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Do electric cars have transmission fluid?
I want my next car to be electric; I’m extremely conscious of the effect that I have on the environment, and I want to lessen my impact as much as I can. To that end, I’m trying to learn more about how electric vehicles work, but everything I read seems to give me a different answer, especially about car parts like the transmission. Do electric vehicles have transmission fluid, or are they built completely differently?
Ben Guess · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Great question, and good on you for wanting to learn more about your future car. The short answer is that some
electric cars
have transmission fluid, while others do not.In a gas-powered car, the transmission ensures that the wheels receive the correct amount of power for the speed that the driver wants. It does this through torque (effectively, movement energy).
A gas-powered car also has multiple gears, or settings, which you can change with the clutch, for different ranges of engine spin speed (RPM) and different ranges of torque. This ensures that the transmission delivers the most ideal amount of torque, depending on the gear, and that the engine is spinning at the most ideal RPM rate.
Electric cars, however, are completely different. Their electric motors can apply torque in a much more consistent and fine-tuned way, meaning that they do not need a transmission to apply necessary torque.
However, some recently manufactured electric cars, such as the
Tesla
Model S, do have a transmission, as creating the right balance between torque and speed can sometimes be difficult without one. So whether or not your car has a transmission, and therefore transmission fluid, will be determined by the type of electric car you buy.
It’s always important to know as much as possible about the car you want to buy, including how much it might cost to insure. If you want to make sure you’re getting the best possible deal on the coverage you need, check out the
Jerry
app—just fill out some information about yourself and your vehicle and we’ll get you personalized quotes from top insurers in seconds, so that all you need to do is pick the plan that works best for you. And once you pick one, we’ll help with every step of switching over.Hope this helps, and happy shopping!
View full answer
- Gregory R.
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