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Comment by mikestew | Hacker News Reader

plenty of things inside the EV require all kinds of oils

I can come up with one. What's your list?

Not op, but brake fluid comes to mind, power steering fluid, transfer/reduction box. All depends on which ev you are talking about. Things like cv joints, axels and other rotating parts also require greases, again depending on make and model. Not that those need yearly replacement but they do need maintenance.

For any car there will also be the periodic service bulletin so every once in a while you'll likely want to go in and deal with those too.

Brake fluid isn’t oil (generally speaking). EVs have electrical motor-driven power steering, not hydraulic. You scored correctly on the reduction box, which will need changing well after most people sell the car (>100K miles).

It’s hydraulic fluid, which is oil. It’s not formulated the same as engine oil, but it’s not far off gear oil.

It’s hydraulic fluid, which is oil.

Nope, glycol-based and synthetic. Not the best article, but best I could find at the moment:

https://engineerfix.com/what-is-brake-fluid-made-of/

I find it hard to believe that someone somewhere isn't making an EV with a electric pump to supply a traditional hydraulic steering system. If I had to guess it would be Europe because they love electric over hydraulic steering.

Now you have me wondering if our OG Leaf didn’t work that way, as I have this vague memory that maybe it did.

EDIT: nope, that is definitely an electric motor on the top of that 2011 Leaf steering rack:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254589825844

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