We need more videos like this from other EV/PHEV owners explaining their daily driving habits and when and where they charge. It's the part that gas car drivers have trouble imagining when you try to explain it to them and how better it is to charge at home vs stopping at gas stations.
Freedom? We own a BOLT and a 2015 VOLT. If I go on a longer trip, we use the VOLT. WHY? Unreliable chargers!!!!!! I don't understand why stopping at gas stations for 5 or less mins is a problem. They're everywhere and THEY WORK.
So hard to let go of something so reliable, glad you found somewhere it can have a second life. I enjoyed your enthusiasm for the gen1 model and was hoping you would continue with a gen2! I just bought one and it is fantastic! Hope to hear from you again! Dennis
I'm also curious if he got a gen 2. I just bought a 2017 Premier after 4 years with a 2017 LT. I love them. I just decided that it was worth getting the much lower mileage one with all options even though it's basically the same car. It's quite a bit more luxurious in this trim though.
It’s hard not to love the Gen 1 Volt. We have a 2011 (number 2418) with 120k miles and have seen almost no battery degradation. Still gets about 34 miles range in the summer.
mine has half the miles and needed a new main battery and new rotor bearings. Luckily it still had battery warranty so I ended up with a tranny fluid change and coolant change too, but I drive loaner cars about as much as I get to drive the volt lol
@@JosephHowes2003 the battery was fine. Two of 3 sections had thermometers fail in the battery so when you charge it no fans turn on to cool the battery as it charges. It's Chevy. I haven't had one chevy that was perfect. Now that im out of warranty I might trade it in fast!
The end of this cars life with you is a great example of the trouble dealerships and shops can have with new vehicles and the adaption we have been going through with vehicles. You got a ton of use out of the vehicle, but once the electronics start giving trouble it gets VERY hard for your average dealer mechanic to properly diagnose, even their "trained" ones... They're used to gassers, and even on them the modern electronic communication systems can give a heck of a headache to an owner when the shop doesn't know how to properly diagnose these intercommunicating systems and their various inputs and simply picks modules to replace based on a flow chart and probabilities of problems, rather than actually pinpointing the issue... One module can tell another system not to work or to disable itself due to a tiny little issue, and if that little issue isn't found the guessing can cost lots of time and money. At least it was a happy ownership for you though!
My 2012 propulsion power reduced on big hills with low charge and I didn’t wait for the gas motor to charge it up before turning it off, then when I tried to plug it in or turn it on the check engine light was on and will not run or charge now until I get a dealer or mechanic to clear the codes
I hope this car got fixed and is back on the road You are an inspiration to all is. I have helped 6 of my friends buy used volts They all love their volts
What was the iPhone app to reset codes, GDS2 is a pc app, my 2012 has only 52k and stuck off w check engine light from low voltage code and tranny code
Hey Erick, fantastic video which inspires confidence for me to buy a (at least compared to yours haha) relatively low mileage 2012 Volt with just under 60 000 miles. However, I test drove the car last week & there was a "Service High Voltage Charging System" message on the dash. Apart from that, the car drove just fine. Have you ever had that with yours? The seller promised to get it sorted for me, but I'm a bit concerned about the possible (pricey) repairs! Thanks!
Please be careful. The Gen 1 Volts seem to not care about miles, but very concerned about Time. The battery Life seems to be more problematic with age. I personally would stay clear of Any Gen 1's that still have the Original Battery Pack. This happened to Both my Volts. Very Very costly and ALWAYS came back on. Please be careful.
Erick Belmer thanks for your reply Erick. Is there any way I could go about figuring out what’s causing the error message? At what age did you have your gen1 Volt battery fail? Thanks again, at the moment I’m still torn because the price seems rather good (around 10k € - I’m from Europe), but you got me thinking now haha
@@navigator856 I noticed battery weakness around 7 years on both my Volts. My dealership was unable to fix it long term. I live in Ohio and whenever the temperature dropped to 30 degrees or less I had this issue.
