I live in the state of Florida and today I drove 185 miles from 80 to 20% driving 75 miles an hour with the AC set at 73. So it would’ve been 308 with a full charge. Much better than I ever got with my Tesla model Y performance.
Tesla is known to exaggerate their real world range. GM is much more realistic. Many range challenges with the Bolt beating the Model 3 - which should never happen if they both met their claimed range.
@@theaverageev - Yours isn't the first comment I've read about the lower voltage seeming to be the problem with the Equinox ev. I'm waiting for the nacs architecture for this car, as I've read it's raising the voltage with that change. Long charging stops in my Bolt for now :)
The Equinox is a great platform for Chevy…hopefully, with software updates, GM can update these curves…as Ford did with the Mustang. Thank you so much for the video! Great job showing the curves and the difference between this and the ID4. As for charge times, I’m an older driver (63) and have a Tesla M3 Standard with LFP. We’ve taken the car for 500 mile trips and the charge time was nice to rest, relax and “recharge”.
Appreciate the data and comparison. Good info that people need to take into account before purchase, depending on their situation. Your 'teacher voice' that it is 'unacceptable' should make Chevy take notice! 🙂
7:58 My expectation for the Equinox EV is that Chevy gets the 10% to 80% charge time to ~35 minutes, which I think they can achieve by smoothing out the curve. I think the biggest contributor to the erratic charging speeds will be the infrastructure itself. The only network that consistently and reliably provides a full 500 A without throttling is Tesla's Superchargers, and they still aren't open to GM EVs. When that happens, it will be a bit easier to discern whether it's power module, bridging, and cable issues on the charger side or charging profile programming and thermal limitations on the Equinox EV's side.
@@TecnamTwin To me, the time the car requires to charge is largely irrelevant. If it's a 15-min stop, I'm only charging for 15 minutes. If it's a 45-min stop, I'm charging for 45 minutes. I do that even in my Bolt EV, and a lot of times, I'll finish charging and leave before E-GMP, I.D4, and (insert faster charging EVs here) that were plugged in when I arrived finish their charging sessions. So with the Equinox EV, due to its efficiency, it should still be adding at least 150 to 175 miles of driving range in 25 minutes, which is certainly enough for people to pick up and move on if they only want to make a 25-min stop.
@@newscoulomb3705agreed, there is no law saying you must sit at a charger until 80%, you stay for as long as you feel like sitting there or to get enough range to get to your destination.
That’s a large gap on the charging - GM needs to fix this ! I test drove a EV RS last week but the charging experience would only be something you would get after purchase so I appreciate your opinion and review there
Great video. Maybe your best as far as potential influence to this issue. EV drivers need consistency as you mentioned An unpredictable charging behavior will kill the road trip potential of this vehicle.
Yesterday I was on a 289 mile trip. I left the house with 93% SOH. In my 2022 ID.4 Pro S RWD. Range said that it had 238 miles on the GOM. On the first leg doing 70 to 75 mph mostly highway. I stopped the drop off package then started my trip back. I normally do this with 100%. But I forgot to plug in earlier. I arrived with 144 miles driven and 91 miles showing left. 3.5 m/kwh. Driving back home the EA was 68 miles on the highway distance. So I figured ok I should make it. After the ride back I made it to the charger with 6% and 15 miles showing left. I didn't have a working 350, so a 150 worked. It took 30 minutes to get to 75%. I only have 30 minutes free. Which was more than what I needed. Besides I stopped at Walmart and did some needed shopping. Overall ended with 3.6 m/kwh. The issue I have is I have already put on 76k miles on the car. And Max I can get is around 235 miles on a full charge. It would be nice to see more range. But still very happy with the car. Thanks for the update and what are you getting for m/kwh?
Im a owner of several ev's , and ill say still having a 2017 chevy volt i use most always on full electric ,and usually only a motor start to burn off stale gas , with 142671 miles . I still get the same ekectric range i did day 1 with very little degredation . I think gm's battery restraints and charging speeds people dont like generally lead to a way longer lasting battery .im sure with software updates over time i expect it will get better. People have had the same conplaints about the bolt years past as well
This seems more like a station issue than a car issue, especially if you're using the EVgo and EA stations using the BTCpower dispensers that are junk. BMW i4 owners can also attest to how those stations can only sustain >400A for a short period before the cables start overheating and they throttle, even though they are supposedly liquid cooled. Many of them that do manage to hit that 500A peak aren't even rated for it, if you look on the side of the dispenser, most BTCpower units will list that they are only rated for 350A.
Thank you for this! Indeed charging is important…but as a retiree, and with lots of time in front of me…I don’t mind…maybe I will, at some point, but for now, I am all good - can’t wait to test it myself! As I said, it may not be the best at charging…but it is NOT a Tesla…which is what I wanted all along…knowing the horror stories of owners up in Quebec, with winter damages and all…its not only Toyota that got corrosion issues you know… Great video again. Eagerly awaiting the next ones. Great info with honesty = what we like at the end of the day!😊
Thanks for watching! Everyone has different use cases so like I said at the end, this car might be perfect for those that have the time to wait or will charge exclusively at home. I really do enjoy the car! But I do know the charging will improve.
@@theaverageevthe beautiful thing about over the air updates…IF GM uses them to improve the curves. After their bad experience with the LG Bolts - GM is very likely waiting for data before pushing the curves.
If there is a car update I will redo it for sure. I also have a few theories I want to test out over time. One is obviously charging it when it’s colder outside!
Hey congrats on the car. I spoke with you just before picking up my id4 in November. I've had 6 EVs and love trading them in and trying new ones. I love the equinox inside with all the real buttons and knobs cars used to have before Tesla destroyed that. Also love that it has android automotive,.my Polestar had that and it can't be beat. I think my days of trading in EVs are over tho as I'm now thinking of an early retirement and can't afford to be trading in all the time so I will likely keep my id4 and bolt for a while. If my id4 was written off for some reason, is put the equinox on my short list. Again congrats.
The GM EV history is blighted by the Bolt fires. I am unsure, but speculated the original LYRIQ curve was due to engineers being very conservative with first model years to get real world charging in the data set b4 issuing the fix that brings it into nominal ranges. It looks somewhat similar to the original LYRIQ, so I think it is safe to assume an OTA update to fix will be forthcoming at some point. Thx for the video. I enjoyed watching.
Thanks Walter! I’ve heard similar, so hopefully they can push that out prior to the Supercharger network opening to GM! Hopefully sooner rather than later 🤪
Thanks for very informative video. Iwas,or am.😮 Considering this for my first ev I'm 59 years old. Really researching the model y long range. Like the tesla because of the many years in the game and charging structure. Always love chevy and the vast amount of repair locations, I live in the motor city. You're video has leaned me toward modle Y long range AWD, can't beat what you get for price versus chevy ev
So the question I'd have is whether you were using preconditioning through navigation (or is that even an option in the Equinox EV?). The reports I've seen so far is that doing so significantly improves the charging profiles for Ultium EVs.
@@theaverageev Bummer. I know people have reported that using manual preconditioning resulted in significantly worse charging times/speeds than navigation preconditioning. Hopefully, you can start getting some scans soon.
I think this is probably what the charge curve will look like on the 2026 Bolt replacement. Compared to the old Bolt that might seem like a miracle, but if you are comparing what is out there in the market it won't cut it. The Bolt actually is tolerable during the summer for regional travel. But it isn't acceptable for most people if you wanted to do a trip that requires stacking stops over longer distances. Winter time with no battery preconditioning, no heat pump the range collapses. I hope those issues have been addressed by GM. Now how does this charge curve compare to the Blazer? Curious how pervasive this issue is with the GM platforms.
