8 year battery warranty and service history
Discussion
Almost all EVs now carry an 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty on the battery, in addition to and separate from the usual 3 year (or whatever) vehicle warranty.
This covers battery failure, and degradation to less than 70% of the original capacity.
My understanding is that this is now an EU requirement, although I can't immediately find a reference for this.
With the regular vehicle warranty it's pretty much established that this is dependent upon the car being serviced according to the manufacturer's schedule (although not necessarily by a franchised dealer). And with an ICE car, it's obviously fair enough to say that if the oil hasn't been changed, you can't complain if the engine then fails.
However, I'm struggling to find reliable confirmation either way about the battery warranty.
In most cases the manufacturer's service schedule for an EV involves no steps that would affect the battery, which is generally treated as a 'sealed-for-life' unit. So it's not obvious that any missed services would actually cause a battery failure.
(an exception is some Hyundais which have a battery coolant change in the schedule, but those are the only ones I know of)
Not all cars even come with a service booklet any more, and in many cases dealers may discard service invoices under GDPR since they carry the previous owner's details.
So as EVs on the market age towards eight years and change hands, it's likely that a substantial number of cars out there won't be able to prove that they've been serviced to schedule.
I'm (still) looking for a used Polestar 2. I just contacted Polestar Support online with this question, and the agent confirmed that the battery warranty would be invalid if the car has not been serviced at the correct intervals. However I'm not convinced that this isn't just a general blanket thing that they'll say about any of their warranties generally.
Does anyone have any links to hard facts about manufacturers policy on honouring battery warranties without proof of service history, or cases where they have or have not done so?
This covers battery failure, and degradation to less than 70% of the original capacity.
My understanding is that this is now an EU requirement, although I can't immediately find a reference for this.
With the regular vehicle warranty it's pretty much established that this is dependent upon the car being serviced according to the manufacturer's schedule (although not necessarily by a franchised dealer). And with an ICE car, it's obviously fair enough to say that if the oil hasn't been changed, you can't complain if the engine then fails.
However, I'm struggling to find reliable confirmation either way about the battery warranty.
In most cases the manufacturer's service schedule for an EV involves no steps that would affect the battery, which is generally treated as a 'sealed-for-life' unit. So it's not obvious that any missed services would actually cause a battery failure.
(an exception is some Hyundais which have a battery coolant change in the schedule, but those are the only ones I know of)
Not all cars even come with a service booklet any more, and in many cases dealers may discard service invoices under GDPR since they carry the previous owner's details.
So as EVs on the market age towards eight years and change hands, it's likely that a substantial number of cars out there won't be able to prove that they've been serviced to schedule.
I'm (still) looking for a used Polestar 2. I just contacted Polestar Support online with this question, and the agent confirmed that the battery warranty would be invalid if the car has not been serviced at the correct intervals. However I'm not convinced that this isn't just a general blanket thing that they'll say about any of their warranties generally.
Does anyone have any links to hard facts about manufacturers policy on honouring battery warranties without proof of service history, or cases where they have or have not done so?
I don’t think it is an EU requirement. The block exemption stuff meant you didn’t have to use manufacturer servicing but you did still have to service to the schedule using OE quality parts for warranty to apply.
btw, for Nissan at least the headline 8 year / 100k mile is for battery capacity only. Failures of battery, motor, etc are on a 5 year warranty.
btw, for Nissan at least the headline 8 year / 100k mile is for battery capacity only. Failures of battery, motor, etc are on a 5 year warranty.
Ioniq 5 should get the battery coolant changed every few years (2 years/60,000km in Switzerland). For other warranties, they have a rule of thumb that a few thousand km/a few months over the interval is not an issue.
However, I would assume that if the battery has not failed before the first coolant flush, it will work and retain capacity until the end of the warranty period (because of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve and the couple of high-mileage examples that are starting to emerge).
However, I would assume that if the battery has not failed before the first coolant flush, it will work and retain capacity until the end of the warranty period (because of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve and the couple of high-mileage examples that are starting to emerge).
This was the main reason I went for a Tesla over a Polestar when I wanted to own a used EV.
No routine servicing required and an 8 year/120000 mile warranty on the battery and drive units (motors) provided directly through their own service centre network.
That’s not to say they don’t benefit from a little maintenance - cabin filters and brake fluid changes are recommended, as is stripping and cleaning the brakes every couple of years. I booked Tesla to do the latter when they were coming to my house to do a small warranty job and the technician said they didn’t need doing and put the same in the service notes.
