of the most expensive maintenance operations a car requires. Something an electric car will never need to replace since it does not have one.

But if now you’re interested in the other side of the coin, and what you want to know is what maintenance of an electric car is like, we invite you to read the article we published on the most common problems of an electric car.