@@ronlaverdiere If that is the case I look forward to the pre-conditioning, thermal management, and winter tests. Winter is brutal in my Bolt so I will be moving on much sooner that I would like or had planned. Without the proper tools to manage the temps in all seasons the range just gets totally killed.
When you see the wattage come back up after the dip, that's the result of voltage rising as the battery charges. All the graphs you showed are wattage, which is amperage X voltage. If you did a graph on just the charge current, you would see a more steady graph, and there wouldn't be any rise after the drop. The charge profile of the Chevy Equinox may be adaptive, mostly thermal, as you suspect. The ID4 may be more of a program. While the ID4 seems better, there could be more degradation in 10 years, than the Equinox. In the long term, the Equinox (seemingly random) charge curve may be better for the "health" of the battery.
In terms of comparison of the charging speed to the volkswagen, i think the meaningful metric to compare is not the charging time but the miles of range added per minute of charge. As a driver what youre interested in how much distance you can drive after 30min of change, for example. If the volkswagen chargers more quickly but has a shorter range, then it will need to charge more often. After doing a quick calculation based on the tested range and charging speed of the equinox and the DI.4 (20-80%), they actually charge at roughly the same rate, at approximately 9 km/min (5.6 miles/min). So charging the Equinox a bit longer is actually charging at the same rate as the volks but is giving you more range. Anyway, i know youre more pointing out the issue of the erratic charging profile and not the speed, but i just wanted to point this out.
Coming from a Bolt owner, this curve is very acceptable to me. No need to cook the battery if I’ve stopped for upwards of an hour for a food and restroom break. Will it preheat in advance of a charging session? If so, huge progress on Chevy’s part.
That’s the issue is it is cooking the battery and providing a poor charging experience at the same time. It heats up and then keeps it hot for a long, long time while it takes too long to charge. This car is going to disappoint so many new ev owners that have been waiting for better charging, which is one of the barriers holding many back (The other being longer range). It will precondition the battery when cold, but apparently not cool it unfortunately which is huge issue.
I got a Bolt last year with this lingering question in my mind...should I wait for the Equinox EV? Sounds like going with the Bolt was the right call. In 5-7 years when I am ready for a new car all these issues will be ironed out and I'll be blown away by my new EV. Right?
They will have to fix this. They have to know that charge speed is important, so the software needs to be updated. You are not being negative either. I get it that Chevy might be playing it safe and maybe waiting to get numbers back in order to improve things but if this is what they advertise, that's a problem. One caveat to the charging might be the charging station itself. Shared stations may not push as much as those that are not shared. But we'll have to wait and see what Chevy is doing. As an aside, YOU my friend will need to get a 7 dollar a month EA membership. You are paying close to ICE prices for a charge. 🙂 Thanks for this video.
I am hopeful they will fix the cooling issue and the charge curve will be better. I knew what I was getting into. If they don’t then I made a mistake! I had to charge it at EVGo to get the current and voltage. It was so expensive! Notice how my second session was at EA. I think having the top EVGo membership would have made it cheaper than EA, but I didn’t want to pay the membership since I almost never use EVGo! Thanks for watching!!!
I just finished watching Out of Specs Cross Country Race with the EV Pickup Trucks including the Silverado EV. in this series Team Silverado discovered that if they didnt Precondition the battery for charging the Silverado which is Ultium Charged amazingly better than if they had preconditioned the battery. Could you do a charging test after stressing the car and plugging in without preconditioning and see what happens. I know it seems odd but Ultium might actually like riding it a tad warm.
Let’s make sure we are comparing similar batteries? The equi has 88kw battery what’s in the ID? Sounds like you expect the equi to travel 300 miles every day? Most days I will be driving 30 miles. Once a year, may take a 300 mile trip . I also have a level 2 charger at my fitness center. I’m betting it will charge adequate while I’m in the center?
ID.4 has 77kW. They are definitely comparable and are director competitors in the same segment. Equinox is 85kW usable. I just did a range test, but had to reconsider my procedure. At highway speeds on normal terrain it should be just under 300. At slower speeds (60mph or slower) EPA seems very doable. Depends on the charger but it should get a good amount added. I think the Equinox would be a great fit for you!
It has battery preconditioning, yes. It does not cool the battery enough however. I checked the screen where you initiate preconditioning and it said it was ready to charge.
I used both manual and route planner where it will automatically precondition. I did not observe any notable difference. When you press the precondition button you do here a separate A/C unit spin up, so I am going to do a test where I precondition it for an extended period of time to see if it does cool and have a better impact than the current settings!
If road tripping is a regular occurrence than get something else. It's that simple. Most people do not take 300 mile trips on a daily or even monthly basis so while this is something that should be improved its not going to be a factor in daily use for most people. If you charged to 100% before a road trip you could take a 400 mile trip one way and probably only spend 15 min at a charger. Unless you are planning on covering 500 miles from home one way there aren't a ton of instances where you are charging 10% to 80 at dcfc station. Just like those that need 0 to 60 in 4 secs should pass on equinox, those that need to frequently do 10 to 80 away from home should pass.
@@theaverageevjust saying daily commute is short changing it, this vehicle has 319 miles of range so I'd say unless you regularly take 400+ mile trips it's fine. I mean you could drive 125 to 150 miles one way and not even have to stop to charge before getting home. That's a little more than just commuting range. To require a full 10 to 80 charge on a one way trip the trip would have be over 500 miles one way. That's like 8 to 9 hours of driving. I rarely drive that far and if I do I stop at least twice
You aren't showing any info about the chargers themselves. What are they supposedly rated at? And are the cables on them actually capable of supporting that max rating for more than a couple of minutes? Our of Spec nerd level stuff. The biggest problem though is the low voltage Ultium pack used in the Equinox.
Both chargers should be able to handle that load. It was an EVGo Delta 350kw unit and a 350kW Newest Gen EA Signet unit both with HS liquid cooled cables.
@@theaverageev The other problem is that when most drivers plug into a EA 150, they aren't going to understand why they aren't getting that 150 the car is capable of. Low voltage pack strikes again
That’s such a bummer. Was seriously considering the Equinox EV to join my Bolt EUV, but it isn’t much of an upgrade when it comes to charging. Just don’t understand why GM didn’t rewire the pack to have a higher nominal voltage. It likely would make a big difference if it’s not trying to dump 500 amps in and heating up. I almost wonder if it would charge faster on a “150” kW station that is limited to 350 amps
Just curious, did you used pre-heating option before starting your charge? It usually helps a lot on my Model 3 (getting the Equinox EV today, so I'll have to try it myself).
The nominal pack voltage is 288v.....just why? Equinox has 10 modules at 28.8v each. 12 modules is needed at minimum just to match voltage of the Bolt.
I hope GM can fix this somehow. Wondering if the software pre-conditioned the battery. Thanks for the video, I was waiting to see how the 10% to 80% it will take.
If you are fast charging once on a long trip and it is paired with meal time, then this curve won't matter too much. So for me it will be fine and also we are making long trips about once or twice a year.
I don’t disagree, but I don’t think we should accept it as is since it can be fixed and it is more of an engineering issue not a set reality. If that makes sense. Like I said it will likely be fine for my daily driving needs.
