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Are you a technician or an engineer? And as a follow up, what part of the vehicle do you engineer?

Because this sounds a lot like a case of a dentist seeing a lot of cavities and making conclusions that teeth are "bad tech".

I live in a climate that's in yearly flux from -20 to +35 C and EVs have been normal here for a long time(7+ years) with no major issues. What parameters and therefore regions does your statement cover? I'm sure you can't run an EV in Syberia(RU), but people with petrol cars there have to run them even parked to avoid freezing during the winter so there will always be extremes.

As for the commercial equation: BYD and Tesla don't seem to be fitting that narrative. So this is not a matter of a marketing mistake - but an overall execution on the failed manufacturers.

Engineer. I started in core competency groups, worked on powertrain integration, and now, I’m a specialist. I roam around and put myself to use wherever needed. I’m now a consultant but I have badges for idk, maybe 20 facilities.

I don't see anything in your comment history that would indicate a strong engineering role. Mostly political engagements really. You haven't said anything useful on this thread regarding TFA and it's content. Listing your credentials while making obviously false and dismissive statements is not good faith discussion.

lol… “I checked your post history and made bad assumptions” is the most Reddit Detective vibe I’ve ever seen outside of Reddit :D

You own an EV right?

I'd have to agree with the "Redditor Detective" here. I've asked you a lot about your statements and all you basically said is "i know shit".

The redditor comment here is sort of a projection. Kind of like ..a redditor mod.

Sure. You're a "specialist" but roam about doing anything and everything? That's the complete opposite of a specialist. I'm a networking expert but I just roam around fixing computer issues just like a basic tech.

They seem to be working just fine here in snowy Norway.

...what? You leave your car plugged in, and that's it. Then the BMS will take care of the battery without having to use it's energy.

If I preheat the car it also preheats the battery. If it's not warm enough it won't allow full recuperation. Oh my god, I have to use THE BRAKES for a few minutes, literal trash car.

And all those people in Norway, you know, with their heat pumps and EVs. Obviously life just grinds to a halt there every winter. *dramatic eye roll

Cool. And when you need to drive it? Most systems do not keep the battery heater running indefinitely.

No one is talking about the brakes.

I’m an automotive engineer that has worked for two of the big4. What is your experience?

driving an ev for the past 2.5 years with 97% SOH remaining. So I must be doing something right wrt treating the battery nicely. And I don't have a garage, it's outside most of the time. I drove thousands of km in subzero C temperature.

>Cool. And when you need to drive it? Most systems do not keep the battery heater running indefinitely.

I get in and put it into drive. When it's cold, I preheat it, I can program departure times, so the battery is conditioned and the cabin warmed in advance. Even at sub-zero temperatures, it always starts reliably, unlike a diesel engine, which, as you know, requires preheating and can struggle with extreme cold starts. Also requires winter diesel.

> And when you need to drive it?

When I need to drive me EV I open the door, get in, close the door, put it in drive and drive off.

Were you expecting something different? I'm in Norway by the way where it is expected to be -15 C in a few days; after eight years of EV driving (2015 Tesla S 70D) I am not anticipating any problems.

> What is your experience?

I've told you mine, what's yours? Or will you argue from authority again?

How is this not an instance of "perfect is the enemy of good enough?"?

Depends.

I have a vehicle in my personal shop right now. It needs a new battery, it is effectively totaled.

The battery costs more than the vehicle.

The effort for me to replace the battery modules (not even the cells inside of them) involves taking the entire suspension out, and then, you have the ACTUALLY FATAL issue of working on the battery pack. You need 1000V+ gloves that expire every six months, composite ratchets and sockets, and for me high voltage certification.

There is nothing on an ICE vehicle that can kill you while working on its parts.

I will be downvoted by people who need (literally) to defend their purchase. Always am on this topic.

Honestly in this situation, hybrids (ideally of the plug in variant) are the "good enough" thing when you're shifting from ICE.

