Gen 1 GM Volt Plug-In Hybrid (2011-2015)

[eHelmholtz]

Scott, does that app keep track of the color of your Volt?

You can tell it the color and the right color shows up.

 

[scottf200]

Some cool numbers I thought today (30-Nov-2012) via: http://www.chevrolet.com/volt-electric-car.html

 

[GRA]

Some cool numbers I thought today (30-Nov-2012) via: http://www.chevrolet.com/volt-electric-car.html

Almost 62% electric, nice.

 

[surfingslovak]

First Holden Volt Now Delivered In Australia; An Owner’s Story

I decided to purchase the Volt – as I fully appreciate both its technology, what it does achieve and a lifelong dream from a Childhood reading a futuristic book from our State Electricity Commission that the future would be electric. And that included an electric car – which at the time left me wonder how?

When I heard they were about to take pre-orders back in June 2012 I jumped at the chance. At first I was a little shocked that I couldn’t customise the car like in NA, only the exterior colour. I rang round got the best price and place my deposit with an established dealer.

Luckily I was very patient – until I knew the car was in port Early November, then I started to call Holden and the dealer as to why the wait? In the background I wasn’t too stressed as I was still finished the garage renovation and that was taking way longer than expected.

 

[scottf200]

Thanks for the story above.
---
Painted hood, plasti-dip grill, etc - FB post
Facebook: Chevrolet Volt
Fan Friday! Have you customized your Chevrolet Volt in any ways? Owner Scott K sent us this picture of his Volt with a Plasti-dip grill, hood, as well as around the corner lights and blue Lamin-x to duplicate the look of the original production Volt unveil at General Motors' 100th anniversary party. –Grant

 

[IBELEAF]

Just passed 4k mark... Still loving the car despite 23-28 mile range in winter time. Especially glad that I got rid of Leaf at the right time. I see that the price on a used Leaf dropped sharply below 20k with less mileage then mine, the price was above $28k just over 4 month ago when I traded in for Volt.

 

[camasleaf]

My employer bought 2 Volts, but has no charging capabilities. They are working on getting EVSE installed, but they are not sure when is going to happen. The cars are running on gas only, with the reasoning that "it still gets 35 mpg". My question is how long can the battery stay at the lower level without any damage? I believe it has been over 3 weeks already.

 

[LEAFer]

My employer bought 2 Volts, but has no charging capabilities. They are working on getting EVSE installed, but they are not sure when is going to happen. The cars are running on gas only, with the reasoning that "it still gets 35 mpg". My question is how long can the battery stay at the lower level without any damage? I believe it has been over 3 weeks already.

Not a problem. If they are driving it, the gas generator will always keep a minimum (safe) charge. The Volt uses a range of about 23-87% SOC (or thereabouts). The 23% minimum is unlikely to drop significantly if not driven, even in three weeks. And if driven it will maintain that level, or slightly higher.

 

[mkjayakumar]

I am now actively considering adding a Volt to my Leaf. I want to kick the 19mpg LX RX 350 out of my garage. The first step towards that is renting one for a week and let my wife commute and see if she likes it.

Who rents Volt in the DFW area?

 

[DaveEV]

My employer bought 2 Volts, but has no charging capabilities. They are working on getting EVSE installed, but they are not sure when is going to happen. The cars are running on gas only, with the reasoning that "it still gets 35 mpg". My question is how long can the battery stay at the lower level without any damage? I believe it has been over 3 weeks already.

Not a problem. If they are driving it, the gas generator will always keep a minimum (safe) charge. The Volt uses a range of about 23-87% SOC (or thereabouts). The 23% minimum is unlikely to drop significantly if not driven, even in three weeks. And if driven it will maintain that level, or slightly higher.

Yep, if anything the low SOC and minimal cycling will extend calendar life of the battery pack.

But still - can't even get 120V to charge them? What about letting employees use them for commuting if they agree to charge it at home?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Is the Volt still doing those "near $200" leases?

 

[scottf200]

I've read recently that Volt's battery temp management and TMS is not that critical because it has an ICE. Well USA Volt owner have driven ~115,000,000 EV miles so we like driving as much on electricity as the next *EV owner! The battery packaging has a lot of insulation to maintain the temp in both extremes. In Chicagoland I've seen high 90's quite a bit in the mid summer and the TMS has not seem to hurt my range except for maybe a mile or two when I leave the office after a full work day and it was parked in the sun on asphalt. Within the 1st 0.5 miles I'l loose 1 or 2 miles on the batter EV mile display. I always run the A/C for the cabin it it seems incredibly efficent.

I reread some of the SAE articles on this and it reminded me to what length they went to.

