Electric cars need servicing every year, and CF3 MOT and Service Centre in Rumney carries out that work for drivers across Cardiff. Two electric schedules sit on our booking system: a Full Electric Service for year one and a Major Electric Service for year two. Both are bookable online against your registration.
An electric car has no oil to drain, no spark plugs and no cambelt. What it does have is a heavier kerb weight, instant torque from a standstill and a braking system that spends most of its life barely being used. Those three facts change what wears out and how quickly, and they are what an electric service is actually looking at.
Electric car servicing in Cardiff at a glance
- Electric cars need a service every year or every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. Most manufacturers make it a condition of the traction battery warranty.
- CF3 runs two schedules: a Full Electric Service for year one and a Major Electric Service for year two.
- Electric cars still need an MOT from the third anniversary of registration. Only the tailpipe emissions check does not apply.
- Tyres wear faster because of the weight and the instant torque. Brakes seize because regenerative braking leaves them underused.
- The 12 volt battery, not the traction pack, is the most common reason an electric car will not start.
- We service electric vehicles. We do not open high voltage battery packs.
Do electric cars need servicing?
Yes. An electric car needs a service every year or every 10,000 to 15,000 miles, whichever comes first, and most manufacturers make that servicing a condition of the traction battery warranty.
The belief that an EV needs nothing comes from a half truth. It is true that the drivetrain has far fewer moving parts than a petrol engine, and that there is no oil change, no filter to cut open and no exhaust to inspect. It is not true that the rest of the car stopped wearing out. Brakes, brake fluid, tyres, suspension, steering joints, drive shafts, coolant, the cabin filter and the 12 volt battery all age at their normal rate, and several of them age faster in an electric car than in the petrol equivalent.
The warranty point is the one that costs people money. Manufacturers typically guarantee the traction battery for eight years or 100,000 miles, and that guarantee is conditional on the car being serviced to schedule with the work recorded. A missing service history on a car with a failing pack is an expensive conversation. If you want the full picture on service intervals, our guide on how often to service a car in Cardiff covers the petrol and diesel side as well.
What is included in an electric car service
An electric service covers every part of the car that still wears, which is most of it. The drivetrain is sealed and largely maintenance free, so the time goes into the chassis, the brakes, the tyres and the low voltage systems.
The work covers these items:
- Brakes: pad thickness, disc condition, caliper movement and the brake fluid
- Tyres: tread depth, pressures and the uneven wear patterns that heavy cars produce
- Suspension: shock absorbers, springs and bushes
- Steering joints and drive shaft gaiters
- The 12 volt battery and its charging circuit
- Coolant level and condition where the battery pack and inverter are liquid cooled
- The cabin pollen filter
- Wipers, washers, lights and horn
- The charging port, flap and cable, checked for damage
- A road test
What you get back is a list of what is worn now, what is close, and what can safely wait until next year. That last column is the one that keeps the bill sensible. Our car servicing page explains how we report findings on any vehicle, electric or otherwise.
How often should you service an electric car
Once a year, or every 10,000 to 15,000 miles, whichever arrives first. Mileage matters less on an electric car than it does on a combustion car, because time degrades brake fluid, coolant and rubber whether the car moves or not.
The two schedules alternate for a reason. The Full Electric Service covers the annual items. The Major Electric Service, due the following year, adds the longer cycle work, which is where brake fluid and the cabin filter tend to sit. Running them in alternate years keeps each year affordable without letting anything drift past its interval.
Low annual mileage is the trap. A car doing 4,000 miles a year still needs the yearly visit, and in some ways needs it more, because lightly used brakes corrode and lightly used tyres develop flat spots and sidewall cracking.
Does an electric car need an MOT?
Yes. An electric car needs an MOT from the third anniversary of its registration, exactly like a petrol or diesel car, and the test is annual after that.
One section is missing from the test: there is no tailpipe emissions check, because there is no tailpipe. Everything else applies in full. Brakes are tested on the rollers, tyres are measured, suspension is checked for play, lights and horn are operated, the structure is inspected for corrosion, and the registration plate, mirrors and wipers are all assessed on the same criteria as any other car.
In practice, electric cars fail on the things you would expect from a heavy vehicle with lightly used brakes: tyres below the limit or worn unevenly, corroded discs, seized calipers and tired suspension components. Our MOT testing page sets out how the test runs at our Rumney workshop.
Why electric cars wear tyres and brakes differently
Weight and torque wear tyres faster, and regenerative braking wears brakes slower in a way that creates its own problem.
Start with the weight. A battery pack adds several hundred kilograms to a car of otherwise ordinary size, and that mass sits low and travels with you everywhere. Add instant torque from a standstill, which loads the driven axle harder than a petrol engine does, and tyres on an electric car routinely cover fewer miles than the same tyre on the combustion version. It is not a fault and it is not a sign of bad driving. It is physics, and planning for it is cheaper than being surprised by it at MOT time.
The brakes run the opposite way. Regenerative braking slows the car by turning the motor into a generator, so the friction brakes barely touch the discs in normal driving. Discs that are never properly heated corrode, pads bond to discs, slider pins dry out and calipers seize. The car stops fine right up until it does not, and the failure usually shows up as a binding brake, a pull under braking, or an MOT refusal. This is the single most common electric vehicle finding that surprises owners, and it is a maintenance item rather than a repair if it is caught at the yearly visit.
The 12 volt battery strands more EV drivers than the traction pack
Every electric car carries a conventional 12 volt battery alongside the high voltage pack. It runs the computers, the locks, the dashboard and the contactors that connect the traction battery in the first place.
