Why electric cars wear out their brakes less quickly than thermal cars

While electric cars can in some cases wear out their tires more quickly than thermal cars, notably due to a higher mass and very high available torque, the opposite happens for their brakes.

So, if we could imagine that the generally higher mass of electric cars means that they wear out their brake pads and discs more quickly, we would be forgetting that they are equipped with a very interesting technology: energy recovery during deceleration. Electric cars, but also hybrids, can re-store energy when lifting off the pedal or pressing their brake pedal. This allows them to recharge their battery, but also to relieve their traditional friction braking system.

How long do electric car brakes last?

It is difficult to indicate a lifespan for a car's brakes, because it depends on the model and especially on the driving adopted. As a general rule, we can estimate the lifespan of the front pads of a thermal car at between 30,000 km and 50,000 km, but driving only on the motorway will put much less strain on the brakes, unlike driving in the city. It is therefore important to check the wear of your brakes regularly. The discs, for their part, can last at least twice as long as the pads.

In the case of an electric car, the lifespan of the latter can easily be multiplied by two or three. Indeed, they are only used during the most intensive braking or at very low speeds, and the same logically applies to the discs. Moreover, the low stress on the brakes of an electric car can promote the appearance of corrosion, which pushes some manufacturers to equip their models with drum brakes.

This much slower wear of the brake discs and pads helps to make the maintenance of an electric car much less than that of a car with an internal combustion engine. There are far fewer wearing parts and maintenance costs can therefore be reduced, especially for high mileage drivers.