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

[DrInnovation]

Thanks for the explanation. I was trying to sum them.

Do you find it odd that even at close to 100 miles it's more likely that a Volt driver is more likely to have driven these miles in CD Mode rather than CS Mode? Or is that what you'd expect since first they would have had to have driven 40 miles in CD Mode so to get 100 miles in CS Mode they would need to go 140 miles?

You are correct that to get 100 miles in CS they would need to do 135-150 in (depending on driving in CD). So those trip will be less frequent.
if you drive 100miles you get 40cd and 60cs. If you go to voltstats you can see CD miles and total trips miles (choose it in the menu) and then you see the "combined" total is much higher at 100miles. so most 100mile trips use gas.

I also think that many of the people putting in lots of miles per day went with a 240v charger and charge at work as well. 100m in CD is 2.5x charges that day but if you do 40 to work, charge, 40 home, charge run errands with the kids, you can probably get that in.

 

[scottf200]

From DonC (Volt and LEAF owner) on gm-volt.com

There have been some discussions about whether the Volt will achieve the same range when the battery is at EOL as it does at BOL. Some of us, maybe those who have been around this site for a while (maybe too long?), have said yes. For us it's just part of the common shared knowledge. This has been challenged by those saying that they haven't seen anything supporting this notion (I'm talking to you Walter! LOL).

I knew I had seen and heard the "same range at EOL [end of life] as at BOL [beg of life]" many times but hadn't been able to actually find anything definitive. Well today I was cleaning up some bookmarks and ran across this presentation from Frank Weber from late 2009. In response to a question he addresses this issue of range at BOL and EOL. The 45 second answer starts around :40. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6SARzQPcRA

Also of interest is his later discussion of how vastly superior electric drive is. It comes later in the clip.

 

[scottf200]

More discussions with the author. Here is the latest changes with some explanatory text/examples. Pretty cool.

http://WWW.VOLTSTATS.NET
Below is for all users but you can just drill down to a specific user.

Blue Bars Represent: Total Mileage When Gas Used

Blue Bars Represent: Nothing - Show EV Only

 

[scottf200]

Balanced article:

explosion-fire-at-gm-battery-labs-breaking
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1075296_explosion-fire-at-gm-battery-labs-breaking

<snip>
UPDATE 2: At 11:02 am this morning, General Motors added the following sentence to the statement below:

The incident was unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt or any other production vehicle.
The incident was related to extreme testing on a prototype battery.

UPDATE: At 10:25 am this morning, General Motors issued the statement below.

We are aware of an incident this morning about 8:45 a.m. in one of the laboratories at the Alternative Energy Center at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Mich.

Fire and emergency authorities were called to the scene. The building was evacuated. All employees have been accounted for. We are aware of five employees being evaluated on scene by medical personal and only one employee is being further treated.

The incident is still under investigation by GM and the Warren authorities. Any information or discussion of the nature of the work in the lab or cause of the incident is entirely speculative and cannot be confirmed at this time.

 

[redLEAF]

Balanced article:

explosion-fire-at-gm-battery-labs-breaking
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1075296_explosion-fire-at-gm-battery-labs-breaking

<snip>
UPDATE 2: At 11:02 am this morning, General Motors added the following sentence to the statement below:

The incident was unrelated to the Chevrolet Volt or any other production vehicle.
The incident was related to extreme testing on a prototype battery.

UPDATE: At 10:25 am this morning, General Motors issued the statement below.

We are aware of an incident this morning about 8:45 a.m. in one of the laboratories at the Alternative Energy Center at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Mich.



More coverage on AutoWeek ...

http://www.autoweek.com/article/201...the_suspected_cause&utm_campaign=awdailydrive

Fire and emergency authorities were called to the scene. The building was evacuated. All employees have been accounted for. We are aware of five employees being evaluated on scene by medical personal and only one employee is being further treated.

The incident is still under investigation by GM and the Warren authorities. Any information or discussion of the nature of the work in the lab or cause of the incident is entirely speculative and cannot be confirmed at this time.

 

[jhm614]

I got to work today, and freaked out that my 2,000+ miles without gas was about to go kaputz as the outlet I use wasnt working. Had to reset the GFCI.

This.Is.Awesome! Good job!

 

[redLEAF]

Didn't see this listed (at least on this thread), long term Volt test on cars.com. Some may remember that this particular Volt was in a bad crash not too far into its life but this video is about the 1-year mark (18K miles). Already mentioned charger cord replacement but a few other tidbits that may be of interest to potential new owners ... of particular interest to those in colder climates, just like our LEAF's, more limited electric range in colder months


http://bcove.me/vp7851z6

 

[TomT]

I'm guessing the test was a failure! :lol:

The incident was related to extreme testing on a prototype battery.

 

[Rusty]

I'm guessing the test was a failure!

Quote probably but it depends on what the goal of the test was. If the goal was "I wonder what happens if we abuse the battery this way" then it appears they found out.

It would have been an absolute fail if somebody had died. But maybe they'll be able to just chalk this one up to a spectacular learning experience.

 

[GRA]

I'm guessing the test was a failure!

Quote probably but it depends on what the goal of the test was. If the goal was "I wonder what happens if we abuse the battery this way" then it appears they found out.

It would have been an absolute fail if somebody had died. But maybe they'll be able to just chalk this one up to a spectacular learning experience.

Yeah, torture testing of batteries to failure is what you do. The only unusual thing is that the containment and safety systems seem to have been overwhelmed. Battery test rooms are supposed to contain shrapnel, suppress fires etc.

