Got a 2012 with 280k miles. I don't really measure other than the distance I drive to work. I really don't notice a difference. Most reliable car I ever owned.
I have built cars, motorcycles and anything with a combustion engine. Ibought a very clean 15 volt and it has opened my eyes to a whole new world of this marvel of a machine! Hats off to the engineering and those that built them🇺🇸
Have a 2018 volt with 42k miles, had it for a year. My range is always based on outside temperature and if I have extra people in the car driving 65 and under I typically get 49-53 miles per charge, however back in February we had a day of 20degrees was driving 72 mph with my son in the car and only made it 35 miles- btw if you have the shift to park issue (I did) it is covered under the voltec warranty. Over all very happy with my volt
@@crsp76691 I seen a mechanic fix this problem on YT and he suggested the same thing. I've considered trying it since this problem showed up a couple of months ago.
The STP issued showed up on my car and the Chevrolet dealership keeps saying it's not under warranty but I know it is. I have temporarily fixed it by hitting the shifting switch thing 50 times. I heard that might help and it did for now. But, it will come back and I'll take it to another dealership and fight with them.
great video. the flickering is the frame rate of the phone with the refresh rate of the screen. It's normal. it goes away when you get closer bc your framerate slows down. i have a 2017 and i LOVE it. it's insanely great. Love it. absolutely love it
So for my midlife crisis I bought a 2018 Volt Lol I love it! A blast to drive. On another note I would say you actually probably have zero degradation. There was an update to the 2018 models which if it was performed actually dropped the usable KWH by a fraction to alleviate a low power warning that happened to some. This simply increased that battery buffer slightly and will probably make the battery last longer going forward.
I had no idea. I just seen your comment today (2 months after you posted it) and thank you for that info. I talked about your comments in a video I just filmed that should be on my channel today or tomorrow. Thanks again.
Some more data :) 2013 Gen1 Volt w/ 75K miles with LG pouch cell batteries... tested last night under ideal conditions. I have 10.2 kwh usable out of the factory 10.8 kwh usable capacity before the ICE turns on - so 6% degradation (usable) in 9 years. In the summer it still charges up to a 40 miles range (when I bought it 5 years ago, it would charge to 43 miles of range). I can no longer go to the office and back *twice* on a single charge without the ICE engine running for a few miles, but it gets charged every night, so it doesn't matter. Also switched to Goodyear Assurance tires - they are quieter, and handle better than most EV tires, but probably eat into my range a little. With mixed driving, I can still get over 43 miles on a charge, but it involves some hypermiling. Of course winter time, it's all over the place - I've had range as low as 24 miles during a deep freeze, but mostly stays around 33 in the Colorado winter.
My 18 volt just turned 55k miles and I’m still getting above rated ev range. I’ve seen up to 68 estimated miles on the dash in the summer! And down to 49 in the winter. I don’t baby the car either, most of my driving is electric.
@@ArkansasEVI'm amazed that some of these comments appear to show cars with very few miles compared to the year they were made. 6 years and only 50,000 mi on it? Which is awesome. But also I learned that you shouldn't let batteries sit for too long, either.
I bought a 2018 Volt Premier that now has 71,000 miles and during very warm days I am getting 57 - 58 electric miles per charge from my garage 240 V car charger. I am looking forward to taking a long trip. It's my understanding in Mountain mode when the engine is on it will also add power back to the drive battery storage as well as keep it running. I love my car especially with gas prices now at $4.58 a gallon of gas. Running the tank down to almost empty on an 8.9-gallon tank, if I put 8 gallons of gas in I’m looking at $36.72. My honda truck runs me over $70 to fill it.
You are right about mountain mode. It does add electrons into the battery as well as propel the car but it runs at a higher RPM meaning the MPG is negatively effected as well. There is always a debate on if it saves gas. Most say it does not. I've had mine about 1200 miles +/- so far and have burned I'm guessing 1/2 gallon of gas.
@@ArkansasEV That's good to know. I really haven't had the chance to take the car out for a long run. I found out after taking my car to the Chevy Dealership in Ocala, FL that the car had a standard cruise, not an adapted cruise. Which explained the clock symbol without the arrow pointing in an NW direction. The Car had a front-end accident and was in the body shop for over 10 weeks waiting for parts. I got the car back last Friday and now the Cruise clock has the pointing arrow on it. Also, the car length's that you set for the distance between you and the car in front of you are now in color. I am thinking that the radar was replaced and the garage took what they could get in parts. I am hoping to take the car up to Lumberton NC from home ( 471 miles ). I rarely speed and the most I will do is 5 miles over the speed limit depending on traffic. With a full tank and 57 EV miles, I hope to stop for a bite to eat in Georgia and top off the tank. Would you recommend putting the EV miles on HOLD and using the gas engine until I get into Lumberton then use the EV miles? Also, I find in the city I am always driving in "L" because it's like having a one-pedal drive. To use the brakes less. After using the regen button on the back ( left side ) of the steering wheel I found myself reaching for it when driving any other car.
@@ocalakid55 If you are gonna go further than the battery will take you then I'd keep the car in hold mode at highway speeds and use the battery at lower speeds. Of course you want to use all the battery. When I had a Gen 1 I'd all the time do this and misjudge and get some place with 4 or 5 miles of battery range left and it felt like a waste since I forced the gas engine to run. With the Gen 2 it's got so much range I don't have to switch back and forth....at least not yet. I always keep mine in L and it's mostly one pedal driving but not completely. With full one pedal driving you can keep your foot on the floorboard at red lights and such. Another viewer told me that GM equipped very few of these with adaptive cruise control. Mine has it and I plan on doing a review with it in the next few weeks. I myself would not bother with mountain mode unless I was actually gonna be navigating mountains or really hilly areas. However, it won't hurt the car if you want to do it. You are supposed to engage mountain mode 20 minutes before entering the mountains. I drive in L even on the highway because I always like keeping cars in the same situation as much as possible because it acts so different in L than D and I'm afraid I'll be used to L then put it in D and of course it won't brake the same and I'm afraid I might rear end someone or come close to it. Because it acts so different in L than it doers in D when you let off the accelerator I don't want to switch back and forth. I hope that makes sense.
