On 10/01/2016 07:10 PM, Mark Hanson via EV wrote:
Hi Folks,
I didn't get a response on the service manual or where to get a battery for
the Smart ED 2013 - 2015 (used Smart) so I'm thinking maybe I should buy
something else (since the shop manuals/batteries are made of Unobtanium).
I Googled Service manuals for the Mitsubishi IMIev and Chevy Spark; were
available online like the Leaf. It also looked like you could monitor
individual battery voltages, not sure if you can do that with the Smart ED.
I'm assuming you're shopping for a low range EV with a battery that can
be cost effectively replaced when the time comes?
I bought an early Leaf expecting that I could replace the battery with
something bigger, better, and cheaper after 5-10 years. My Leaf battery
lasted two years and Nissan refused to fix it. I then bought a Tesla
S. Best car I've ever owned. Since getting the Tesla, I've bought two
imievs which seemed to be extraordinary values. Both new, one cost a
net of about $14k, the other about $8k. I drive them in preference to
the Tesla when trip length allows. The jury is out on imiev battery
longevity. I've seen no alarming reports such as with Leaf. But I have
only about 10k miles and 4k miles on mine. No detectable loss of
capacity. On the Tesla, about 83k miles with 90+% capacity.
There is an app for imievs which seems to have much more detailed
monitoring than the terrible dash instrumentation. I used to fiddle
with the app but found dealing with the Android device too tedious. And
distracting.
I STILL look forward to having "cheaper, bigger, better" batteries
available through non-OEM channels.
I would suggest getting in line for a Model 3 and just toughing it out
until it arrives. Maybe lease a lesser car.
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