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

[scottf200]

Had a long day a few days back and doing some sporting events after work. Weather was great.

Starting my 4th summer in my 2011 (16.0 kWh [10.4 kWh usable] vs new ones with 16.5 [10.9 kWh usable]). Pretty impressed with the capacity that is still being delivered to real miles.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

The way things are going it wont be long before our Volt has longer range than our Leaf.

 

[DaveEV]

Had a long day a few days back and doing some sporting events after work. Weather was great.

Starting my 4th summer in my 2011 (16.0 kWh vs new ones with 16.5). Pretty impressed with the capacity that is still being delivered to real miles.

So 4.9 mi/kWh assuming you still have about 10.5 kWh usable?

Anyone with a Volt measure any difference in energy from the wall to charge from empty to full after 3 years?

 

[scottf200]

Had a long day a few days back and doing some sporting events after work. Weather was great. Starting my 4th summer in my 2011 (16.0 kWh vs new ones with 16.5). Pretty impressed with the capacity that is still being delivered to real miles.

So 4.9 mi/kWh assuming you still have about 10.5 kWh usable? Anyone with a Volt measure any difference in energy from the wall to charge from empty to full after 3 years?

Generally thought of the below in underlines. New Volts have the estimated kWh on that same screen.
Wiki-page

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt has a 16 kWh / 45 Ah (10.4 kWh usable) lithium-ion battery pack that can be charged by plugging the car into a 120-240 VAC residential electrical outlet using the provided SAE J1772-compliant charging cord. No external charging station is required.[56] The Volt is propelled by an electric motor with a peak output of 111 kW (149 hp) delivering 273 lb·ft (370 N·m) of torque. Capacity of the battery pack was increased to 16.5 kWh (10.9 kWh usable) for 2013 models

 

[DaveEV]

Generally thought of the below in underlines. New Volts have the estimated kWh on that same screen.

That doesn't answer the question.

Anyone with a Volt measure any difference in energy from the wall to charge from empty to full after 3 years?

But on a slight tangent, is the energy usage reported by the car still the same for you (around 10.4 kWh) after 3 years?

 

[scottf200]

Generally thought of the below in underlines. New Volts have the estimated kWh on that same screen.

That doesn't answer the question.

Anyone with a Volt measure any difference in energy from the wall to charge from empty to full after 3 years?

But on a slight tangent, is the energy usage reported by the car still the same for you (around 10.4 kWh) after 3 years?

Again, the 2011 doesn't have the "estimated" kWh used that the new Volt's do. (Key it is on those it is only an estimate as well.)

I am judging my usable capacity by my estimated EV miles shown and the actual range I get.
In my recent post you can see both types of screens: estimated and actual.
In my 1st spring/summer my estimated range was ~45 miles.
Going into my 4th spring/summer my last few days has been 46/47/46 miles.
The estimate EV miles track pretty well if I am doing modest driving in good weather on my suburbia 40-45 roads.

 

[scottf200]

Title: 2014 Chevy Volt Displays 60 Electric Miles On Full Charge – Video
http://insideevs.com/2014-chevy-volt-displays-60-miles-full-charge-video/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Title: 2014 Chevy Volt Displays 60 Electric Miles On Full Charge – Video
http://insideevs.com/2014-chevy-volt-displays-60-miles-full-charge-video/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

so how far did you go?

 

[scottf200]

so how far did you go?

That is just an article about someones 2014. If you look at the last few post tho you'll see that in my Feb 2011 I've went 50 the other day. I'm starting my 4th spring/summer.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

so how far did you go?

That is just an article about someones 2014. If you look at the last few post tho you'll see that in my Feb 2011 I've went 50 the other day. I'm starting my 4th spring/summer.

ya which really "boosts" my faith in EPA numbers... :?

 

[JeffN]

Anyone with a Volt measure any difference in energy from the wall to charge from empty to full after 3 years?

After 3 years and 5 months, 53k miles EV and 83k miles overall, Volt #42 is still getting me all 45.5 miles to work without starting up the engine. I replaced the OEM Goodyear tires with Michelin MXV4 tires last September which caused a bit of a range hit for the first few months but after 26,000 miles they have finally worn in enough to put me back close to what I used to get. I've had a couple of 48-50 mile ranges in recent days now that it has warmed up.