You probably already noticed this, but GM in an effort to keep costs low on the Equinox EV while offering such a large 85 kWh usable battery, they did it by reusing the Ultium cells on their larger products (e.g. Lyriq, Silverado EV & Hummer EV) but removing the number of cells in the battery pack. However this has the effect of having a REALLY low nominal pack voltage for a BEV. Notice that at low SoC the DC fast charger is at ~300V, which meant the pack was only at ~270V. Even at 50% SoC it only goes up to 315V on the charger, meaning the pack nominal voltage is around 285V. GM compensates for it by allowing the Equinox EV to take a ton of Amperage (up to 500A which is impressive) but that means you'll also get a ton of heat buildup in the cables, inverter & battery pack, which is why I suspect it slows so dramatically up top of the charging curve. In comparison, the VW ID.4 which you also have operates close to 350V nominal. In your ID.4 fast charge test, the car at 10% SoC is already around 330V on the pack, meaning the DC fast charger is already putting out 360V and it only goes up from there. The ID.4 can therefore go up to 175~180 kW peak and hold it relatively steady with a slow ramp down because Watts is a function of Volt * Amps, meaning the VW doesn't need as high Amperage to get theses speeds = less heat buildup = more stable & predictable charging times. If you need to roadtrip often and want to stick with a GM EV, I would probably think about the Blazer EV with the 100 kW pack or the Lyriq with the same unit since they operate at higher voltage and can do the 190 kW peak instead.
This phenomenon happens with all GM products. Blazer, Lyriq, and Equinox all have the same “GM Dip.” Silverado doesn’t appear to have the same issues, guessing it has beefy cabling for the high voltage charging? The Lyriq and Blazer also take nearly 500 amps for a long time like the Equniox. Everything thing you said is true otherwise. I’m hoping they can tweak the cooling to manage the heat better, but it could also just be bad design that can’t be fixed. Also, I want to note that just because a car has a bigger battery and has higher charging power doesn’t mean it’s actually faster or a better road tripper.
2:48 I think this is still a space to watch because it's not clear whether this session was suffering from thermal issues. The Equinox EV should be holding 500 A until at least 40-45% SOC, so the fact that the current started dropping only 5 minutes into the session indicates that something is off. Also, the current versus voltage is a bit misunderstood. If the C rate is the same, the internal resistance and heat stress on the individual battery cells doesn't change, even if you double or halve the voltage. The difference is really in the cabling and busbars. Either you spend more money on more and better materials (e.g., copper instead of aluminum), or you introduce more heat into the system at higher currents.
@@theaverageev The charging profile isn't fully programmed. We saw that early on with the Bolt EV. The Blazer and LYRIQ both still have a similar dip in their charging profiles that are almost certainly not due to thermal issues. It seems like a lot of the automakers struggle to get the middle section (between 25% and 75%) of the charging profile squared away before release. We have even seen similar issues with Hyundai/KIA and VW charging profiles in the first year or so of release.
@@theaverageev Well, Chevy didn't state that it should hold 500 A to 40-45%. That's based on what the other Ultium configurations do (the 12, 20, and 24 module batteries). In theory, the only difference is the voltage, so the charging profile for the 10-module, 85 kWh batteries should exactly mirror the profile for the 12-module, 100 kWh battery in the Cadillac LYRIQ. Right now, there's still an unnecessary charging dip in all the Ultium batteries, but for the 100+ kWh packs, it's isolated to between 50% and 70%. For the 85 kWh pack, it looks like the wonky dips start as early as 20-25%, which obviously isn't acceptable.
@newscoulomb3705 www.chevrolet.com/support/quick-start-guides/equinox-ev/dc-fast-charging-station-rates They actually say from 10 until 40% (they do specify in moderate temperatures. Hinting at thermal performance issues).
Also, does it do the same thing if you plug it in to a 100kw charger? If it doesn't then potentially it would be faster if it could keep the 100kw up to 75-80.
I’m glad you shared this with me. The salesman told me it could take an hour to charge on the road. I thought he might be mistaken. The Tesla is charged in under 20 minutes. I also see that it was about a $30 charge. People have been telling me it costs under 15 for a full charge. What does it cost you to charge ? This car would not work for me. There’s times I’ll have to charge it on the road and I don’t want wait an hour.
Unfortunately it’s not great, when they hopefully fix the curve it will take 38-41ish for a full charge which is much better. It was never going to charge super fast, but I was hoping it would be bearable. I charge at home mostly, so it ultimately doesn’t matter for me. You would be better suited for an E-GMP car or a Taycan/Macan.
Everyone tries to do charging curves in the wild, but there are so many variables that the curves need to be done in a lab under controlled conditions.
Everyone charges their cars in the wild? A lab result would be very useless. It is evident that the Ultium charge curve is severely affected by its environment. Where as my ID.4 will perform the same regardless of the environment (unless it’s cold, but they fixed that with the 2024s).
I'm looking to only charge overnight in my garage and use this as a commuter. How long will it take on a level 2 charger at home? Great work and insight! Thank you!
It depends how fast your level 2 charger is and how much you use. But let’s say you use 15% a day. If you have a 48 amp charger it would take a little over an hour. 40 amp charger would take about an hour and 20 minutes. The included 32 amp charger would take about an hour and 45 minutes! It is a great commuter car! Once they fix the charging it will be better for longer distance with multiple charging stops.
If you ever want to figure it out you just take the Battery capacity 85kWh times the percentage used in this case 15% and then divide that by the charge speed. The result will be in hours! The car should tell you as well if you just plug which is easier, but I like doing math 🤣🤣🤣
I used level 1 charge at home, never needed to charge outside since we got it 3 months ago. Although Tesla’s level 1 charge speed is slightly slower than Nissan leaf.
Does it do something similar if you start at 30-40% too? I wonder if it's a temperature or some other issue rather than what the curve is supposed to be. That looks horrifically bad.
It’s definitely the temperature! I am planning on testing starting at higher states of charge!!! I will get a good read on the charging when I do the boomerang challenge! Should be running it not this weekend, but the following.
Nah, it's too long if you want to make a longer trip. I really like my Bolt. But I don't do LONG trips. I drive it from Northern VA to NYC with one 45 - 50 minute stop. We did this going to Goshen for LegoLand a few weeks ago as well. It was no problem to make a lunch stop with the family. But if we wanted to drive to Florida...forget about it. We'd never get there.
Most EV owners will charge mostly at home over night. Cheaper kwh chares and like most the car will sit idle parked for at least 6 to 8 hours a day.. Thus you won't use charge stations much if at all. Few people go on long trips that they drive... those that do will be able to stretch their legs and refresh for a more enjoyable safer road trip... Bottom line...Because you never really thought about putting gas in your car you're thinking about charging it... stop it stop thinking about silly crap.. be happy to have a new EV got out enjoy it..
There is an increasing population of people that don’t have home charging and rely on public charging. But I charge at home most of the time so it generally won’t matter to me. But a part of my channel is highlighting charging performance of EVs. I promise I’ll enjoy it!
@@theaverageevthe reality is ev ownership is challenging if you can't charge at home and if you are in that situation and you drive a lot you are better off with a Hyundai or Kia EV vs this. It all depends on your situation. I'm not sure id get any ev with zero access to home or work charging
I guess that's why they don't advertise 10%-80% charging speed. They say "70 miles of range in just 10 minutes of charging", but it's similar to Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro speeds so I guess it's ok for the entry level EV.
@@theaverageev That's good, but even if they don't, that's ok. I believe the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro also take 45 minutes or so to charge from 10%-80%. The next level (Blazer, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, EV6) are the ones that need to charge faster (15 to 30 minutes). Product differentiation :)
Chevrolet reduced the size of the pack from the Lyriq/Blazer when they made the Equinox. This resulted in the lower voltage you observed on the Equinox. The lower voltage means it will never charge as fast as a Lyriq/Blazer.