@@ArkansasEV It does and I will just plan on using " L " when driving it. If I could get my hands on a 2019, it has a few more upgrades. I bought a Cadillac CT6 Hybrid Plug-in brand new off the showroom floor in 2017. I kept that in pristine condition. 4 cyl with turbo's and got 32 - 34 EV miles with the 240V Car charger in my garage. Loved the car. Last Sept I took it in for its last Under warranty check-up and was told it had a recall on some sling that held the transmission so I had to leave it overnight. The next day after returning their loaner the owner of the dealership approached me and made me a cash offer at $12,000 than KBB said the car was worth with its super low mileage. ( 23,000 ) I took it thinking I could get by with just the truck but boy was I wrong so I remembered seeing the Gen 1 Volt on a dealer's lot and made up my mind I was going to get myself a VOLT. After finding one after another only to find out it was sold because of GAS prices starting to rise I turned to CARVANA and found they had several in Orlando but they were all spoken for..... But I put my name in for all of the Premier units with the two drivers' PKGs. 3 days later one because available and I snapped it up with 68,000 miles on it. Paid cash for it and it was delivered right to my driveway. Just as it was described online. They had already put four new easy-roll tires,. New wiper blades, changed the oil and filter and cabin filter. Other than a small ding on the front driver's door, the car was in showroom condition. They even put a full tank of gas and it had a partial charge on the drive batteries. The 12-volt battery appeared to be new but because it's buried under the back deck it doesn't get dirty so I couldn't be sure. VERY HAPPY about it. My only gripe is a rattle in the radio speaker or door on the passenger side over rough roads. The car is tight and rides comfortably. I feel like I have a small sports car when I get in. I still laugh when Chevy says it seats five. ( Midgets or children maybe ). I got the car back on Friday from the Bodyshop and I just purchased a Review Camera Mirror for it. Been watching too many Bad driver TH-cam Videos.
@@ocalakid55 Seating five is laughable. I actually loved the four seat setup in the Gen 1. I liked it because it was different. I liked the looks of the back seats a lot. They should have kept the same set up if they were not gonna give folks five true setting positions.
None in stock at the warehouse so good luck. I have a 2017 Volt at the dealer right now needs 2 of 6 modules replaced. It has been at the dealer for 67 days and counting.
Geeezz. I had a similar experience with a Nissan Leaf. The heat pump went out with 7,000 miles on it and it was gonna be months before they could get the parts in. I got rid of it.
My guess is that the cars that needed a battery replacement had a faulty battery. Rather than degradation. My Tesla had 121000 miles and lost about 10% of the range.
Excluding the Leaf 1st Gen the data shows how resilient these battery's are over time and they are very reliable. I am extremely impressed with 1.5%+/- degradation after this many miles.
Driving technique really matters for mpge. Thanks for your testing and posting! My 2018 Volt has 76k miles on it but most of those miles were done on electricity. How do I figure out when to change the oil?
As far as the oil change I no longer have this car and can't remember for sure but I'm almost certain it'll tell you. According to memory it seems like if you scroll though the options on the drivers screen it will eventually pop up how much oil life is left. If you drive mostly on electric it might not tell you to change it but once every couple of years.
My 2014 Volt now charges up to 30 miles. It has 45 K miles. Would it make sense to drive my Volt in the "hold" 50% of the time to reduce battery degradation? Thank you
I apologize if I'm going to correct you but the volt has a 3.8 kilowatt onboard charger. I have a charging station and it actually gives it about 14 miles per hour. And if you preheat it it does supply it for enough electric power from the wall to allow it to only use electricity from the wall
I don't remember how many kWh's I said but that sounds about right. I thought it had 3.something while most at this time have 7.something or more. If I said something factually wrong then I want to be corrected.
Kia Soul EVs and Nissan Leafs have dreadfully bad batteries. They get replaced VERY often, or at least they have to get replaced, whether they do or not, is up to the owners. Volts last and last.
At 174k on my 2013 S60. I think the battery is original. It has about a 15% loss in range from 208 rated miles new. So now it has 177 miles of range but does it matter in daily use? No, my commute is 45 miles per day and the car still drives fine.
That sounds excellent. We almost bought a Tesla model S a few months ago for $19,000 but it had 140,000 miles and that worried me. I knew it was in excellent shape at the moment but still, that's soooo much money for a car out of warranty with that many miles.
my 2016 volt is at 88k miles and getting 43 miles on a full charge. But its not a solid 43. sometimes its funky and depending if i'm driving highway a lot it could be 38 in good weather. I wonder what battery upgrades will be available 5-10 years from now. kind of excited for that, seeing how theres a few LiPo Gen 3 prius upgrades out there i'm excited to see what hobbyist do for the volt in the future.
WOW! That's not good. I don't think 12 amp would harm it at all but can't be 100% sure of that. That does not sound normal from what I've heard from others. I hate it's so low.
@ArkansasEV it shows 15 but does like 20. I think its because I have to go 75mph and usually run the heat or try. Its a first gen so not as much as the second. Got it used at 100k no issues
My 2018 Chevy volt used 13.9 kilowatt 63.1 miles on a full charge with 39,900 miles. When I charge the car,the charger shows 15 kilowatt. I used the MUSTART Level 2 Portable EV Charger (240 Volt 32 amp charger on a 50amp breaker.
