The Truth about EV Break Downs - How often? How is it fixed? From the AA

Here we have a very serious video... Two articles to analyse today - Helen Skelton's EV Stranding incident, and a response to that from the AA (Automobile Association) which sets the record straight on when and why #ElectricCar breakdowns happen. This is a very serious video and it absolutely doesn't descend into laughter. Anyway, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Absolutely no generators were used in the making of this video. Although we did use a 'practical and efficient solution to giving an emergency charge' instead. But it absolutely wasn't a generator. No it wasn't. Stop saying that.

SOURCES

Helen Skelton 'stranded' in electric car after it stops working during evening journey (The Mirror)

Truth about electric cars running out - how often it happens, and how it's fixed (Wales Online)

[MyMy-tvfd]

the celebrity cheap shots are the best - the guaranteed audience is enormous. And so nice to see my massive scepticism about EVs coming so true

[thedeadstig]

A friend is a RAC man, he says he has to collect alot of EV cars purely because they get stuck at broken chargers and don't have the range to get to the next one

[Pickchore]

A diesel van with a diesel generator called out to help a stranded EV is counter-production at its finest.

[MrMikegl]

In my local garage the other day, I asked if they were going to upgrain their ramps to cope with EVs. They said no because we can not get insurance to have them on the premises.

[neildee]

Interesting to hear that fairly recent 2nd hand EVs are not selling at auction when old fashioned vehicles are commanding top prices

[gordon]

The AA man turns up with a diesel generator 😂😂😂😂😂

[VXGaming]

My stepdad bought a VW EV and in winter it said 90 miles from full to empty when he turned the heater on. I was smiling cause my little Fiesta will still do 300 miles with the heater on.

[tanfosbery]

It's good to know that in my petrol car, none of my cars systems switch off when the fuel gauge shows low

[adamdavidson]

I hope and pray this EV madness slows right down if not stops altogether !!!

[Richard-xpsh]

I have every confidence that EV's won't end up being used en masse as their limitations will continue to come to light

[brian]

here in Australia a tow truck driver told me 90 percent of the breakdowns that he recovers in modern cars are always the computer and electronics if not in accident, he always says to buy an old car easy to repair and rarely breaks down

[markmason]

The tyre issue reminded me of reviews when they comment on the torque from standing. This feature is bound to stress the tyres I expect. The other issue is life of the car dictated by the life of the batteries. When the batteries wear out after a life of becoming increasingly less efficient. Decreasing power and range. The price of replacement rendering the whole vehicle a write off. How is that good for the environment when much of environmental cost is making it in the first place.

[bribaines]

Just a quick EV related story in California USA last summer after going green and with the maximum EV cars on the road owners came home to plug in there cars and the air conditioning the city had a power outage hospitals needed to put emergence generators on , in England the power grid has a problem when every one puts the kettle on during the break of coronation street.

[alanthomson]

Heard that some breakdown companies don’t come out for running out of fuel, so why would they come out for ev battery negligence ?

[rip]

"A dance program to distract you from what's really going on in the world around you" 😅 brilliant comment, also completely true 👍

[allanb]

We need more channels like this. Great report. I have been driving 54 years and called the AA out once for an electrical fault on a car I just bought for £185, other than that nothing in a million miles in 50+ countries. To be fair there is only one thing wrong with EVs..they are shite.

[SimonWallwork]

I only hired a pure EV once, in Madrid. It didn't do the range it thought it would, and I drove it slowly for ages in 'tortoise mode' before the bastard thing expired completely. I walked the last few Km back to the hire place. So, 100% of my own experience was 'Main battery exhausted'- the range anxiety before it did so was quite stressing too.

[jdaley]

I think in the race to get an EV on the market, manufacturers haven't fully thought out their designs. Telsa being a prime example. A certain ex top gear presenter had to charge up the 12v battery on his Tesla with a seperate charger after staying at home during lock down. Even though he'd left the HV charging cable plugged in through lock down. Very poor design.

[pimziengs]

Hey Geoff,

Since a few days I have been watching your videos on EV vehicles and I absolutely love them! Since 3, 5 years I am the proud owner of a Mazda 323 from 1999, and I really love this car. My ambition is to drive it until it breaks, so far I never had any major problems besides some minor repairs. It is cheap, it is reliable and it is definitely more eco-concious then buying an electric car.

Also I am repairing more and more my own car together with a friend, which is a wonderful experience. Let's hope I can continue driving this car the next 10, or maybe, 15 years. In my opinion I think legislation will kill this car before mechanical failure will.

Love from the Netherlands!

[tygorton]

Electric cars ARE the future... a future in which nobody living in a city owns a car. When those future people use an app to schedule a ride, the car that picks them up will indeed be an EV, it'll just be owned by some mega corporation. So congrats to all you EV enthusiasts: your amazing future awaits.