All Blazers on sale right now have 85kWh packs. I’m not sure if the voltage is the same or not, but the also have a max charge power of 150kW. The RWD RS will have the bigger battery and charge at 190kW.
@@shethjones4494The RS RWD drive is the only one with the big battery. Last time I looked on the Chevy website it hadn’t been released yet. Good to know! All of the AWD Blazers have the 85 kWh pack as of now, Which is strange.
The interesting thing here to me is that Car and Driver got 51 minutes from 10-90, which logically would be a much lower 10-80 time than what you got on either charge. And those tests would have been done in May so it should have been warm/hot then too, so I’d be curious to know what caused the difference.
@@theaverageev I tried to link it but I think it deleted the comment. I’ll try again, but in case the link doesn’t work, if you go to car and driver’s site, use the drop down under “research cars” to filter for the equinox ev, and then they list the charge session at the bottom of the article in a summary, rather than the text review.
If it is just a matter of it being hotter now so the battery needing more active cooling pre-charge than it did with Car and Driver, hopefully a simple software update can adjust what temperature causes the fan to engage for active battery cooling.
Those aren't issues that's by design to prevent the battery from overheating. I'm order to keep the battery from getting too hot they put the fastest charging curve possible till 30% to let the battery cool. Then ramp it up once it's cooked down enough. Of course charging speeds carry by location such as Phoenix to San Diego. Might be faster, might be slower
If it’s by design, it’s bad design. Also, if it’s by design Cadillac wouldn’t have pushed an update to fix the charging for the lyriq that looks exactly like this curve. Most other EVs provide consistent charging curves. Not random like this with such a harsh thermal derate.
@@theaverageev not design as in that's the way it was made to be. They built the battery and after much testing decided what was the best charging curve to avoid battery fire. They took the more conservative route to save face.
Can you send me the address of the dealer? I want to see what charger they have. What state of charge do you plug in at? That makes a big difference as well. If you plug in at 40% or higher it will have more resistance and have lower charging speeds.
OH yea and reported on other Ultium vehicles at some points it is better to keep your cabin's AC Off and let the HVAC system have full attention to cooling the battery.
Me too! I have some theories from viewers I’m going to try. Additionally, I think the heat played a factor, but in my opinion it shouldn’t matter since other manufacturers cars properly deal with the heat.
Such a good review. Chevy should have learned from the Bolt … overall a great car for the price but the crippled DCFC rate of 55kwh held it back from what it could have been. I hate that it appears the the Equinox EV may suffer something similar.
When the bolt came out in 2017 there were only 50 kw chargers. Ea didn’t start until 2018 and I didn’t get a ea chargers until 2019. Most chargers are 62.5 ChargePoint units. Plenty of people road trips in bolts . If average ev want faster charging get an ionic 5. We knew ahead of time that max rate is 150 kw. With means your average speed will be a 100 kw or something less.. if that is not good enough don’t buy it. When I got my 2012 leaf in 2015 we only had 4 dc chargers in our large city of 900,000 but I charged at home or at Walgreens on level 2 and at work on level 1 and 2. Every car that comes out won’t be 200 kw. If you can’t be patient enough to wait for the change then you don’t get it.
@@markfitzpatrick6692 this has nothing to do with charge speed and everything to do with poor thermals and releasing a product that’s charging was not fine tuned yet. I like the car, the charging works for me personally, but I’m reporting the fact that the car over heats and doesn’t charge properly.
I believe the more expensive Chevy Ultium EV’s use the 800V charging. But I was told that to save money, Chevy stuck with the 400V architecture for Equinox.
There are no Magic Docks super close to me. The nearest is almost three hours away! I am planning on doing that soon. Hoping to have access to the network soon so I can drive to the supercharger 20mins away.
So many people focus on the highest power, it’s all about the curve and average charge speed. This is bad yes, but fixable to be ok. When fixed it should be on par with the Mach-E. But I do agree that this charging performance is not ok. I’m retesting tonight in under better circumstances to see if I can get a better session and see if it is at least possible.
I got a way better charging curve on a tesla supercharger with a awd blazer ev which is supposed to have the same charging capacity. Got 155kw from 16-30%, 120-130kw from 30 to 38%, 120 down to 105kw at 50%, a little dip from 50 to 65% with 75kw then ramped up to 90kw from 65 to 75% then slowly goes to 65kw at 80%. 61kwh in 37min. Dont know why you got bad result but it was bot the car fault
@@shethjones4494 China is already testing 500kw stations so we need to get our act together. Newer stations EA,ev go etc already have 350kw. So these car companies need to step it up. Seems like only Hyundai and Tesla are pushing. Next Gen LFP will have 6c charge rate so they will charge in 10 minutes if given enough power.
The 84 is not a good charging vehicle. We have a 2023 Pro S plus. We’ve taken numerous cross country trips with. It completely sucks. Especially compared to the Tesla model Y. So much nicer of a road trip.
Not acceptable for 2024. This is horrible. Is the Blazer EV any better? There needs to be a baseline for people to compare cars. Every car maker will show numbers that make their car look good. Need standards similar to comparing phones, cameras and computers.
Those are very disappointing results. About double what my ioniq5 takes. I was sort of interested in this car, but not so sure after seeing your video unless there’s another factor at work.
The extreme heat definitely made it worse that it likely is, but it is my opinion that the car should be able to perform consistently regardless of environment. So many cars can do that already! GM needs to tweak some things to make it better. I think they can make it happen.
Yes it is! I’m pretty sure it will do better on cooler days, but I think it should work pretty much the same regardless of weather. My ID.4 does (except for the cold, but they fixed that with the 2024).
I live in the state of Florida and today I drove 185 miles from 80 to 20% driving 75 miles an hour with the AC set at 73. So it would’ve been 308 with a full charge. Much better than I ever got with my Tesla model Y performance.
Performance is why.
@@TecnamTwinThe why is performance
@@sesmeltz1965it is “Y” not why, and he already said it is the performance trim.
@@TecnamTwinsome Y’s are performance trims, not all of them.
Tesla is known to exaggerate their real world range. GM is much more realistic. Many range challenges with the Bolt beating the Model 3 - which should never happen if they both met their claimed range.
As a Bolt euv owner, that charging looks great to me, but then every other ev's charging speed looks good to me :)
Hahaha! Fortunately it should get better, but I’m glad you are pleased by it! Everyone has different needs!
@@theaverageev - Yours isn't the first comment I've read about the lower voltage seeming to be the problem with the Equinox ev. I'm waiting for the nacs architecture for this car, as I've read it's raising the voltage with that change. Long charging stops in my Bolt for now :)
The Equinox is a great platform for Chevy…hopefully, with software updates, GM can update these curves…as Ford did with the Mustang. Thank you so much for the video! Great job showing the curves and the difference between this and the ID4. As for charge times, I’m an older driver (63) and have a Tesla M3 Standard with LFP. We’ve taken the car for 500 mile trips and the charge time was nice to rest, relax and “recharge”.
I just bought a 3RS and I really appreciate your efforts on this. I too, hope chevy updates the charging curve.
Appreciate the data and comparison. Good info that people need to take into account before purchase, depending on their situation. Your 'teacher voice' that it is 'unacceptable' should make Chevy take notice! 🙂
7:58 My expectation for the Equinox EV is that Chevy gets the 10% to 80% charge time to ~35 minutes, which I think they can achieve by smoothing out the curve. I think the biggest contributor to the erratic charging speeds will be the infrastructure itself. The only network that consistently and reliably provides a full 500 A without throttling is Tesla's Superchargers, and they still aren't open to GM EVs. When that happens, it will be a bit easier to discern whether it's power module, bridging, and cable issues on the charger side or charging profile programming and thermal limitations on the Equinox EV's side.