For some reason on mine, I got 14.4 usable sometimes👍if it’s colder, the engine will come on sooner, or if your going up a hill. My car had under 15,000 miles
The engine coming on when colder can be shut off in settings. I think it says something like 'heater assist off and on' but that might not be right. I can't remember for sure. Mine was doing that when I first got it and turning that setting off stopped it. As far as going up a hill I have no idea why that would be happening. The Volt is meant to be full EV in almost all conditions, even if you give it full pedal to the metal until the battery runs dead so I'm not sure about that. Now, in mountainous areas the engine might have to come on to assist it but not hills.
My 2017 Volt , at 96k miles, is only getting 37 miles per charge. I just noticed this, my wife’s car so I don’t drive it much. This is summer time and normally it would give about 53 miles on a charge in the summer. Seems like a significant change, making an appointment to see what the dealer says. My wife loves this car, so either way its getting fixed.
@@ArkansasEV They just called me back, said nothing is wrong with it, BS. Tried to tell me it was because of the weather and using the AC. Tech seemed to think the car would get less range in the summer than in the winter, clueless. This is going to be soup sandwich.
@@calivalley9056 I have a 2017 volt as well with 30,000 miles on it it's varies by weather conditions and if you're using the AC it does use less mileage. You are going to get less mileage if you are going 75 mph instead of 70 mph. I get roughly about 53 miles per charge during the summer I got 40
@@usguyver You miss understand, we are talking about usable battery per full charge. Yes range varies by, temp, onboard draw, driving style but that is not what I’m referring to. When you charge and deplete the battery you can go to information energy page and see what the available charge use from last charge. This is where you find out if their is an issue with batteries ability to charge, total usable charge and degradation.
Hello!! Thank you for this video. I am considering buying a 2018 Chevy Volt from Carvana. One of the things I'm concerned about is that the detailed inspection list says "battery: fixed or replaced (condition, fluid level, load test)." I know on a regular car, this means the basic battery. But on this car, would that mean they fixed cells? I know they certainly didn't replace the actual battery, so I'm assuming if they fixed it that means battery cells. How would I be able to tell what has been fixed and whether it was adequate? Thanks!
I highly suggest buying a volt they are amazing vehicles keep it plugged in as often as you can and if you don't drive too far you'll never have to use gas and if you do it gets good gas mileage anyways. I've had a 17 and an 18 I love them.
@@scottgoodson6046 True, but the 12v battery in a Volt is a sealed, H5 (group 47) sized AGM battery, and fluid can't be added to those. It is possible some unwise individual might've replaced it with a conventional, flooded 12v battery, but that's another matter. My guess is that the report is talking about adding coolant to the battery conditioning loop. The thermal management system that regulates the Volt's main pack is liquid heated/cooled. If I were looking at a Volt with that statement on its condition report, I'd insist on a clarification. You don't want coolant loss in any part of the Volt (be it main pack, or ICE range extender).
I hope this helps someone looking for a Volt, I owned 2 2012 Volts (his and hers) we put 75k on each. I really only have 1 complaint, cold weather comfort. When the temperature dipped below 30 which occurs for 4 months in the Northeast you never feel comfortable and the electric range drops by 40% and the MPG was only 35MPG. We replaced them with a Prius Prime which had a lower electric range but averaged 50mpg in the cold. The Prius has a heat pump and while the comfort isn’t great it’s much better than the Volt. I have heard the 2 Gen. Volt has improved and was wondering if anyone has owned both and can comment on the Cold weather comfort and range drop and mpg.
1. Rate of charge is expressed as kW, not kWh. kWh is a measurement of electric storage capacity. 2. To give accurate information about the degradation, instead of only showing the total mileage, you need to display the electric-only mileage. ICE mileage is irrelevant and the total mileage is a combination of the two.
Thanks for chiming in. In response 1. I probably just misspoke and never caught it. 2. I did display EV miles only. The miles displayed at the end of the video was EV miles only, no gas. The display showed I used about 13.5 kWh's of energy and the battery was 98% depleted.
Ok, I don't normally disagree with you, but I have to this time. The Leaf, and the Spark EV which you personally experienced had enough degradation to impact the capabilities of the car enough to not keep them. Seasonal temps alone are enough to cap range by up to 30%, then add degradation to the picture and small battery EV's are severely impacted. I personally went through it with the Leaf. The Volt I consider to be a wise exception because Chevy knew to keep the battery charge in the sweet spot for the battery and uses the ICE to ensure it stays there. The Volt has shown that the batteries can last if taken care of. The Bolt we found out that Chevy did not take the lessons learned with the Volt and uses 100% of the battery instead of capping the charge early and forcing the recharge early. Owners are unwittingly accelerating wear in those cars by not keeping the charge in a safe range. 100k is not even a valid measurement of any ICE or battery. My ICE pickup has almost 200k miles on it with just normal maintenance. If you can keep batteries in a reasonable temperature range, and keep the charge within the acceptable charge the battery should last a reasonable amount of time. How long will a properly cared for battery last? We don't know. Some of us keep our vehicles for a long time. Replacement batteries need to be affordable and readily available. Current batteries are dead end technology. Solid state is the way forward, IF they live up to the promises we hear in marketing. Only time will tell. Not a hater, just a realist.
Nothing wrong with disagreeing with people. There is a 1st Gen Volt that had over 400,000 miles on it and was still going. He wound up in a wreck and after the wreck it simply would no longer charge. He had the local dealer try to fix it but they seemed hapless and unable to help.
