Charging problems

[saphire965]

Hi everyone,

I have seen a lot of posts about not getting a full range charge. I am having a similar problem. I live in Massachusetts. We've had the usual cold days, but lately it's been in the 40's and 50's. Even though it has gotten warmer, I can no longer get fully charged over the 29 miles range. I did get 35 for a while until it started to get really cold in the 20's and 30's and ever since then, never got 35 again.

Sometimes I get an alert message that my charge was interrupted but then another alert right after saying my charging has completed. I did not drive my car today so I unplugged it when I got home, ran it for a bit with the heat and it dropped to 28 miles. I plugged it back in to be sure there was no interruption. It charged again and stopped at 29 on a "complete" charge. Outside temp was 50 degrees.

Other interesting thing is that my husband just purchased a Volt and picked it up on Monday. We charge on 110v outlet. He charged the last two nights and got 35 and 36 mile range on a full charge. I charged all day today at 50 and higher, and once again only got 29.

Since we have tested with the same outlet and I even tried with his new cable and he used mine, he still gets 35 and I still get 29.

I've had my Volt since December 1, 2011 (2012 model) and I have about 3k miles. I am concerned that there is something wrong with my Volt. The difference between my Volt and his Volt is that he has a lot more options like the stereo upgrade, I don't.

Does anybody have a clue why this is happening?


Thanks.
Karyn

[DonC]

Your Volt is just calibrated to your driving. By default the car starts with something like a 38 mile range. As you drive it goes down or up based on your drive cycle. It uses a weighted average, so several days of colder weather won't be changed by one day with warmer temperature.

Just wait a bit. When the weather warms up your range will go up. If it doesn't then you may want to take it in but that probably won't be necessary.

[Steverino]

First, those are estimated miles based on your car's past driving history.

Second, the two top reasons for lower estimated miles are Temperature and temperature.

The third reason would be driving style (aggressive driving, heater, etc.)

Fourth, the 110v charge cord, when used to precondition the cabin, will actually not have enough capacity, so the Volt uses up some battery charge to make up the difference. That's why many install a 240v charger, it can precondition without using up battery range.

I'm getting 30-36 estimated range, but in the summer I get 46-49. By keeping the green ball centered at all times, using L to slow down, I can often eek out up to 5 miles more than the estimate.

P.S. Tire pressure. Inflate to 39 or 40 psi and top off as needed.

[stephent]

Does the www.myvolt.com and/or smartphone app indicate 100% charge when done?

Most likely you are getting the battery fully charged. Remember the range estimate is an estimate based on your past driving. It's not that 35 = "full" and 29 = "not full", rather it is estimating 29 on a full charge, based on how fast you depleted the battery on your previous trips. How fast do you typically drive, and what sort of climate settings do you use? Drive slower, use less heat, your range will probably go up, might take a week as the car adjusts its starting estimate.

[Ross Buchan]

Depending on how territorial he is you might consider the simple test of trading Volt cars with your husband for two weeks. This could verify in both of your minds that it was merely the difference in driving styles between you and your husband.

REB

[saghost]

Are you running it out of power every day, or is it just the range estimate on the car?

Since you now have two Volts, why don't you drive his for a few days the way you've been driving yours, while he drives yours the way he has been. My guess is that the estimates will reverse themselves - that the difference you are seeing is based on climate settings, driving habits, and the speeds and distances of your respective commutes rather than on not charging to full. Depending on your circumstances, 28-29 in winter weather isn't an unusual estimate.

[zete]

When it was below -20c (whatever that is in F) we got about 30 - 35km (~20 miles). Earlier this week it was about 5c (maybe 40-45F? I think (I'm Canadian, we don't use British measurements anymore ) we got 45 - 50km (~30+ miles).

The battery is definitely impacted by temperature. And, as others have stated, by driving style. For example, in October when we got it my son got more than 70km while I could get at best 62km. If I drive our Volt like an idiot I get about 52 - 55km, still impressive considering that I'm fairly aggressive.

As someone else pointed out, if you have two Volts swap for a few days and you'll quickly see if it isn't your driving style (assuming the temperature down in Massachusetts is well above 0c.

[jegund]

I too commute every day to MA. Early yesterday morning with the temp about 32 I got almost 35 miles electric out of total 50 miles driven. After charging all day at work my car showed an estimate of 35 miles. On the long trip home I actually drove 46 miles yesterday all on battery. The temp when I left work was 50 degrees. You can see the actual miles driven on battery vs electric for the current charge by pressing the leaf button on the center console. I'm driving on rte 119 and rte 2 to Waltham and see another Volt almost every day lately. Maybe that's you guys?

[Jim I]

Your heater settings will have a large impact on your driving range. If you are set you "comfort" mode, with the temp at 73F (23C), and have selected the flow to go to the windshield, your range will be affected the most.

Want a test without swapping cars with your husband? Put on a hat and a pair of gloves. Set the fan to zero, which will turn off the heat. I would be amazed if you do not see at least 6 additional miles of electric range for that day. If you do that for several days, then the range estimate after a charge will go up to reflect your change in driving style.

I would also recommend that you get 240V charging stations. They will let you pre-condition (warm up) your car before you leave, and keep the battery topped off at the same time.

Then it becomes your decision. Do you want a really warm car, or the extra driving range on only the battery. The great thing about the Volt is that you get to decide, and the only difference is in how much gasoline you will end up using.

JMHO

C-5277

[Bob_Livonia]

If you owned a Nissan Leaf, you could be like the guy in Chicago who traded in his Leaf on a Volt after he was getting only 60 miles range in winter weather rather than the advertised 100. After he had to drive at low speeds with the heat off to get home, that was the final straw. He believed their pitch to rent a car if you want to go on longer trips, but it never worked that way.