You have an electric car in your McHenry garage, so you don’t need to bring it to the auto shop for maintenance or repairs anymore, right? WRONG!!!

Electric cars have a different power source to move them down the road but there are, otherwise, quite similar to automobiles with internal combustion engines. Think about it.

An electric car still has:

• Tires, Brakes and Wheels
• Shocks and Struts
• Frontend Suspension and Steering Parts
• Air Conditioning and Heating Elements
• Headlights, Taillights, Brake Lights, Turn Signals
• Power Windows, Power Seats

And along with all of that, you still have an electric motor and battery to maintain. In other words, your electric car is not ‘maintenance free.’ And, from time to time, parts will break.

If you don’t do a proper job of maintaining that electric car, you could experience dangerous situations, from time to time.

For instance, if your brakes are worn, will they continue to safely bring you to a stop when the situation demands? If your tires are worn, or you have a blowout, can you bring the vehicle safely to the side of the road?

It’s the end of March and, hopefully, this McHenry winter is drawing to a close. But what if we have some cold days yet? Will your electric car’s heating element keep you warm on those cold days and nights in late March or early April? And what about summer?

With a gasoline powered auto, the engine spins the air conditioning compressor using a belt between the two. But an air conditioning system in an electric car depends on the power in the car’s battery. The compressor in an electric car runs off 400 volts from the car’s battery.

Of course, this puts an additional load on the battery in an electric car. The air conditioning system needs to operate properly to keep you cool while the vehicle operates efficiently.

The point is that an electric requires maintenance to keep it safe. You still want a trusted auto repair shop in McHenry where you can bring you car in for service and repairs.