What is your biggest Concern w/ Equinox EV?

2229 Views 72 Replies 18 Participants Last post by MaybeFutureBuyer, 5 d ago

Evan1

Discussion Starter · 18 d ago (Edited)

See Poll.

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For me it's just price. I don't mind waiting another year or two. If I can get a 2LT AWD for 50K CAD (36K USD), then I'll take that (that means 44K CAD after taxes and Quebec rebate).

If that's not an option, I'll probably go with a CX-5\Outlander\RVR...etc. the CX-5 is AWD standard, power liftgate, and actually has Android Auto and Apple Carplay... So that's what I'm leaning towards as plan B. I don't "have to have" an EV, I'm no fanboy of anything, not brands, and not a propulsion system. I'm going with what will be the best deal for my driving habits. I keep my cars for a loooooong time (10+ years), so battery failure is a slight worry for me, but degradation isn't (I drive 3-4Kkm a year... 2-3K miles)

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· #28 · 16 d ago

HVACman said:
If you keep your vehicles for long times, and considering a new ICE vehicle, you should also consider the long term availability and cost of gasoline. Setting aside the climate aspects, Mother Earth is not making more fossil fuel and we continue to deplete the remaining reserves at a record pace. EVs and renewable electric energy sources may be a more reliable long-term option.

And 5-10 years from now, do you think CP/AA will still be a factor? Technology rapidly shift-shapes. The popularity of any hardware or software system follows a bell curve, with steep shoulders. If 80% of all new vehicles now include CP/AA in 2023, could CP/AA be right at their bell’s’ peak? Forward thinking OEMs likely see that curve and are planning accordingly.

Well, it has been said about fossil fuel for at least 30 years now, and it went up and down in price for as long as it existed. A new battery will probably cost me as much as 10 years worth of fuel. Lithium\Cobalt \etc are also finite, and while they might be more easily recyclable in the future, today they cost more to recycle than to make a new battery.

If I'll play the "what if" game, I can say that not only about fossil fuel\AA\ACP, but also about EVs. Maybe 3 years from now there will be a technology that beats battery EVs (fusion or whatever).

Because I rarely drive, the price of fuel doesn't matter that much for me. And as of now, I want Android Auto, and I don't want to pay subscription fees to use a car I already paid for. Are you paying to have Android on the phone you bought? Are you paying to access a wash cycle on your washing machine? No. If they think they have something better now, or will have it in the future, they can either let me own it when I buy the car, or have both options, and if theirs is so much better, I'll choose to pay for it.

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· #41 · 13 d ago

NoBugsPlease said:
Well I will join this conversation and throw out my concerns - which I'm sure many future EV buyers might have. On a lot of smaller boats your motor (Mercury or what ever) can cost half of what the boat is worth. Pay $20,000 for a boat and the motor is worth $10,000 or so. Now with some of these new EV's i"m wondering what' will be the cost to replace EV battery? Could a large EV battery be worth 1/3 of new car value? Do car manufacturers tell you replacement cost when you buy new EV? Then what is the typical warranty for a given EV battery. In the case of Chevy Equinox EV - how long does GM guarantee battery life? And once you exceed the warranty, are you risking things putting say another couple years on battery without replacing? As in stranded some where before AAA tow.

Then I wonder about reselling an EV in excellent shape but say the battery is five, six, seven years old. On an ICE you just tell the buyer go to Pep Boys, Advanced Auto, Napa auto parts, etc., and pick up a new battery if needed. But on an older EV is buyer going to say "not buying because you EV battery is old and will cost me $XXXX", to replace? Or more likely buying but at a lower price because battery warranty has expired and who wants to spend $XXXX a year later if battery dies. Lastly (and sorry if this is so pessimistic) but I've read where insurance carriers are jacking up EV insurance coverage because if a EV is damaged and it impact battery, repair costs are going to be really high to repair or replace battery.

Seems to me you save some serious money not buy gasoline when driving an EV but you also run a risk of paying some serious money if you have to replace battery or its damaged in an accident. This also might hold true for some Plug-in hybrids since they have two batteries. The only solution to all the above is to produce batteries at a way lower price which will probably happen five to eight years from now. But until then battery replacement might bite EV buyers in the behind or shall we say in the pocket book

Chevy's Ultium platform allowes for replacement of individual modules on the battery, which means you don't need to worry about that. The EQ EV will have 8-10 of these modules.

