A
Anonymous
Guest
Like many of us, I am an evangelist for EVs. So I am hesitant to give any bad news about the Bolt which I really love overall. However, I think my experience is important to share for safety and other reasons. I'm disappointed to report that my new Bolt battery will have its batteries replaced next week due to problems. Twice the car dropped charge very fast from 4 bars to 0, leaving me stranded. One of the times was on the freeway- not a safe situation when you lose power at 65mph surrounded by other cars. 
The battery also refused to fully charge from both a 120v and 220v EVSE. The software reset to say it was full but the gauge stopped three bars short. Range has been short of what my calculations of kW spent per hour should achieve. That points again at battery. I'd say this as a caution: If you see loss of battery charge that is faster than your per kWh rate noted in the info area, get it looked into. You really do not want to experience fast loss of power on the freeway like I did...Personally when I get my car back I will be running it down to three bars and then driving on slow local streets to be sure it runs down rationally. If I have a problem there...no big deal. Until I see that I will not have confident to get anywhere south of 1/4 remaining charge on the freeway...
I will keep you all posted about how the replacement goes and if any further problems crop up. As I said my impression of the Bolt overall is positive, except for this rather serious issue cropping up in the first month of ownership! I am going to keep my mind open and see how things turn out.
The battery also refused to fully charge from both a 120v and 220v EVSE. The software reset to say it was full but the gauge stopped three bars short. Range has been short of what my calculations of kW spent per hour should achieve. That points again at battery. I'd say this as a caution: If you see loss of battery charge that is faster than your per kWh rate noted in the info area, get it looked into. You really do not want to experience fast loss of power on the freeway like I did...Personally when I get my car back I will be running it down to three bars and then driving on slow local streets to be sure it runs down rationally. If I have a problem there...no big deal. Until I see that I will not have confident to get anywhere south of 1/4 remaining charge on the freeway...
I will keep you all posted about how the replacement goes and if any further problems crop up. As I said my impression of the Bolt overall is positive, except for this rather serious issue cropping up in the first month of ownership! I am going to keep my mind open and see how things turn out.
