Oh my god! I’ve had my M3 for over four years! Where the hell is my oil can???

Your Model 3 does require an oil change – at 300,000 miles. The gear box requires an oil change at that point. You can tell your mom that and maybe she would be reassured.

Salt eats steel and corrodes aluminium, killer for all metals. Too bad they can’t make body-frames out of a Renewable, Recyclable composites that are not subject to “decomposition” from the elements & crap in it. Maybe someday IF humanity survives that long…

In Canada, the average ranges from 12,000 to 19,000 Km driven per year, depending on province. Urban versus rural differences aren’t noted though.

I’ve had to replace the rear differential, tranny work as well, of course all rotors, callipers, ball joints & tie rod ends have been replaced… 16 yr old with 200K that’s not bad, but the body rust is starting and it’s downhill from here on out. The ONLY reason the body lasted as long was because it was annually coated and the exterior maintained properly… I see similar Ram’s that are 6 years old already rotting… 10 yr olds with rotten fenders & door bottoms – boxes are yet another matter… Actually the older models bodies lasted longer.

I would like to see data from large numbers of EVs hitting 500k km (about 300k miles) before battery or motor replacements. That would be a good metric to push people to buy EVs over fossil fuel vehicles.

As others indicated, corrosion due to road salt may be a bigger long term issue that needs to be tracked in the 200k miles and beyond range too. How many of these EVs are even structurally viable due to corrosion at these mileages?

I put 100,000 miles on my Model S over 10 years and never touched the brakes. I have heard stories of EV brake work after 200,000 miles. Regenerative braking basically eliminates significant wear and tear on brake systems originally designed for heavy duty ICE demands. I never touched the ball joints or tie-rods either; lubed for life of the vehicle.

I put 100,000 miles on my Model S over 10 years and never touched the brakes. I have heard stories of EV brake work after 200,000 miles. Regenerative braking basically eliminates significant wear and tear on brake systems originally designed for heavy duty ICE demands. I never touched the ball joints or tie-rods either; lubed for life of the vehicle.

I think the difference of lifespan between EVs and ICEs is an urban legend. It might be tgeoritically possible but the current real life experiences tell otherwise. A lot of older EVs are also expensive to maintain. And as for ICEs. It living long? The average car in Europe is 12 years old with some countries having an average car is 17 years old cars. That is the average car on the street, not the average lifespan of cars. In 12 years most people will put a lot more than 100k kilometers. So definitely it is a lie to say an ICE doesn’t routinely reach 100k even with poor maintenance. Wake me up when the average age of Teslas on the street is 12 years old (probably 12 years from now).

The Money and Drugs That Tie Elon Musk to Some Tesla Directors

https://www.wsj.com/tech/elon-musk-tesla-money-drugs-board-61af9ac4

Given the tide of history, there has to be some balance to the past.

Time Magazine Person Of The Year 2021 Elon Musk’s Love For Humanity Shines Brightly

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/12/14/time-magazine-person-of-the-year-2021-elon-musks-love-for-humanity-shines-brightly/

It might only take a few more years to collect enough data on high mileage EVs like the model 3. Rideshare drivers like uber in the USA seem to be punishing these EVs. It could come sooner than we think with even the highest levels of abuse EVs can take with DC fast charging.

We don’t have large numbers of EVs hitting 300k miles because EVs haven’t been out that long. And the technology is improving so quickly that data on early LEAFs won’t generalize to the EVs made in the past 5 years. I’m sure most of us would like to see that data, but short of a time portal, I don’t know how we would get it. We have to make do with the few EVs that have been driven many miles per year (which doesn’t take into account time as a cause of battery degradation) and extrapolations based on the battery degradation of existing EVs (which doesn’t take into account increased end of life range degradation).

In Canada, the average ranges from 12,000 to 19,000 Km driven per year, depending on province. Urban versus rural differences aren’t noted though.

I’ve had to replace the rear differential, tranny work as well, of course all rotors, callipers, ball joints & tie rod ends have been replaced… 16 yr old with 200K that’s not bad, but the body rust is starting and it’s downhill from here on out. The ONLY reason the body lasted as long was because it was annually coated and the exterior maintained properly… I see similar Ram’s that are 6 years old already rotting… 10 yr olds with rotten fenders & door bottoms – boxes are yet another matter… Actually the older models bodies lasted longer.

That’s what I think my Model 3 will do. Winters are rough on cars with salt brine sprayed on the roads. I think the drivetrain will be fine, the sheet metal is where the wear will become noticable.

Well, you still have to do brake service, Lubes for ball joints, tie-rods etc , windshield washer juice of an the odd squirt of oil to the door locks & hinges…

That is not the average though. You obviously maintained & repaired as needed and likely did not beat the crap out of them and drove like “normal folks” and got mashing the pedal at every green light etc. I’ve got a 16 year old ICE 4×4 Truck with 200K (needed where I live – offgrid/rural/remote offgrid hobby farm) and it still runs great but I’ve had to put “coin” into it to keep it there. I had hoped to replace it but nothing of interest to me has appeared and I will not buy a first production run, so I am stuck…

Averages because there are calm cautious drivers who maintain their vehicles properly and then there are the others…

Estimating EV Lifespan is easy enough but Real-Life is always the genuine acid test. Tesla now has cars out there with 10 Years of road duty in all the conditions that RL tosses at them and they are doing well, “overall”. As for the other EV’s out there we will have to see really.

Drivetrains are one thing but bodies also have to survive in everything from extreme heat in deserts to extreme cold in the North and things like road salt etc… Like many ICE’s I can see BEV’s also going to scrap because they’ve rotted but that’s usually after 10-15 years of road duty… Rust & Corrosion does not discriminate. Granted that Australia & Winter & Road Salt are not an issue and vehicles live longer as a result

Let’s have a look at Tesla from say New York State with 250K Miles on them… I would be kind of neat to be able to compare how “Equivalent” models fare in the extreme edges of where they are used and to see how the Wear & Tear is affecting the vehicles. Are the wheel wells, rockers & quarters rotting in the Rust Belt cars or ?

All very basic cars, the Almera the only one with airco, ABS and airbags. Yet respectable mileage due to regular maintenance and relatively moderate driving. Some of my motorbikes easily passed 100K as well while not always been ridden moderately…

My next car will be an EV though. The best serviceable parts are no serviceable parts.

I believe the lack of required servicing is a feature very much undersold by the EV industry.

Perhaps they should say “free servicing for 5 years” as an added sales gimmick