Electric cars are considered more reliable than combustion engines as they have significantly fewer individual parts and therefore fewer wearing parts. But is that really the case? What do the ADAC breakdown statistics have to say about it? Matthias Vogt from ADAC and Martin Weiss from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand explain whether the defects in electric cars and combustion engines are similar, how often an electric car breaks down with an empty drive battery, and whether battery fires are really as common as they are reported to be.
Electric vehicles require less routine maintenance than gasoline or diesel vehicles. Things like oil changes, replacing spark plugs and ignition coils are not required. Electric motors are generally quite robust and durable. However, internal combustion engines are an established technology, and mechanics have more experience maintaining them. Especially in the case of electrical defects in e-cars, there are increasing voices that neither roadside assistance nor ordinary workshops can help, but only authorized workshops. Manufacturers of electric cars give very generous guarantees on the service life of the drive batteries, usually eight years and 160,000 kilometers. But what happens in the event of a battery warranty claim? Is the high-voltage battery then actually removed and replaced?
