EV owners have been warned over five costly errors which could lose them thousands.
Motors expert Alex, who owns Utah-based electric car dealership EV Auto, took to TikTok to raise the alarm about some common mistakes.
EV expert Alex warned drivers about five mistakes that could cost them thousands in repairsTikTok/@evautoalex
First of all, Alex warned drivers against charging their car all the way up to 100%.
While it seems counterintuitive, overfilling the battery can actually damage it and lead to reduced range.
Likewise, letting it run down all the way to 0% can have a similar effect on power capacity.
Instead, try and keep the charge between about 20% and 80% and keep plenty of reliable charging options within range when possible.
Secondly, he also urged motorists charging at home not to leave their cars plugged into a domestic outlet for too long.
Doing so can cause the socket to overheat, with the potential to damage the charger.
In a worst-case scenario it could blow a fuse or render your charger unusable, forcing you to rely on public charging infrastructure.
Likewise, he advised that charging with a damaged cord can provide a “sketchy” power supply and damage the battery.
He explained that batteries need a “solid state” charge and any interruptions to the flow of electricity can cause issues.
Next, Alex added: “On the flip side of that, you don’t want to resort to rapid charging too often.
“Make sure you don’t supercharge all the time because that super-fast charging isn’t always good for the battery either.”
Finally, he advised against charging in “extreme conditions”.
Very high or low temperatures, heavy rain, snow and other weather phenomena can all change the rate at which the battery charges and even damage it.
For example, changing on sweltering summer days can increase the chance of the battery overheating, while heavy rain can boost the risks of leaks through any unnoticed cracks.
Given that a full battery replacement can run into the thousands, all these tips are vital for saving drivers money.
Social media commenters were stunned by the handy tips.
One wrote: “You should have just said this is a list of reasons why EVs aren’t ready for the general population yet.”
It comes after a major car brand announced it would discontinue all its petrol and diesel cars next year despite only having one electric model on sale.
Meanwhile, PM Rishi Sunak hailed The Sun’s Give Us A Brake campaign as he announced a delay on the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030 to 2035.