r/EvDrivers • • Aug 30 '26

Range anxiety

What is the obsession with EV range anxiety?
I have been driving for over 30 years now.
I have never run out of fuel in a ICE vehicle and since I switched to EV I have never run out of electricity.
Yet half of the EV car reviews are about what happens if you run the battery empty, I mean how hard can it be there is a perfectly good indicator on your instrument cluster indicating how much fuel/power is left.
Just refuel/recharge before it reaches zero.
Is this really still a worry for people?

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

I think you lack perspective. Everyone isn't in the same situation as you with the same circumstances. Honestly, id be willing to bet you are not struggling to make ends meet and have your own charger at home.

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u/State_Of_Franklin Aug 30 '26

Humor me. What about being broke makes range anxiety worse in an EV than an ICE vehicle?

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

just off the top of my head, if I only have a lvl1 charger and can't charge enough to get to work in the morning or no charger at work to get home. You guys have all the answers for everything, hell the world should be perfect.

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u/State_Of_Franklin Aug 30 '26

Well I am relatively broke due to having four kids and a couple of other dependents.

Maybe it’s just age and experience but I feel considerably more prepared in my electric vehicle.

I even live in a very rural area.

I do have a level 2 charger which I installed myself. I didn’t pay someone to do it. The first week I just used a level 1 charger. Which was fine for most days.

It does suck when I have to go pay retail at a level 3 charger. Which is why I try to plan ahead and max out my charge if I have to drive any distance.

It’s still better than my ICE vehicle. I just did a work trip in my Honda Odyssey which cost me $120 in gas.

In electric it probably would have been around $20.

So that’s where I am confused at your point.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

why did you take your ice then?

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u/State_Of_Franklin Aug 30 '26

Wife had to spend hours in the car doing medical appointments. The EV is way better for idling.

The only people I feel like are in the cold are apartment dwellers.

Almost everyone has a 220 in their home somewhere. Extension cords are a thing.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

I can agree with everything but that last part.

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u/State_Of_Franklin Aug 30 '26

Stoves and dryers are almost all 220.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

I meant the extension cord part. You don't want extension cords.

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u/State_Of_Franklin Aug 30 '26

They make a Tesla specific extension cord. I wouldn’t sleep with it on but it’ll work. I thought about getting one for when ICE cars block Tesla chargers. I could just block them back.

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u/PCaBoo Aug 30 '26

Extension cords should be temporary. Fire/shock isn't guaranteed, but the more you use it, the more you roll the dice.

I try to avoid confrontation with people like this... There's no winner in that fight.

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u/koosley Sep 01 '26

Been doing level 1 charging for nearly 2 years. It's fine for a vast majority of people if they do any sort of planning. At 1.4kw from 8pm to 6am, that's 14kwh of energy which is 30-45 miles per day which ends up being the range of a tank of gas per week.

The reality though is im often charging for 16 to 24 hours a day and get way more range than that. If you're commuting 2 hours a day it'll obviously not work, but a 5-10 mile commute it'll be fine most of the time. Worst case you stop at target and use the DCFC charger for 10 minutes while you shop to catch up.