This is an interesting thought and worth testing. I can try and charge on a magic dock to confirm.
Should be 25 min. or less to 80%. More than that and I'm waiting on the car to charge during trip breaks.
@@TecnamTwin To me, the time the car requires to charge is largely irrelevant. If it's a 15-min stop, I'm only charging for 15 minutes. If it's a 45-min stop, I'm charging for 45 minutes. I do that even in my Bolt EV, and a lot of times, I'll finish charging and leave before E-GMP, I.D4, and (insert faster charging EVs here) that were plugged in when I arrived finish their charging sessions.
So with the Equinox EV, due to its efficiency, it should still be adding at least 150 to 175 miles of driving range in 25 minutes, which is certainly enough for people to pick up and move on if they only want to make a 25-min stop.
@@TecnamTwinthere aren't a ton of EVs that can do 20 to 80 in less than 25 min consistently, if at all
@@newscoulomb3705agreed, there is no law saying you must sit at a charger until 80%, you stay for as long as you feel like sitting there or to get enough range to get to your destination.
That’s a large gap on the charging - GM needs to fix this !
I test drove a EV RS last week but the charging experience would only be something you would get after purchase so I appreciate your opinion and review there
Great video. Maybe your best as far as potential influence to this issue. EV drivers need consistency as you mentioned
An unpredictable charging behavior will kill the road trip potential of this vehicle.
Yesterday I was on a 289 mile trip. I left the house with 93% SOH. In my 2022 ID.4 Pro S RWD. Range said that it had 238 miles on the GOM. On the first leg doing 70 to 75 mph mostly highway. I stopped the drop off package then started my trip back. I normally do this with 100%. But I forgot to plug in earlier. I arrived with 144 miles driven and 91 miles showing left. 3.5 m/kwh. Driving back home the EA was 68 miles on the highway distance. So I figured ok I should make it. After the ride back I made it to the charger with 6% and 15 miles showing left. I didn't have a working 350, so a 150 worked. It took 30 minutes to get to 75%. I only have 30 minutes free. Which was more than what I needed. Besides I stopped at Walmart and did some needed shopping. Overall ended with 3.6 m/kwh. The issue I have is I have already put on 76k miles on the car. And Max I can get is around 235 miles on a full charge. It would be nice to see more range. But still very happy with the car. Thanks for the update and what are you getting for m/kwh?
Im a owner of several ev's , and ill say still having a 2017 chevy volt i use most always on full electric ,and usually only a motor start to burn off stale gas , with 142671 miles . I still get the same ekectric range i did day 1 with very little degredation . I think gm's battery restraints and charging speeds people dont like generally lead to a way longer lasting battery .im sure with software updates over time i expect it will get better. People have had the same conplaints about the bolt years past as well
This seems more like a station issue than a car issue, especially if you're using the EVgo and EA stations using the BTCpower dispensers that are junk. BMW i4 owners can also attest to how those stations can only sustain >400A for a short period before the cables start overheating and they throttle, even though they are supposedly liquid cooled. Many of them that do manage to hit that 500A peak aren't even rated for it, if you look on the side of the dispenser, most BTCpower units will list that they are only rated for 350A.
Thank you for this! Indeed charging is important…but as a retiree, and with lots of time in front of me…I don’t mind…maybe I will, at some point, but for now, I am all good - can’t wait to test it myself! As I said, it may not be the best at charging…but it is NOT a Tesla…which is what I wanted all along…knowing the horror stories of owners up in Quebec, with winter damages and all…its not only Toyota that got corrosion issues you know… Great video again. Eagerly awaiting the next ones. Great info with honesty = what we like at the end of the day!😊
Thanks for watching! Everyone has different use cases so like I said at the end, this car might be perfect for those that have the time to wait or will charge exclusively at home.
I really do enjoy the car! But I do know the charging will improve.
@@theaverageevthe beautiful thing about over the air updates…IF GM uses them to improve the curves. After their bad experience with the LG Bolts - GM is very likely waiting for data before pushing the curves.
Thanks
Would love to see another charge session
If there is a car update I will redo it for sure. I also have a few theories I want to test out over time. One is obviously charging it when it’s colder outside!
Hey congrats on the car. I spoke with you just before picking up my id4 in November. I've had 6 EVs and love trading them in and trying new ones. I love the equinox inside with all the real buttons and knobs cars used to have before Tesla destroyed that. Also love that it has android automotive,.my Polestar had that and it can't be beat. I think my days of trading in EVs are over tho as I'm now thinking of an early retirement and can't afford to be trading in all the time so I will likely keep my id4 and bolt for a while. If my id4 was written off for some reason, is put the equinox on my short list.
Again congrats.
Thanks!
The GM EV history is blighted by the Bolt fires. I am unsure, but speculated the original LYRIQ curve was due to engineers being very conservative with first model years to get real world charging in the data set b4 issuing the fix that brings it into nominal ranges. It looks somewhat similar to the original LYRIQ, so I think it is safe to assume an OTA update to fix will be forthcoming at some point. Thx for the video. I enjoyed watching.
Thanks Walter! I’ve heard similar, so hopefully they can push that out prior to the Supercharger network opening to GM! Hopefully sooner rather than later 🤪
Good point, but remember that only 20 out of 246,000+ Bolts burned, and they were all early batteries; the N2.2 and N2.2A lg chem batteries are fixed.
Thanks for very informative video. Iwas,or am.😮 Considering this for my first ev I'm 59 years old. Really researching the model y long range. Like the tesla because of the many years in the game and charging structure. Always love chevy and the vast amount of repair locations, I live in the motor city. You're video has leaned me toward modle Y long range AWD, can't beat what you get for price versus chevy ev
The Y is great! Definitely has much better charging and space.
So the question I'd have is whether you were using preconditioning through navigation (or is that even an option in the Equinox EV?). The reports I've seen so far is that doing so significantly improves the charging profiles for Ultium EVs.
I did both options and there was no improvement.
I also have no way to see what’s going in inside because there is no car scanner profile yet.
@@theaverageev Bummer. I know people have reported that using manual preconditioning resulted in significantly worse charging times/speeds than navigation preconditioning. Hopefully, you can start getting some scans soon.
I’m going to keep testing I know it will get better over time, Maryland summer is just highlighting some issues.
I think this is probably what the charge curve will look like on the 2026 Bolt replacement. Compared to the old Bolt that might seem like a miracle, but if you are comparing what is out there in the market it won't cut it. The Bolt actually is tolerable during the summer for regional travel. But it isn't acceptable for most people if you wanted to do a trip that requires stacking stops over longer distances. Winter time with no battery preconditioning, no heat pump the range collapses. I hope those issues have been addressed by GM.
Now how does this charge curve compare to the Blazer? Curious how pervasive this issue is with the GM platforms.
Very similar. It has the same GM dip. The video I saw was likely cooler out side leading to not as bad of a dip.
Those have been addressed. All Ultium vehicles have very efficient heat pumps.
@@ronlaverdierecan confirm that the car is currently not efficiently cooling the battery. Can confirm the cabin A/C is very cold.
@@ronlaverdiere If that is the case I look forward to the pre-conditioning, thermal management, and winter tests. Winter is brutal in my Bolt so I will be moving on much sooner that I would like or had planned. Without the proper tools to manage the temps in all seasons the range just gets totally killed.
When you see the wattage come back up after the dip, that's the result of voltage rising as the battery charges. All the graphs you showed are wattage, which is amperage X voltage. If you did a graph on just the charge current, you would see a more steady graph, and there wouldn't be any rise after the drop.
