Exploring Foolish EV Myths – CleanTechnica

Final Up to date on: 4th July 2025, 11:18 am

A fable is a perception that’s based mostly on a small kernel of fact however then will get blown utterly out of proportion. Now that the Republican Celebration has determined the US authorities needs to be realigned to favor companies and billionaires — neither of that are talked about within the Structure — the main target going ahead might be on extracting, refining, and burning each molecule of fossil gas out there wherever on the face of the Earth. Since an EV (electrical automotive, in case you are simply becoming a member of us) is extra environment friendly than a automotive powered by an inner combustion engine, it’s considered by some as spawn of the satan that have to be eradicated as shortly as attainable.

That kind of paranoia results in myths that quickly develop into city legends, which then get amplified by delinquent media and the Fake Comedy Channel. Right here’s a doozy that simply set the teletype machines within the CleanTechnica newsroom clattering this morning. In line with Autoglym, a purveyor of high-quality automotive care merchandise within the UK, 21 % of UK drivers surveyed imagine they danger getting shocked whereas washing an EV. This carefully correlates to a different fable — that you just can not safely drive an EV via a automotive wash.

In line with Motor Commerce Information, 8 % of drivers age 55 to 64 imagine this nonsense, however that quantity rises to an astonishing 46 % amongst 25 to 34 yr olds. Within the 18 to 24 yr outdated age group, 40 % stated they may get shocked whereas washing their EV. For causes identified solely to UK residents, 45 % of automotive homeowners in London imagine the shock danger nonsense, whereas solely 7 % of drivers in Wales imagine it. Maybe there’s some anti-EV thoughts virus that’s destroying the mind cells of Londoners however has but to seek out its technique to the Welsh countryside?

Quentin Willson, a UK tv persona, provided this opinion on the matter: “Getting a shock when cleansing an EV is a really outdated fable and utterly false. Automotive makers rigorously take a look at battery EVs for security and carry out particular water soak exams to verify all excessive voltage elements are insulated and customers are at all times protected. On YouTube there’s a lot of footage of EVs driving effortlessly via heavy floods. There’s no proof wherever of somebody getting a shock from an EV whereas cleansing one. Electrical automobiles have been on sale since 2009, so if this was genuinely a hazard, we’d find out about it by now.”

Certainly we might, Quentin, though your reasoning ignores the truth that individuals imagine what they wish to imagine. Information and science haven’t any affect on a closed thoughts.

Lee Irving, the technical coaching supervisor at Autoglym, was extra particular. “We all know that the world of EVs is usually a thriller to some, however ensuring that the misconceptions are rectified is extraordinarily vital, particularly as we’re all being inspired to make the swap to this new type of clear mobility. Whereas we suggest homeowners keep away from flooding an EV’s charging port with water, cleansing one isn’t any extra harmful than cleansing a petroleum or diesel powered car.”

Petrol, for these of you who should not steeped in UK tradition, is how the Brits say “gasoline.” There is no such thing as a fact to the rumor that petrol is created from the carcasses of petrel birds. Talking of rumors, right here’s how they get began. Motor Commerce Information ends its report with this tidbit: “The first distinction between cleansing an EV and cleansing an inner combustion engine (ICE) powered car is the quantity of brake mud, in accordance with Autoglym, as regenerative braking is utilized by most EVs.”

Nicely, that’s surprising information certainly, since regenerative braking doesn’t use the mechanical brakes hardly in any respect and due to this fact an EV creates far much less brake mud than a traditional automotive. However individuals will learn that and imagine that each EV creates clouds of brake mud whereas driving.

Regen & EV Movement Illness

One other EV fable being hyped by so-called information companies lately claims that individuals are more likely to undergo from movement illness whereas using in an EV. The Guardian ran a narrative on this phenomenon lately that defined all of it.

“Larger illness in EVs might be attributed to an absence of earlier expertise, as each a driver and as a passenger, the place the mind lacks accuracy in estimating the movement forces as a result of it depends on earlier expertise in different forms of automobiles,” stated William Emond, a PhD pupil who’s researching automotive illness on the Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard in France. “If we’re accustomed to touring in non-EVs, we’re used to understanding the automotive’s movement based mostly on indicators comparable to engine revs, engine vibrations, torque, and many others. But, touring in an EV for the primary time is a brand new movement surroundings for the mind, which wants adaptation,” he stated.

There’s a kernel of fact right here. Our brains can turn into disoriented when uncovered to unfamiliar environments. Some individuals discover using on trains or airplanes unsettling, and seasickness is so frequent that it’s nearly anticipated of people who find themselves new to travelling throughout the water in vessels. Astronauts who expertise weightlessness for the primary time typically report feeling disoriented.

“If an individual has spent most of their life driving a combustion engine automotive, their mind anticipates acceleration after the rev of the engine, a warning that they’re about to expertise a change in velocity. In a battery-powered automotive, the electrical motor makes no such noises,” The Guardian says. A examine in 2024 discovered a robust correlation between the severity of movement illness and vibrations in EV seats. That will come as a little bit of a shock to readers who drive an EV, as there’s practically a complete absence of vibration in an electrical automotive whereas driving.

Regenerative braking might contribute to feeling disoriented. To be honest, totally different producers handle regenerative breaking in a different way. The algorithms that management regen can fluctuate significantly from one model to a different, and drivers who’re new to the EV expertise might take some time to learn to handle regenerative braking correctly. A 2024 examine prompt regen was one of many major causes of movement illness in an EV.

“Movement illness is regarded as brought on by a mismatch between numerous sensory indicators the mind concurrently receives in regards to the physique’s motion. Particularly, it occurs when the internal ear, which helps management steadiness, the eyes, and the physique ship conflicting info to the mind,” The Guardian stories. “With the ability to anticipate the motion of a car seems to be integral to the expertise of movement illness, which is why people who find themselves driving a automotive don’t are inclined to expertise signs. They know what’s coming.”

None of that is meant to disparage those that expertise movement illness, which has similarities to vertigo. Nobody who has skilled it — as I’ve — ever desires to repeat the expertise. The issue is the facility of suggestion. As soon as we hear about another person’s expertise, we usually tend to imagine we’re affected as properly. There’s a high-quality line between accountable journalism and sensationalist reporting.

I’m feeling slightly queasy myself simply enthusiastic about all this. I feel I’ll go outdoors and wash my EV — within the rain.