Range Issues?

[rhscbolt]

The bottom line is I've learned that I guess I really am an idiot for reading all the reviews and not realizing that its all mostly hype. And then thinking that GM or the dealer is going to try and help of with a outside of the norm case like mine.

You are not an idiot!

Another commenter noted that when he bought his Leaf, Nissan provided estimated range for a variety of temperature and speed combinations, and made him initial each one before they would complete the sale. Chevy should probably take a leaf (ha!) from Nissan's book and do the same.

And EPA should consider publishing temperature-corrected range estimates as well---maybe for all cars. Efficiency does take a hit from weather in an ICE car too---it's just not as severe. Hybrids fall in between---in winter people lose out on that big hybrid efficiency boost on a short trip because the gas engine still has to fire to warm the cabin and get the catalytic converters to operating temperature.

IIRC you didn't mention if you pre-condition the cabin or not. If you can get the cabin up to the desired temperature while the car is still plugged in, that will help. If you can garage the car, that will help. If you can charge at work---even with a regular 120 volt outlet---that might add enough range, especially if you pre-condition on that end too, to get rid of range anxiety.

If you do have to sell the Bolt, you might find a private buyer who will offer you much more than the dealer---especially in a state where the Bolt is not yet available. (Not sure if this site allows for-sale listings, but if so it's an obvious place to start.) Or a friend or family member might have a shorter commute, want an EV, and be willing to trade cars with you. Or if you leased, you might be able to use swapalease or similar to find someone to take over your lease. Or if Uber and Lyft are active in your area, you might be able to use a platform such as HyreCar to rent it out to Uber drivers, and maybe even make some money with it. (Or recruit the drivers and carry the insurance yourself, if you're entrepreneurial.)

Thanks, for the comments. The range has improved somewhat as the weather has improved. I don't pre-condition as the car sits in a heated garage, but that is another thing that never would have occurred to me. I live in the mountains, it doesn't get super cold, but 30-45 is normal in the winter. And I did realize that all of these things would effect range, just didn't realize the impact would be so severe.

 

[rhscbolt]

Thanks, for the comments. The range has improved somewhat as the weather has improved. I don't pre-condition as the car sits in a heated garage, but that is another thing that never would have occurred to me. I live in the mountains, it doesn't get super cold, but 30-45 is normal in the winter. And I did realize that all of these things would effect range, just didn't realize the impact would be so severe.

 

[rhscbolt]

This is my first post on this very popular topic... I own a Nissan leaf and ALSO had concerns when I first got my car, which has much less range than the Bolt.. To the original poster, I would suggest making some un-technical diagnostics.... Take an hour of so to do some boring mileage testing... (NO HEAT, NO A/C, DRIVING ONLY AT 55MPH ON YOUR CRUISE CONTROL)

First determine that the amount of energy your car is USING is correct. Find a relatively flat, straight piece of highway that you can drive leisurely for 5-10 miles. If you can go further, good, but if not, do back and forth trips. (I would suggest 20-30 miles total). (if the road is not flat, the back and forth trips will cancel out going uphill one way because you will be going downhill on the return trip. Zero your computer for the # of MILES PER KWH, and zero the odometer counter. *PS - Start the trip and make a note of the Battery% (let's stay between 70 and 90%).

Do your "laps".... The more the better.

At the end of your test drive, See how many MILES PER KW you are getting (at 55mph). I would say that you should be between 4-5.5 MILES per KW.... (**** This is a check on how much energy your car is ACTUALLY USING. A low number would possibly mean that the car is dragging or wasting energy more than it should be.)

Then... We should check the number of miles you drove VS how many "BATTERY %" points you used. With a theoretical range of 238 miles on the battery, you should have gone 2.39 MILES PER BATTTERY % POINT (out of 100)... If you did not drive near this number of miles per battery point, then the CAPACITY OF THE BATTERY is wrong.

After doing this, you will have a good baseline of what YOUR car is capable of performing before you add other "real world" factors. If there is actually a problem, you would have a lot of information for the dealer to take your issue seriously... Good Luck..

Thanks, I've been going a fairly meticulous job of tracking that sort of thing. The range has improved quite a bit with warmer weather. But I live in the mountains - fairly remote, so flat roads are hard to find. I've never seen. My absoulte best miles per kwh is about 3.5, average with the warmer temps now is about 3, worst 2.4. Unfortunately I have to count on the worst as I have to be able to make it back home.

 

[cyaopec]

What state do you live in and what mountain range? I live in the mountains above Los Angeles. In winter it's about 33-55 during the night. My garage is probably 45 in the winter. I drive down to LA during the day where it's in the 60s or 70s during the day. I descend pretty rapidly to warmer weather. But I wonder how staring out "cold" would impact my own range.

 

[jfkBolt]

Hello there,

Just curious, when you are at work, is plugging the 120V charger in an option? That would get you a couple extra miles, and also let you precondition the interior before you leave...

Jim

 

[gpsman]

I work 12 hour shifts.
I plug in with 120v every day.
(With employer's OK - Employer understand this is $1.50 of electricity per day.)

This gives me 50 miles of range per day.

The A/C uses only 1000 watts (1kw) with the fan on a low setting. So you can cool with 120v alone.