Beats paying Mercedes £400 to change oil and send you a video of someone measuring the tyre tread depth and telling you the brakes need doing as they’re 50% worn.
No routine servicing required and an 8 year/120000 mile warranty on the battery and drive units (motors) provided directly through their own service centre network.
That’s not to say they don’t benefit from a little maintenance - cabin filters and brake fluid changes are recommended, as is stripping and cleaning the brakes every couple of years. I booked Tesla to do the latter when they were coming to my house to do a small warranty job and the technician said they didn’t need doing and put the same in the service notes.
Beats paying Mercedes £400 to change oil and send you a video of someone measuring the tyre tread depth and telling you the brakes need doing as they’re 50% worn.
The 8 year warranty is not an EU requirement, it's just an industry standard.
Regarding what the Polestar agent told you, ask them to send the terms and conditions of the 8 year battery warranty over, so you have it in writing. I couldn't myself find the T&Cs of their battery warranty on their website.
In theory, the battery usually doesn't have anything serviceable about it, and is a separate warranty that's different from the regular 3 year (or longer) factory warranty that covers the entire care, so it should be the case then that even if servicing of the car, the battery warranty should still remain valid.
However, one should always look at the T&Cs of any car's warranties before purchase, as who knows, some may have written in their T&Cs that the battery warranty is invalid if you don't get it serviced at a main dealer.
Regarding what the Polestar agent told you, ask them to send the terms and conditions of the 8 year battery warranty over, so you have it in writing. I couldn't myself find the T&Cs of their battery warranty on their website.
In theory, the battery usually doesn't have anything serviceable about it, and is a separate warranty that's different from the regular 3 year (or longer) factory warranty that covers the entire care, so it should be the case then that even if servicing of the car, the battery warranty should still remain valid.
However, one should always look at the T&Cs of any car's warranties before purchase, as who knows, some may have written in their T&Cs that the battery warranty is invalid if you don't get it serviced at a main dealer.
It’s not a coincidence that the manufacturer’s provide very similar warranty cover of the batteries. The 8 years 100k miles warranty provision is a requirement under the ZEV Mandate, covered in section 59 onwards here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65e...
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65e...
I'm sure manufacturers would be wanting to find a way out of covering the cost of a replacement battery if they could find one.
You can hear them now...
'I'm afraid that independent garage you used for your last service didn't fit an approved part when they replaced the pollen filter sir'.
You can hear them now...
'I'm afraid that independent garage you used for your last service didn't fit an approved part when they replaced the pollen filter sir'.
Cobnapint said:
I'm sure manufacturers would be wanting to find a way out of covering the cost of a replacement battery if they could find one.
You can hear them now...
'I'm afraid that independent garage you used for your last service didn't fit an approved part when they replaced the pollen filter sir'.
EU had pretty good protections against that nonsense...You can hear them now...
'I'm afraid that independent garage you used for your last service didn't fit an approved part when they replaced the pollen filter sir'.
raspy said:
In theory, the battery usually doesn't have anything serviceable about it, and is a separate warranty that's different from the regular 3 year (or longer) factory warranty that covers the entire care, so it should be the case then that even if servicing of the car, the battery warranty should still remain valid.
The longevity of batteries is very dependent on proper thermal management and the battery coolant is generally part of the standard service schedule. I could certainly see them asking for evidence that the coolant has been changed on schedule and using the correct grade of antifreeze, etc. Especially if the claim is being made for degradation. kambites said:
raspy said:
In theory, the battery usually doesn't have anything serviceable about it, and is a separate warranty that's different from the regular 3 year (or longer) factory warranty that covers the entire care, so it should be the case then that even if servicing of the car, the battery warranty should still remain valid.
The longevity of batteries is very dependent on proper thermal management and the battery coolant is generally part of the standard service schedule. I could certainly see them asking for evidence that the coolant has been changed on schedule and using the correct grade of antifreeze, etc. Especially if the claim is being made for degradation. Evanivitch said:
mikey_b said:
The manufacturer's don't seem too worried - scheduled coolant changes are at massive intervals. Suggested first change interval for coolant is often at 10 years or >100k miles anyway.
Not on Hyundai Kia. Every 2 years or so. Ampera was 60,000 or 5 years.A coolant flush might help keep the charging stops short on road trips, especially in hot weather (DC charging to 80% when ambient temperature is close to 40C gives the fans a workout).
samoht said:
Almost all EVs now carry an 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty on the battery, in addition to and separate from the usual 3 year (or whatever) vehicle warranty.
