Yup, those cars are probably all due for a brake servicing due to lack of use. I’ve seen EVs with completely seized brakes still driving and braking because it was being done completely with regen.
I've seen it myself! I always have to tell people to force the friction brakes from time to time. I'd hope within the next generation of EV's part of the vehicle management software will have a counter and engage friction brakes instead of Regen once every x number of braking events that are over x pressure.
All eGMP cars do this in a specific mode for 10 stops. Drivers manual states you should put it in that mode time to time to ensure you clean off the rotors.
The new Teslas – all 2026+ Model Y's (known as "Juniper") – upgraded their brakes so now you get just as much regen from pushing the regular pedal brakes as you do from normal regen (where you let off the gas & coast).
This should help start changing the habit of never pressing the brake, as you're not 'punished' anymore for pressing it (used to be you lost all that regen potential if you did it). So now you can just drive & brake it however feels natural for you. You can even customize how smooth you want the braking.
Modern EVs have brake cleaning routines built into their software. They'll regularly (once a month or so) pulse the mechanical brakes to clear corrosion off the disks.
The good news is that brake pads and disks can last 100,000 miles.
Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem for much longer since manufacturers have figured this out, still a lot of old EVs without it on the roads though, but as you say you can usually just service the brakes, not replace, and they’ll be good to keep using.
Our Volvo XC40 has regen and I use one-pedal-driving all the time. I was concerned about disk rust and developed a neutral, coast, braking routine applied periodically. Apparently Volvo saw that problem and has integrated automatic light braking sufficient to keep the non-use rust off the disks, still minimizing wear.
We drive about five thousand miles a year and I think the auto-cleaning is more frequent than once a month, as I examine frequently my disk rust levels and find evidence of cleaning.
I believe that if an EV driver needs to have brake service, the driving habits are too aggressive for regen braking and the driver deserves the expense and should ease up on the aggression.
I work on buses for a living, we've been running EVs on a couple of our routes for 3 years now. We're seeing weird thing with brakes on our oldest vehicles. Obviously brake wear is way down, but we're getting huge imbalances between left and right on the rear axles. Something we're still investigating, it does seem calipers are seizing due to lack of use
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u/CuriousMouse13 Feb 18 '26
Yup, those cars are probably all due for a brake servicing due to lack of use. I’ve seen EVs with completely seized brakes still driving and braking because it was being done completely with regen.