@@ArkansasEV Chevy did it right with the Volt. They over built that battery with enough buffer at the top and bottom to keep it happy, and they programmed the ICE to try and keep that battery happy. It is when users violate that 80-20 rule that they are taking longevity out of the battery. Sadly Chevy decided to ditch the buffer on the Bolt, and finally recommended people start keeping the 80-20 rule while they work through the battery replacements due to LG's nightmares. But just saw another one this morning with a Spark EV she bought on Carvana. Even after a full level 2 charge she only had 30-40 miles of range. If people fast charge them, deep cycle them they are just taking money out of the bank and don't know it. If they hang onto those EV's long enough they will figure it out the hard way. If people will level 1/2 charge them and honor the 80-20 rule they should last for a good long while. But people aren't told this. Luckily for the young lady I just saw with the Spark Carvana took the car back. That battery was toast. It has the DCFC port so likely the previous owners did a lot of fast charges and ran the battery hard. Sadly Chevy does not offer these batteries for replacement. They are listed as discontinued even though they have cars that are still under warranty at this time. We will see how that pans out. There needs to be aftermarket and 3rd party people offering to service these batteries to replace cells that are having issues. Until that happens when an EV battery is toast you may not be able to get a replacement. If you can the cost may be more than the car is worth. I just asked that question on the FB Spark group and that is precisely what they also said. I know there is some Leaf support out on the west coast for battery reconditioning, and retrofitting for larger batteries, but the price is very high. The advantage remains in the ICE camp when it comes to the repairs for catastrophic issues like an engine rebuild or a reman engine. Hopefully this will change. I am glad to see you like your Volt and that it has enough usable range for what you need. They are a nice car.
That is awesome. I had someone at work the other day ask "How many miles are on your plug-in car?" I responded "56,000" and they said "Ooooohhhh so you'll be replacing the battery soon huh?" I said "I wasn't planning on it." Then I tried to explain why that's not the case but he was not hearing it. He knew my battery was gonna be garbage soon and I had no idea what I was talking about. Haha. I gave up quickly trying to convert him. I did mention this particular video to him but it was just "All I know is cell phone battery's go dead after a few years and so do all battery's." OK, whatever.
It would stand to business reason, if battery replacements were common within 100k miles, you'd not only have ready stock from Chevy, but probably healthy aftermarket solutions. There's money to be made! But no, battery replacements are rare.
Great point. I think I might read your letter in my next 'viewer comments' video. I did that last week and think I'm gonna make it a regular thing I do once a month or so.
My brother in Christ, we would welcome you in Wisconsin. You would positively ~~love~~ our balmy, virtually tropical winters. And yes... I AM pulling your leg! 😅 Wisconsin winters absolutely suck! That said, I drive a Volt, too (a 2019 LT), and thanks to its heated steering wheel and those glorious butt toasters, I NEVER use the cabin heat at all until it's cooler than ~30F outside. I guess we're just used to it here (which is to say, many of us are suckers for punishment). Now, in the middle of winter, when it's not rare at all to encounter -10F temps (or worse), then yeah, you can bet I'm gonna use the range extender and harvest that sweet, sweet, exhaust waste heat. In between, it's electric HVAC time, despite the reduction in range. Sidebar: Don't even get me started on wind chill temperatures and our many forms of annoying and dangerous frozen precipitation. Decades of being stuck here has made me more than a little salty... much like our roads are, from Thanksgiving until April.
I would die if I had to live there. It gets cold here but not like there. For Christmas weekend it got down to somewhere around zero. Some years that never happens a single time. Our average low in January is 29 which is horrible for us. Not bad I'm sure for ya'll.
The bad thing is we have no real snow fighting equipment. We have a truck with a blade on the front but not sure what that does. Sun, traffic, and time takes care of our icy roads. That's why in Arkansas if there is a 10% chance of 1/10th of an inch of snow than your presence is required at the grocery store haha. People act like the Zombie apocalypse is coming. I find it odd because we always have enough food in the house to last us a month if it had to soooo why do they need to run to the grocery store because roads might be icy 2-3 days?
I get your rant in the beginning but you basically spend the entire first 2/3rd or 1/2 of the vid not telling us what the battery degradation actually is
@@ArkansasEV I've got 3 more years of Voltec warranty, so whatever happens won't be on my dime. I still normally get around 57-60 miles of range in mild weather. As much as I love the EV driving experience, I'm thinking I might eventually trade it for the new Prius (non Prime) in another year or so.
@@amg5619 Chevy has had a lot of problems with its Hybrid and ev cars. Carvana stopped selling the Bolt for serious battery problems. Also , I have had my Nissan leaf for over 3 years and had no problems.
Got a 2012 with 280k miles. I don't really measure other than the distance I drive to work. I really don't notice a difference. Most reliable car I ever owned.
I have built cars, motorcycles and anything with a combustion engine. Ibought a very clean 15 volt and it has opened my eyes to a whole new world of this marvel of a machine! Hats off to the engineering and those that built them🇺🇸
And to think that technology is now 12 years old makes one appreciate what they did even more.
I have a 2018, 69k miles with absolutely no degradation. 70 miles fully Electric range% Here in Florida. Conmute 23 miles and charge at work
Have a 2018 volt with 42k miles, had it for a year. My range is always based on outside temperature and if I have extra people in the car driving 65 and under I typically get 49-53 miles per charge, however back in February we had a day of 20degrees was driving 72 mph with my son in the car and only made it 35 miles- btw if you have the shift to park issue (I did) it is covered under the voltec warranty. Over all very happy with my volt
I am a little concerned with the shift to park issue so glad it's covered. I know all to well about losing range in winter.
@@ArkansasEV i FIXED THE STP ISSUE BY GLUEING A LITTLE RUBBER DONUT ONTO THE TAB THAT CONTACTS THE MICRO SWITCH AND HASNT RETURNED FOR MONTHS
@@crsp76691 I seen a mechanic fix this problem on YT and he suggested the same thing. I've considered trying it since this problem showed up a couple of months ago.
The STP issued showed up on my car and the Chevrolet dealership keeps saying it's not under warranty but I know it is. I have temporarily fixed it by hitting the shifting switch thing 50 times. I heard that might help and it did for now. But, it will come back and I'll take it to another dealership and fight with them.
