11:55 am, August 11, 2025
Some of the most expensive electric car warranty claims have been revealed – with some cars facing whopping bills of more than £6,000 to fix.
A detailed look at claims data for electric cars at a warranty firm shows one Vauxhall Corsa owner claimed some £6,219 to fix an electric drive fault.
In second place for the most expensive repairs paid out by WSG was a Mini Countryman Cooper SE which needed a new inverter and DC converter at a cost of £4,658.
Another Vauxhall was the third most expensive with a drive system fault on a Grandland electric that cost £4,658 to rectify.
The most common electric car faults requiring warranty pay outs were for charger port failures, tyre pressure monitoring systems – a common fault across all fuel types – on board chargers and air con issues.
A spokesperson for WSG said: ‘These figures highlight how major powertrain and electrical component failures can result in significant costs, posing a challenge for both owners and the warranty sector.’
The warranty company’s data does show that electric cars and ICE vehicles have very similar claim rates – the average number of EVs to receive a claim with the firm was 13.2% while petrol and diesel cars were 13.7%.
‘However, when it comes to repair costs, EVs are significantly more expensive to fix, with an average claim value of £858.50 compared to £668.45 for ICE vehicles,’ said the firm.
WSG’s Martin Binnee added: ‘These findings are a wake-up call for both EV buyers and dealers.
‘On the surface, EVs may promise lower running costs thanks to fewer moving parts, but the reality is more nuanced. While EVs and ICE vehicles currently show similar claim rates, the average EV repair bill is substantially higher.
‘This reflects the complexity of EV repairs, the cost of specialist components, and the limited number of repairers with the right expertise.’
The company also revealed the most reliable EVs – and the worst. Topping the list of the most reliable electric cars with the least claims were the Nissan Leaf with just 3% of the models on cover with the company experiencing a claim.
This was followed by the MG ZS EV in second (4.7%) and the Audi E-Tron in third (5.5%).
The most unreliable electric car was the Tesla Model S with an alarming claim rate of 50% – which meant at least half of all cars on cover had experienced at least one claim.
The Volkswagen e-Golf was second in the list with at least a third of all the models on cover with the cover experiencing a claim and the Kia E-Niro third with a quarter of cars on cover with WSG needing repairs.
Binnee added: ‘As EV adoption accelerates, managing customer expectations around reliability and repair costs will be key to maintaining confidence in the market.’
WSG does not reveal how many cars it has on warranty cover but it said it works with more than 2,500 car dealers across the UK.
