Chevrolet Bolt & Bolt EUV

[jlv]

... and put it in the back of the showroom during Truck Month™.

Is it even going to be in the showroom? None of my local dealers ever had the Volt inside that I know of. To be fair, no Nissan dealer I've seen has had a LEAF inside the showroom, either.

 

[jjeff]

... and put it in the back of the showroom during Truck Month™.

Is it even going to be in the showroom? None of my local dealers ever had the Volt inside that I know of. To be fair, no Nissan dealer I've seen has had a LEAF inside the showroom, either.

I've also never seen a Volt in the showroom although the Leaf dealer I bought my '13 from did have one inside to sit in, the dealer I bought my used '12 from had TONs of used ones outside but not a one of any type inside

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

From all accounts, Bolts hit the showroom in CA and OR this past week. who has taken delivery? anyone?

 

[wwhitney]

From all accounts, Bolts hit the showroom in CA and OR this past week.

What accounts? There was a report about a dealer in Portland that said he had 5 or 6 on his lot, but it turns out he was misquoted, he doesn't have any yet.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

From all accounts, Bolts hit the showroom in CA and OR this past week.

What accounts? There was a report about a dealer in Portland that said he had 5 or 6 on his lot, but it turns out he was misquoted, he doesn't have any yet.

Cheers, Wayne

there were several sources reporting deliveries to hit dealerships starting Nov 29th but then again, that was 2 weeks ago. I also can cite an article from Nov 2015 that stated all 50 states would get the Bolt...

 

[mtndrew1]

According to GM investor relations there were no Bolts delivered in November.

Some orders have VINs now and should be making their way toward the west coast soon. I think it's reasonable to expect some cars delivered before the end of the year.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Several owners on the Bolt site are reporting that their cars have been built and are awaiting delivery.

 

[Rebel44]

“During the 8 years or 100,000 miles (160 000 kilometers) Hybrid warranty period, towing is covered to the nearest Chevrolet servicing dealer if your vehicle cannot be driven because of a warranted Hybrid specific defect.”

“Depending on use, the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”

:roll:

Manual:
https://my.chevrolet.com/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2017/Chevrolet/BOLT%20EV/Owner's%20Manual.pdf

 

[edatoakrun]

“...
“Depending on use, the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”

:roll:

Manual:
https://my.chevrolet.com/content/dam/gmownercenter/gmna/dynamic/manuals/2017/Chevrolet/BOLT%20EV/Owner's%20Manual.pdf

And apparently GM decides what "40%" is:

(page 322)
...Like all batteries, the amount of
energy that the high voltage
“propulsion” battery can store will
decrease with time and miles
driven. Depending on use, the
battery may degrade as little as
10% to as much as 40% of capacity
over the (8 years or 100,000 miles) warranty period.
If there
are questions pertaining to battery
capacity, a dealer service technician
could determine if the vehicle is
within parameters...

 

[GRA]

And:

Replace (If Necessary)
If warranty repair requires
replacement, the high voltage
battery may be replaced with either
a new or factory refurbished high
voltage battery with an energy
capacity (kWh storage) level at or
within approximately 10% of that of
the original battery at the time of
warranty repair.
Your Electric Propulsion battery
warranty replacement may not
return your vehicle to an “as new”
condition, but it will make your
vehicles fully operational
appropriate to its age and mileage.

Also, at least 80kW QC. See http://insideevs.com/chevrolet-bolt-ev-equipped-with-80-kw-dc-fast-charging-owners-manual-now-online/

 

[Stoaty]

Depending on use, the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”

So what is the official capacity warranty (if any)? That the Bolt will retain at least 60% of its original capacity for 8 years/100,000 miles? That would be worse than Nissan. Doesn't sound like they have a lot of confidence about the longevity of the battery capacity.

 

[GRA]

Depending on use, the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”

So what is the official capacity warranty (if any)? That the Bolt will retain at least 60% of its original capacity for 8 years/100,000 miles? That would be worse than Nissan. Doesn't sound like they have a lot of confidence about the longevity of the battery capacity.