This covers battery failure, and degradation to less than 70% of the original capacity.
My understanding is that this is now an EU requirement, although I can't immediately find a reference for this.
With the regular vehicle warranty it's pretty much established that this is dependent upon the car being serviced according to the manufacturer's schedule (although not necessarily by a franchised dealer). And with an ICE car, it's obviously fair enough to say that if the oil hasn't been changed, you can't complain if the engine then fails.
However, I'm struggling to find reliable confirmation either way about the battery warranty.
In most cases the manufacturer's service schedule for an EV involves no steps that would affect the battery, which is generally treated as a 'sealed-for-life' unit. So it's not obvious that any missed services would actually cause a battery failure.
(an exception is some Hyundais which have a battery coolant change in the schedule, but those are the only ones I know of)
Not all cars even come with a service booklet any more, and in many cases dealers may discard service invoices under GDPR since they carry the previous owner's details.
So as EVs on the market age towards eight years and change hands, it's likely that a substantial number of cars out there won't be able to prove that they've been serviced to schedule.
I'm (still) looking for a used Polestar 2. I just contacted Polestar Support online with this question, and the agent confirmed that the battery warranty would be invalid if the car has not been serviced at the correct intervals. However I'm not convinced that this isn't just a general blanket thing that they'll say about any of their warranties generally.
Does anyone have any links to hard facts about manufacturers policy on honouring battery warranties without proof of service history, or cases where they have or have not done so?
I have a 21 plate polestar 2 ( and love it). A few months ago a warning popped up on the dash “ propulsion unit service required” and it wouldn’t let me use full acceleration, although it still drove well enough for every day use, This covers battery failure, and degradation to less than 70% of the original capacity.
My understanding is that this is now an EU requirement, although I can't immediately find a reference for this.
With the regular vehicle warranty it's pretty much established that this is dependent upon the car being serviced according to the manufacturer's schedule (although not necessarily by a franchised dealer). And with an ICE car, it's obviously fair enough to say that if the oil hasn't been changed, you can't complain if the engine then fails.
However, I'm struggling to find reliable confirmation either way about the battery warranty.
In most cases the manufacturer's service schedule for an EV involves no steps that would affect the battery, which is generally treated as a 'sealed-for-life' unit. So it's not obvious that any missed services would actually cause a battery failure.
(an exception is some Hyundais which have a battery coolant change in the schedule, but those are the only ones I know of)
Not all cars even come with a service booklet any more, and in many cases dealers may discard service invoices under GDPR since they carry the previous owner's details.
So as EVs on the market age towards eight years and change hands, it's likely that a substantial number of cars out there won't be able to prove that they've been serviced to schedule.
I'm (still) looking for a used Polestar 2. I just contacted Polestar Support online with this question, and the agent confirmed that the battery warranty would be invalid if the car has not been serviced at the correct intervals. However I'm not convinced that this isn't just a general blanket thing that they'll say about any of their warranties generally.
Does anyone have any links to hard facts about manufacturers policy on honouring battery warranties without proof of service history, or cases where they have or have not done so?
Took it in to Volvo, they said it needs a new battery management thing, can’t recall exactly what it was but not the battery, it was something to do with the battery control. Needed the battery dropped off the underside to get at it. The car was No longer under the non battery warranty but all work fully covered under the battery warranty, didn’t ask to see my service record. In total they had it for two days, so would have been expensive if not covered.
nute said:
I have a 21 plate polestar 2 ( and love it). A few months ago a warning popped up on the dash “ propulsion unit service required” and it wouldn’t let me use full acceleration, although it still drove well enough for every day use,
Took it in to Volvo, they said it needs a new battery management thing, can’t recall exactly what it was but not the battery, it was something to do with the battery control. Needed the battery dropped off the underside to get at it. The car was No longer under the non battery warranty but all work fully covered under the battery warranty, didn’t ask to see my service record. In total they had it for two days, so would have been expensive if not covered.
Thank you, really good to hear from someone with actual first hand experience of the matter in question.Took it in to Volvo, they said it needs a new battery management thing, can’t recall exactly what it was but not the battery, it was something to do with the battery control. Needed the battery dropped off the underside to get at it. The car was No longer under the non battery warranty but all work fully covered under the battery warranty, didn’t ask to see my service record. In total they had it for two days, so would have been expensive if not covered.
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