SAE mag zip: http://pages.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sae/10EVSD1104/offline/sae_10EVSD1104_pdf.zip" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To keep its cool, and warmth, GM engineers opted for a liquid-cooled pack rather than air cooling for durability, thermal stability, and packaging benefits. Li-ion automotive batteries must endure very high dynamics. Momentary peak loads, such as created during brake-energy regeneration and acceleration, generate powerful electrical currents. The currents create internal resistance, which causes significant warming of the cells.

Temperature extremes can diminish a battery’s efficiency and rapidly accelerate battery aging, noted Frank Weber, Volt’s enthusiastic and laser-focused Global Chief Engineer who departed the program last year for Opel.

“For example, the delta between 70°F (21°C) and 90°F (32°C) can be critical to battery life,” he asserted. The battery is designed to work while plugged in, at temperatures from -13°F (-25°C) to +122°F (+50°C). The permitted temperature gradient within a battery cell, and from cell to cell, is 5 to 10 K.

A 50:50 glycol mixture is actively circulated through 144 metal “fins” between each of the Volt’s 288 cells. The fins are 1-mm-thick (0.04-in) stamped aluminum plates that conduct heat. The Volt’s pack has five thermal management circuits to handle the multiple subsystems. The system uses multiple electric coolant pumps (12- and 50-W) supplied by Buehler Motor of Germany. The pumps feature brushless dc motors and integrated electronics, and are designed to run extremely quietly, explained Robert Riedford, President of Buehler Motor Inc.

In cold weather, the battery is preheated during charging. Inputs from 16 temperature sensors are sent to a heating coil that warms the coolant, regulating individual cells’ temperature, said Bill Wallace, GM’s Director of Global Battery Systems.

GM engineers worked with heat-transfer systems expert Behr America to develop Volt’s front-end cooling module (FECM) as well as to introduce the industry’s first use of “chiller” technology in a production electrified vehicle. (See sidebar, page 33.)

Volt’s battery management system runs more than 500 diagnostics at 10 times per second, continuously monitoring the battery in real time. GM engineers said 85% of the diagnostics ensure the pack is operating safely, while the remaining 15% track battery performance and life.

 

[Weatherman]

When I test-drove a Volt a few months ago, I was surprised to see no battery temperature gauge on the dash display. Has any Volt owner been able to read the temperature of the battery to see how well the TMS is performing? I’d be curious as to how well the insulation keeps temperatures under control if you happen to work some place where you have to park your car out in the sun all day and can’t plug it in.

 

[DrInnovation]

When I test-drove a Volt a few months ago, I was surprised to see no battery temperature gauge on the dash display. Has any Volt owner been able to read the temperature of the battery to see how well the TMS is performing? I’d be curious as to how well the insulation keeps temperatures under control if you happen to work some place where you have to park your car out in the sun all day and can’t plug it in.

Yes.. there are a few threads on it at gm-volt.com
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?14361-Battery-temp-readout&p=155882#post155882" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
reported

I'm sure it's been discussed before, but there are several variations on battery temp available on DashDAQ - min cell temp, max cell temp, average temp, and I think one or two more. Watching average the last few weeks, it hasn't done much. In the 90-100 degree heat last week, it was 77-81. These last couple days with 50 degree mornings, it was 77...

 

[edatoakrun]

I guess GM expects to require battery servicing at some significant level of frequency soon.

Anyone know how frequently Volt's have had their "entire pack...removed and returned for service" so far?

Some Chevrolet Volt Dealers Back Out Of Program Due To High Cost Of Tools


General Motors sent all of their Volt-certified dealers a bill for $5,100 worth of specialized tooling. Some of Chevrolet’s 2,614 Voltec dealers, estimated to be as high as 40, said they would rather not sell the car then.

Last year, according to GM spokeswoman Michelle Malcho, dealers spend between $1,800 and $2,800 on specialized equipment for the Volt.


However, beginning on January 1st, 2013, Chevrolet wants local technicians to have the ability to remove and ship segments of the Volt’s over 400lb battery in order to save costs. Previously, the entire pack was removed and returned for service.

In order to be able to ‘divide and conquer’ the pack, dealerships need a $4,735 battery depowering tool to drain the battery before removing sections...

http://insideevs.com/some-chevrolet-volt-dealers-back-out-of-program-due-to-high-cost-of-tools/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[scottf200]

I guess GM expects to require battery servicing at some significant level of frequency soon.
Anyone know how frequently Volt's have had their "entire pack...removed and returned for service" so far?

You are certain attempting to spin this with your 'frequency soon' comment ... as usual (looking at your consistent post in this thread). You can search gm-volt.com but it seems pretty rare. Glad they are planning ahead and have the confidence they can just replace part of the pack as needed. Obviously from the past few post above they have carefully and responsibly planned the battery management.