I have a 2012 only 52k miles and my battery pack only gets 27miles and power propulsion reduced on big hills with a low charge under 6 miles on battery
@@erickbelmer9350 Thanks for replying. I appreciate it. My 2012 Volt is at 98,000 miles. It's good to know they I have almost 400,000 miles left in the vehicle with pretty minimal maintenance. Did the guy in Canada ever update you about what he did with the vehicle? I feel like it should be in a museum.
@@quentiharris5525 he's driving Ol Sparkie. Repaired the burnt windings in the main motor and repaired coolant leak. That guy is the best person for Ol Sparkie to be with in her older age!
The body still looked new too. I'm curious what was different about how yours lasted so long but other people need battery replacement around 100k miles.
Nothing. Battery life was based on time not miles. Most people do 100,000 miles in 8 years. The Battery is good for about 8 years. I just drove more so in 7 years I had 477,000 miles 🙃. No difference.
I just crossed 200k putting about the same mileage as you. Not sure if your still checking this Chanel. I just have one question. Oil change every 35k miles??? Isn’t it every 7500 going with the oil life percentage meter? I’m using synthetic blend like the manual states. I see you went with full synth. Does this really extend it that long??
My oil monitor on my Gen 1 let me go between 37,000 to 41,000 miles before the change oil soon light came on. I usually put about 85 Electric miles on per day and about 75 gas miles to get to work. I normally drove 55 Electric miles running errands before work with lots of level 2 charging wherever possible. I carried a level 2 charger with me everywhere. I installed outlets around my small town. I only used Mobil One full synthetic oil.
@erickbelmer9350 and you haven't destroyed the engine? That car is designed to use premium. I use premium. It's only 2 to 3 bucks more for a complete fill up.
Oil change every 35-40,000 on oil change. Only used Mobil 1 5w-30. Changed battery fluid and transmission fluid and engine coolant every 150,000 miles. Dealership tech told me the transmission fluid was so clean it didn't even need changed!
I have a 2013 with 65000 miles and was wondering if I should get the battery coolant changed or just test it to see if its still good.It looks like new in the reservoir and it's never been changed. Thanks
@@scottwiater2699 I'd monitor the coolant reservoirs and when they get cloudy or dirty change it. I hate to say it but my volt started having minor issues after Services from my dealerships.
it’s a pity that everything happened like this, I’m from Russia and I myself drive a Volta, I have 131,250 miles of run, will you give it to more competent specialists to fix the car or have you sold it already?
I've got a question for you. When did you know you needed to replace the hubs? I have a vibration and I don't know what it is yet and there's no sensors to tell me there's a problem.
I would Always get a speed relevant Groan sound. After a couple weeks it would be so loud until it was unmistakably a wheel bearing. Last two I had replaced also gave me a traction and abs light error on dash. Heads up, try to replace them in pairs like per axle. Dealership seem to always replace the wrong one. It's difficult to figure out where it's coming from. On a couple of occasions I did get a speed relevant vibration will the groan sound.
@@erickbelmer9350 Thank you for posting your history with the car. I was looking at maybe buying a crashed car at a auction and fixing it as a daily. Your story has definitely convinced me otherwise. Will be buying a Volt in three years once I have the money to replace my '06 Jetta.
@@erickbelmer9350 Sylvain Belanger saying the battery shows only 20% degradation is surprising and so perhaps the generator turning on on hills was because of the motor about to short out. Maybe. facebook.com/groups/chevroletevgroup/permalink/869964360027140/
I only used premium fuel for the first 7 months. I only used 87 after that. Mostly because I didn't need the high octane rating for fuel longevity like most Volt owners that keep fuel in the tank for 5 or more months. My tank needed replenished every 3 days. I used 87 in both my volts without any engine issues. The only engine issue I had was at 311,000 miles when it needed a pcv valve.
A diesel equinox for 3 years. 4 months ago I got a new 2022 bolt euv. Has 34,647 on it already! I really like it. Takes planning with my 140 mile one way commute.