The charge profile of the Chevy Equinox may be adaptive, mostly thermal, as you suspect. The ID4 may be more of a program. While the ID4 seems better, there could be more degradation in 10 years, than the Equinox. In the long term, the Equinox (seemingly random) charge curve may be better for the "health" of the battery.
Is this charging problem is something that can be fixed with an system update you can download?
Almost everything in the car is updatable, so hopefully they can fix it with an update.
I would be curious to know how that same curve would look hooking up to a Supercharger?
I have a few videos of that already! Actually uploading one right now as well! Will be available soon!
In terms of comparison of the charging speed to the volkswagen, i think the meaningful metric to compare is not the charging time but the miles of range added per minute of charge. As a driver what youre interested in how much distance you can drive after 30min of change, for example. If the volkswagen chargers more quickly but has a shorter range, then it will need to charge more often. After doing a quick calculation based on the tested range and charging speed of the equinox and the DI.4 (20-80%), they actually charge at roughly the same rate, at approximately 9 km/min (5.6 miles/min). So charging the Equinox a bit longer is actually charging at the same rate as the volks but is giving you more range. Anyway, i know youre more pointing out the issue of the erratic charging profile and not the speed, but i just wanted to point this out.
Coming from a Bolt owner, this curve is very acceptable to me. No need to cook the battery if I’ve stopped for upwards of an hour for a food and restroom break. Will it preheat in advance of a charging session? If so, huge progress on Chevy’s part.
That’s the issue is it is cooking the battery and providing a poor charging experience at the same time. It heats up and then keeps it hot for a long, long time while it takes too long to charge.
This car is going to disappoint so many new ev owners that have been waiting for better charging, which is one of the barriers holding many back (The other being longer range).
It will precondition the battery when cold, but apparently not cool it unfortunately which is huge issue.
I got a Bolt last year with this lingering question in my mind...should I wait for the Equinox EV? Sounds like going with the Bolt was the right call. In 5-7 years when I am ready for a new car all these issues will be ironed out and I'll be blown away by my new EV. Right?
@@annabbott1963 oh yes! EVs in a few years will be much, much better!
They will have to fix this. They have to know that charge speed is important, so the software needs to be updated. You are not being negative either. I get it that Chevy might be playing it safe and maybe waiting to get numbers back in order to improve things but if this is what they advertise, that's a problem. One caveat to the charging might be the charging station itself. Shared stations may not push as much as those that are not shared. But we'll have to wait and see what Chevy is doing.
As an aside, YOU my friend will need to get a 7 dollar a month EA membership. You are paying close to ICE prices for a charge. 🙂 Thanks for this video.
I am hopeful they will fix the cooling issue and the charge curve will be better. I knew what I was getting into. If they don’t then I made a mistake!
I had to charge it at EVGo to get the current and voltage. It was so expensive! Notice how my second session was at EA. I think having the top EVGo membership would have made it cheaper than EA, but I didn’t want to pay the membership since I almost never use EVGo!
Thanks for watching!!!
I was extremely interested in the Equinox EV, but, as an apartment-dweller, its charging concerns are a major turn-off for me.
I wonder why other manufacturers haven't adopted the 800V architechture of the Kia/Hyundai EGMP platform?
The cabling is more expensive for 800v cars. Hyundai makes it work for the most part, but it does increase cost.
@@theaverageev isn't the whole point of the 800v the cheaper cabling because you use half the current for the same power?
@@Snerdles It has handle higher voltage so no. It is more efficient as well. If it were cheaper all cars would be 800 volt 😄
I just finished watching Out of Specs Cross Country Race with the EV Pickup Trucks including the Silverado EV. in this series Team Silverado discovered that if they didnt Precondition the battery for charging the Silverado which is Ultium Charged amazingly better than if they had preconditioned the battery. Could you do a charging test after stressing the car and plugging in without preconditioning and see what happens. I know it seems odd but Ultium might actually like riding it a tad warm.
I can try, sure!
Let’s make sure we are comparing similar batteries? The equi has 88kw battery what’s in the ID? Sounds like you expect the equi to travel 300 miles every day? Most days I will be driving 30 miles. Once a year, may take a 300 mile trip . I also have a level 2 charger at my fitness center. I’m betting it will charge adequate while I’m in the center?
ID.4 has 77kW. They are definitely comparable and are director competitors in the same segment. Equinox is 85kW usable.
I just did a range test, but had to reconsider my procedure. At highway speeds on normal terrain it should be just under 300. At slower speeds (60mph or slower) EPA seems very doable.
Depends on the charger but it should get a good amount added. I think the Equinox would be a great fit for you!
Please try to the precondition battery and see what difference that makes.
I did for both sessions unfortunately.
From my experience in my GV60, battery cooling (fan) is automatic. Pre-conditioning is to heat up the battery in winter.
Does this EV not have pre-heating for the battery? If it does, did you use it?
It has battery preconditioning, yes. It does not cool the battery enough however. I checked the screen where you initiate preconditioning and it said it was ready to charge.
It's summer where he is, so no pre-heating necessary. From my experience in my GV60, battery cooling (fan) is automatic
Have you used manual preconditionning or this function is just for winter time prior to fast charging sessions?
I used both manual and route planner where it will automatically precondition. I did not observe any notable difference. When you press the precondition button you do here a separate A/C unit spin up, so I am going to do a test where I precondition it for an extended period of time to see if it does cool and have a better impact than the current settings!
If road tripping is a regular occurrence than get something else. It's that simple. Most people do not take 300 mile trips on a daily or even monthly basis so while this is something that should be improved its not going to be a factor in daily use for most people. If you charged to 100% before a road trip you could take a 400 mile trip one way and probably only spend 15 min at a charger. Unless you are planning on covering 500 miles from home one way there aren't a ton of instances where you are charging 10% to 80 at dcfc station. Just like those that need 0 to 60 in 4 secs should pass on equinox, those that need to frequently do 10 to 80 away from home should pass.
Totally agree! I bring that up at the end of the video. For my daily commute this will be perfect, for road trips we will take the ID.4.
@@theaverageevjust saying daily commute is short changing it, this vehicle has 319 miles of range so I'd say unless you regularly take 400+ mile trips it's fine. I mean you could drive 125 to 150 miles one way and not even have to stop to charge before getting home. That's a little more than just commuting range. To require a full 10 to 80 charge on a one way trip the trip would have be over 500 miles one way. That's like 8 to 9 hours of driving. I rarely drive that far and if I do I stop at least twice
You aren't showing any info about the chargers themselves. What are they supposedly rated at? And are the cables on them actually capable of supporting that max rating for more than a couple of minutes? Our of Spec nerd level stuff. The biggest problem though is the low voltage Ultium pack used in the Equinox.
Both chargers should be able to handle that load. It was an EVGo Delta 350kw unit and a 350kW Newest Gen EA Signet unit both with HS liquid cooled cables.
@@theaverageev The other problem is that when most drivers plug into a EA 150, they aren't going to understand why they aren't getting that 150 the car is capable of. Low voltage pack strikes again
Yes… that will be an issue for sure. I’m going to do a video about that actually!
That’s such a bummer. Was seriously considering the Equinox EV to join my Bolt EUV, but it isn’t much of an upgrade when it comes to charging. Just don’t understand why GM didn’t rewire the pack to have a higher nominal voltage. It likely would make a big difference if it’s not trying to dump 500 amps in and heating up.
I almost wonder if it would charge faster on a “150” kW station that is limited to 350 amps
I’m going to test that! Hopefully tomorrow. I think it might help as well
Just curious, did you used pre-heating option before starting your charge? It usually helps a lot on my Model 3 (getting the Equinox EV today, so I'll have to try it myself).