To answer your specific question, I think I have noticed about a 0.25 kWh reduction for a full battery charge. It used to take about 11.75 kWh on a mild day and now seems to take about 11.5 kWh, according to ChargePoint on the same stations.

That might indicate one mile or so of expected range reduction or about 2-3% degradation.

On the other hand, there have been unsubstantiated rumors that GM designed the battery management to slowly open up the charging window in order to keep the driver's EV range consistent. So, this might not represent the actual degradation of the battery pack. Nobody really knows yet.

 

[JeremyW]

Yup. Nissan batteries needed cooling from the start. Pretty damn obvious now.

 

[DaveEV]

To answer your specific question, I think I have noticed about a 0.25 kWh reduction for a full battery charge. It used to take about 11.75 kWh on a mild day and now seems to take about 11.5 kWh, according to ChargePoint on the same stations.

That might indicate one mile or so of expected range reduction or about 2-3% degradation.

On the other hand, there have been unsubstantiated rumors that GM designed the battery management to slowly open up the charging window in order to keep the driver's EV range consistent. So, this might not represent the actual degradation of the battery pack. Nobody really knows yet.

Thanks. IMO, it doesn't really matter if it's a measure of actual capacity loss or not at this point in time. Losing only ~1% / year is a great result. If they are opening up the SOC range, then rate of capacity loss will likely speed up at some point (perhaps around the 8 year 100k mile point?)? Or perhaps GM designed it so that the rate of capacity loss would remain constant over time since in theory the rate of capacity loss should slow down. In other words, early in the battery life they will minimize rate of capacity loss by opening up SOC range when the battery loses capacity fastest, but when they reach their maximum SOC range the battery aging should also have slowed down to a very close to steady state rate of capacity loss.

If GM had the foresight to implement the latter and for it to actually work that way in real life (and not just in the lab), I would be very impressed with their engineers.

Now if they can significantly limit the amount of range loss under extremely hot/cold conditions they will just about have the system perfected.

Yup. Nissan batteries needed cooling from the start. Pretty damn obvious now.

Some of it is cooling, but it also appears that the battery itself is simply more durable. I don't think anyone in any climate is only seeing an average 1% rate of capacity loss in their LEAF.

 

[Valdemar]

Any rumors of Volt getting a 7kW OBC option? Or QC interface for that matter

 

[DisturbedAle]

Debating between the Leaf vs Volt, but with the Volt costing about +$100 more, it seems Leaf is much better.

 

[TomT]

Neither is "better." It depends entirely on your requirements.

Debating between the Leaf vs Volt, but with the Volt costing about +$100 more, it seems Leaf is much better.

 

[adric22]

Debating between the Leaf vs Volt, but with the Volt costing about +$100 more, it seems Leaf is much better.

We own both. I've spent a lot of time driving both. The Volt is certainly more versatile in regards to fueling it and keeping it going. Each car has its advantages, but I do feel the Volt is just a somewhat better car overall. However, I agree, the Leaf is less money. As such that must be taken into account. If the price were the same, I'd say go for the Volt.

 

[mwalsh]

I almost hate to say it, but I'm almost always recommending Volt over LEAF these days. Yesterday I got 43 miles EV and 44mpg. Today I was on-track for 49 miles EV, but started refueling again at 30 miles, so I'll never know if I would have made the 50 mile club.

 

[TomT]

Yep, I agree. A friend has a 2012 Volt and works in Santa Monica, 44 miles round trip with no charging at work. She almost always makes it on electric alone... When my lease is up in March, I might consider going the Volt route for the next round until the next cycle of BEV improvements hit...

I almost hate to say it, but I'm almost always recommending Volt over LEAF these days. Yesterday I got 43 miles EV and 44mpg. Today I was on-track for 49 miles EV, but started refueling again at 30 miles, so I'll never know if I would have made the 50 mile club.

 

[lorenfb]

Volt = Ugly Interior Design + Klug Drive Train (2 motors + ICE + planetary gears)