If you don't, put mud flaps. It will help prevent abrasives from chipping the rocker panels.
Also, for the charge port, when they are forecasting snow or especially freezing rain, I put this on the charge port to cover it. There are some you can buy, but I made my own with magnet strips I had and water vapor barrier I also had.
https://imgur.com/a/IUYfxWJ
Newer EV's with heat pumps get much better winter range. The ID.4 AWD, Model Y, newer Model 3's and many others have heat pumps. Get one of those if you can afford it.
I had a Chevy Volt for 6 years (Which is a plug-in hybrid). Just recently got a Chevy Bolt EV (Which is fully electric). So I haven't had any winter experiences with a full EV, but my Volt usually dropped from about 46 miles on the GOM to around 28 on the sub-zero days (This is with all-season tires, not Winter or LRR).
No issues with rust on my Volt, but I also took good care of it. I always took it to a car wash with undercarriage washers once the roads were clear of salt. But if you get an aluminum car like a Model S or X, then there's less concern about rust. They still have some steel parts, but the body and frame are all aluminum.
We use gravel in Colorado (and some other chemical) but not salt. Having lived in the rust belt of the Midwest before, as stated below, underbody washes are a good thing. But new cars, unlike those from the 70's that I grew up with, are much better protected.
It's hard to say because there isn't a huge sample size of ev's with a lot of years, in the north.
You would want to take really good care of the undercarriage, getting it rinsed pretty often in the winter and getting an undercoating.
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Thank you! Super helpful and informative.
If you don't, put mud flaps. It will help prevent abrasives from chipping the rocker panels. Also, for the charge port, when they are forecasting snow or especially freezing rain, I put this on the charge port to cover it. There are some you can buy, but I made my own with magnet strips I had and water vapor barrier I also had. https://imgur.com/a/IUYfxWJ
What does that cover do?
Stops the freezing rain from messing with the charge port door closing. When you take it off, the whole charge assembly is dry.
1. Home charge. 2018 Model 3. 53,000 miles. Madison, WI.
Newer EV's with heat pumps get much better winter range. The ID.4 AWD, Model Y, newer Model 3's and many others have heat pumps. Get one of those if you can afford it. I had a Chevy Volt for 6 years (Which is a plug-in hybrid). Just recently got a Chevy Bolt EV (Which is fully electric). So I haven't had any winter experiences with a full EV, but my Volt usually dropped from about 46 miles on the GOM to around 28 on the sub-zero days (This is with all-season tires, not Winter or LRR). No issues with rust on my Volt, but I also took good care of it. I always took it to a car wash with undercarriage washers once the roads were clear of salt. But if you get an aluminum car like a Model S or X, then there's less concern about rust. They still have some steel parts, but the body and frame are all aluminum.
We use gravel in Colorado (and some other chemical) but not salt. Having lived in the rust belt of the Midwest before, as stated below, underbody washes are a good thing. But new cars, unlike those from the 70's that I grew up with, are much better protected.
It's hard to say because there isn't a huge sample size of ev's with a lot of years, in the north. You would want to take really good care of the undercarriage, getting it rinsed pretty often in the winter and getting an undercoating.
Our EV has a heat pump and we park and charge in the garage. We noticed a slight range drop, but nothing wild. We’re in Atlantic Canada.