I did! I’ve done on route preconditioning and manual preconditioning. No notable difference.
I have done on route preconditioning, manual preconditioning, and none. No notable difference in hot weather. Cold weather will be a different story!
The nominal pack voltage is 288v.....just why? Equinox has 10 modules at 28.8v each. 12 modules is needed at minimum just to match voltage of the Bolt.
It's the nature of the Ultium packs.
I hope GM can fix this somehow. Wondering if the software pre-conditioned the battery. Thanks for the video, I was waiting to see how the 10% to 80% it will take.
For both attempts i preconditioned the battery. The car said ready to charge. I’m hoping they can adjust it to improve it.
Id.4 mostly quotes its charging percentages on its 62KWH battery. The curve on its “PRO”, with its outfitted 85KWH battery, is lower
If you are fast charging once on a long trip and it is paired with meal time, then this curve won't matter too much. So for me it will be fine and also we are making long trips about once or twice a year.
I don’t disagree, but I don’t think we should accept it as is since it can be fixed and it is more of an engineering issue not a set reality. If that makes sense.
Like I said it will likely be fine for my daily driving needs.
You probably already noticed this, but GM in an effort to keep costs low on the Equinox EV while offering such a large 85 kWh usable battery, they did it by reusing the Ultium cells on their larger products (e.g. Lyriq, Silverado EV & Hummer EV) but removing the number of cells in the battery pack.
However this has the effect of having a REALLY low nominal pack voltage for a BEV. Notice that at low SoC the DC fast charger is at ~300V, which meant the pack was only at ~270V. Even at 50% SoC it only goes up to 315V on the charger, meaning the pack nominal voltage is around 285V. GM compensates for it by allowing the Equinox EV to take a ton of Amperage (up to 500A which is impressive) but that means you'll also get a ton of heat buildup in the cables, inverter & battery pack, which is why I suspect it slows so dramatically up top of the charging curve.
In comparison, the VW ID.4 which you also have operates close to 350V nominal. In your ID.4 fast charge test, the car at 10% SoC is already around 330V on the pack, meaning the DC fast charger is already putting out 360V and it only goes up from there. The ID.4 can therefore go up to 175~180 kW peak and hold it relatively steady with a slow ramp down because Watts is a function of Volt * Amps, meaning the VW doesn't need as high Amperage to get theses speeds = less heat buildup = more stable & predictable charging times.
If you need to roadtrip often and want to stick with a GM EV, I would probably think about the Blazer EV with the 100 kW pack or the Lyriq with the same unit since they operate at higher voltage and can do the 190 kW peak instead.
This phenomenon happens with all GM products. Blazer, Lyriq, and Equinox all have the same “GM Dip.” Silverado doesn’t appear to have the same issues, guessing it has beefy cabling for the high voltage charging? The Lyriq and Blazer also take nearly 500 amps for a long time like the Equniox.
Everything thing you said is true otherwise. I’m hoping they can tweak the cooling to manage the heat better, but it could also just be bad design that can’t be fixed.
Also, I want to note that just because a car has a bigger battery and has higher charging power doesn’t mean it’s actually faster or a better road tripper.
2:48 I think this is still a space to watch because it's not clear whether this session was suffering from thermal issues. The Equinox EV should be holding 500 A until at least 40-45% SOC, so the fact that the current started dropping only 5 minutes into the session indicates that something is off. Also, the current versus voltage is a bit misunderstood. If the C rate is the same, the internal resistance and heat stress on the individual battery cells doesn't change, even if you double or halve the voltage. The difference is really in the cabling and busbars. Either you spend more money on more and better materials (e.g., copper instead of aluminum), or you introduce more heat into the system at higher currents.
It’s clearly a thermal issue with the car.
What else would you propose?
@@theaverageev The charging profile isn't fully programmed. We saw that early on with the Bolt EV. The Blazer and LYRIQ both still have a similar dip in their charging profiles that are almost certainly not due to thermal issues. It seems like a lot of the automakers struggle to get the middle section (between 25% and 75%) of the charging profile squared away before release. We have even seen similar issues with Hyundai/KIA and VW charging profiles in the first year or so of release.
I hope so! I am also going to test on a supercharger like you suggested to see if it could at least get to 40-45% at 500amps like Chevy states.
@@theaverageev Well, Chevy didn't state that it should hold 500 A to 40-45%. That's based on what the other Ultium configurations do (the 12, 20, and 24 module batteries). In theory, the only difference is the voltage, so the charging profile for the 10-module, 85 kWh batteries should exactly mirror the profile for the 12-module, 100 kWh battery in the Cadillac LYRIQ.
Right now, there's still an unnecessary charging dip in all the Ultium batteries, but for the 100+ kWh packs, it's isolated to between 50% and 70%. For the 85 kWh pack, it looks like the wonky dips start as early as 20-25%, which obviously isn't acceptable.
@newscoulomb3705 www.chevrolet.com/support/quick-start-guides/equinox-ev/dc-fast-charging-station-rates
They actually say from 10 until 40% (they do specify in moderate temperatures. Hinting at thermal performance issues).
Also, does it do the same thing if you plug it in to a 100kw charger? If it doesn't then potentially it would be faster if it could keep the 100kw up to 75-80.
I didn’t a 150kW charger (another video) and got a slightly better result.
precondition, precondition, precondition, set your charging location in the vehicles nav and let it prepare for the charging on its own.
I did that for both charge sessions, it had no noticeable positive impact.
At each site it said it was ready to charge.
I’m glad you shared this with me. The salesman told me it could take an hour to charge on the road. I thought he might be mistaken. The Tesla is charged in under 20 minutes. I also see that it was about a $30 charge. People have been telling me it costs under 15 for a full charge. What does it cost you to charge ? This car would not work for me. There’s times I’ll have to charge it on the road and I don’t want wait an hour.
Unfortunately it’s not great, when they hopefully fix the curve it will take 38-41ish for a full charge which is much better. It was never going to charge super fast, but I was hoping it would be bearable. I charge at home mostly, so it ultimately doesn’t matter for me. You would be better suited for an E-GMP car or a Taycan/Macan.
Everyone tries to do charging curves in the wild, but there are so many variables that the curves need to be done in a lab under controlled conditions.
Everyone charges their cars in the wild? A lab result would be very useless. It is evident that the Ultium charge curve is severely affected by its environment. Where as my ID.4 will perform the same regardless of the environment (unless it’s cold, but they fixed that with the 2024s).
I'm looking to only charge overnight in my garage and use this as a commuter. How long will it take on a level 2 charger at home? Great work and insight! Thank you!
It depends how fast your level 2 charger is and how much you use. But let’s say you use 15% a day. If you have a 48 amp charger it would take a little over an hour. 40 amp charger would take about an hour and 20 minutes. The included 32 amp charger would take about an hour and 45 minutes!
It is a great commuter car! Once they fix the charging it will be better for longer distance with multiple charging stops.
@@theaverageev you rock! Thank you!
If you ever want to figure it out you just take the
Battery capacity 85kWh times the percentage used in this case 15% and then divide that by the charge speed. The result will be in hours! The car should tell you as well if you just plug which is easier, but I like doing math 🤣🤣🤣
I used level 1 charge at home, never needed to charge outside since we got it 3 months ago. Although Tesla’s level 1 charge speed is slightly slower than Nissan leaf.
I am wondering if preconditioning the battery thru the screen first will affect the charging curve?
I did both options of routing to it and hitting the button. It made no impact. I don’t believe the preconditioning cools the battery pack.