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· #45 · 13 d ago

NoBugsPlease said:
So you're saying its impossible for all individual modules to go bad at the same time? And let's say you have your auto mechanic finds five to six modules need to be replaced. One has to wonder then if mechanic says - you need to replace total battery and not just individual modules. Personally I like the NIO plan where you pay some low annual fee and then get a free battery swap when needed. But I can't quote the fee you pay monthly, quarterly or annually. Safe to say five years from now car manufactures might be using completely different EV batteries then currently being offered in today EV's.

I'd just like to see battery costs come down, trade in value/resale value of EV not based on the life of a EV battery and maybe some day easy replacement of EV battery by owner versus shop mechanic.

Yes, very close to impossible. There are 8 modules. So while it is a possibility, it's like me saying I won't buy a V8, because all 8 injectors might go bad at the same time.

Most of the time, only one or a few cells go bad, and most of these times, the cells are at the same module (the one bad cell heats up, ruining the cell next to it. So in a perfect world, we would be able to replace individual cells, but replacing individual modules is the next best things.

Don't get me wrong, all the modules will degrade overtime, you'll have about 70% of the range after 15 years or so (notice I'm NOT talking about km), but they rarely just get bricked.

Also, because the Ultium platform has a BMS (battery management system) for each individual module, theoretically, that means that even if a module goes kaput, you can still drive the car normally, just have 1\8th less range.... Until you can afford to fix it. This last statement I'm not sure of, because GM never commented on that.

Anyway, that whole battery thing was blown out of proportions. It's not a common thing that happens.

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· #66 · 7 d ago (Edited)

AK2023 said:
Every month brings some new improvement in battery research. For those worried about battery life (rightfully so, TBH) need to realize that if the battery is warranteed and now many companies (LG Chem and others) bringing manufacturing stateside, the cost of replacement or repairs should hopefully come down compared to today's $$. The interesting aspect is in ICE, an owner could be blamed for bad gas in the car. Now the same person cannot be blamed for "bad electricity". If one is blamed for surges, heck your circuitry didn't handle it. Bad charging habits, maybe. So follow the guidelines for sure, like not trying to top off charge at every minute you stop.

The key word is "research". Sodium, calcium, graphite, and all sorts of solid states are constantly on the news, but that's like the "is this the new cure for Alzheimer's?" Articles. They publish them for clicks. It's been 13 years since the first modern EV, and while the chemistry changed a little, it's all lithium based, and nothing is solid state (even though I've been hearing about solid state for at least 5 years now)... So I'm not worried about that.

as for longevity, I see where ICE is going (start-stop, cylinder deactivation, tiny engines with 3 cylinders and a turbo, etc), and I can guarantee you these won't last as long as the atmospheric 2L+ engines lasted. That's one of the reasons I'm still considering the EQ EV, even though I'm disappointed with the lack of Android Auto and Apple Carplay. And it's not like ICE vehicles aren't doing everything a subscription, they do. So my only option is keeping my car for at long as I can (13 years and counting) and give up at a later time, because I'm going to lose this war anyway. I'll just try to lose it to the best deal out there, which as of now, is the EQ EV. But I'm not sure I'm getting one in 2024 anymore, might hold with that for 2026-2027, depending on how long my car will let me drive it.

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· #69 · 6 d ago (Edited)

p7wang said:
1 word, Aftermarket.

Yes, I though about that (but with a 13" version). That's why I might get the 1LT instead of the 2LT, because it has a smaller screen, so I'll have more room to mount the aftermarket one. Another problem is there's almost no room to mount it as is, because the EQ EV screen is sticking up from the dash already. But that's okay, I'll have 8 years to figure it out. By then, there will be either a piracy hack into the subscription, or an aftermarket heads up display with Android auto.

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· #71 · 5 d ago

p7wang said:
There are also versions that go over the rear view mirror now. As the manufacturers provide more reason for people to buy those things, the more options we will have. LOL

Yep, I'm sure options will be plenty in 8 years (when the free subscription runs out).

Over the rear view is a little too small for me, so I didn't consider this option. An aftermarket HUD Android sounds the best to me.

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· #73 · 5 d ago

p7wang said:
Even better, repurpose an old android tablet with Headunit Reloaded Emulator, $4.99!

https://www.slashgear.com/1155587/how-to-use-any-android-tablet-as-an-android-auto-car-head-unit/

My only problem with these solutions is that the steering wheel buttons will not work, but I'll get over it. Thank you.

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