The ATV battery does seem to drain pretty fast. I get it's a mechanic but realistically a vehicle has a part called an alternator which keeps the battery charged while the vehicle is running. It seems like a bit of a weak maintenance addition to the ATV. I'm fine with the tires, but we don't need Dr. Kel becoming a mechanic and actions becoming tedious like My Summer Car. I know that's an extreme example, but that game is a prime example of tedious game design.

I agree on the ATV issue, it's too labor and cost intensive for what you get from it. I  drained my battery by day three trying to meet the demands and the cost to fix on top of the upgrades I needed, plus parts like fuses was just too much. I effectively haven't had an ATV since those first few days and I'm now on  day 18. (Though part of that reason is my ATV plus half my garage somehow  forced itself through the south facing garage wall and by time the  ATV came out the other side it was totaled and one of the wheels went flying off).

Either the battery needs to recharge while driving or they need a  station in the garage for hooking the battery to for a recharge (pre installed, not a cost to the player) Maybe  at a rate of like 30%  charge in 8-10 hours? That way you could leave it on all day for a good amount of charge or just charge it while you sleep for a bare minimum amount. Running the turbo hard and leaving the lights on while parked will still push you into the red even with daily charges. Seems like a fair trade.

Another thing I think is asking too much of the player is the radar towers for pings. As it is they go down too fast and cost too much for something that renders you unable to acquire money and have to trek out to fix. The two fixes I see best for this would be:

A) increase cost of fuses to maybe 350 each but allow players to repair them at the crafting bench for say 2 fuses + 1 scrap metal= 2 repaired fuses. That way you  still need to keep them up but repairs are a reasonable cost to you while extra protection is going to get pricey.

B) Allow players to move the pins manually even if the tower is down. having the coordinates screen be 100% useless if a single tower goes down is too  harsh.  Maybe a down radar means that pin cannot be called for or used to call other pins. You still have a challenge on your hands if a tower goes down, but it's manageable and won't  lock you from doing your tasks. Having two towers down will be a huge pain if your pings are far away but again it's doable in a pinch.

i'm on day 8... i've been fine so far. haven't needed to change the battery once. have you guys been exclusively using the ATV at night and leaving the lights on when you get off? i'm playing on hard mode and i haven't had much time to explore in the first week but that's because i haven't been making much time to explore. the coffee machine in the upstairs hallway costs 10 points and is an absolute boon. it lets me handle the higher signal demand! i've been using the ATV every day to visit 4 dishes for my floppy duties, as well as keeping up with transformers. i've also had spare money for things like a new sleeping bag, the ATV radio, and cleaning the whole middle floor of my base of all the trash! i definitely think it would make sense if there was a way we could charge the car battery without having to replace it though. maybe we could craft or buy a mount that will let us plug it into an outlet?

edit: i definitely think that just like velma mode, having an "advanced" mode with more complex mechanics like ATV battery, new coordinates system, and these other mechanics that people seem to find too troublesome could benefit the game so people can curate their experience more to how they like to experience the game, and what kind of itch it scratches for them.