Do brake rotor replacement problems track public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents across states?
Across U.S. states, NHTSA owner complaints about brake rotor replacement run higher where public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents is higher, after adjusting for the makes sold in each state. This is an association across states, not proof that public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents causes this repair.
State reports of this repair against public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents, one dot per stateEach dot is a state: how much more (or less) than expected this repair is reported there, adjusted for the makes sold in the state, against its public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents
How to read it: Each dot is a state. Further right means more public ev charging ports per 100,000 residents; higher up means more complaints for this repair than expected (1.0 is average). If the dots climb to the right, reports of this repair rise with public ev charging ports per 100,000 residents.
What it shows: States with more public ev charging ports per 100,000 residents tend to sit higher on the chart across 34 states: a pattern in the data, not proof of cause.
Data: DOE AFDC Alternative Fuel Stations file (public, open stations; Level 2 and DC fast ports) with Census 2023 population, joined to NHTSA owner complaints, downloaded 2026-10-06 · 34 states. Chart: CalcScrape · calcscrape.com
The 10 states with the most public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents (Vermont, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Colorado, New York, Maine, Washington, Oregon, Maryland): reports of this repair run 35% above what the makes sold there would predict, and 6 of 10 are above expected. The 10 with the least (Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin): 20% below, and 3 of 10 are above expected.
Exceptions: Massachusetts, Washington and Oregon are among the highest in public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents but report below expected; West Virginia (21% above expected) is among the lowest but above expected.
Split the states into thirds: the third with the least public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents runs 2% below what the makes sold there would predict, the middle third 1% below, and the third with the most 36% above. Most of the public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents effect sits in the third with the most.
For public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents, after allowing for the 1562 comparisons we ran, luck alone would produce a pattern this strong about 1 time in 17. Take out any single state and the public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents pattern still holds.
Weak spot: compare only states with similar auto repair shops per 100,000 registered vehicles and the pattern keeps about 31% of its strength, so part of it may come from auto repair shops per 100,000 registered vehicles instead of public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents.
For public EV charging ports per 100,000 residents, of the 5 exception states, 1 read the same way for the other parts of the system (so that is the system there, not this repair) and 4 are specific to this repair.
Where charging is easy more drivers choose electric cars, which changes the mix of brake, tire and battery repairs.