The heater takes about 3 times as much power, on average, with peak draw of 9kw for the first couple of minutes. So you will use up some battery heating with only 120 volts.

-John

 

[regenD]

Check to see if you have heat coming from the rear brakes.

My Bolt EV is at the dealership now for heat coming from the left rear wheel.

They diagnosed it to the parking brake dragging and causing the heat and excess wear.

I am certain it has significantly impacted my range as well. Even with moderate acceleration, I have been showing from 180-200 miles in the middle of the range indicator after a full charge. This is with the outside temperature being between 35 and 70 degrees. (warmer temp indicating more range). But no where close to the 238 rated mileage.

Wasted a lot of energy and range on that hot brake for sure. It has been running about 200 degrees above the others, which are almost always cold.

Dealership is communicating with GM tech rep and I will let you know how they resolve the issue.

Told the dealer I expect to have the brake replaced because of the years of wear I have put on that wheel in only 1300 miles, but we'll see. With the regen braking the brakes should hardly be used.


Love the Bolt EV otherwise. Favorite car I have ever owned.

 

[regenD]

Bolt has been at the dealership for a week now. GM tech people believe that a new parking brake actuator will fix the problem, but we'll find out this week.

I wish they would just replace the whole brake assembly on that wheel and be done with it, but the dealership says GM wants all sorts of data from this car on the issue to help determine if it could be a fleetwide problem and trigger a recall.

They have given me a Cruze to drive around but not the same; really bummed that I am without Bolt!
Hopefully they can get it right soon.

 

[powersurge]

Ive been thinking about the OP that started this "range issue" topic.. I really don't think that Bolt customers have justification to complain that the car does not have the range that is advertised. The OP appears to like to do things that use extra energy on ANY car... Preheating the car is a luxury (that also uses a lot of gas instead of MPG). Going up and down only mountains (stated there are no flat areas), especially with a heavy foot, and using the air conditioning and heat all take their toll. I imagine that if she had a regular ICE car that gets 30 mpg, her real world mpg would be about 20 (with that behavior).

As reported by other owners, The Bolt DOES get 230 miles range on regular, semi-flat roads. So, If a new Bolt only gets 130 miles range with that kind of mountainous use, that is a good mark for how well the Bolt is made..

 

[oilerlord]

Ive been thinking about the OP that started this "range issue" topic.. I really don't think that Bolt customers have justification to complain that the car does not have the range that is advertised. The OP appears to like to do things that use extra energy on ANY car... Preheating the car is a luxury (that also uses a lot of gas instead of MPG). Going up and down only mountains (stated there are no flat areas), especially with a heavy foot, and using the air conditioning and heat all take their toll. I imagine that if she had a regular ICE car that gets 30 mpg, her real world mpg would be about 20 (with that behavior).

Nice thought, but honestly - your "real world" comparison isn't even close.

Read what the OP wrote again:

"it doesn't get super cold, but 30-45 is normal in the winter. And I did realize that all of these things would effect range, just didn't realize the impact would be so severe."

Do you live in an area where 30-45 degrees is normal in winter? From experience, cold temperatures have MUCH more affect on range with an EV than any other ICE vehicle I've driven. Driving my VW in 30-45 degrees, with the heater running, and driving 70mph - I don't notice any drop in MPG. If I do that with my EV, I'll easily lose 25% of the car's range. It isn't a complaint, only an observation.

My range starts taking a hit below 50F. I get ~100 miles on a charge in summer. In winter, that can drop to as low as 50 miles depending on how cold it gets.

 

[gbobman]

I took delivery of my Bolt at the end of March in Colorado. Those were the daily highs at the time.

I did not have much of an issue with the mileage ratings dropping. I have always hit or beat the EPA estimates. YMMV of course.

 

[regenD]

Bolt has been at the dealership for a week now. GM tech people believe that a new parking brake actuator will fix the problem, but we'll find out this week.

I wish they would just replace the whole brake assembly on that wheel and be done with it, but the dealership says GM wants all sorts of data from this car on the issue to help determine if it could be a fleetwide problem and trigger a recall.

They have given me a Cruze to drive around but not the same; really bummed that I am without Bolt!
Hopefully they can get it right soon.

GM tech rep replaced a brake caliper that was not retracting fully. Problem solved!
Indicated range is trending higher, but not a huge difference.

Anyway, a dragging brake is something to check for.

 

[SparkEVPilot]

Bolt has been at the dealership for a week now. GM tech people believe that a new parking brake actuator will fix the problem, but we'll find out this week.

I wish they would just replace the whole brake assembly on that wheel and be done with it, but the dealership says GM wants all sorts of data from this car on the issue to help determine if it could be a fleetwide problem and trigger a recall.

They have given me a Cruze to drive around but not the same; really bummed that I am without Bolt!
Hopefully they can get it right soon.

GM tech rep replaced a brake caliper that was not retracting fully. Problem solved!
Indicated range is trending higher, but not a huge difference.

Anyway, a dragging brake is something to check for.

You might want to get a laser thermometer and periodically check the temperatures on your rotors after driving for a while. The temperature difference will be obvious [much higher] on any rotor with a dragging brake. I tried this on both of my Spark EVs and all rotor temperatures were within a few degrees of each other.