Electric Vehicles and Punctures

[BellaBlythe]

Is this all true?
At a well lubricated lunch we were informed that owners cannot jack up their car and change a wheel, Tesla or BMW. This is because they are so heavy. They need full recovery and a repair to the tyre or a new one.
Some EVs have rare sizes and it might be a while, days to weeks, before the car is returned.
I was also told that Tesla models have different sizes. So not many of each size in stock or even not many in the country.
We are a country living set of friends, (think Kaleb) so all horrified at having to rely on others rather than self or mates.
How do you get on?

Ah cars. The only thing I am jealous of from America, I would absolutely love a massive truck.

I am only a weekend EV and will never go back

I am only a week into EV and will never go back. Never change the time in my life either wouldn't be able to on any car due to arthritis and also due to when I was young not having a clue 😂

I have 2 different models of Tesla. Like many modern cars there is no spare wheel. I carry a tyre inflated in each and when I've had a flat tyre have just re inflated it and driven home. No issues getting a new tyre either.

To be honest it's a non issue for me as I haven't a clue how to hack my car up and repair a tyre, I don't even fix my bicycle flats. I'm sure I'm not alone!

Electric isn't mandatory yet so it's consumer choice

I fairly recently helped someone change and a wheel on their leaf.

There are lots of electric cars that are lighter than petrol or diesel cars.

Electric are heavier than the equivalent petrol (enough to worry structural engineers re multi storey car parks) but significantly individually. Tesla's are heavier than other brands too.

Wouldn’t be anything to do with weight. Can happily jack up a 3.5 t van at the side of the road

more to do with the fact most cars petrol, diesel and ev just done come with spares and have that stupid gunk.

my 2011 Mazda 6 had to be recovered in 2011. Because the gunk didn’t fix the puncture. So Meier a new or an ev prbolem. Personally always spec a spare as an option and have one with my EV.

This just isn't true - see my post above.

I hope it is never mandatory. I think we all deserve the choice and I say that as an EV driver.

Thank you all for the comments. I was concerned about weight because DH saw the report that structural engineers were assessing multi level carparks because of increased loading caused by heavier vehicles.
We are happy with our Skoda Karoc and pleased we bought a space saver and jack which has been used once (by Green Flag). Oddly only 1 mile from home. Probably not change the car for another 3 years when all will be different.

Its true there is a general trend of cars to get heavier as they are just getting bigger with more engineering in them. A Mk1 VW Golf from the 1970s was 800+kg. A current Golf Mk 8 is 1250+ kg. The E golf is 1480 kg curb weight. So the battery is one factor but not the only one.

Car park design guidance has been updated recently to allow for heavier vehicles but obviously there are lots of existing ones still in use that were designed for typically 2500kg max vehicle weight. The combination of the very heaviest large EVs/E-SUVs with older multistorey car parks from the 1960s and 70s that were a bit marginally designed probably needs some assessment. I expect we will start to see car parks that have a weight limit as well as a height limit, as there are more cars over 2500kg on the market or the average weight of cars keeps creeping up. Or they will repaint 4 spaces into 3 on some floors for large vehicles.

Hopefully move towards EVs will be coupled with people using smaller, more economical cars, and fewer journeys by car, so car park capacity won't be overstretched anyway.

ETA: I did a bit of research since my earlier comment.

@NotMeNoNo Hopefully move towards EVs will be coupled with people using smaller, more economical cars, and fewer journeys by car, so car park capacity won't be overstretched anyway.
Why do you think we shall need smaller cars?
We will still have the same sized families, + stuff for baby + dog.
We will still want the same safety features like side protection panels.
Buses and public transport is being reduced except within cities. Getting from nearby towns and villages will still need personal transport.

Well we have smaller families than a generation ago, but cars have got much, much bigger, as pp have noted. There are some mechanical reasons (safety tech) but it’s mostly because of consumer tastes.

My grandparents had three children and two dogs. Their car was a Mini - not one of the modern ones, but the original tiny ones. I don’t know anybody who would do that now.

@BellaBlythe I don't mean everyone has to have a smaller car. I just mean the average might come down a bit. There are plenty of people driving around in large cars and SUVs that could manage with a hatchback. Not everyone, obviously, but some. People might choose smaller cars for economy reasons. It's not going to happen tomorrow but probably over a generation as climate change/COL bites we will see a change.

We have a Tesla. We have had a number of punctures. They come and put a spare tyre on and then later bring out the replacement. They have to do all of that because of the electrics. It also costs a lot per tyre.

@NotMeNoNo I could manage with a small hatchback but one of the small pleasures in life is having a nice car that I like so I choose a big car.

How wonderfully refreshing to read a comment from someone on here who clearly knows what they're talking about.

I wonder if we'll move towards a US system where many car parks have dedicated SUV and Compact Car spaces.

You're welcome, but the parameters of that choice will probably be different for future generations. Hopefully there will be other pleasures in life!

I think the eGolf is 1600kg rather than 1480kg with the Golf Mk 7 ranging from about 1200-1500kg, so the eGolf is a bit heavier.

The obsession with range on EVs means newer ones have more batteries which, for the moment (battery technology will doubtless change), adds weight that is mostly not really needed except for occasional long trips.

As you say, all this is mostly irrelevant to the increase in the weight of cars though; that’s down to cars getting bigger. I love my EGolf but I’d love it even more if it were the size of a 1970s Golf.

The tyre particulate thing is often cited as a mark against EVs but that seems to be based on the idea that if the car is heavier (a bit but not much) then the tyres will wear quicker which as many EV drivers will attest just isn’t the case in the real world. Driving to maximise range means driving more gently plus no gears means no clunky gear changes.