How is the future of all-electric vehicles going to affect local mechanics?

[mab01uk]

Just dropped my BMW off at my local family run garage for MOT & service (I no longer DIY my modern cars) and this thought crossed my mind for younger mechanics with many years of work ahead before their ever increasing retirement age...a quick google brought up this below...interested to hear others thoughts and timescales for the changes ahead.

Will there still be enough work to do on electric cars for the conventional mechanic?

Here’s a statistic to differentiate the difference between the electric vehicle motor and a conventional engine.
A petrol engine has over 2,000 moving parts, many assembled by highly experienced hands.
An electric powertrain has less than 20.
The design and build of an engine has been a craft to continually develop through time, with the love and excitement of some of the finest engineers ever known.
By comparison, an EV powertrain is incredibly simple. It’s hard to see how much more there’s left to do. The big challenge to the industry is in battery development, high-speed charging, and how to pursue the technology.
For now, the local mechanic is safe. But as for their future? Who knows?
https://www.fixter.co.uk/blog/how-is-th ... -of-today/

[Polarsilver]

Mab, remember to call them Technicians when you collect your BMW

[mab01uk]

Mab, remember to call them Technicians when you collect your BMW

My BMW is long out of warranty so it no longer goes to the official BMW Dealer where the receptionist would always tell me that the 'Technicians' have do an expensive upfront diagnostic test before proceeding with any work or repairs....(even when you know and tell them exactly what the fault is).
Luckily the local family run independent still has some old school 'Mechanics'...

Having had two brothers who started as apprentice mechanics straight from school and who had successful careers, it did make me wonder if there was any long term future for an apprentice mechanic starting out today?

[minibitz]

The EV power unit may have far fewer moving parts but the rest of the car still functions and wears in the same way as an ICE vehicle. Steering, brakes suspension etc.

With the increase of electrical components there is likely far more to do in that arena so maybe the reduction in mechanical "techs" would be out weighed by the increase in electrical "techs".

Saying all that a mechanical apprenticeship in a main dealer these days isn't what it would have been in the past. From what I've seen there is far less striping stuff down for diagnosis and repair. There seems to be more emphasis on swapping complete units rather that getting into nitty gritty repairs.

A customer of mine has recently had a son go through a dealership and he's was being taught sweet FA other than floor sweeping and changing oil filters.

[Tim]

My Ford Territory has a faulty "blend door" in the heater. The end has broken off a plastic rod about 20cm long.

The car is built around the flippin' heater! its 8 hours labour to pull out the seats, drop the steering column and take out the entire dash. Its a two person job with three air bags and an overly delicate entertaininment system that have to be moved aside, so its not really a DIY prospect. I've been quoted ~$1500 depending on parts cost, by my local mechanic. That's almost a week's pay.

I reckon they'll be alright.

Tim

[111Robin]

Modern mechanics have for many years been reduced (in the engine department) to plugging in a scanner, reading codes and replacing sensors so I imagine (knowing nothing about EVs) that this will be very similar as there must be some form of on board diagnostics for EVs as well. In this respect it won't really make much difference. Brakes, steering and suspension repairs will remain very much the same. So apart from not having to change oil/filter (lets face it this takes them ten minutes sucking the oil oil through the dipstick tube and screwing off the filter) and timing belts it shouldn't be that much different. I started helping my dad at his garage just as cars were transitioning into solid state ignition modules and fuel injection so we still worked on lots of points/carburetted cars but these gradually fizzled out and we were left in a similar situation, there was next to nothing to do to the engine apart from oil/filter changes and cam belts. I'm definitely glad we are no longer in business with the advent of the EV.
I was sweeping the floors and changing filters from age 15 to 50, nothing wrong with that, I was the permanent apprentice

[finchy533]

Oh, they'll be fine - the balljoints on my Tesla (company car, don't judge me) lasted 25k miles, it'll be like the heydays of fixing BL's finest in the 70s.

As for the 'incredibly simple EV powertrain' - of the 3 similar cars in my office, mine is the only one still on its original powertrain, so I think they do still have a little work to do!

[BAD942B]

EVs wear out tyres, brakes, suspension systems & roads at prodigious rates because they are so heavy so i'm going to tell my Granddaughters boyfriend to make sure that's what he specialises in if he starts on his own

[BigWig]

I feel EV's are a stop gap that tick boxes in the short term. Lithium mining isn't environmentally friendly and the charging infrastructure is way behind. Hopefully in the long term hydrogen / alternative fuels will keep anyone familiar with a combustion engine in a job.