Shifting the easy 70% first gives a very nice boost, and the rest can be cajoled/fed hydrogen (if it matures by then) etc over time.

> EV aren’t ready for world wide use.

Fully agree (I'm 100% team PHEV or EREV/REEV) as a mechanical engineer. IMO BEVs and PHEVs/REEVs should be on parity in terms of tax/govt incentives, while encouraging electric use - for eg, subsidized (PH)EV charging, high(er) costs in city centres if running in ICE mode, etc.

I was just curious if EV manufacturers use any other tricks that're "well known" in EV-land but not for the average consumer.

AFAIK, they charge only to 4.0 V. I think the batteries on satellites are also charged only to 4.0 V

Thanks! That's very helpful (and unsurprising) to know. Any idea if satellites use LTO batteries btw? They have much longer lives and apparently can tolerate much more abuse.

These acronyms are a nightmare, what the hell is a PHEV? EREV? PZEV? Consumers are just expected to know this stuff somehow, it’s nuts. Sometimes I buy parts for my car and just hope I selected the right one, because some models are PZEV/not PZEV but the sticker that would tell me has turned completely white & can’t be read.

Consumers just take their shit to the dealer which hires technicians who job it is, literally, to know "what the hell". If that is too complicated for you to figure out, I can't recommend you do your own work on your car.

> These acronyms are a nightmare, what the hell is a PHEV? EREV? PZEV?

PHEV is the old term, it's a plug in hybrid EV. I.e., you can plug it in and use the battery, or use the ICE engine via petrol (gasoline).

(B)EVs are pure battery EVs. Think Tesla.

REEV/EREV is range extender EV. Essentially an EV that has a small ICE engine that's very handy for making the 50 or 100km battery "run" for 500km if the need arises, by using the ICE as a generator.

In some countries, you also have "strong" and "weak" hybrids - these are not cars you can plug in (they only take petrol), but they use some motors and battery to vastly improve the efficiency of the engine. Think doubling your mileage levels of good.

> Consumers are just expected to know this stuff somehow, it’s nuts.

Yeah no I don't think that's good design either. May I ask what kind of parts do you buy that makes it so confusing? Our car (Honda) has a very simple model name, there's not a lot of variations or options to confuse to begin with.

Btw, if you want a real fun doozy, look up the parallel series hybrid system that iirc GM had. It was a beautiful beast - it could basically take any power source, and do anything with it (charge battery, run wheels etc). There's a good YouTube video on it if you search for it.

Whenever I buy parts for my regular gas car the parts site asks if it’s PZEV or DOHC. To make matters worse the PZEV version is also DOHC (dual over head cams) as far as I can tell. And the VIN number doesn’t say if it’s PZEV or not. It’s not on any of the paperwork I got with the car either.

Ah, I see.

I googled PZEV, and apparently all it means is that it isn't releasing gasoline vapours - other emissions don't matter.

So it's essentially just an ICE engine car that's not super polluting. It has nothing to do with EVs apart from being misleading in its name (perhaps on purpose?).

>I googled PZEV, and apparently all it means is that it isn't releasing gasoline vapours - other emissions don't matter.

No.

PZEV means partial zero-emotions vehicle… it is just STAR-STOP.

When you stop, the car shuts off and when it’s off it isn’t emitting anything. That is what it means.

It’s a total scam. Subaru was the first to put a logo on a US government mandated requirement (that made no sense).

I don’t think that sounds right. My car was never offered with start/stop tech. Unless maybe they ask regardless of whether the car could even have that option… hmm.

PZEV does not have to turn off the engine at stop, that's not part of the criteria for that label. The label is about emissions.

I don't know why I'm being downvoted, but I live in a developing country where the tailpipe emissions from a modern well maintained car are literally cleaner than that of commercial (power) plants - potentially making EVs worse. Ofc I'm sure it's much nicer if you're in a 1st world country, but unfortunately that's not where I am.