The Expert Podcast

…Vehicles have always increased the technology that they've used. From manufacturers In fact even in the, late eighties early nineties there are cars that talk to you and it would tell your door's open or your battery is low. But now technology is creating another. evolution of the automotive profession and that has to do with repairs. Many vehicles now do not need a mechanic to diagnose the vehicle there's computers and chips and sensors scattered all throughout the vehicle that will give a diagnosis of what might be happening with the vehicle. And this is beyond. Just plugging into a diagnostic port that most vehicles have had for 20 years. This is very advanced technology. In fact, Some of these new technologies don't even require a mechanic to fix it The repairs can be done with software with upgrades. and downloads to a systems computer programming. As we get more into electric vehicles, the mechanical components will be less likely to be what's wrong with the car. With an internal combustion engine. You're going to find that most of the things that break our mechanical valve train lifters rods. Internally lubricated parts, transmissions Those are the things that break a lot of times or their accessories like O two sensors or EGR valves. With EVs electric vehicles. The moving parts, the components that drive the vehicle the electric motors are Much more reliable They don't have as many…violent motion inside the engine that makes it break you know internal combustion. It's literally what it sounds like It's combustion internally to that engine There's explosions, there's metal moving back and forth very quickly in electric motor It's very smooth It's not quite as violent of a vibration. energy. So…What happens to the car mechanic? Will there even be auto mechanics? And is it going to be better or worse for a vehicle owner Well one of the things that could be worse is. How long you have to wait for a repair. With out a need for constant maintenance and repairs There may not be as. availability of replacement parts. With internal combustion engines You've got to have a lot of parts laying around because you know you're going to need them. With electric vehicles. There's not that many parts can think about your cell phone. When's the last time your cell phone broke where somebody could actually fix it Maybe the screen you can replace the screen. But other than that there's not many repairs you can make to a cell phone Usually when your cell phone. Stops working What do you do You get a new cell phone…Is that going to be how vehicles are done in the future In addition to that what about collision repair? Meaning body repair. Well currently out of vehicle If you get in an accident God forbid. You bring it to a body shop collision repair shop. They. You know pull off the dented panels They pull the frame straight, they put on new panels, pay repaint it send you on your way. With electric vehicles. Or even vehicles that are still gasoline but computerized if you get in an accident, The damages the vehicle substantially. It may not be possible to fix that vehicle in a way that's safe for the road electric vehicles the battery. Is a integral component of the chassis It's literally the floor pan of the cars all battery. So if the cars hit and that floor pan is dead then the battery may become breached damaged. And you saw what happened to batteries that were damaged in the Florida hurricane They caught on fire. So these vehicles may not be repairable. you may also find that the electronics and the sensors in the vehicle. are worth more actually than the body So if you crash your car, The re the insurance companies might look at it like well if we can recover all these electronics and these motors. It might be cheaper just to total the car. Take out the motors and electronics put you know sell them for parts and give the person money for a new car. So this conversion to electric vehicles electronics and computers might actually completely change the way automotive. Repairs are done both on the mechanical side and the collision side. Let us know what you think in the comments about the future of automotive repairs. And if you're in the business what are you seeing already for fixing. Newer vehicles.