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  Can an EV Battery Be Damaged by Sitting at 100% Charge? By Azka Kamil – Automotive Enthusiast If you own an electric vehicle (EV), you may have heard a common warning: “Don't leave your EV sitting at 100% charge.” But is this actually true? The short answer is yes, keeping an EV battery at or near 100% for extended periods can contribute to faster battery degradation—but charging to 100% is not inherently harmful and is often completely appropriate when you need maximum driving range. The important distinction is between charging to 100% and immediately driving the vehicle versus charging to 100% and leaving the vehicle parked for days or weeks . Modern EVs are designed with sophisticated battery-management systems, thermal controls, charging limits, and battery buffers that reduce the risk of damage. However, battery chemistry still matters. Prolonged exposure to a very high state of charge can place additional stress on lithium-ion cells. For American EV owners, the best strat...

  Why Your Car Feels Different After a Software Update By Azka Kamil – Automotive Enthusiast If your car suddenly feels different after a software update, you are not necessarily imagining it. Modern vehicles are increasingly controlled by software. Engine management, transmission behavior, electric power delivery, driver-assistance systems, infotainment, battery management, charging behavior, and even security functions can depend on software. That means a software update can sometimes change the way your vehicle responds, accelerates, brakes, steers, charges, or interacts with the driver —even when no mechanical component has been replaced. This is particularly important for newer vehicles in the United States, including connected gasoline cars, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs. So, why can your car feel different after an update? Vehicle Software Update What Is a Vehicle Software Update? A vehicle software update is essentially a new version of the software that controls one or...

  What Happens If You Never Use Your Car’s Parking Brake? By Azka Kamil – Automotive Enthusiast Many American drivers with automatic transmissions rarely use their parking brake. They put the transmission in Park (P) , turn off the engine, and walk away. But is that actually good for your vehicle? The short answer is: your car may continue to function normally for years, but never using the parking brake can leave an important safety system untested and can place unnecessary load on the transmission's parking mechanism—especially when parking on an incline. Modern vehicles may use a traditional hand-operated parking brake, a foot-operated brake, or an Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) . Although the technology differs, the purpose remains the same: help prevent a stationary vehicle from moving. In the United States, federal safety standards require passenger cars to be equipped with a parking brake system. NHTSA's interpretation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 135 sta...

  Why Your Car’s GPS Becomes Inaccurate in Certain Locations By Azka Kamil – Automotive Enthusiast Have you ever been driving through downtown New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, or another major U.S. city and noticed that your car’s GPS suddenly thinks you are driving on the wrong street? Your vehicle may show your position several feet—or sometimes much farther—from the actual road. The navigation arrow can jump between streets, lag behind your vehicle, or suddenly point in the wrong direction. It is easy to assume that the GPS system in your car is broken. In many cases, however, the GPS hardware is working normally. The problem is often caused by the environment around you. Tall buildings, tunnels, bridges, trees, atmospheric conditions, satellite geometry, reflected signals, and even the quality of the vehicle's GPS receiver can affect positioning accuracy. Modern navigation systems may also combine GPS with other technologies such as vehicle sensors, cellular networks, W...