When that small battery fails, the car does not start, and frequently will not unlock either, which is a worse experience than a flat battery in a petrol car because the emergency release is often hidden behind a trim panel. The traction battery can be at 90 per cent charge and completely unable to help. Testing the 12 volt battery and its charging circuit is part of the yearly service for exactly this reason, and replacing one before it fails costs a fraction of a recovery call. We also supply and fit batteries at your vehicle, which our battery delivery and fitting page explains.
What we do not do on electric vehicles
We service electric vehicles. We do not open high voltage battery packs, and we will tell you that before you book rather than after your car is on the ramp.
Work inside the pack, on the orange cabling, on individual cells or on the traction battery management system belongs with a specialist holding the relevant high voltage qualification. Sending that work elsewhere is the right answer, and pretending otherwise is how cars get damaged and warranties get voided.
Everything outside the pack is ours: brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, wheel alignment, the 12 volt system, the cabin filter, air conditioning, the MOT, bodywork, welding and corrosion repair. That covers the overwhelming majority of what an electric car actually needs across its life. You can see the full list on our services page.
Hybrid and plug in hybrid servicing
A hybrid needs both halves of the job: the full combustion engine service and the electric vehicle checks, in the same visit.
Hybrids also bring a problem of their own. Many of them cover short urban journeys almost entirely on the electric motor, which means the petrol or diesel engine never reaches full operating temperature. Cold running fouls spark plugs, dilutes oil and, on a diesel hybrid, leaves the particulate filter unable to complete a regeneration cycle. Short journey hybrids therefore need their oil and filter treated as a yearly item regardless of mileage. Our explainer on a blocked DPF covers what happens when regeneration keeps failing.
Get the price for your own electric car
Enter your registration in the booking panel above and the system returns the figure for your exact car, with no pre payment and a date you choose. If you would rather talk it through first, call the workshop and ask for the electric schedule.
What an electric car service costs in Cardiff
The price depends on the make and model and on which of the two schedules the car is due, so the booking system prices it against your registration rather than quoting a range that may not apply to you.
Type the plate into the booking panel on this page and it returns the figure for your exact car before you commit to anything. There is no pre payment, and you choose the date. If the car is also due its test, booking a Full or Major Service together with the MOT carries a discount on the test.
For context on what the rest of our work costs, our car service prices page covers the petrol and diesel schedules.
Electric vehicle servicing across Cardiff
The workshop is on Wentloog Road in Rumney, a few minutes from the A48 and Rover Way, which puts most of east Cardiff and the Newport Road corridor within a short drive.
We regularly see electric and hybrid cars from Rumney, Llanrumney, St Mellons, Pengam Green, Splott, Roath, Cardiff Gate, Caerphilly and Newport. If leaving the car is the hard part, we collect and return it, and a loan car can be reserved for the day when you book. Full coverage is set out on our areas we cover page.
Common questions about electric car servicing
Do electric cars need an annual service?
Yes. Manufacturers set a yearly or 10,000 to 15,000 mile interval, and most make servicing to that schedule a condition of the traction battery warranty. The absence of an oil change does not remove the interval. It changes what the interval covers.
What is checked in an electric car service?
Brakes, brake fluid, tyres, suspension, steering joints, drive shaft gaiters, the 12 volt battery and its charging circuit, coolant where the pack is liquid cooled, the cabin filter, lights, wipers, and the charging port and cable, followed by a road test.
Do electric cars need an MOT?
Yes, from the third anniversary of registration and every year after that. The only part of the test that does not apply is the tailpipe emissions check. Brakes, tyres, suspension, structure, lights and visibility are all tested in full.
Do electric cars need brake fluid changes?
Yes. Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air over time regardless of how often the brakes are used, and an electric car uses its friction brakes less rather than never. Most manufacturers specify a change every two years, which is why it falls into the Major Electric Service rather than the annual one.
Why do electric cars wear tyres out faster?
A battery pack adds several hundred kilograms, and an electric motor delivers full torque from a standstill. More weight and more torque both load the tyre harder. Keeping the pressures correct and the alignment true is the main part of it within your control.
What happens if I skip an electric car service?
Two things, usually in this order. The brakes corrode and seize from underuse and turn into an MOT failure, and the service record develops a gap that the manufacturer can point at if the traction battery is ever claimed under warranty.
Will servicing my electric car at an independent garage affect the warranty?
No, provided the work follows the manufacturer schedule, uses parts of matching quality and is recorded. This is set out in the UK Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Order, which protects your right to have a vehicle serviced outside the franchised network without losing the warranty.
Do you work on the high voltage battery?
No. We service electric vehicles, but we do not open high voltage battery packs or work on the orange cabling. That work belongs with a specialist holding the relevant high voltage qualification, and we will say so before you book rather than after.
Do you service hybrids and plug in hybrids?
Yes. A hybrid gets the combustion engine service and the electric vehicle checks in the same visit. Short journey hybrids need their oil treated as a yearly item regardless of mileage, because the engine rarely reaches full operating temperature.
Can you collect my electric car?
Yes. Collection and delivery covers Rumney, Llanrumney, St Mellons and the wider Cardiff area, and a loan car can be reserved for the day when you book.
Book your electric car in at Rumney
Same workshop, same people and the same honest report you would get on any other car, with the electric schedule your manufacturer actually asks for. Put your registration into the booking panel for a price, or get in touch and we will sort the date around you.