 

[evchels]

Yeah, torture testing of batteries to failure is what you do. The only unusual thing is that the containment and safety systems seem to have been overwhelmed. Battery test rooms are supposed to contain shrapnel, suppress fires etc.

We don't know that it didn't (or at least, I've not seen those sorts of details emerge.) I've seen the pics of the windows blown out, but one of the comments made by the fire dept was that as a secure facility, there are layers of locked doors to get through- so it's possible they broke the windows to gain access or ventilate the area. And I've been in that lab; it's pretty closed off.

 

[GRA]

Yeah, torture testing of batteries to failure is what you do. The only unusual thing is that the containment and safety systems seem to have been overwhelmed. Battery test rooms are supposed to contain shrapnel, suppress fires etc.

We don't know that it didn't (or at least, I've not seen those sorts of details emerge.) I've seen the pics of the windows blown out, but one of the comments made by the fire dept was that as a secure facility, there are layers of locked doors to get through- so it's possible they broke the windows to gain access or ventilate the area. And I've been in that lab; it's pretty closed off.

True enough, I was going by the report of injuries. Of course, maybe this was more due to someone having a heart attack or similar, but batteries blowing up under stress testing is pretty routine, so it seems unlikely that _two_ people involved in such testing would suffer simultaneous heart attacks/strokes etc. Chemical risks should also be contained in the testing cell, so I don't see how any 'injuries' could result unless containment was somehow breached, or someone was doing something they shouldn't have been.

But you're right, it's all speculation at the moment based on news reports, and we all know how inaccurate initial reports can be so it's better to wait until we have some hard info.

 

[evchels]

True enough, I was going by the report of injuries. Of course, maybe this was more due to someone having a heart attack or similar, but batteries blowing up under stress testing is pretty routine, so it seems unlikely that _two_ people involved in such testing would suffer simultaneous heart attacks/strokes etc. Chemical risks should also be contained in the testing cell, so I don't see how any 'injuries' could result unless containment was somehow breached, or someone was doing something they shouldn't have been.

But you're right, it's all speculation at the moment based on news reports, and we all know how inaccurate initial reports can be so it's better to wait until we have some hard info.

Agree re the injuries, esp as 5 were actually initially treated at the scene; of those, one needed a local hospital and one a major care center. I was responding more to the physical damage in the various media pics, etc.

Either way, it does invite concern over exactly what happened. And combined with A123's other challenges lately, makes me really wonder what's going on with them.

 

[evchels]

More details on the explosion in the Detroit News this morning- yikes.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...-hit-5M?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Honestly, how is this Volt related? I hate to be a pill but lets not do what the press already does so well. without intending it, doesn't inadvertently linking the Volt to the explosion cultivate FUD for the Volt. Maybe this topic should be split to it's own thread.

More details on the explosion in the Detroit News this morning- yikes.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/...-hit-5M?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

 

[evchels]

Honestly, how is this Volt related? I hate to be a pill but lets not do what the press already does so well. without intending it, doesn't inadvertently linking the Volt to the explosion cultivate FUD for the Volt. Maybe this topic should be split to it's own thread.

Fair point; I apologize. I think some of us are just used to discussing GM-related topics here.

I will be more careful regarding the discussions I engage in on this forum.

 

[GRA]

Honestly, how is this Volt related? I hate to be a pill but lets not do what the press already does so well. without intending it, doesn't inadvertently linking the Volt to the explosion cultivate FUD for the Volt. Maybe this topic should be split to it's own thread.

Fair point; I apologize. I think some of us are just used to discussing GM-related topics here.

I will be more careful regarding the discussions I engage in on this forum.

Perhaps a move to the battery subforum for this particular subthread would be appropriate.

 

[scottf200]

Teardown Reveals the Remarkable Complexity of Chevrolet's Volt - A look inside the car reveals just how complicated it is.
KEVIN BULLIS 04/20/2012
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/energy/27785/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sophisticated seems more appropriate. It blends the technology of electric (motor, regen 'brakes', accelerator pedal) with mechanical (ICE/GG, brake pads, CVT|MODES) in a very smooth and elegant interwoven way.

"UBM Tech Insights took apart the car’s battery and charging system to identify the components of each, and it’s making at least some of its results, including photos, available for free here"
[here is a link where you can get these 3 presentation 'sent' to you via email links]:

• Infotainment Teardown Presentation: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5lA7Kfp45ULVjE0ZE1MT1paR2c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
  Battery Pack Teardown Presentation: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5lA7Kfp45ULa1dSUmxScWdaY0E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
  Charging System Teardown Presentation: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B5lA7Kfp45ULcVpLYlRydkpIOU0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[ericsf]

Some people wrote that the Volt location of the charging port on the side of the car was better than the LEAF due to the fact that a frontal collision would destroy your charge port. But in fact it may be the opposite: in the presentation about the Volt charger, I noticed that the charger AC to DC converter module was located inside the front bumper of the Volt. Looks to me that even a minor fender bender could destroy this delicate equipment. I wouldn't be surprised if a conversation like this took place in an office in Detroit: "Jim, where did you put the charger for the car? The what?"

 

[TomT]

Plus, in all but a very few charging locations and scenarios, my experience has been that a front port is far more convenient. My neighbor has a Volt and has commented that he would prefer my Leaf's location in front since the side location is a pain in his tight garage where he must park on the right side...

Some people wrote that the Volt location of the charging port on the side of the car was better than the LEAF due to the fact that a frontal collision would destroy your charge port.