@@ArkansasEV Chevy in Escondido, CA fixed it for free.
great video. the flickering is the frame rate of the phone with the refresh rate of the screen. It's normal. it goes away when you get closer bc your framerate slows down. i have a 2017 and i LOVE it. it's insanely great. Love it. absolutely love it
So for my midlife crisis I bought a 2018 Volt Lol I love it! A blast to drive. On another note I would say you actually probably have zero degradation. There was an update to the 2018 models which if it was performed actually dropped the usable KWH by a fraction to alleviate a low power warning that happened to some. This simply increased that battery buffer slightly and will probably make the battery last longer going forward.
I had no idea. I just seen your comment today (2 months after you posted it) and thank you for that info. I talked about your comments in a video I just filmed that should be on my channel today or tomorrow. Thanks again.
Some more data :) 2013 Gen1 Volt w/ 75K miles with LG pouch cell batteries... tested last night under ideal conditions. I have 10.2 kwh usable out of the factory 10.8 kwh usable capacity before the ICE turns on - so 6% degradation (usable) in 9 years. In the summer it still charges up to a 40 miles range (when I bought it 5 years ago, it would charge to 43 miles of range). I can no longer go to the office and back *twice* on a single charge without the ICE engine running for a few miles, but it gets charged every night, so it doesn't matter. Also switched to Goodyear Assurance tires - they are quieter, and handle better than most EV tires, but probably eat into my range a little. With mixed driving, I can still get over 43 miles on a charge, but it involves some hypermiling. Of course winter time, it's all over the place - I've had range as low as 24 miles during a deep freeze, but mostly stays around 33 in the Colorado winter.
My 18 volt just turned 55k miles and I’m still getting above rated ev range. I’ve seen up to 68 estimated miles on the dash in the summer! And down to 49 in the winter. I don’t baby the car either, most of my driving is electric.
Mine now has 56k and I'm very happy with how it's performed.
@@ArkansasEVI'm amazed that some of these comments appear to show cars with very few miles compared to the year they were made. 6 years and only 50,000 mi on it? Which is awesome. But also I learned that you shouldn't let batteries sit for too long, either.
Great video. So much detail! Thanks a lot.
Glad it was helpful!
watch your videos on and off.. i Also use to own a volt. went to a bolt like you. and now back to a volt like you. lol its an amazing car.
I bought a 2018 Volt Premier that now has 71,000 miles and during very warm days I am getting 57 - 58 electric miles per charge from my garage 240 V car charger. I am looking forward to taking a long trip. It's my understanding in Mountain mode when the engine is on it will also add power back to the drive battery storage as well as keep it running. I love my car especially with gas prices now at $4.58 a gallon of gas. Running the tank down to almost empty on an 8.9-gallon tank, if I put 8 gallons of gas in I’m looking at $36.72. My honda truck runs me over $70 to fill it.
You are right about mountain mode. It does add electrons into the battery as well as propel the car but it runs at a higher RPM meaning the MPG is negatively effected as well. There is always a debate on if it saves gas. Most say it does not.
I've had mine about 1200 miles +/- so far and have burned I'm guessing 1/2 gallon of gas.
@@ArkansasEV That's good to know. I really haven't had the chance to take the car out for a long run. I found out after taking my car to the Chevy Dealership in Ocala, FL that the car had a standard cruise, not an adapted cruise. Which explained the clock symbol without the arrow pointing in an NW direction. The Car had a front-end accident and was in the body shop for over 10 weeks waiting for parts. I got the car back last Friday and now the Cruise clock has the pointing arrow on it. Also, the car length's that you set for the distance between you and the car in front of you are now in color. I am thinking that the radar was replaced and the garage took what they could get in parts. I am hoping to take the car up to Lumberton NC from home ( 471 miles ). I rarely speed and the most I will do is 5 miles over the speed limit depending on traffic. With a full tank and 57 EV miles, I hope to stop for a bite to eat in Georgia and top off the tank. Would you recommend putting the EV miles on HOLD and using the gas engine until I get into Lumberton then use the EV miles? Also, I find in the city I am always driving in "L" because it's like having a one-pedal drive. To use the brakes less. After using the regen button on the back ( left side ) of the steering wheel I found myself reaching for it when driving any other car.
@@ocalakid55 If you are gonna go further than the battery will take you then I'd keep the car in hold mode at highway speeds and use the battery at lower speeds. Of course you want to use all the battery. When I had a Gen 1 I'd all the time do this and misjudge and get some place with 4 or 5 miles of battery range left and it felt like a waste since I forced the gas engine to run. With the Gen 2 it's got so much range I don't have to switch back and forth....at least not yet.
I always keep mine in L and it's mostly one pedal driving but not completely. With full one pedal driving you can keep your foot on the floorboard at red lights and such.
Another viewer told me that GM equipped very few of these with adaptive cruise control. Mine has it and I plan on doing a review with it in the next few weeks.
I myself would not bother with mountain mode unless I was actually gonna be navigating mountains or really hilly areas. However, it won't hurt the car if you want to do it. You are supposed to engage mountain mode 20 minutes before entering the mountains.
I drive in L even on the highway because I always like keeping cars in the same situation as much as possible because it acts so different in L than D and I'm afraid I'll be used to L then put it in D and of course it won't brake the same and I'm afraid I might rear end someone or come close to it. Because it acts so different in L than it doers in D when you let off the accelerator I don't want to switch back and forth. I hope that makes sense.
