Top 7 'Unlearn-the-Wrench' EV Habits to maintain for new owners leaving gas behind. - Goh Ling Yong
Congratulations! You’ve done the research, taken the test drives, and finally brought home your shiny new electric vehicle. The quiet hum, the instant acceleration, the feeling of driving past a gas station without a hint of nostalgia—it’s a truly revolutionary experience. Welcome to the future of driving.
But making the switch from an internal combustion engine (ICE) to an EV is about more than just changing how you refuel. It’s a fundamental shift in mindset. For years, you’ve been conditioned by the rhythms and rituals of gas-powered cars. Those habits, learned over tens of thousands of miles, are deeply ingrained. To truly get the most out of your new electric ride, you don’t just need to learn new things; you need to unlearn old ones.
Think of it as 'unlearning the wrench.' You're leaving behind the world of oil changes, sputtering engines, and complex mechanical maintenance. This guide is designed to help you shed those old habits and embrace the smarter, more efficient, and often more enjoyable ways of the EV world. Here are the top seven 'unlearn-the-wrench' habits every new EV owner should master.
1. Unlearn the ‘Empty Tank’ Mentality; Embrace ‘ABC’ (Always Be Charging)
With a gas car, the routine is universal: drive until the fuel gauge dips into the red, find a gas station, fill the tank completely, and repeat in a week or two. This "drive-to-empty" habit is one of the hardest to break, but it’s completely counterintuitive for an EV.
Instead of thinking of your car’s battery like a gas tank, think of it like your smartphone. You don’t wait for your phone to hit 1% before plugging it in, do you? Of course not. You top it up whenever it’s convenient—overnight while you sleep, at your desk while you work, or on a coffee table while you relax. Your EV should be treated the same way. The new mantra is ABC: Always Be Charging. If you have a place to plug in, use it. Arrive home? Plug in. Park at the office with a charger? Plug in.
This approach has two massive benefits. First, you almost always leave home with a "full tank," giving you maximum range for your day. This single habit eliminates 90% of range anxiety. Second, it’s better for your battery’s long-term health. Most experts recommend keeping your battery’s state of charge between 20% and 80% for daily use, only charging to 100% for long road trips. Constant deep discharging and full recharging places more stress on the battery cells. Adopting the ABC habit naturally keeps you in that healthy sweet spot.
Pro-Tip: Install a Level 2 charger at home if you can. It’s the single best investment for an EV owner, turning your garage into your personal, ultra-convenient fueling station.
2. Unlearn ‘Coasting and Braking’; Master One-Pedal Driving
In a gas car, you are a master of two pedals. You press the accelerator to go and the brake to stop. When you lift your foot off the gas, the car coasts, and energy is simply lost to air resistance and friction. Braking is even more wasteful; the friction of the brake pads on the rotors converts your car's momentum into useless heat.
Welcome to the magic of regenerative braking. When you lift your foot off the accelerator in an EV, the electric motor essentially runs in reverse. It uses the car's momentum to generate electricity, which it sends back to the battery pack. This process simultaneously slows the car down and recaptures energy that would otherwise be lost. It's like getting free miles every time you slow down!
Most modern EVs take this a step further with one-pedal driving. By setting regeneration to its highest level, you can often accelerate, slow down, and even come to a complete stop using only the accelerator pedal. Press to go, ease off to slow down, and lift off completely to stop. It’s incredibly smooth, efficient, and intuitive once you get the hang of it. Not only does it boost your range, especially in city traffic, but it also dramatically reduces wear and tear on your physical brakes.
Pro-Tip: When you first get your EV, start with the lowest regenerative braking setting and gradually increase it as you get more comfortable. Within a week, you'll wonder how you ever drove without it.
3. Unlearn the 5,000-Mile Ritual; Focus on the ‘Big Three’
Remember the sticker on your windshield? "Next oil change due at 75,000 miles." The entire maintenance schedule of a gas car revolves around its engine: oil changes, spark plugs, timing belts, fuel filters, exhaust systems, transmission fluid... the list is long and expensive.
It’s time to throw that entire schedule in the bin. Your EV has none of those things. The electric motor has only a handful of moving parts compared to the hundreds in an internal combustion engine. This means your routine maintenance checklist just got incredibly short.
So, what should you focus on? Your new 'Big Three' are Tires, Wiper Blades, and Washer Fluid. That’s it for your regular, frequent check-ups. Tires are especially important. The instant torque from an electric motor can wear tires a bit faster than a comparable gas car, so regular rotations and pressure checks are crucial for safety and efficiency. Beyond that, you'll have occasional checks for brake fluid and battery coolant, but these are often done every few years, not every few months.
Pro-Tip: As Goh Ling Yong often says, "An informed driver is an efficient driver." Read your EV's manual to understand its specific, simplified maintenance schedule. You'll be amazed at how little is required.