Initial cost, unsure if gen 2 volt is as over built as gen 1, and the dealership not knowing how to repair the product. I had spent over $8k in repairs in 18 months and simply couldn't afford another volt. In hindsight, the volt would have been cheaper in 4 years then the diesel Equinox. Due to Maintenance costs.
Erick Belmer was the $8k in repairs in your Gen 1 Volt 😳! If so, do you mind if I ask what the repairs are? I’m considering getting a used Volt since I just got rid of my ‘07 Prius, but I’m concerned about some of the reliability issues I’ve seen online with the Volt (seems like it’s mainly Gen 2).
@@WesCorp1 Repairs were braking system issues. The vehicle would get down to about 3mph then become very difficult to stop to 0. Dealership was unable to figure it out so they just started throwing parts at it which ran the price up quickly. The guy that owns Ol Sparkie now always calls and tells me what to tell the dealership. I was only a bad wheel bearing which was damaged during a Pryor accident. Then the battery wouldn't charge. Had to replace charging port and internal charger for $3300.00. Every repair on a volt is super expensive! Only at the dealership. If you can wrench on it yourself it worth buying. Mine was only unreliable after a major wreck.
@@quentiharris5525 Agreed, I live in Portland and people here are throwing away their Prius's after about 8 years, usually with low miles due to the cost of repair. The crazy thing is that they go out and buy another one ?!?!?
@@erickbelmer9350 Ouch!!! Many dealerships have a few skilled mechanics and the rest of the crew are parts replacers at best, because they don't want to pay for a fully skilled crew. Case in point, when my mom's Ford Festiva needed the AC Condenser replaced an idiot at the Ford dealer literally cut two of the AC hoses in half and then told my mom that her "AC couldn't be fixed", you "need to buy a new car". So I had to get the NLA hoses repaired by an AC shop, find a used Condenser, and have a competent shop recharge the AC with a new Dryer... I had a worse experience with Howard Cooper's VW when they returned my 91 Vanagon Westy with CV joint grease smeared in the interior and every electrical connector in the engine compartment left with pieces of zip ties in them to prevent the lock tap from working... The reason ??? I called BS on them charging me for an Federally Mandated Emissions recall, and the Service Manager starting saying things like "Your Kind" and claiming I neglected a car with less than 3,000 miles on it. [ I have too much Native Blood to pass for White...]
We need more videos like this from other EV/PHEV owners explaining their daily driving habits and when and where they charge. It's the part that gas car drivers have trouble imagining when you try to explain it to them and how better it is to charge at home vs stopping at gas stations.
We dont need gas drivers switching to EV. Let them stay there and let us enjoy our free-dom with EVs!
Freedom? We own a BOLT and a 2015 VOLT. If I go on a longer trip, we use the VOLT. WHY? Unreliable chargers!!!!!! I don't understand why stopping at gas stations for 5 or less mins is a problem. They're everywhere and THEY WORK.
So hard to let go of something so reliable, glad you found somewhere it can have a second life.
I enjoyed your enthusiasm for the gen1 model and was hoping you would continue with a gen2! I just bought one and it is fantastic! Hope to hear from you again!
Dennis
I'm also curious if he got a gen 2. I just bought a 2017 Premier after 4 years with a 2017 LT. I love them. I just decided that it was worth getting the much lower mileage one with all options even though it's basically the same car. It's quite a bit more luxurious in this trim though.
It’s hard not to love the Gen 1 Volt. We have a 2011 (number 2418) with 120k miles and have seen almost no battery degradation. Still gets about 34 miles range in the summer.
mine has half the miles and needed a new main battery and new rotor bearings. Luckily it still had battery warranty so I ended up with a tranny fluid change and coolant change too, but I drive loaner cars about as much as I get to drive the volt lol
@@infringinator do you have any idea what's different about your situation to cause the battery to fail prematurely?
