An Ontario woman says the battery in her electric car died just months after the warranty expired and that she will have to pay thousands of dollars to have it repaired.
“I had been an advocate of electric vehicles, but this was shocking,” said Yeing-Moi Jenny Didier of Etobicoke.
Didier owns a 2018 Volkswagen E Golf, a vehicle which is fully electric. In September, the high voltage battery shut down.
The vehicle had an eight-year, 160,000-kilometre warranty and while there was only 133,000 kilometres on the odometer, the eight years warranty expired five months ago.
After the vehicle was towed to a local Volkswagen dealership, she said that she assumed the battery would be replaced if there was a serious problem.
“I would love a new battery but if that is not in the cards a fix is a reasonable compromise in my opinion,” said Didier.
EV batteries typically are expected to last 12 to 15 years, most coming with an eight-year warranty 160,000-kilometre warranty.
Replacing the battery could now cost Didier anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000.
Volkswagen responds
In a statement to CTV News, a Volkswagen Canada spokesperson said that “in the case of this customer’s vehicle, the battery can be repaired, rather than replaced in its entirety.”
“Our team has contacted the customer and offered to have her vehicle transported to one of our dealerships specializing in high-voltage battery repairs at no cost to her, which she has accepted.”
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“As her vehicle was beyond the 8-year high-voltage battery warranty period, the cost of the repair will be borne by the customer.”
Didier said that repairing the battery will cost $10,800.
“Throwing $10,000 at a vehicle that might have a fault like this or something else in six months is just too much money,” Didier said.
As warranties come to an end for many older EVs, more shops are providing EV repairs and replacements.
Another option available
Bimmex Markham, a BMW repair shops that also offers EV mechanics and services, said there is another option for EV owners who have cars with dead batteries.
“We can open the battery pack and inspect the connectors and battery cells and swap them out with used parts or new parts from the manufacturer,” said Shang Xue, Service Manager at Bimmex Markham.
“Of the EVs that come in here with a battery problem about 90 per cent of the time, they are repairable.”
“We can save customers 30 to 50 per cent of the cost depending on the issue,” Xue added.
Didier says she plans to look at other options for her car before moving ahead with repairs as she worries spending more than $10,000 on repairs.
“This car is only worth between $10,000 to $12,000 on the used market,” Didier said.
