7 min read · Last updated September 23, 2026
- The American Automobile Association’s (AAA) 2025 Your Driving Costs brochure puts a medium sedan’s maintenance costs at $1,358 a year for an electric vehicle (EV) versus $1,786 for gas. Both figures assume 15,000 miles a year. Stretched to 100,000 miles, that gap runs to roughly $2,850 in the EV’s favor.
- Skipping oil changes alone saves about $800 over 100,000 miles at a 10,000-mile synthetic interval and $80 a change.
- Regenerative braking can cut a gas car’s typical two brake-pad jobs over 100,000 miles down to one, saving about $225. But tires wearing roughly 20% faster on an EV add a full extra $848 back onto the bill.
- A Chevrolet Bolt EV’s own owner’s manual sets battery-coolant service at 150,000 miles or five years, whichever comes first. Most owners hit the five-year mark before the mileage number.
Over 100,000 miles, AAA’s 2025 data puts a medium sedan EV’s maintenance costs at roughly $9,050 against $11,900 for a comparable gas car. That’s a gap of about $2,850, even though the EV’s own tires cost $848 more across that same span.
In this article
- The maintenance bill that disappears
- Brakes last longer, but not forever
- The tire bill nobody warns you about
- The coolant loop and the battery you forgot about
- Frequently asked questions
Marcus Feldman’s Chevrolet Bolt EV rolled past 100,000 miles last spring without a single oil change. He’d tracked every service cost since day one, mostly to needle his brother Dave, who drives a Toyota Camry and changes his oil like clockwork. At 100,000 miles, Marcus had skipped 10 oil changes and needed one fewer brake job than Dave. He was still stunned his tire bill came in $848 higher.
The maintenance bill that disappears
A battery pack’s own life still depends on climate, not just mileage: heat shortens a 12-volt car battery’s life more than cold does, the same principle AAA applies to EV maintenance data.
An electric vehicle (EV) has no engine, so it skips engine oil, oil filters, spark plugs, and transmission fluid on the usual mileage clock. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center confirms EVs need less scheduled maintenance because there are fewer fluids like engine oil that require regular service and far fewer moving parts relative to a conventional engine. At a 10,000-mile full-synthetic interval and roughly $80 a change, the same AAA-sourced figure this site’s own oil-change guide uses, that’s 10 skipped services and $800 saved by 100,000 miles, before anything else is counted.
Brakes last longer, but not forever
Regenerative braking uses the electric motor to slow the car and feed energy back into the battery, so the physical pads do less of the stopping. The Department of Energy confirms brake wear is significantly reduced due to regenerative braking on an EV.
A typical gas car’s brake pads last 10,000 to 60,000 miles depending on the vehicle and driving habits, per the auto-parts chain NAPA’s (National Automotive Parts Association) own service guidance. At Kelley Blue Book’s reported $150 to $300 per axle, call it $225 for a front-axle job. Dave’s Camry needs two of those over 100,000 miles, for $450. Marcus’s Bolt needs one, for $225. That’s a real $225 saved.
The tire bill nobody warns you about
An EV’s battery pack adds weight, and its motor delivers full torque instantly. Consumer Reports names both factors directly: EVs are significantly heavier than their internal combustion counterparts, largely due to the weight of their battery packs. That added weight, plus the instant torque of an electric motor, both push harder on the tread.
Consumer Reports’ own tire testing program manager, Ryan Pszczolkowski, has put a number on it: EV tires wear out roughly 20% faster than gas-car tires in general use. An extreme case in its own fleet testing saw a set last just 12,000 miles against 25,000 for a traditional car, but twenty percent is the reasonable planning number.
Run the math on a common $212 tire, the same price point this site’s own tire-cost guide uses, for a set of four at $848. A gas sedan on a 50,000-mile all-season tire needs exactly two sets over 100,000 miles, for $1,696. Cut that tire’s life by 20% for the EV’s weight and torque and it lasts about 40,000 miles, so a third set covers the last 20,000 miles, for $2,544 total. That third set is the full $848 gap, and cost per mile is the honest way to compare it.
The coolant loop and the battery you forgot about
An EV with no engine still needs to keep things cool. Chevrolet’s 2023 Bolt EV owner’s manual lists three coolant reservoirs: cabin heating, the high-voltage battery, and the accessory power module and onboard charger. All three sit on one schedule: drain and fill every 150,000 miles or five years, whichever comes first.
At 15,000 miles a year, a driver hits that five-year mark around 75,000 miles, inside a 100,000-mile window, before the mileage number catches up. At AAA’s reported national labor rate of $120 to $159 an hour, a two-hour service runs roughly $280. Gas engines need radiator coolant service too, on a similar timeline, so this isn’t purely an EV cost. It’s just the one owners don’t expect.
Every EV also carries a conventional 12-volt battery for lights, locks, and infotainment, separate from the traction battery. It fails on the same clock as a gas car’s battery, typically $200 to $400 to replace. Call it a wash; it just surprises EV owners more, who assumed the battery conversation ended with the big one.
| Line item | Gas sedan | EV sedan |
|---|---|---|
| Oil changes | 10 changes, about $800 | None, $0 |
| Brake pad jobs | 2 jobs, about $450 | 1 job, about $225 |
| Tire sets | 2 sets, about $1,696 | 3 sets, about $2,544 |
| Battery coolant service | Separate engine coolant flush, not counted here | 1 service around year 5, about $280 |
| 12-volt accessory battery | About $200 to $400 once | About $200 to $400 once, same part |
| Best for | Very low annual mileage, rarely reaching a coolant or tire interval | Average or higher annual mileage, where oil and brake savings compound faster than the tire premium |
Add up those five line items and the gas car edges ahead by about $100, nearly a wash. The categories people actually notice don’t decide this.
The other roughly $2,950 of AAA’s measured gap comes from what never shows up as a single receipt. That includes the comprehensive extended-warranty cost AAA builds into its own figure, plus the transmission service, spark plugs, belts, and sensor failures that come with having an engine. An EV’s electric drive unit, battery, and electronics need little to no regular maintenance. That boring, invisible category is what actually decides the 100,000-mile winner, not the tires or oil changes Marcus and Dave argue about.
Frequently asked questions
Does an EV really need zero oil changes?
Yes. An EV has no engine, so there’s no engine oil, oil filter, or transmission fluid on a mileage schedule. The U.S. Department of Energy confirms EVs need fewer regularly serviced fluids than a gas car. Over 100,000 miles at a 10,000-mile interval and $80 a change, that’s about $800 never spent.
Why do EV tires wear out faster than gas car tires?
Two factors: extra weight from the battery pack and instant torque from the electric motor, both confirmed by Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports has measured EV tires wearing roughly 20% faster on average, which can turn a 50,000-mile tire into a 40,000-mile tire.
Do regenerative brakes really make brake pads last longer?
Yes, meaningfully. The Department of Energy states that regenerative braking significantly reduces brake wear because the electric motor handles most everyday slowing. A gas car’s pads typically last 10,000 to 60,000 miles; many EV owners stretch that further because the friction brakes do less work.
What is battery coolant service, and how often does it happen?
EVs use coolant loops to manage battery, charger, and cabin-heating temperatures. Chevrolet’s Bolt EV owner’s manual sets that service at 150,000 miles or five years, whichever comes first. Most owners hit the five-year mark first, meaning one service likely falls inside a 100,000-mile window.
Is the 12-volt battery in an EV different from a gas car’s battery?
No. Every EV still carries a separate 12-volt battery for lights, locks, and infotainment, apart from the large traction battery. It fails on the same few-year clock as a gas car’s battery and costs about the same, typically $200 to $400, to replace.
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