This video suggests that the EUs legislation on the "layman" being able to replace the battery in a phone, laptop or tablet etc. also appli4s to EVs.
I remember the bad old days when you had to be obsessive about keeping your mobile phone dry lest the damp killed it. That kinda went away when batteries became harder to replace. Not a coincidence methinks…
Tim
EVs have a "marriage ceremony" between the controller and the battery pack.
Let's say the battery in your Porsche Taycan is knackered, and you spot a neighbours Taycan down the street. You get on your mechanics slider, go under the car and steal the lithium battery pack.
If you plug the stolen battery pack into your car... nothing happens.
The car will not use the battery pack, unless the serial number is correct.
The dealer has software, which will "join" a new serial number with the car. If the dealer changes out a battery pack, they have the means to make the car operational again, with the new pack.
Some smartphones are also serialized that way, such that installing various kinds of replacement parts, does not work as expected. (Perhaps the new fingerprint reader module does not work.)
So whatever the right-to-repair laws specify, that is the antithesis of how the hardware is designed. The manufacturers will ask for "exceptions" for stuff like this.
On some cars, I can see battery identification as being important. Tesla Model 3 cars, have shipped with Lithium Cobalt packs or shipped with Lithium Iron Phosphate packs. It's even possible they changed over, in mid-production, in North America. The voltages on those would be different. The acceleration in the car, when powered with Lithium Iron Phosphate, is slightly worse (or so it is claimed). The hardware could be easily designed to work with both, but that may not be spelled out in the user documentation.
I don't know what this will do for theft-proofing. The serial numbers can stay, but perhaps the manufacturer will be prevented from stopping the car from moving, if the serial number changes.
Paul
Yes and no. The new regulations apply but have derogations for some uses which allow replacement only by *professionals*. On EVs:
"SLI batteries and electric vehicle batteries that are incorporated in motor vehicles should be removable and replaceable by independent professionals."
pp 32 in
Can you imagine the chaos though. I note that a new device that has always had replaceable battery, known as the Victor Reader Stream, has a new version which does not have a user replaceable battery. Brian
It would be entirely possible to make the batter relatively easy to change without compromising its IP rating. As evidenced by the few remaining phones with headphone jacks that are submersible.
Replaceable does not necessarily mean pops out tool free - you may still need to remove the back to access it. The key requirement though is that maker will actually sell you a battery, and not go out of their way to make it difficult to change, say by welding the case shut and gluing the battery in, and then requiring propitiatory software to "pair" the new battery with the phone that they refuse to supply to the end user etc.
Unfortunately, the word "should" instead of "must" makes this a gentle suggestion rather than anything stronger.
John
Yes, it's just setting out the policy they want to see pursued in other Directives/Regulations.
Just like my watch, it is possible to have seals and screws, instead of leaky clip-on backs or sealed glued on backs. It just costs a few pence more to manufacture.
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