It’s the scenario that every motorist fears the most – running out of fuel and being stranded. But that situation takes on a whole new level of uncertainty when it comes to electric cars. You can’t walk to the nearest petrol station and grab a jerry can of fuel, so what does happen if you run out of battery charge, and what do you do to get going again?
What Happens When an EV’s Battery Runs Out of Charge?
To state the obvious: if you run out of battery charge in an electric car, it’ll stop moving. But the various warnings and ‘limp home’ modes that the car initialises in the run up to a total battery drain varies depending on the manufacturer. Most will start showing a low battery warning light at around 15% battery, often asking if you’d like to navigate to the nearest charging point on the satnav (if the car is equipped with one) while also popping up a warning light on the dash.
The sensible thing to do is to do just that – find a charger – since fully draining a battery isn’t only hugely inconvenient but also quite bad for the battery’s health and longevity. It’s always best to top up, or at least start planning where to charge on your route, when the battery charge drops to around 20%.
If the worst does happen and you can’t get a charge, every EV will eventually initialise a reduced power mode when it gets to a very low battery charge. Just how limited the performance is varies depending on the car. The Porsche Taycan and Fiat 500e, for instance, will still allow you to do over 50mph when they’re beginning to run out of their battery charge; they then gradually lose speed as they finally run out of charge altogether and come to a stop.
The Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf and Honda e, meanwhile, limit your speed to more like 30mph for a few miles before they eventually roll to a halt.
Essentially, every EV will give you plenty of warning when the battery is low, with the warnings and – subsequently – the imposed performance and speed restrictions varying depending on manufacturer. The best thing is, as we’ve said, to plan ahead with your charging on a long journey, and to try to make sure that you’ve got a couple of potential charging stops en-route so that you’re not stressing about limping to the nearest charger and risking a total battery drain.
Can Electric Cars be Towed?
Just as you would if you run out of petrol or diesel, if you run out of battery charge in an EV, you’ll have to call a roadside rescue service to come and collect you. The difference is that most electric cars shouldn’t be towed, as it can damage the regenerative braking hardware, so you must tell the rescue company that it’s an EV, and ask for a flat-bed truck.
There are exceptions to this rule – the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe can be towed provided the front wheels are lifted off the ground, but a flat-bed is likely the safer route.
Roadside rescue companies haven’t been idle in considering stricken EVs. The RAC has had mobile chargers (powered by the van’s diesel engine and a generator) fitted in many of its vans, which can top up a Type 1 or Type 2-compatible EV, albeit rather slowly at around 14 miles of range per hour. Both the RAC and AA have also come up with portable trailers that fit into their heavy-duty pick-up trucks, and can fold out to allow an EV to be towed without its wheels on the ground, so that you don’t necessarily have to wait for a flat-bed rescue.
There is also technology in existence where electric cars can be towed in order to recharge their batteries. American EV manufacturer, Rivian, already has ‘tow-charge’ technology. This means you can tow the vehicle to charge up its battery using the regenerative braking system, although Rivian is clear that this is an emergency solution and its vehicles shouldn’t be towed for long periods in this way. Ford also applied for a patent earlier in 2021 that suggests the company is looking into offering a similar tow-charge function with its future EVs.
Potential rescue could even come from other EVs. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 have an optional Vehicle to Load function, which means that you can charge up another electric car from your EV’s own battery using the connecter and cable provided with the car. Again, it’s a slow charge of around 14 miles of range per hour, at best, but it can still be a useful emergency charge function.
Otherwise, the simple answer is that no – you can’t ordinarily tow an EV. Unfortunately, it’s generally a case of waiting for a rescue.