How useful is the battery warranty, really?

Have you ever tried lifting a 5kWh battery for home solar, like a Pylontech? They aren't light, about 20-30kg, for all of 5kWh. Imagine trying to moves a 50kWh battery

You can't just magic the energy density up by a factor of 10, some constraints just can't be ignored

I actually saw a concept a few years ago for a swappable battery which went into the boot of a car. Was about the size of a suitcase and took a beast of a fella to lift

Haven't seen anything about it since so I'm guessing the concept didn't take off

Considering they do have good reliability stats, why not just update the guarantee for cars going back to 2016 - if they’re so bloody reliable it won’t cost Nissan anything or very little.

I guarantee you that every single Nissan customer who walked out of the showroom with a new EV over the last number of years was “reassured” that the battery pack, the thing that would cost them 1000s if ANYTHING went wrong with it, was fully covered for 7-8 years or whatever the guarantee period was.
And people wonder why EV sales are down?

Why?

Charigng the battery in the car works fine, it isn't like the fuel tanks on petrol cars are swappable

Battery swaps only work in cases where the battery can be very compact and deliver useful range, like an ebike or moped

You cannot compare a battery with a tank lol they are completely different things, the tank is just a storage box!

I think battery swaps would be very handy for EV's, if they came down in size / weight you could have a spare battery to get twice the range, plus easy to replace battery when it degrades :)

EV battery isn't the same as phone battery. Its also cycled in completely different way. Your phone at simplistic level is cycled every day or two days. That 356-128 times a year. A car battery will be once or twice a week. You can effectively repair an EV battery it made of cells and is managed in terms of temp, charging and discharging in a way those other batteries aren't.

We know from all the data that degradation isn't a huge issue. This thread however is about faults.

Again, how is that an improvement? Even if we entered the realms of science fiction and battery energy density increased by a factor of 10, you'd still be talking about 30-40kg of batteries

Have you ever rocked up to a petrol station and thought "filling this car is so inconvenient that I'd rather lug around a couple of full jerry cans of auxiliary tanks"?

I'm going to guess the answer is no

As for easier maintenance, it's already easy enough for a mechanic to repair batteries. Some of the main brand garages seem reluctant to do it, probably because they haven't got the training or the equipment. Or they aren't bothered

There is a growing cohort of specialist EV garages that can do cell or module level battery repair, making it a lot more economical to keep an out of warranty EV going

Im not too sure how this comparison makes sense " "filling this car is so inconvenient that I'd rather lug around a couple of full jerry cans of auxiliary tanks"?" their are so many garages, that jerry cans is just the same thing.

Charging a battery is different as it takes time..

A 30KG battery would be feasible.. its only an option, you dont have to have a spare if you dont want to.. Plus hot swappable batteries means they are easier to replace when they degrade..

Not sure if Id have any ould jocker messing with batteries, I have no experience BUT as for 'specialist EV garages' sure they aint cheap!

Sure, but who's talking about needing a beast of a fella on the forecourt to lift batteries in and out?

A properly designed and engineered system with a degree of standardisation enforced on manufacturers would result in a similar parallel well designed and engineered system on forecourts to deal with this using mechanical, likely automated lifts. That would require no greater input from the driver or car than to park in the correct spot and have the driver or car unplug and replug.

Manufacturers will rail against this at the moment and owners of EVs not compatible with such a system but if EVs are the future, then the sooner the EU et al seize the nettle and enforce the better.

But then, maybe EVs are not the future? Just a transient technology. And therefore no need for more regulation as they'll have their day to be replaced with something else and the manufacturers can churn the market again…. is that closer to the truth?

Swappable batteries are a simple, elegant concept that would solve several of the issues that concern EVs. It's as plain as the nose on your face.

Designed properly from the start, a human transport vehicle based on standardised batteries and charging systems that would be efficient and convenient would utilise a swappable battery system.

But quite likely there is no need, we'll putter on till some new idea hits the shelves. Maybe EVs will be like the TV repeaters of yore, all the fashion and need for a few years, now found rusting away on hillsides around the country.

I think spot the EV owners is more fun..

No doubt they have along way to go..

TBH I think the arguments / comparisons the EV owners have been making are just silly

• comparing batteries to jerry cans - doesnt make sense
• saying fuel tanks should be swappable - what / why, they are just a tank that holds the fuel..

keep going on about battery size and weight, yes this is the problem, a long way to go here..

You said smaller and lighter but you did not quantify capacity in kWh or weight. These details are core to your spare 'smaller and lighter' battery concept.

I did not miss that at all. I was politely querying whether you missed these important details.