4. Unlearn ‘Warming Up the Engine’; Precondition Your Climate
On a freezing winter morning or a blistering summer afternoon, what was the old routine? Start the car and let it run for 5-10 minutes to "warm up" or cool down the cabin. This is a massively inefficient habit that wastes fuel and creates unnecessary emissions. In an EV, it's also a major drain on your battery range.
The modern, efficient solution is preconditioning. While your EV is still plugged into the charger, you can use its smartphone app to set the cabin to your desired temperature. The car will use power from the grid—not your battery—to heat or cool the interior and, just as importantly, bring the battery pack to its optimal operating temperature.
This is a game-changer. You get into a perfectly comfortable car every single time, without using a single mile of your precious range to do it. On a cold day, a pre-warmed battery is also more efficient and can accept a faster charge. It's a win-win-win: you're more comfortable, your car is more efficient, and you preserve your driving range. This is one of the most beloved perks of EV ownership, so make it a daily habit.
Pro-Tip: Set up a departure schedule in your car's app. If you leave for work at 8:00 AM every day, you can program the car to be perfectly preconditioned and charged by that time automatically.
5. Unlearn ‘Gas Station on Every Corner’; Become a Savvy Route Planner
Range anxiety is the bogeyman of the EV world, but it’s easily defeated with a small shift in planning. With a gas car, you can embark on a long road trip with zero forethought, confident you’ll find a gas station when you need one. While the public charging infrastructure is growing rapidly, it's not yet at that level of ubiquity.
Instead of being a reactive refueler, you now need to be a proactive trip planner. This isn't as daunting as it sounds; in fact, your car and phone do most of the work for you. Apps like PlugShare, Electrify America, EVgo, and A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) are your new best friends. They show you exactly where chargers are, what type they are (Level 2 or DC Fast Charger), and whether they are currently in use.
For long trips, your car's built-in navigation will often plan the route for you, automatically including the necessary charging stops. These stops can be perfectly timed for a bathroom break, a coffee, or a meal. A 20-30 minute stop to add 150-200 miles of range is a great opportunity to stretch your legs and refresh, making for a more relaxed journey overall.
Pro-Tip: Before a long trip, use an app like ABRP. You can input your specific car model, starting state of charge, and destination, and it will give you a highly accurate trip plan with recommended charging stops and times.
6. Unlearn the ‘Roar of the Engine’; Respect the Silent Surge
For a century, performance has been communicated through sound: the V8 rumble, the turbo whistle, the high-revving scream. We’ve been trained to associate noise with speed and power. Your EV throws that entire sensory experience out the window.
The power delivery in an EV is silent, instantaneous, and relentless. There's no engine to rev, no transmission to shift—just a smooth, silent, and often shocking surge of acceleration the moment you touch the pedal. This can be disorienting at first. You can reach high speeds much faster than you realize because the usual auditory cues are missing.
The habit to unlearn here is relying on sound to judge your speed. The new habit is to respect the silent power of your vehicle. Be gentle with the accelerator until you get a feel for its responsiveness. This is especially true in wet or icy conditions, where that instant torque can easily break traction if you’re not careful. The upside? A serene, quiet cabin that makes conversations clearer, music richer, and the overall driving experience far more relaxing.
Pro-Tip: Pay closer attention to your speedometer for the first few weeks. Also, be mindful that pedestrians and cyclists may not hear you coming at low speeds. Your car is equipped with a pedestrian warning sound for this very reason.
7. Unlearn the ‘Red Light Shift’; Let ‘Auto Hold’ Do the Work
Here's a subtle habit you might not even realize you have. When stopped at a long red light or in bumper-to-bumper traffic, many drivers of automatic gas cars shift into Neutral or Park to give their right foot a rest from holding the brake pedal.
In an EV, this is completely unnecessary thanks to a wonderful feature called Auto Hold (or sometimes just 'Hold'). When you enable this feature, the car will automatically hold itself in place with the brakes after you've come to a complete stop, even if you're on a hill. You can take your foot completely off the brake pedal, and the car will not move.
When the light turns green or traffic moves, a simple touch of the accelerator pedal smoothly disengages the hold and you're on your way. It’s a small quality-of-life feature that makes a huge difference in reducing driver fatigue during city driving. It’s a simple, elegant solution that you’ll quickly find indispensable.
Pro-Tip: Find the 'Auto Hold' setting in your car's menu and turn it on permanently. After one day of stop-and-go traffic, you'll never want to turn it off.
A New Way Forward
Leaving gas behind is about more than just a new powertrain; it’s an upgrade to your entire driving life. By unlearning these seven simple habits, you'll unlock the full potential of your electric vehicle, making it more efficient, longer-lasting, and more enjoyable to drive every day. It’s a journey of discovery that transforms driving from a chore into a pleasure.
What was the hardest gas-car habit for you to unlearn after switching to an EV? Do you have another tip for new owners? Share your experiences in the comments below! We'd love to hear your story.
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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