How Long Do EV Batteries Last?

One of the biggest questions electric vehicle owners have is how long their battery will hold up. The good news is that EV batteries are built to last a long time – much longer than many people think. Studies of real-world EVs show that most battery packs will last 15 to 20 years before significant degradation geotab.com. In fact, a recent analysis of over 10,000 electric cars found the average EV battery loses only about 1.8% of its capacity per year insideevs.com. This means even after 5 years you might still have roughly 90% of your original range, and after 15 years many EVs still hold around 70-80% of their initial charge.

Manufacturers are confident in battery durability – most offer 8 to 10-year (100,000+ mile) warranties on EV batteries, and California even mandates a minimum 10-year or 150,000-mile battery warranty for all new electric vehicles sold in the state allenstewart.com. Complete battery failures are very rare (one study showed less than 0.5% of EVs had a battery pack die in early years (insideevs.com). Instead, batteries gradually lose capacity over time. So a sudden total battery death is unlikely, but not impossible – and if it happens early, it’s a serious (and expensive) defect.

Is Battery Failure a “Lemon” Reason?

Yes. If an EV’s battery has a substantial defect that impacts the car’s use or safety, it can absolutely qualify under the Lemon Law. A battery that won’t hold a charge, loses range drastically, or suffers repeated failures is the kind of major issue lemon laws cover. California’s lemon law (the state’s electric vehicle lemon law protections) explicitly includes EVs and even has guidelines about minimum battery capacity. For example, if your battery deteriorates far below expected levels or fails completely while under warranty, and the manufacturer can’t fix it after reasonable attempts, you likely have a “lemon” on your hands. (However, note that some EV batteries carry separate warranties, which can complicate claims in certain states. In California, any battery defect that substantially impairs your EV still falls under lemon law coverage