@@JosephHowes2003 the battery was fine. Two of 3 sections had thermometers fail in the battery so when you charge it no fans turn on to cool the battery as it charges. It's Chevy. I haven't had one chevy that was perfect. Now that im out of warranty I might trade it in fast!
Just purchased a 2015, passed under the Ashland bridge on my way back from the Carvana Vending machine to Columbus.
Enjoy that Wonderful Machine!!
The end of this cars life with you is a great example of the trouble dealerships and shops can have with new vehicles and the adaption we have been going through with vehicles. You got a ton of use out of the vehicle, but once the electronics start giving trouble it gets VERY hard for your average dealer mechanic to properly diagnose, even their "trained" ones... They're used to gassers, and even on them the modern electronic communication systems can give a heck of a headache to an owner when the shop doesn't know how to properly diagnose these intercommunicating systems and their various inputs and simply picks modules to replace based on a flow chart and probabilities of problems, rather than actually pinpointing the issue... One module can tell another system not to work or to disable itself due to a tiny little issue, and if that little issue isn't found the guessing can cost lots of time and money.
At least it was a happy ownership for you though!
Luckily the guy that owns Ol Sparkie now would call me and tell me exactly what I need to tell the dealership to do. He was Always 100% Right!!
My 2012 propulsion power reduced on big hills with low charge and I didn’t wait for the gas motor to charge it up before turning it off, then when I tried to plug it in or turn it on the check engine light was on and will not run or charge now until I get a dealer or mechanic to clear the codes
@@dr.feelgood4266 Hope your dealership will cut you a break. Mine would charge about $90.00 to clear a code. Good Luck 🤞.
I hope this car got fixed and is back on the road
You are an inspiration to all is.
I have helped 6 of my friends buy used volts
They all love their volts
That incident with the truck tire is such a bummer. Seems like the car would be mostly trouble free without that incident.
You are So Right! Everything went down Hill after that!!☹
What was the iPhone app to reset codes, GDS2 is a pc app, my 2012 has only 52k and stuck off w check engine light from low voltage code and tranny code
Help info God bless.
Thank you.
My Pleasure 😊
Hello from shelby.
I have a 2015 that I drive 30-35K a year, so I hope I can tell a similar story one day!
Please keep us updated on your bolt, been thinking about getting one
Inspiring!
What summer tires did you run?
Hey Erick, fantastic video which inspires confidence for me to buy a (at least compared to yours haha) relatively low mileage 2012 Volt with just under 60 000 miles. However, I test drove the car last week & there was a "Service High Voltage Charging System" message on the dash. Apart from that, the car drove just fine. Have you ever had that with yours? The seller promised to get it sorted for me, but I'm a bit concerned about the possible (pricey) repairs! Thanks!
Please be careful. The Gen 1 Volts seem to not care about miles, but very concerned about Time. The battery Life seems to be more problematic with age. I personally would stay clear of Any Gen 1's that still have the Original Battery Pack. This happened to Both my Volts. Very Very costly and ALWAYS came back on. Please be careful.
Erick Belmer thanks for your reply Erick. Is there any way I could go about figuring out what’s causing the error message? At what age did you have your gen1 Volt battery fail? Thanks again, at the moment I’m still torn because the price seems rather good (around 10k € - I’m from Europe), but you got me thinking now haha
@@navigator856 I noticed battery weakness around 7 years on both my Volts. My dealership was unable to fix it long term. I live in Ohio and whenever the temperature dropped to 30 degrees or less I had this issue.
I have a 2012 only 52k miles and my battery pack only gets 27miles and power propulsion reduced on big hills with a low charge under 6 miles on battery
Was there any other maintenance? Fluids? Filters? (other than ever 100,000 fit the air filter)
Do let us know! Thanks!
Not that I'm aware of. I had to replace front wheel bearings every 100,000 miles.
@@erickbelmer9350 Thanks for replying. I appreciate it. My 2012 Volt is at 98,000 miles. It's good to know they I have almost 400,000 miles left in the vehicle with pretty minimal maintenance.