 

[Herm]

Amazingly enough, GM has even listed a replacement cost for the battery.. but it is suspiciously low. It makes Nissan's planning look bad by comparison.

 

[toasty]

yeah, its $2499 or $2999 for a new battery. (customer pay)

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I guess GM expects to require battery servicing at some significant level of frequency soon.

Anyone know how frequently Volt's have had their "entire pack...removed and returned for service" so far?

Some Chevrolet Volt Dealers Back Out Of Program Due To High Cost Of Tools


General Motors sent all of their Volt-certified dealers a bill for $5,100 worth of specialized tooling. Some of Chevrolet’s 2,614 Voltec dealers, estimated to be as high as 40, said they would rather not sell the car then.

Last year, according to GM spokeswoman Michelle Malcho, dealers spend between $1,800 and $2,800 on specialized equipment for the Volt.


However, beginning on January 1st, 2013, Chevrolet wants local technicians to have the ability to remove and ship segments of the Volt’s over 400lb battery in order to save costs. Previously, the entire pack was removed and returned for service.

In order to be able to ‘divide and conquer’ the pack, dealerships need a $4,735 battery depowering tool to drain the battery before removing sections...

http://insideevs.com/some-chevrolet-volt-dealers-back-out-of-program-due-to-high-cost-of-tools/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

40 dealers out of how many? let them not sell it. anyone stupid enough to not see the writing on the wall deserves to get what they ask for. imm, $5100 is a bargain. in fact that price is too low to believe. that kind of specialized equipment simply does not come cheap

bet those very same dealers would not hesitate a second to spend $50,000 on fixing up the showroom. dont get me wrong, a nice showroom does help but without the product you cant sell what you dont have.

this battery thing? its just the very very very beginning. the sooner you get on board the less catch up you WILL HAVE to do

 

[DrInnovation]

I guess GM expects to require battery servicing at some significant level of frequency soon.

Anyone know how frequently Volt's have had their "entire pack...removed and returned for service" so far?

Some Chevrolet Volt Dealers Back Out Of Program Due To High Cost Of Tools


General Motors sent all of their Volt-certified dealers a bill for $5,100 worth of specialized tooling. Some of Chevrolet’s 2,614 Voltec dealers, estimated to be as high as 40, said they would rather not sell the car then.

Last year, according to GM spokeswoman Michelle Malcho, dealers spend between $1,800 and $2,800 on specialized equipment for the Volt.


However, beginning on January 1st, 2013, Chevrolet wants local technicians to have the ability to remove and ship segments of the Volt’s over 400lb battery in order to save costs. Previously, the entire pack was removed and returned for service.

In order to be able to ‘divide and conquer’ the pack, dealerships need a $4,735 battery depowering tool to drain the battery before removing sections...

http://insideevs.com/some-chevrolet-volt-dealers-back-out-of-program-due-to-high-cost-of-tools/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

40 dealers out of how many? let them not sell it. anyone stupid enough to not see the writing on the wall deserves to get what they ask for. imm, $5100 is a bargain. in fact that price is too low to believe. that kind of specialized equipment simply does not come cheap

bet those very same dealers would not hesitate a second to spend $50,000 on fixing up the showroom. dont get me wrong, a nice showroom does help but without the product you cant sell what you dont have.

this battery thing? its just the very very very beginning. the sooner you get on board the less catch up you WILL HAVE to do

Article said there are 2,614 Voltec dealers, so 40 is about 1.5% of them.

In my view it is probably good to let them leave. I would not want to take my car in for service someplace that does not actually work on them because they sold so few and don't want to buy the equipment to work on them. This is not your average car and I want a voltec mechanic that knows what they are doing and cares.

With respect to how many batteries have been replaced, I've ready about a dozen or so battery replacement/swaps so far. In most cases its GM being cautious and wanting to diagnose it back at the mother ship, so they do a swap. This will allow them to do a module swap (much lower shipping and fewer "replacement" batteries to worry about. But they may also have learn from the few thousand 2011 and early 2012's for which they've done the battery tunnel upgrade. Maybe some dealers had problems with that process indicating the need for better tools. Working with a charged battery is far more dangerous. (My dealer asked me to bring in my car without a charge so the battery had less energy stored in it).

I also think its a good idea to have many battery depowering tools for other reasons. this way when cars are in wrecks they can be used to depower the battery. Right now my understanding is that GM flys out a depower tool each time there is an accident.. with 2600 dealers, a tool should now be nearby (and likely where the car will be towed for repairs). (The lack of depower is what lead to the infamous weeks after the fact NHSTA fires).