How Much Does It Cost To Replace An Electric Battery
The average cost of an EV battery in 2021 was approximately £87 per kWh. That would put the cost of a new Tesla Model S battery alone at close to £8,870, before you factor in what it would theoretically cost to remove and replace the old one. Its an eye-watering sum, and one which would probably leave you wondering whether or not you should just buy a new car, or avoid electric cars entirely.
Thankfully, as well see below, electric cars are covered by fairly generous warranties. Whats more, if you do need an out-of-warranty replacement, new EV batteries are becoming increasingly cheaper!
How Far Can One Charge Go
Just as conventional cars have big or small fuel tanks, lithium-ion batteries for electric cars come in different sizes. Rather than litres of fuel, their capacity is measured in kilowatt hours . A typical 40kWh battery pack from a mainstream electric car might be enough to power it for 150 miles or more, while Tesla’s biggest 100kWh battery is good for 375 miles according to the WLTP standard – which aims to give a realistic estimation of cars’ real-world range or fuel economy.
WLTP is an abreviation of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, which came in to effect in 2017 and was set up to measure fuel consumption,CO2 levels and other pollutant emissions from passenger cars. It replaced the New European Driving Cycle
You might recognise the kilowatt hour from your electricity bill it’s the industry standard charging unit. A 40kWh battery holds enough energy to power a typical home for four days!
Where To Get Car Battery Replaced
You have a few options if your car battery needs to be replaced. You can go to a dealership or a local automotive store or even do it yourself.
If you have a warranty on your car, you may want to take it to the dealership so that they can handle the replacement. However, if you dont have a warranty or your battery is no longer under warranty, you can save money by taking it to a local automotive store.
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How Much Does It Cost To Replace A Tesla Battery
When your Tesla battery begins to age or just breaks down entirely, what do you do? Can you replace it at home? Is that even safe?!
Tesla is the current king of electric cars. It beat numerous automakers with over 100 years of experience at their own game. However, even if electric cars are the future, they’re not immune to damage and wear and tear.
Although electric vehicles don’t need annual oil changes or radiator coolant refills, their battery pack still degrades over time. When that happens, whether through an accident or regular wear-and-tear, you’ll want to replace it so you can keep using your car.
But how much does it cost to replace a Tesla battery? And can you do it yourself?
Electric Vehicle Battery Replacement Cost
Electric vehicles are a relatively new trend in the automotive industry even though the first electric vehicles are not a new idea and have existed practically since the 1830s when a Scottish inventor named Robert Anderson invented a crude electric carriage.
One of the reasons they didnt catch on immediately was that fossil fuels such as crude oil were still a pretty plentiful and cheap resource, unlike electricity which was still a relatively new and underdeveloped form of energy lacking the proper infrastructure to support it.
But in the modern world, things are different, oil prices continue to rise, and many automotive manufacturers are slowly making the shift towards producing EVs, some even stating that they will start to only have electric vehicles by the 2030s.
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How Much Does It Cost To Replace A Car Battery In Other Cars
The cost of replacing a car battery in other cars is going to be significantly lower as compared to Tesla.
On average, you’ll be spending around $100 to $300 to replace the battery in other cars. The cost will again vary depending on the make, model & year of your car.
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How Much Does It Cost To Change An Ev Battery
- Parkers explores a common concern about EV battery longevity
- Will your EV battery outlast its car?
- What to do if you need to change the battery
Electric cars are growing in popularity but some key concerns remain. In addition to how long it takes to charge and where you can charge, you might wonder about the lifetime of an electric car battery. Weve all changed the batteries in our TV remotes at some point. Does the same need to happen to an electrc car?
The good news is your electric vehicle battery will not need changing very frequently at all. But in the event you do need to change the batterysay, if its faulty, no longer holding charge or youve been in an accidentit can be one of the most expensive components of the vehicle.
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How Much Does It Cost To Replace A Battery In An Electric Car
Battery replacement for your electric vehicle can one an average costs anywhere between $3000 to $20000. This wide price range is that the battery replacement cost depends on various factors. Your EV model and the type of battery you choose primarily decide the cost. Expensive model of EVs typically has higher replacement cost. Moreover, you get free replacement batteries within 8 years and 100,000 miles as per most manufacturers warranties.
Expected Lifespan Of Electric Car Batteries
Its a little hard to predict since the lifespan depends on various factors. After knowing how much does an electric car battery cost, its pretty normal to get to calculating your investments value. Most manufacturers offer a battery warranty of eight years or 100000 miles of range. You can also predict the lifespan from here. Moreover, its only the warranty coverage. In reality, a car battery should last anywhere tween 10 to 20 years and get you well over 200000 miles.
