EV servicing: what’s included?

Like fuel-powered cars, electric vehicles need a regular service to keep them moving at their best. Here at Halfords, we offer both a Full Service and a Major Service, carried out by our fully qualified EV technicians, to keep you on the road. In this article, we’ll include everything that’s included in an electric vehicle service.

We recommend a Full EV Service every 12 months, while a Major Service is more comprehensive, so we recommend one every 2 years. Or follow the time period recommended by your vehicle manufacturer.

In both Services, we’ll assess 72 key areas of your vehicle – during a Full Service, we’ll recommend when it might be time to have components like your cabin filter or brake fluid replaced. For a Major Service, we’ll replace these as standard. As well as all the usual checks you’d expect on an ICE service – that's a car that’s powered by petrol or diesel – we'll also complete some EV-specific work. To give you a better idea of what you can expect, here’s a closer look at our electric vehicle Service:

Beginning with the car interior, we’ll run a diagnostic check to report on your High Voltage (HV) Battery and EV management system, giving you an understanding of the battery state of charge and state of health. For a Full Service, we’ll recommend whether it’s time to have your cabin filter changed, while a Major Service will include replacing the filter and cleaning out the housing.

Moving onto the exterior, we’ll pay close attention to the condition of your tyres, since the weight of an EV battery pack can add extra strain on them. That includes measuring the tread depth, checking your tyre pressure, assessing your wheel balance, and making sure the size and fitting are correct for your vehicle’s make and model.

Next, we’ll make sure you can charge your vehicle properly. We’ll inspect the condition of your charging port and your charging cable, as well as the port cover and its rubber seal.

We then need to make sure your auxiliary 12-volt battery is healthy. We’ll inspect the condition of your High-Voltage cooling system, to ensure it’s working at its best, and record the strength and minimum temperature of your anti-freeze. If you’re low on coolant, we’ll top it up for you, and let you know if your EV’s inverter coolant is due for replacement too.

The final stage is the underneath of your vehicle, where we can access some of the more structural elements. We’ll make sure the underfloor, steering and suspension components are in good condition, and check your HV cables for any damage, as well as the condition of the High-Voltage battery as many electric vehicles have their batteries underneath.

We’ll pay close attention to your braking system, where we’ll check that they’re free and not binding as this will affect your vehicle’s range. We’ll check your brake pads, brake calipers, and brake discs or brake drums (depending on your vehicle), taking measurements to give you an idea of wear and condition. We’ll also make sure that the handbrake linkage is in a serviceable condition.

We’ll also check the condition of your suspension springs and dampers. On the Full EV Service, we’ll check the brake fluid replacement interval, and during a Major Service we’ll replace the fluid as standard.

With all our checks complete, we’ll reset your vehicle service light and stamp your service book to protect your service history, then take your vehicle on a final road-test to ensure your regenerative braking is working correctly and that everything is functioning properly before handing your car back to you.

And that’s your Halfords EV Service complete. We only use Original Equipment (OE) quality parts, and all our work is guaranteed for 24,000 miles or 2 years to give you complete peace of mind. Plus, having a Service from us won't invalidate the vehicle manufacturer's warranty.

Book a Full or Major EV Service at your local Halfords Autocentre to keep your electric vehicle performing at its best.