@@ArkansasEV It does and I will just plan on using " L " when driving it. If I could get my hands on a 2019, it has a few more upgrades. I bought a Cadillac CT6 Hybrid Plug-in brand new off the showroom floor in 2017. I kept that in pristine condition. 4 cyl with turbo's and got 32 - 34 EV miles with the 240V Car charger in my garage. Loved the car. Last Sept I took it in for its last Under warranty check-up and was told it had a recall on some sling that held the transmission so I had to leave it overnight. The next day after returning their loaner the owner of the dealership approached me and made me a cash offer at $12,000 than KBB said the car was worth with its super low mileage. ( 23,000 ) I took it thinking I could get by with just the truck but boy was I wrong so I remembered seeing the Gen 1 Volt on a dealer's lot and made up my mind I was going to get myself a VOLT. After finding one after another only to find out it was sold because of GAS prices starting to rise I turned to CARVANA and found they had several in Orlando but they were all spoken for..... But I put my name in for all of the Premier units with the two drivers' PKGs. 3 days later one because available and I snapped it up with 68,000 miles on it. Paid cash for it and it was delivered right to my driveway. Just as it was described online. They had already put four new easy-roll tires,. New wiper blades, changed the oil and filter and cabin filter. Other than a small ding on the front driver's door, the car was in showroom condition. They even put a full tank of gas and it had a partial charge on the drive batteries. The 12-volt battery appeared to be new but because it's buried under the back deck it doesn't get dirty so I couldn't be sure. VERY HAPPY about it. My only gripe is a rattle in the radio speaker or door on the passenger side over rough roads. The car is tight and rides comfortably. I feel like I have a small sports car when I get in. I still laugh when Chevy says it seats five. ( Midgets or children maybe ). I got the car back on Friday from the Bodyshop and I just purchased a Review Camera Mirror for it. Been watching too many Bad driver TH-cam Videos.
@@ocalakid55 Seating five is laughable. I actually loved the four seat setup in the Gen 1. I liked it because it was different. I liked the looks of the back seats a lot. They should have kept the same set up if they were not gonna give folks five true setting positions.
None in stock at the warehouse so good luck. I have a 2017 Volt at the dealer right now needs 2 of 6 modules replaced. It has been at the dealer for 67 days and counting.
Geeezz. I had a similar experience with a Nissan Leaf. The heat pump went out with 7,000 miles on it and it was gonna be months before they could get the parts in. I got rid of it.
My guess is that the cars that needed a battery replacement had a faulty battery. Rather than degradation. My Tesla had 121000 miles and lost about 10% of the range.
Excluding the Leaf 1st Gen the data shows how resilient these battery's are over time and they are very reliable. I am extremely impressed with 1.5%+/- degradation after this many miles.
We lost about 8% to 9% on our 2015 Chevy Volt…….not bad after 8 years. We saved over 10k on gasoline. It now has 80,000 miles. Never a problem.
I had a 2015 and am one of the few that actually liked the looks inside and out better than the 2nd gen.
Driving technique really matters for mpge. Thanks for your testing and posting! My 2018 Volt has 76k miles on it but most of those miles were done on electricity. How do I figure out when to change the oil?
As far as the oil change I no longer have this car and can't remember for sure but I'm almost certain it'll tell you. According to memory it seems like if you scroll though the options on the drivers screen it will eventually pop up how much oil life is left. If you drive mostly on electric it might not tell you to change it but once every couple of years.
We have a 2018 Volt. 105k's with zero battery degradation.
I love that.
My 2014 Volt now charges up to 30 miles. It has 45 K miles. Would it make sense to drive my Volt in the "hold" 50% of the time to reduce battery degradation? Thank you
I have no idea to be honest but if it were mine I'd just drive it as intended.
2017 with 75k goes 43-48 on city streets, 35-45 on highway.
That's excellent. The Volt is simply a great car.
I apologize if I'm going to correct you but the volt has a 3.8 kilowatt onboard charger. I have a charging station and it actually gives it about 14 miles per hour. And if you preheat it it does supply it for enough electric power from the wall to allow it to only use electricity from the wall
I don't remember how many kWh's I said but that sounds about right. I thought it had 3.something while most at this time have 7.something or more. If I said something factually wrong then I want to be corrected.
Kia Soul EVs and Nissan Leafs have dreadfully bad batteries. They get replaced VERY often, or at least they have to get replaced, whether they do or not, is up to the owners. Volts last and last.
At 174k on my 2013 S60. I think the battery is original. It has about a 15% loss in range from 208 rated miles new. So now it has 177 miles of range but does it matter in daily use? No, my commute is 45 miles per day and the car still drives fine.
That sounds excellent. We almost bought a Tesla model S a few months ago for $19,000 but it had 140,000 miles and that worried me. I knew it was in excellent shape at the moment but still, that's soooo much money for a car out of warranty with that many miles.
my 2016 volt is at 88k miles and getting 43 miles on a full charge. But its not a solid 43. sometimes its funky and depending if i'm driving highway a lot it could be 38 in good weather. I wonder what battery upgrades will be available 5-10 years from now. kind of excited for that, seeing how theres a few LiPo Gen 3 prius upgrades out there i'm excited to see what hobbyist do for the volt in the future.
163k now on my 2013. Down to 15 miles a charge. Wondering if doing the 12 amp charge shortens it
WOW! That's not good. I don't think 12 amp would harm it at all but can't be 100% sure of that. That does not sound normal from what I've heard from others. I hate it's so low.
@ArkansasEV it shows 15 but does like 20. I think its because I have to go 75mph and usually run the heat or try. Its a first gen so not as much as the second. Got it used at 100k no issues
My 2018 Chevy volt used 13.9 kilowatt 63.1 miles on a full charge with 39,900 miles.
When I charge the car,the charger shows 15 kilowatt. I used the MUSTART Level 2 Portable EV Charger (240 Volt 32 amp charger on a 50amp breaker.
That's interesting.
15 kWhs is about right. Charging is not 100% efficient, there are some small losses due to heat and resistance. That's the case with any EV.
How is the quality of other part of the car? 2014/15 gen1? does it has any issue would require major repairs?
For some reason on mine, I got 14.4 usable sometimes👍if it’s colder, the engine will come on sooner, or if your going up a hill. My car had under 15,000 miles
The engine coming on when colder can be shut off in settings. I think it says something like 'heater assist off and on' but that might not be right. I can't remember for sure. Mine was doing that when I first got it and turning that setting off stopped it. As far as going up a hill I have no idea why that would be happening. The Volt is meant to be full EV in almost all conditions, even if you give it full pedal to the metal until the battery runs dead so I'm not sure about that. Now, in mountainous areas the engine might have to come on to assist it but not hills.