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How Much Does A Tesla Battery Cost What Musk Said
In 2019, Elon Musk said replacing battery modules costs between $5,000 and $7,000. Each Tesla model uses between four and five battery modules per vehicle, meaning a complete replacement will set you back between $20,000 and $35,000.
With the most affordable Tesla coming in at $46,990 before rebates, the battery accounts for nearly half the cost of the vehicle. However, actual dealer prices vary from what their CEO said.
Can You Replace A Tesla Battery At Home
If you’re considering repairing your Tesla yourself, you might run into problems unless you’ve invested time and money in equipment and training. That’s because you must know how to work with the car’s operating system to diagnose issues reliably.
Furthermore, specialized parts, plans, and schematics are hard to come by. So, unless you’re knowledgeable in servicing electric cars or willing to risk damaging your Tesla, you shouldn’t do it. There are also many more queries that plague electric car ownership. If you’re still looking for answers, check out the explanations we’ve listed for some of the most common questions about EVs.
Nevertheless, if you’re interested in working on your Tesla, there are several groups you can join and YouTube channels you can follow to discover how to go about it. But know that if you’re working with these things, you must be careful as these batteries are dangerous high-voltage devices. In short, significant health risks are associated with changing a Tesla battery at home.
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How Much Does An Electric Car Battery Replacement Cost
John Bogna
John is a freelance writer and photographer based in Houston, Texas. His ten-year background spans topics from tech to culture and includes work for the Seattle Times, the Houston Press, Medium’s OneZero, WebMD, and MailChimp. Before moving to The Bayou City, John earned a B.A. in Journalism from CSU Long Beach. Read more…
Modern electric vehicles will last quite a while on their stock battery pack, but eventually theyll degrade and need to be replaced. The prospect of a replacement might make you hesitant about buying an EV, so what will a replacement actually run you, and how can you avoid needing one?
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Electric Car Battery Cost Per Kwh
The average cost of an electric car battery is about $400 per kilowatt-hour . This means that a 40 kWh battery would cost around $16,000. The price of batteries has been falling rapidly in recent years, and is expected to continue to do so.
Electric vehicle battery costs are currently $132 per kWh, but this could go up. The price per kilowatt-hour is a metric that is used to track battery prices. The cost of a battery pack or battery cell can be used as a comparison. The average cost of an EV battery has dropped consistently over the last year. In 2010, the cost of lithium-ion battery packs was above $1,200 per kilowatt-hour. As a result, the rate is now $137 per kWh, which is a slight improvement from last years figure of $137 per kWh. However, in the near future, rising material costs may lead to an end to these cost-cutting measures.
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What Is The Battery In An Electric Vehicle
Just like any other mode of transport, EVs require an energy source. The energy needed to run an electric vehicle is stored inside a battery pack in the form of electricity.
In most cases, these battery packs are comprised of several hundred to thousands of individual lithium-ion cells or battery modules, with the number of which depending mainly on the shape and type of battery cells.
The amount of range a battery has is measured in a unit called the kilowatt hour and represented how much energy a battery can output per hour.
Electricity is drawn from the battery pack and used to power the electric motors, which in turn power the drive wheels and other critical systems inside the vehicle.
In some hybrid vehicles, the battery and electric motors work in tandem to help the ICU engine run the car either more efficiently or with the goal of added performance.
One critical difference between gasoline-powered vehicles and EVs is that they have much greater acceleration due to their increased torque. Still, they also usually weigh more due to their lithium-ion batteries weighing anywhere from 1000 to 2000 pounds.
Can You Replace Electric Car Batteries
If repair is not an option, electric car batteries can often be replaced.
As weve already suggested, EV batteries tend to last a long time – between 10 and 20 years by current estimates – so theres no point worrying about this before youve even purchased a new car.
If you plan on leasing your new car, this is something youll likely never have to worry about!
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How Do You Make Sure That Your Battery Lasts Longer
- The battery is a car part underwear just like any other, and a simple way to keep it in top-notch shape is to ensure that it is not under unnecessary added strain, so here are some tips on how to make sure it lasts.
- Keep the battery charged between 20% and 80% since this is considered the healthiest range in which a battery can run. Anything above or below causes added strain and shortens the lifespan
- Dont let your vehicle stay parked outside for long periods since this leaves it under the influence of the weather and can damage the battery if the temperature gets too hot or cold. Even if your car has a battery temperature control system, it will not be online if turned off.
- Only use a DC fast charger if you need to. This type of charger, although very quick in recharging, usually takes around 15-30 minutes for a full charge, which is detrimental to the batterys longevity. Use a regular charger on a day-to-day basis instead.
