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jacking up Electric Vehicles to repair a tyre

hifinutt

hifinutt
I am amazed to read in this weeks car pages in the telegraph that you are not supposed to jack up cars unless they are on a proper 4 point lift in a garage

apparently this is because the extra weight of the batteries putting more strain on the chassis when its jacked up at just one point and potential for twisting the chassis that this causes damage to the battery packs .

Not great with you are miles from a tyre shop and have a puncture , i suppose you just have to use that spray puncture kit . wonder if many EV owners were aware of this ? [alex robbins ask the expert telegraph 24/07/21]
 
I am amazed to read in this weeks car pages in the telegraph that you are not supposed to jack up cars unless they are on a proper 4 point lift in a garage

apparently this is because the extra weight of the batteries putting more strain on the chassis when its jacked up at just one point and potential for twisting the chassis that this causes damage to the battery packs .

Not great with you are miles from a tyre shop and have a puncture , i suppose you just have to use that spray puncture kit . wonder if many EV owners were aware of this ? [alex robbins ask the expert telegraph 24/07/21]

That seems like an admission that the chassis are too weak. Could be a costly exercise...
 
I have a goop kit and would have to rely on that. Do they mention any specific cars or is this just more EV bashing?
I've jacked up more than a few petrol/diesel cars at their jack points only to find that a) the jack points are made of chocolate, and b) that the jack in the car wasn't something I'd want to rely on unless I absolutely had to. I'm happy to have other people deal with this.

PS - I never want run-flats ever again.
PPS - do these goop kits actually work? I've never had to use one in anger.
 
I have a goop kit and would have to rely on that. Do they mention any specific cars or is this just more EV bashing?
I've jacked up more than a few petrol/diesel cars at their jack points only to find that a) the jack points are made of chocolate, and b) that the jack in the car wasn't something I'd want to rely on unless I absolutely had to. I'm happy to have other people deal with this.

PS - I never want run-flats ever again.
PPS - do these goop kits actually work? I've never had to use one in anger.

not noticed any EV bashing in telegraph , many many questions in honest john column . the question was from a chap wanting a spare tyre instead of a repair kit . and the columnist was explaining why they are so rare especially in EV cars

apparently the leaf and the MG 5 ev have them [ option to fit] he says
 
For crying out loud. That makes them totally useless for me and many other rural dwellers. Always swapping wheels for puncture repairs in hedge cutting seasons, changing wheels and tyres over in winter etc (with a decent trolley jack of course). It’s not progress when you can’t even change a wheel yourself in the event of a puncture and have to take it to a garage, which could be miles away (how do you even get there in the dead of night in winter?!). It’s just basic stuff.
 
PPS - do these goop kits actually

Depends on the puncture. I've had a few punctures which definitely couldn't be fixed with goop. The tyres were write offs. While it is an option, I prefer get a real spare tyre, becoming increasingly rare option.
 
PPS - do these goop kits actually work? I've never had to use one in anger.

Yes they do. In the Alpina I carried a pint of 'Slime' - it's water-based, so just hoses-out if the puncture is repairable (the aerosol-based kits do not - effectively render the tyre scrap - since the foam content is flammable) - and a cheap Ring (620? something like that) 12v air compressor; very compact, and very utile. Esp the compressor.

Current e39 has a full-size spare but I carried over the compressor and a cheap plug kit too. Takes up no space,and your own portable compressor is quick and easy for the regular tyre pressure check since I have to park on-street, and not necc. close to home.
 
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Depends on the puncture. I've had a few punctures which definitely couldn't be fixed with goop. The tyres were write offs. While it is an option, I prefer get a real spare tyre, becoming increasingly rare option.
The only time I’ve tried to use the goop was after a puncture caused by running into a pothole at around 25mph (dark, wet, essentially invisible pothole amongst all the other patchwork repairs on the road). Didn’t work, just pissed out as it was pumped in. No inflation whatsoever. The other puncture I’ve had in recent times was again hitting a pothole, this time at motorway speeds (it was on the join of a slip road to the M60 and I didn’t see it because I was watching mirrors and traffic while merging). That one was very obviously beyond repair. In neither case were we equipped with a spare, in neither case would goop have saved the day. In the latter case, I’m just grateful it wasn’t a smart motorway without a hard shoulder.
 
This is just bonkers! It is the most absurd ‘right to repair’ example I’ve heard in a long while. Anyone have a list of brands/models that you can’t jack?
 
Part of the problem is the weight of batteries, especially in larger EV cars. I’ve got one on order and I’m not about to use a normal car jack to lift 2.5 tonnes……
 
It really doesn’t help that it’s virtually impossible to buy a car with sensibly sized wheels with tyres which have a bit of profile on them. When you look at the state of the roads, 16 or 17 are about as big as you should go with at least a 60 profile!
 
If you used the supplied jack and in the correct jacking points (usually specified in the manual)?
How can you be at fault.
 
How are you expected to change a flat on the side of the road if the car can't be jacked?
 
I had a Corsa a few years ago which had an electric tyre pump built into the boot. Not very handy if the tyre is destroyed I know.
 


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