@@ArkansasEV that setting is when it gets below 20/25, and the engine comes on during heating on startup
My 2017 Volt , at 96k miles, is only getting 37 miles per charge. I just noticed this, my wife’s car so I don’t drive it much. This is summer time and normally it would give about 53 miles on a charge in the summer. Seems like a significant change, making an appointment to see what the dealer says. My wife loves this car, so either way its getting fixed.
Get it in quick because it's almost out of warranty.
@@ArkansasEV They just called me back, said nothing is wrong with it, BS. Tried to tell me it was because of the weather and using the AC. Tech seemed to think the car would get less range in the summer than in the winter, clueless. This is going to be soup sandwich.
@@calivalley9056 This kind of stuff can be so freaking frustrating.
@@calivalley9056 I have a 2017 volt as well with 30,000 miles on it it's varies by weather conditions and if you're using the AC it does use less mileage. You are going to get less mileage if you are going 75 mph instead of 70 mph. I get roughly about 53 miles per charge during the summer I got 40
@@usguyver You miss understand, we are talking about usable battery per full charge. Yes range varies by, temp, onboard draw, driving style but that is not what I’m referring to. When you charge and deplete the battery you can go to information energy page and see what the available charge use from last charge. This is where you find out if their is an issue with batteries ability to charge, total usable charge and degradation.
Hello!! Thank you for this video. I am considering buying a 2018 Chevy Volt from Carvana. One of the things I'm concerned about is that the detailed inspection list says "battery: fixed or replaced (condition, fluid level, load test)." I know on a regular car, this means the basic battery. But on this car, would that mean they fixed cells? I know they certainly didn't replace the actual battery, so I'm assuming if they fixed it that means battery cells. How would I be able to tell what has been fixed and whether it was adequate? Thanks!
There is a 12v battery in the back that needs to be replaced like a normal car.
I highly suggest buying a volt they are amazing vehicles keep it plugged in as often as you can and if you don't drive too far you'll never have to use gas and if you do it gets good gas mileage anyways. I've had a 17 and an 18 I love them.
Might want to check out Edmunds. Carvana hasn’t been rating too positive lately.
@@scottgoodson6046 True, but the 12v battery in a Volt is a sealed, H5 (group 47) sized AGM battery, and fluid can't be added to those. It is possible some unwise individual might've replaced it with a conventional, flooded 12v battery, but that's another matter.
My guess is that the report is talking about adding coolant to the battery conditioning loop. The thermal management system that regulates the Volt's main pack is liquid heated/cooled. If I were looking at a Volt with that statement on its condition report, I'd insist on a clarification. You don't want coolant loss in any part of the Volt (be it main pack, or ICE range extender).
I hope this helps someone looking for a Volt, I owned 2 2012 Volts (his and hers) we put 75k on each. I really only have 1 complaint, cold weather comfort. When the temperature dipped below 30 which occurs for 4 months in the Northeast you never feel comfortable and the electric range drops by 40% and the MPG was only 35MPG. We replaced them with a Prius Prime which had a lower electric range but averaged 50mpg in the cold. The Prius has a heat pump and while the comfort isn’t great it’s much better than the Volt. I have heard the 2 Gen. Volt has improved and was wondering if anyone has owned both and can comment on the Cold weather comfort and range drop and mpg.
1. Rate of charge is expressed as kW, not kWh. kWh is a measurement of electric storage capacity. 2. To give accurate information about the degradation, instead of only showing the total mileage, you need to display the electric-only mileage. ICE mileage is irrelevant and the total mileage is a combination of the two.
Thanks for chiming in. In response 1. I probably just misspoke and never caught it. 2. I did display EV miles only. The miles displayed at the end of the video was EV miles only, no gas. The display showed I used about 13.5 kWh's of energy and the battery was 98% depleted.
Ok, I don't normally disagree with you, but I have to this time. The Leaf, and the Spark EV which you personally experienced had enough degradation to impact the capabilities of the car enough to not keep them. Seasonal temps alone are enough to cap range by up to 30%, then add degradation to the picture and small battery EV's are severely impacted. I personally went through it with the Leaf. The Volt I consider to be a wise exception because Chevy knew to keep the battery charge in the sweet spot for the battery and uses the ICE to ensure it stays there. The Volt has shown that the batteries can last if taken care of. The Bolt we found out that Chevy did not take the lessons learned with the Volt and uses 100% of the battery instead of capping the charge early and forcing the recharge early. Owners are unwittingly accelerating wear in those cars by not keeping the charge in a safe range. 100k is not even a valid measurement of any ICE or battery. My ICE pickup has almost 200k miles on it with just normal maintenance. If you can keep batteries in a reasonable temperature range, and keep the charge within the acceptable charge the battery should last a reasonable amount of time. How long will a properly cared for battery last? We don't know. Some of us keep our vehicles for a long time. Replacement batteries need to be affordable and readily available. Current batteries are dead end technology. Solid state is the way forward, IF they live up to the promises we hear in marketing. Only time will tell. Not a hater, just a realist.
Nothing wrong with disagreeing with people. There is a 1st Gen Volt that had over 400,000 miles on it and was still going. He wound up in a wreck and after the wreck it simply would no longer charge. He had the local dealer try to fix it but they seemed hapless and unable to help.
