Playbooks

Beginner · short stepsExpert · spec · code · mm

Pick the situation. Read the left column. Say that at the window.

Twelve owner scenarios. Beginner script + genius measurements. SaferCar patterns — not a pirated TSB book.

WhoAudience: Owners in a named jam — brakes, noise, a light, a quote.Anyone who wants both altitudes on one card.
ClickControl: A playbook card. Then the beginner script.Playbook → steps. TSB desk and counter card live next door.
SayCounter: The left-column sentence. Then ask for the number on the right.Measurement first. Campaign lookup second. Parts last.

Playbooks · EV · EV owner

There is no oil change

EV 12V / tires / brakes

The traction pack can be healthy and the car still bricks because the 12-volt battery died. Tires take the weight and the torque. Friction brakes nap under regen and then rust. Decline the ICE menu.

You bought an EV and the first service writer handed you an oil-change coupon. Or the car will not wake up and everyone is staring at the big battery. This card is the 12V, the door-sticker PSI, and the brake fluid that still ages.

Beginner steps

What you do

0 / 5 beginner steps

01There is no oil changeNo plugs, no “trans flush” on a single-speed reduction gear unless the book names a fluid interval. Cabin filter, wipers, and tire rotate still exist.Say: This is an EV. I am not authorizing an ICE menu. Show me the line that is actually in the book.
02Treat the 12V as a wear itemAge, rested volts, and a load test. Many EVs hide a conventional 12V (or a small lithium) that closes contactors. A “high-voltage is fine” speech does not replace that test.Say: Please load-test the 12-volt. I want the voltage and the test result, not ‘the pack is good.’
03PSI and rotate on the intervalDoor sticker, cold. Weight plus instant torque eats inner edges. EV-rated rubber if that is what it left the factory with — not a random cheaper tire that cannot carry the load.Say: What is the door-sticker PSI, and are these load-rated for this car? I want the 32nds and the date codes.
04Look at rust, not only pad mmPads can be thick and still glazed. Rotor faces rust from sitting. Brake fluid is still years, not miles. A squeal on an EV is often rust, not 2 mm lining.Say: Photo the rotor face and write the pad mm. Fluid only if you have an interval or a boiling point.
05Coolant loops are not “no service”Battery and inverter loops use a specific coolant. A general shop may not stock it. Do not let them pour green “universal” into a battery loop.Say: What coolant spec is on the book for this loop? If you do not have it, I will wait.

Do not

Do not crawl under an EV or unplug orange cables. That is not a driveway job.
Do not jump from the 12V posts unless the owner’s manual says how. Some packs hate a wrong jump.
Do not accept a transmission-flush upsell on a single-speed reduction gear.

Expert notes

What the number means

12V rested · V
A conventional flooded 12V at rest is about 12.6 V when full and about 12.2 V at half. EVs can look “fine” at 12.3 V on a meter and still fail when contactors pull. The load test matters more than a pretty resting number.
Pack vs 12V · two batteries
The traction pack is high voltage. The 12V (or DC-DC) runs computers and contactors. A dead 12V looks like a dead EV. Do not authorize a pack diagnosis until someone has tested the small battery and the DC-DC output.
Door-sticker PSI · PSI
Often higher than the ICE car you used to own. The sidewall max is not the target. Inner-edge wear on an EV is usually pressure, rotation, or alignment — not “EV tires are a scam.”

Open a live desk

SaferCar buckets this card answers: hybrid · not CR

Related patterns

Common failures by symptom. SaferCar pointers — not pirated TSB PDFs.

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