Did the guy in Canada ever update you about what he did with the vehicle? I feel like it should be in a museum.
@@quentiharris5525 he's driving Ol Sparkie. Repaired the burnt windings in the main motor and repaired coolant leak. That guy is the best person for Ol Sparkie to be with in her older age!
@@erickbelmer9350 Awesome! He should update at 500,000 miles.
The body still looked new too. I'm curious what was different about how yours lasted so long but other people need battery replacement around 100k miles.
Nothing. Battery life was based on time not miles. Most people do 100,000 miles in 8 years. The Battery is good for about 8 years. I just drove more so in 7 years I had 477,000 miles 🙃. No difference.
How do I get the engine to run while parked. Thanks Barry
I just crossed 200k putting about the same mileage as you. Not sure if your still checking this Chanel. I just have one question. Oil change every 35k miles??? Isn’t it every 7500 going with the oil life percentage meter? I’m using synthetic blend like the manual states. I see you went with full synth. Does this really extend it that long??
My oil monitor on my Gen 1 let me go between 37,000 to 41,000 miles before the change oil soon light came on. I usually put about 85 Electric miles on per day and about 75 gas miles to get to work. I normally drove 55 Electric miles running errands before work with lots of level 2 charging wherever possible. I carried a level 2 charger with me everywhere. I installed outlets around my small town. I only used Mobil One full synthetic oil.
@@erickbelmer9350 If I am not mistaken, Mobil makes Napa's synthetic oil, so if that costs less...
Fascinating series here, congrats on SO MANY MILES! Did you always run premium fuel or regular?
Regular
@erickbelmer9350 and you haven't destroyed the engine? That car is designed to use premium. I use premium. It's only 2 to 3 bucks more for a complete fill up.
Her Eric,how many years, miles,did you change the engine and battery radiator fluid,thanks
Oil change every 35-40,000 on oil change. Only used Mobil 1 5w-30. Changed battery fluid and transmission fluid and engine coolant every 150,000 miles. Dealership tech told me the transmission fluid was so clean it didn't even need changed!
@@erickbelmer9350 Can you tell me what the cost was for the battery coolant?Thanks
@@scottwiater2699 I can't recall. I'm thinking $259.00
I have a 2013 with 65000 miles and was wondering if I should get the battery coolant changed or just test it to see if its still good.It looks like new in the reservoir and it's never been changed. Thanks
@@scottwiater2699 I'd monitor the coolant reservoirs and when they get cloudy or dirty change it. I hate to say it but my volt started having minor issues after Services from my dealerships.
it’s a pity that everything happened like this, I’m from Russia and I myself drive a Volta, I have 131,250 miles of run, will you give it to more competent specialists to fix the car or have you sold it already?
Sold it to a specialist! It's running great now. Has an owner that knows how to fix everything on her!
What car did you end up getting?
Diesel Equinox
Why not Tesla model 3 ?
@@petertraveller6421 Tesla's have Ferrari like service costs...
I've got a question for you. When did you know you needed to replace the hubs? I have a vibration and I don't know what it is yet and there's no sensors to tell me there's a problem.
I would Always get a speed relevant Groan sound. After a couple weeks it would be so loud until it was unmistakably a wheel bearing. Last two I had replaced also gave me a traction and abs light error on dash. Heads up, try to replace them in pairs like per axle. Dealership seem to always replace the wrong one. It's difficult to figure out where it's coming from. On a couple of occasions I did get a speed relevant vibration will the groan sound.
Hello Eric,there is a 2012 Volt with over 200000 miles,$4800.00,should I buy it? Thanks
Nope! Old battery pack doesn't like time. Battery will or is considerably weaker by now.
@@erickbelmer9350 Thanks
The damage didnt total it ? Or did you buy it back ?
Nope. I begged the insurance company Not to total it. Big Mistake!
