The Priciest Repair On A Used EV Isn’t The Battery

If you’re shopping for a used EV, chances are the health and longevity of the high-voltage battery, the big slab of cells under the floor, is the thing keeping you awake at night. But according to a new analysis of warranty repair requests, it’s far from the problem owners encounter most often.

The study, based on repair request data collected by Warrantywise in the UK, found that the biggest EV reliability headaches are largely the same kinds of issues drivers have dealt with for years on cars running more conventional combustion powertrains. Electrical gremlins, suspension wear, and even the humble 12-volt battery appear far more frequently than failures involving the high-voltage battery pack.

Leading the list were general electrical faults, including sensors and central locking systems. Those repairs averaged around £810-900 ($1,085-1,205), although some individual claims climbed well beyond £3,000 ($4,020) and even topped £4,000 ($5,350) depending on the fault.

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Suspension components, particularly wishbones, also featured prominently. Average repair requests exceeded £1,200 ($1,600), with the largest individual claim passing £4,100 ($5,490). That’s a reminder that even without an engine or gearbox, an EV still has plenty of conventional hardware that wears over time – and with more weight to bear, suspension takes an even bigger beating in an EV.

Top 5 EV Faults

The only genuinely EV specific component to crack the top five was the on-board charger. While the average repair request for one of those came in at £2,160 ($2,890), the largest single claim reached a hefty £10,455 ($14,000), showing that although these failures aren’t everyday occurrences, they can become scarily expensive.

Battery Problems Overblown

What about the high-voltage traction battery everyone worries about? It didn’t make the top five at all. That doesn’t mean battery failures never happen, only that they were comparatively rare in the warranty data, quite possibly because EV batteries are more robust than many people think, and they tend to have longer factory warranty cover than the rest of the car. When problems did occur, though, repair requests averaged more than £6,400 ($8,570).

The figures also showed average EV repair request values increased by 10.7 percent between 2024 and 2025. That rise isn’t necessarily down to worsening reliability, with inflation, labour costs, and parts prices all likely contributing to higher bills.

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As with any warranty dataset, the results only reflect vehicles covered under those policies rather than every EV on the road. Even so, it points to the expensive battery that dominates so many buying conversations as not being the scary bill-in-waiting it’s made out to be.