There isn't one (just as the Volt,and Spark EV have never had one, and IIRR no Tesla has either). Since they mention 40% you could probably argue in court that was an implied warranty, but as I read the wording, any replacement is only guaranteed to give you "within 10%" of of the old battery at the time of replacement, so that could mean a replacement battery with 50% degradation (but no other faults). It's certainly somewhat worrying, as unlike the Volt they won't be restricting the battery to a narrow SoC range. GM's relying on the fact that in routine driving, there's no need to charge very high or discharge very low, and that the car will still have commute range even with 50% (or more) degradation for most people.

 

[LeftieBiker]

This is definitely an argument for leasing a Bolt instead of buying one.

 

[Birdrider]

I went back to the auto show and took some video of the Bolt interior. I remain very disappointed in the materials but impressed by the packaging and indifferent on the exterior styling. Body assembly and paint quality were good. Typical GM, they shoot for the moon in one area and sacrifice everything else to achieve that metric. Anyhow the link is below.

https://youtu.be/isB6CS1EPyo

There was an LT on the turntable display but I couldn't get into it. The two-tone cloth looks much more upscale (from a distance) to me than the cheap monotone leather in the Premier but then you sacrifice some cool features like the surround cameras, rearview LCD screen in the mirror, etc.

This is exactly why I could never bring myself to own a GM car. They're interiors are a horrid place. Ford does a much better job.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Hey, Mtndrew1, how did the seats feel when you sat in them? Hard, or good?

 

[mtndrew1]

Hey, Mtndrew1, how did the seats feel when you sat in them? Hard, or good?

Seats felt fine to me, maybe just a smidge narrow but otherwise comfortable and unremarkable.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Thanks. I hope that I will agree.

 

[RegGuheert]

“Depending on use, the battery may degrade as little as 10% to as much as 40% of capacity over the warranty period.”

That seems entirely reasonable to me. Compare that with Nissan's statement in the LEAF Manual six years ago that the battery should be expected to degrade 20% in five years, more or less. So GM expects the battery to degrade about the same percent in 60% more time. So the Chevy Bolt should have battery capacity remaining at the EOL of 1.7X to 2.5X that which the 2011 Nissan LEAF had when NEW!

Also, unlike Nissan's statement which was largely based on a wing and a prayer, the Chevy Bolt claim is probably fairly accurate.

It will be interesting to see how the GM handles warranty replacements. Due to the much larger battery capacity, I expect that Bolt customers will be must less likely to be outraged by their capacity loss than LEAF owners.

 

[DaveEV]

So the Bolt can charge at rates up to 80 kW - assuming ~400V peak battery pack voltage that's around 200A or the current limit of SAE DC Level 2 charging.

What QC stations on the market can push more than 125A over a SAE plug? I haven't found any. Good to see the Bolt hitting the limits of current SAE specs, though.

Article regarding 80 kW Bolt charging:
http://insideevs.com/chevrolet-bolt-ev-equipped-with-80-kw-dc-fast-charging-owners-manual-now-online/

Article showing different SAE charging speeds:
https://longtailpipe.com/ebooks/green-transportation-guide-buying-owning-charging-plug-in-vehicles-of-all-kinds/electric-car-charging-advice-systems/ev-dc-fast-charging-standards-chademo-ccs-sae-combo-tesla-supercharger-etc/

At least regarding charging standards, I have a hard time seeing CHAdeMO keeping it's lead since no-one else besides Nissan is pushing CHAdeMO in the USA.

 

[LeftieBiker]

It will be interesting to see how the GM handles warranty replacements. Due to the much larger battery capacity, I expect that Bolt customers will be must less likely to be outraged by their capacity loss than LEAF owners.

When people were sold the Leaf expecting 100 miles of range they were pretty unhappy with 75 miles - and steadily dropping. Someone who buys a Bolt expecting to have 200+ miles of range for the life of the car will be similarly unhappy if that range drops below 150 miles and GM just shrugs. Expectations keep rising along with battery density. Me, I only need 120 or so miles of range and a fast charge port, but I'm probably not typical.