@@erickbelmer9350 Thank you for posting your history with the car. I was looking at maybe buying a crashed car at a auction and fixing it as a daily. Your story has definitely convinced me otherwise. Will be buying a Volt in three years once I have the money to replace my '06 Jetta.
@@yupsir791 bought mine wrecked front end and repaired and does fine
So you never had to replace the electric motor battery 🔋
it's has the original traction battery. Worn out but still would've delivered some EV miles if it wasn't messed up from a crash
Nope
@@erickbelmer9350 Sylvain Belanger saying the battery shows only 20% degradation is surprising and so perhaps the generator turning on on hills was because of the motor about to short out. Maybe. facebook.com/groups/chevroletevgroup/permalink/869964360027140/
Hello,do you always use premium gas in it?
I only used premium fuel for the first 7 months. I only used 87 after that. Mostly because I didn't need the high octane rating for fuel longevity like most Volt owners that keep fuel in the tank for 5 or more months. My tank needed replenished every 3 days. I used 87 in both my volts without any engine issues. The only engine issue I had was at 311,000 miles when it needed a pcv valve.
Always level 2 charging?
Yes! No time for the slow stuff.😊
Erick, what did you replace it with?
A diesel equinox for 3 years. 4 months ago I got a new 2022 bolt euv. Has 34,647 on it already! I really like it. Takes planning with my 140 mile one way commute.
@@erickbelmer9350 Nice. Hope you enjoy the Bolt. I just bought a 2013 Volt in December.
Any reason why you didn't buy another volt?
Initial cost, unsure if gen 2 volt is as over built as gen 1, and the dealership not knowing how to repair the product. I had spent over $8k in repairs in 18 months and simply couldn't afford another volt. In hindsight, the volt would have been cheaper in 4 years then the diesel Equinox. Due to Maintenance costs.
Erick Belmer was the $8k in repairs in your Gen 1 Volt 😳! If so, do you mind if I ask what the repairs are? I’m considering getting a used Volt since I just got rid of my ‘07 Prius, but I’m concerned about some of the reliability issues I’ve seen online with the Volt (seems like it’s mainly Gen 2).
@@WesCorp1 Repairs were braking system issues. The vehicle would get down to about 3mph then become very difficult to stop to 0. Dealership was unable to figure it out so they just started throwing parts at it which ran the price up quickly. The guy that owns Ol Sparkie now always calls and tells me what to tell the dealership. I was only a bad wheel bearing which was damaged during a Pryor accident. Then the battery wouldn't charge. Had to replace charging port and internal charger for $3300.00. Every repair on a volt is super expensive! Only at the dealership. If you can wrench on it yourself it worth buying. Mine was only unreliable after a major wreck.
@@WesCorp1 Definitely get a Volt. Prius is nowhere near as well made.
@@quentiharris5525 Agreed, I live in Portland and people here are throwing away their Prius's after about 8 years, usually with low miles due to the cost of repair. The crazy thing is that they go out and buy another one ?!?!?
Hood release latch broken?
After dealership gave it back😒
@@erickbelmer9350 Ouch!!!
Many dealerships have a few skilled mechanics and the rest of the crew are parts replacers at best, because they don't want to pay for a fully skilled crew. Case in point, when my mom's Ford Festiva needed the AC Condenser replaced an idiot at the Ford dealer literally cut two of the AC hoses in half and then told my mom that her "AC couldn't be fixed", you "need to buy a new car". So I had to get the NLA hoses repaired by an AC shop, find a used Condenser, and have a competent shop recharge the AC with a new Dryer...
I had a worse experience with Howard Cooper's VW when they returned my 91 Vanagon Westy with CV joint grease smeared in the interior and every electrical connector in the engine compartment left with pieces of zip ties in them to prevent the lock tap from working...
The reason ??? I called BS on them charging me for an Federally Mandated Emissions recall, and the Service Manager starting saying things like "Your Kind" and claiming I neglected a car with less than 3,000 miles on it. [ I have too much Native Blood to pass for White...]