- Keep the connectors as clean as you can. With time rust and corrosion might develop on the connectors, thus affecting the efficiency of charging.
- Drive at a regular pace and speed of course, it is fun to put the pedal to the metal and show off to your friends just how fast your new EV accelerates, but it causes much-unneeded strain and heats the battery very quickly, not to mention what pressure it puts on everything else.
Tesla Model Y Battery Replacement Total Cost Including Labor And Parts
Battery replacement costs on Teslas Model Y are an enigmaand thats a good thing. Reports of a Model Y needing a new battery are virtually absent.
Does this have something to do with how new the Model Y still is? Absolutely.
However, like the Model 3, Model S, and Model X, reports of unusual degradation or warrantied battery replacement on the Model Y are very, very low.
As the Model Y battery pack is similar to the design of the Model 3, battery replacement costs will likely also be similar. At current estimated prices per kWh , the estimated cost for a new 75-82kWh battery pack on the Model Y would come in at about $10,000-$12,000. With miscellaneous parts and a labor charge of around $500 for a 3-hour replacement added, a more accurate low estimate for a replacement of the Model Ys battery pack is around $11,000-$13,000.
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Types Of Batteries Used In Electric Vehicles
With the popularity of the electric vehicle market, the variety of batteries has increased simultaneously. Every day new sizes and styles are coming into the market with different batteries. Here is a short breakdown of batteries youll see in electric vehicles.
Lithium-Ion Battery
Lithium-ion is the most widely used battery youll notice in electric vehicles. You might also know it from your smartphone, laptop, or any other day-to-day device battery. The main reason its popular is that its cost-effective with an excellent power to weight ratio. Electric vehicle batteries are not cheap, so the slower discharge rate makes lithium-ion a viable choice.
Nickel-Metal Hybrid Battery
Next up, we have nickel-metal hybrid batteries. This battery is mostly seen in hybrid electric vehicles, those running on both gas and battery power. The main benefit of using a nickel-metal battery is that it has an excellent battery cycle and handles rough usage really well. On the drawback, these batteries get hot easily and are pretty expensive than lithium-ion.
Lead Acid Battery
Before the era of lithium-ion batteries, led acid was the EV car battery industry. Lead-acid batteries are made of inexpensive materials, are easy to manufacture, and dont get hot very easily. However, due to the high power requirement of todays EVs, these batteries are not used as the primary source of power. Instead, these batteries supplement the primary battery load as ancillary load.
Ultracapacitor Battery
Tesla Model S Battery Replacementhow Much Does It Cost
While battery replacement reports from stateside owners of the Model S outside of warranty are few and far between, we have found a few cases where a full battery replacement visit has cost up to $20,000. That sounds pretty high, but the breakdown in price shows that the Model S battery itself costs somewhere in the realm of$12,000-$15,000.
Additional replacement parts, such as connectors and wiring, are sometimes needed, most of those being in the $20-$200 range. Finally, depending on whether there is damage to be repaired or a complication in the replacement, battery replacement is reportedly taking anywhere from 3 to 13 hours. As labor costs at the Tesla Service center have been reported around $175-$200 per hour, thats an additional $525-$2,600. It sounds excessive until you remember that all these personnel are handing a high voltage system, and the overhead for their insurance and facilities compliance is pretty steep.
Bottom line: the cheapest estimate for an out-of-pocket, uncomplicated battery replacement on the Model S should cost about $12,000-$13,000 for the battery, $100-200 for miscellaneous parts, and $500-600 for labor. This puts the grand total at around $13,000-$14,000 for a full Model S battery replacement.
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Do Electric Cars Save Money
There are two ways to look at the whole cost-effectiveness matter. When asking how much does an electric car battery cost, most of you would think about the cost effectiveness part too. One is the cost of the car itself and then comes the fuel and maintenance cost. If we talk about the electric car only, its pretty pricier than any standard gasoline engine car.
But on the bright side, the maintenance cost and electricity bill coming from charging your vehicles are way less than the gas bill and maintenance of a regular car. Unlike gas cars, you dont have to run to the gas station every time. You can make charging station for EV at home.
If we look at this calculation, electric cars can save you a lot of money in the long run. The cheaper electricity bill makes up for the initial higher price you have paid for the EV. Moreover, you can even save that electricity bill by generating your own electricity.
Pricey But Getting Cheaper
Like most costs associated with electric vehicles, the cost of battery replacement started high. It remains expensive today, but we should see a decrease in that cost over the next few years. If that happens, it would mean a reduction in one of the most significant costs of EV ownership.
To learn more about what it costs to own an electric car, check out our explainer on how far an EV charge will get you.
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