[mk1]

Manufacturers will attempt ot tie owners of EV's into lease type arrangements where the servicing of the car is included in the "package" cost. This is already happening with a lot of IC cars.

Eventually the "local garage" will inevitably be consigned to history, just like the local filling station already has been.

[Costafortune]

Having seen the ferocity those electric things burn at and the difficulty of putting out an EV fire, I'd not be wanting to share the channel tunnel with one.

At main dealers, there are special EV only work areas that are cordoned off. Only certified technicians are allowed near them.

[imack]

At main dealers, there are special EV only work areas that are cordoned off. Only certified technicians are allowed near them.

Most main dealers will only have safety barriers around an EV if the high voltage system is being worked on. That EV will probably only be a few feet from the next car. Only qualified techs can work on the high voltage system, anyone can carry out routine repairs/service to the rest of the vehicle. Unfortunately, existing workshops really don't have the room for an 'EV only' area within the workshop. We're supposed to have an area in our carpark for 'quarrentined' EV's with a 5 metre exclusion zone per quarantined vehicle all around it. That would close our car park and prevent use of the workshop- it's physically impossible.
One of our dealerships has recently had a EV catch fire in it's carpark over night, it destroyed 8 other vehicles and took around 14 hours to fully extinguish. EV's with faults are a bit of a nightmare as management now want all EV's out of the workshop at night.

[minibitz]

A panel beater down the road from me lost their workshop due to an EV fire.

I don't know what type of repair the vehicle was there for but it caught fire overnight and took out 3/4 of their premises. They had literally just moved into the space too after purchasing and refurbishing the buildings.

Now back across the street in the leased premises they had just left awaiting outcome of insurance.

[mab01uk]

Having seen the ferocity those electric things burn at and the difficulty of putting out an EV fire, I'd not be wanting to share the channel tunnel with one.

Good point about EV's in the channel tunnel....LPG vehicles are not accepted by Eurotunnel so strange that EV's are allowed bearing in mind London Underground won't allow electric scooters on their trains due to the potential fire hazard. In fact EV's are encouraged to travel on Eurotunnel via having charge points at the terminals...

LPG
"Vehicles powered by LPG or equivalent flammable gas as well as dual powered vehicles (vehicles fitted with an LPG or equivalent flammable gas tank as an alternative fuel) cannot be accepted for transport by Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, even if: the LPG or equivalent flammable gas tank is empty."
https://help.eurotunnel.com/hc/en-gb/ar ... G-vehicle-

A few years ago I was in my car on the train half way through the Eurotunnel from France when the alarm went off and we were all told to leave our cars and evacuate to the next few carriages along and warned that fire engines would be waiting for the train when we reached the UK. In the end it turned out sensors on the train had detected a leaking petrol tank on one of the cars onboard.

[Exminiman]

EVs wear out tyres, brakes, suspension systems & roads at prodigious rates because they are so heavy so i'm going to tell my Granddaughters boyfriend to make sure that's what he specialises in if he starts on his own

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... tests-show

Particle pollution from tyres etc… seems to be a real issue, according to this article in the Guardian (not a paper I especially read) 50% of particle pollution is from tyres

Logically ( i have no scientific basis for this) a far heavier car will produce more tyre pollution. I appreciate that some EVs have different tyres, but still, tyre technology has its limits.

So, potentially, the Ultra Low Emmision zones , could actually produce more pollution, depending on how you classify pollution, of course

[mab01uk]

Rise in EVs could have implications for car park structures:-
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest ... 4-04-2023/

[Polarsilver]

This whole EV saga could be out of a Book of Fiction that all ends in Doom.

[MiNiKiN]

I can't see where this car obessity thing is solely an EV problem. Everybody nowadays seems to require something more similar to a tank, than a car. Regardless of the type of drive.

Luckily there is many EV developments coming that, to compensate for increased weight due to batteries, produce an increasing number of cars which are more appropriately sized, i.e. smaller again.

With regards to fire risks, lets look at some facts. Generally EV fires are more difficult to extinguish - true. But the figures show that ICE-cars burn about 6100 times more often. For every 100,000 cars sold so many go up in flames:
3.475% Hybrid
1.530% ICE
0.025% EV
Data and full report: https://www.autoinsuranceez.com/gas-vs- ... car-fires/

[Dan Tweed grey]

I work for a major electricity company and there is no future for EV's. Just a stop gap while other fuel sources are developed.

[BAD942B]

I work for a major electricity company and there is no future for EV's. Just a stop gap while other fuel sources are developed.

I think most people other that politicians would agree with that, just moving the polution elsewhere or in the case of nuclear, waiting for monster accidents which is why HS2 has liitle future in this country