Please lobby for cold weather config option

[kickincanada]

I'm hearing there is little hope of getting the software upgrade to limit ICE running due to cold temps. I also can't find the hack posting developed by tboult and WopOnTour which is going to save us northern owners in case we can't convince GM to change its mind. What happened to the thread? It disappeared.
http://boardreader.com/s/Where%27s%2...ing%20due.html
I am sending the following letter. Sorry for the long text but I could't seem to upload the doc.

Daniel F. Akerson , Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Corporation
105 Justice Street, Detroit, MI, USA 48265-0001
Kevin Williams, President and Managing Director, GM of Canada Ltd.
1908 Colonel Sam Drive, Oshawa, Ontario , L1H 8P7
Micky Bly, Executive Director, Global Electrical Systems, Infotainment & Electrification
30001 Van Dyke Avenue, Warren, MI, 48090-9020

Mr. Akerson / Mr. Williams,
I am writing today to let you know that after almost a year of ownership I remain an ardent fan of the Chevrolet Volt. This vehicle is truly revolutionary and any criticism it received really doesn’t hold true when you look at the facts. Every day I look forward to driving it (actually I’m really disappointed when I don’t), and it represents a true paradigm shift for the auto industry as we know it. GM is a leader in this segment, and as far as I can tell will hold be hold this lead in the years to come.
Now to the main point of this letter. As you may or may not be aware, early versions of the 2012 Volt did not come with the configuration setting that permits the operator to adjust when the ICE fires during colder temperatures. This is a problem for two reasons.
1. I don’t have the option of disabling the ICE while plugged in and therefore cannot precondition my vehicle in my garage – something that every other EV out there can do; and
2. The ICE fires while driving anytime the temperature dips to -4 Celsius – as a result during the three coldest winter months I burn as much gas on short trips as any other ICE vehicle.
In terms of my Volt experience, this is my biggest pet peeve. To see Nissan Leafs zipping around during the dead of winter without problem only added to my misery last winter. So I was super happy to hear that the configuration option was added midway through the production run for the 2012 model which resolves these two issues by permitting preconditioning without ICE and lowering the temperature at which the ICE will fire (VERY COLD option). I was not so happy when I learned there is no software upgrade to be offered to early 2012 owners. Believe me when I say there are many early adopters out there who feel the same as I do. As early adopters, we often paid full MSRP for our vehicles and are ambassadors of sorts for GM. I can’t tell you enough how many people I’ve spoken to and given test drives in my Volt who completely changed their perspective of EVs and of GM. In a nutshell, not offering the software upgrade does not leave us feeling valued or appreciated.
So, I would ask that you please role out the software upgrade to retrofit early 2012 models with the cold weather config option. I will also close by asking that all future models have 6.6kw charging. As I’ve begun to use the public infrastructure it is clear this helps negate the need for a larger battery in the Volt if you can quickly pump in miles/kilometers in between stops. In addition Nissan, Ford and others, all offer (or will be offering) this capability.
Thank you again for your dedication to the Volt and I look forward to hearing from you.

[Powered7]

I agree with you. Chevrolet might have to charge for this enhancement, unless it's just a software update that is required (e.g. no components have to be added or replaced).

[tboult]

Will send one,

Odd they removed the thread from the forum. Still cached at
http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=us

Later in the week I'll repost the critical information again, if its removed again I'll just post the info say over at priuschat.. that would be ironic.

My other hope is to get someone with a modified volt to do some OBDII monitoring so we can see the command sent when the config changed.. maybe its just a threshold or mapping table being sent which could be replicated via a software hack.

[maestro77]

Yeah....weird for sure! Is this forum being censored and data GM doesn't want us to have being removed?? The Google cache link is handy...but it's only page 3 of the three pages of forum comments, and all the pics posted to it are unavailable.
Might a mod be willing to comment on this - is the data retrievable??

[maestro77]

And actually, tboult, I'm wondering how you found that Google cache. I've used the trick of searching Google for dead pages before, and then click the 'cache' button to see what used to be there. But when I tried it just now, Google found the thread, but clicking 'cache' yielded an 404 Error. Google seemed to think it was cached...but they couldn't find it. And yet...the specific link you provided works.

Your link starts with (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com) - is there a way to directly query that "Webcache" somehow??

EDIT: Managed to answer my own question using this: http://webapps.stackexchange.com/que...ersion-of-page

[scottf200]

Will send one,

Odd they removed the thread from the forum. Still cached at
http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=us

Later in the week I'll repost the critical information again, if its removed again I'll just post the info say over at priuschat.. that would be ironic.

My other hope is to get someone with a modified volt to do some OBDII monitoring so we can see the command sent when the config changed.. maybe its just a threshold or mapping table being sent which could be replicated via a software hack.

I found the non-cached version here:
Where-s-the-Temperature-Sensor-for-quot-Ice-running-due-to-..-quot
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....due-to-..-quot

[maestro77]

I found the non-cached version here:
Where-s-the-Temperature-Sensor-for-quot-Ice-running-due-to-..-quot
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....due-to-..-quot

Nope....the whole point of this thread is that the link you've pasted is not functional. ;-(

EDIT: Hmmmm, I see you're a moderator - I wonder if it requires moderator rights to see now for some reason.....

[CMMPro]

Before you start this awesome petition, lol....how did it go when you went to the dealership and asked them to check for software updates for the car? Did you go in and ask? Maybe it is already available.

[MrEnergyCzar]

You can pre-condition in your garage during the winter, the ICE won't go on unless it's 25F in your garage. It would have to be like -10F outside for that to happen? Or you are pre-conditioning with 120V so the engine comes on or with 240V but in comfort mode instead of ECO mode....

MrEnergyCzar

[ClarksonCote]

Isn't this already addressed? People have posted 2012 Config menu pictures showing engine on selection options for Cold weather or Very cold weather, for example.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....927#post155927

EDIT: I guess you're asking about retrofit. Although, I don't know if I agree with your first point about not being able to precondition the Volt. Is it really that cold in your attached garage? I precondition my Volt all the time, a 2011 without cold weather Config options, and only on the coldest of days does the engine turn on in my garage (my unheated attached garage is usually 20F warmer than the outdoors). And when the engine does start, it is only for 5 minutes.