@@ArkansasEV Chevy did it right with the Volt. They over built that battery with enough buffer at the top and bottom to keep it happy, and they programmed the ICE to try and keep that battery happy. It is when users violate that 80-20 rule that they are taking longevity out of the battery. Sadly Chevy decided to ditch the buffer on the Bolt, and finally recommended people start keeping the 80-20 rule while they work through the battery replacements due to LG's nightmares. But just saw another one this morning with a Spark EV she bought on Carvana. Even after a full level 2 charge she only had 30-40 miles of range. If people fast charge them, deep cycle them they are just taking money out of the bank and don't know it. If they hang onto those EV's long enough they will figure it out the hard way. If people will level 1/2 charge them and honor the 80-20 rule they should last for a good long while. But people aren't told this. Luckily for the young lady I just saw with the Spark Carvana took the car back. That battery was toast. It has the DCFC port so likely the previous owners did a lot of fast charges and ran the battery hard. Sadly Chevy does not offer these batteries for replacement. They are listed as discontinued even though they have cars that are still under warranty at this time. We will see how that pans out. There needs to be aftermarket and 3rd party people offering to service these batteries to replace cells that are having issues. Until that happens when an EV battery is toast you may not be able to get a replacement. If you can the cost may be more than the car is worth. I just asked that question on the FB Spark group and that is precisely what they also said. I know there is some Leaf support out on the west coast for battery reconditioning, and retrofitting for larger batteries, but the price is very high. The advantage remains in the ICE camp when it comes to the repairs for catastrophic issues like an engine rebuild or a reman engine. Hopefully this will change. I am glad to see you like your Volt and that it has enough usable range for what you need. They are a nice car.
I have a 2017 volt with 90k miles and I’m still getting my 50 miles of electric range and I charge my car every night
That is awesome. I had someone at work the other day ask "How many miles are on your plug-in car?" I responded "56,000" and they said "Ooooohhhh so you'll be replacing the battery soon huh?" I said "I wasn't planning on it." Then I tried to explain why that's not the case but he was not hearing it. He knew my battery was gonna be garbage soon and I had no idea what I was talking about. Haha. I gave up quickly trying to convert him. I did mention this particular video to him but it was just "All I know is cell phone battery's go dead after a few years and so do all battery's." OK, whatever.
These batteries last forever, but Iam going to test to see if there degrading!
It would stand to business reason, if battery replacements were common within 100k miles, you'd not only have ready stock from Chevy, but probably healthy aftermarket solutions. There's money to be made! But no, battery replacements are rare.
Great point. I think I might read your letter in my next 'viewer comments' video. I did that last week and think I'm gonna make it a regular thing I do once a month or so.
My brother in Christ, we would welcome you in Wisconsin. You would positively ~~love~~ our balmy, virtually tropical winters. And yes... I AM pulling your leg! 😅 Wisconsin winters absolutely suck!
That said, I drive a Volt, too (a 2019 LT), and thanks to its heated steering wheel and those glorious butt toasters, I NEVER use the cabin heat at all until it's cooler than ~30F outside. I guess we're just used to it here (which is to say, many of us are suckers for punishment). Now, in the middle of winter, when it's not rare at all to encounter -10F temps (or worse), then yeah, you can bet I'm gonna use the range extender and harvest that sweet, sweet, exhaust waste heat. In between, it's electric HVAC time, despite the reduction in range.
Sidebar: Don't even get me started on wind chill temperatures and our many forms of annoying and dangerous frozen precipitation. Decades of being stuck here has made me more than a little salty... much like our roads are, from Thanksgiving until April.
I would die if I had to live there. It gets cold here but not like there. For Christmas weekend it got down to somewhere around zero. Some years that never happens a single time. Our average low in January is 29 which is horrible for us. Not bad I'm sure for ya'll.
The bad thing is we have no real snow fighting equipment. We have a truck with a blade on the front but not sure what that does. Sun, traffic, and time takes care of our icy roads. That's why in Arkansas if there is a 10% chance of 1/10th of an inch of snow than your presence is required at the grocery store haha. People act like the Zombie apocalypse is coming. I find it odd because we always have enough food in the house to last us a month if it had to soooo why do they need to run to the grocery store because roads might be icy 2-3 days?
Nice, I have the Bolt which is all EV. At 30k miles GM gifted me an entire new battery. So from that perspective, it's like a new engine.
I try to see it logically. All those millions of people that drive electric can't all be wrong.
I know a lot of people that would disagree with you. Of course those people also think we are a bunch of sheep that can't think for ourselves.
No degradation 2013 ampera 235000km
11years old
I get your rant in the beginning but you basically spend the entire first 2/3rd or 1/2 of the vid not telling us what the battery degradation actually is
I've never been accused of being pithy, that's for sure.
I want anyones opinion on a 2018 volt with 75,000 miles? I could get it for $22,000. What you guys think??
Cars are so freaking expensive right now. Of course that might be the going rate. It's a nice car though.
Than you very much!
Just bought a 2019 with 30k on it. Paid a little over $28G. For comparison
Sweet!
i like string theory comment We have volt and M3 The volt great car
I'm getting 13.1 kwh out of my 2018 with only 33k miles. So certainly less than what you're getting.
Oh my. I hate to hear that. That's about 6.5% degradation. That's not good.
@@ArkansasEV I've got 3 more years of Voltec warranty, so whatever happens won't be on my dime. I still normally get around 57-60 miles of range in mild weather. As much as I love the EV driving experience, I'm thinking I might eventually trade it for the new Prius (non Prime) in another year or so.
Can't believe you got rid of your Nissan Leaf and got another chevy , sad.
What's really sad is how the Leaf heat pump went out with less than 7,000 miles on it and how the part is backordered for months.
I wouldn’t say sad. Even tho the leafs is a good car, Chevy & many others blow Nissan out of the water when it comes to battery thermal management.
@@amg5619 Chevy has had a lot of problems with its Hybrid and ev cars. Carvana stopped selling the Bolt for serious battery problems. Also , I have had my Nissan leaf for over 3 years and had no problems.
@@wilfordt9503 good for you. The bolt is very different then the volt.
@@amg5619 Yes , the volt is a hybrid.
They are not stupid, just ignorant 😂