Does it do something similar if you start at 30-40% too? I wonder if it's a temperature or some other issue rather than what the curve is supposed to be. That looks horrifically bad.
It’s definitely the temperature! I am planning on testing starting at higher states of charge!!! I will get a good read on the charging when I do the boomerang challenge! Should be running it not this weekend, but the following.
Nah, it's too long if you want to make a longer trip. I really like my Bolt. But I don't do LONG trips. I drive it from Northern VA to NYC with one 45 - 50 minute stop. We did this going to Goshen for LegoLand a few weeks ago as well. It was no problem to make a lunch stop with the family. But if we wanted to drive to Florida...forget about it. We'd never get there.
Totally agree with you
Most EV owners will charge mostly at home over night. Cheaper kwh chares and like most the car will sit idle parked for at least 6 to 8 hours a day.. Thus you won't use charge stations much if at all. Few people go on long trips that they drive... those that do will be able to stretch their legs and refresh for a more enjoyable safer road trip... Bottom line...Because you never really thought about putting gas in your car you're thinking about charging it... stop it stop thinking about silly crap.. be happy to have a new EV got out enjoy it..
There is an increasing population of people that don’t have home charging and rely on public charging.
But I charge at home most of the time so it generally won’t matter to me.
But a part of my channel is highlighting charging performance of EVs.
I promise I’ll enjoy it!
@@theaverageevthe reality is ev ownership is challenging if you can't charge at home and if you are in that situation and you drive a lot you are better off with a Hyundai or Kia EV vs this. It all depends on your situation. I'm not sure id get any ev with zero access to home or work charging
I guess that's why they don't advertise 10%-80% charging speed. They say "70 miles of range in just 10 minutes of charging", but it's similar to Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro speeds so I guess it's ok for the entry level EV.
It can definitely do better than it did in these tests. Chevrolet just needs to fix the thermals.
@@theaverageev That's good, but even if they don't, that's ok. I believe the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro also take 45 minutes or so to charge from 10%-80%. The next level (Blazer, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, EV6) are the ones that need to charge faster (15 to 30 minutes). Product differentiation :)
Did you precondition the battery?
Yes
Chevrolet reduced the size of the pack from the Lyriq/Blazer when they made the Equinox. This resulted in the lower voltage you observed on the Equinox. The lower voltage means it will never charge as fast as a Lyriq/Blazer.
All Blazers on sale right now have 85kWh packs. I’m not sure if the voltage is the same or not, but the also have a max charge power of 150kW. The RWD RS will have the bigger battery and charge at 190kW.
@@theaverageevthe rwd Blazer is out and has been for months. I have one
@@shethjones4494The RS RWD drive is the only one with the big battery. Last time I looked on the Chevy website it hadn’t been released yet. Good to know! All of the AWD Blazers have the 85 kWh pack as of now, Which is strange.
The interesting thing here to me is that Car and Driver got 51 minutes from 10-90, which logically would be a much lower 10-80 time than what you got on either charge. And those tests would have been done in May so it should have been warm/hot then too, so I’d be curious to know what caused the difference.
Can you provide a link to that info? I wasn't able to find it in a search. Thanks!
@@theaverageev I tried to link it but I think it deleted the comment. I’ll try again, but in case the link doesn’t work, if you go to car and driver’s site, use the drop down under “research cars” to filter for the equinox ev, and then they list the charge session at the bottom of the article in a summary, rather than the text review.
If it is just a matter of it being hotter now so the battery needing more active cooling pre-charge than it did with Car and Driver, hopefully a simple software update can adjust what temperature causes the fan to engage for active battery cooling.
@@AdamCoffmanMusic I got it! No worries! I just messaged the editor to get the parameters of his test.
@@AdamCoffmanMusic That’s what I am hoping. This same thing happened with the LYRIQ.
Today i charged at 350 kw EA charger from 29-80% took just under 32min
Did it have the GM dip? I have only done 10-80% charge sessions for the most part.
Those aren't issues that's by design to prevent the battery from overheating. I'm order to keep the battery from getting too hot they put the fastest charging curve possible till 30% to let the battery cool. Then ramp it up once it's cooked down enough. Of course charging speeds carry by location such as Phoenix to San Diego. Might be faster, might be slower
If it’s by design, it’s bad design. Also, if it’s by design Cadillac wouldn’t have pushed an update to fix the charging for the lyriq that looks exactly like this curve.
Most other EVs provide consistent charging curves. Not random like this with such a harsh thermal derate.
@@theaverageev not design as in that's the way it was made to be. They built the battery and after much testing decided what was the best charging curve to avoid battery fire. They took the more conservative route to save face.
@@theaverageev how much did the Lyriq time improve?
I'd bet Chevy will charge better in cold conditions.
I agree and will test. I actually think it is a charging inlet sensor causing the derate. I have a theory about V4 super chargers when available.
The highest Kw I’ve received on my Equinox EV is 64. What am I doing wrong Y’all? 😞
Hmm... What station do you charge at? That is very odd. Also has it only been cold since you've gotten your car?
@ No! It was in the 70’s when I first purchased the car. I usually charge at Tesla Superchargers, or at EV Connect at my local Chevy dealership.
Can you send me the address of the dealer? I want to see what charger they have. What state of charge do you plug in at? That makes a big difference as well. If you plug in at 40% or higher it will have more resistance and have lower charging speeds.
@ 232 W New Cir Rd, Lexington, KY 40505
@@theaverageev 232 W New Cir Rd, Lexington. Kentucky
OH yea and reported on other Ultium vehicles at some points it is better to keep your cabin's AC Off and let the HVAC system have full attention to cooling the battery.
HVAC is off and I was out side of the car both times. Many other brands have no issues. They just need to fix it.
OMG! I wasn't thinking that it would be so bad!
It will get better. I will say the heat was definitely impacting performance. Maybe the winter will be amazing!
Wow. That's disappointing. I had high hopes it would have been better.
Me too! I have some theories from viewers I’m going to try. Additionally, I think the heat played a factor, but in my opinion it shouldn’t matter since other manufacturers cars properly deal with the heat.
Meh, I fast charge about 6 times a year. Each time I’m gonna give up 10, maybe 15 minutes? Max?
I can deal with it…
Such a good review. Chevy should have learned from the Bolt … overall a great car for the price but the crippled DCFC rate of 55kwh held it back from what it could have been. I hate that it appears the the Equinox EV may suffer something similar.
Hoping it will get better!
When the bolt came out in 2017 there were only 50 kw chargers. Ea didn’t start until 2018 and I didn’t get a ea chargers until 2019. Most chargers are 62.5 ChargePoint units. Plenty of people road trips in bolts . If average ev want faster charging get an ionic 5. We knew ahead of time that max rate is 150 kw. With means your average speed will be a 100 kw or something less.. if that is not good enough don’t buy it. When I got my 2012 leaf in 2015 we only had 4 dc chargers in our large city of 900,000 but I charged at home or at Walgreens on level 2 and at work on level 1 and 2. Every car that comes out won’t be 200 kw. If you can’t be patient enough to wait for the change then you don’t get it.
@@markfitzpatrick6692 this has nothing to do with charge speed and everything to do with poor thermals and releasing a product that’s charging was not fine tuned yet. I like the car, the charging works for me personally, but I’m reporting the fact that the car over heats and doesn’t charge properly.
@@theaverageevcar and driver tested one and their average speed over entire session was 94kw and I think 10 to 80 was about 40min
I believe the more expensive Chevy Ultium EV’s use the 800V charging. But I was told that to save money, Chevy stuck with the 400V architecture for Equinox.
Why didn't you go to a Tesla charger?
There are no Magic Docks super close to me. The nearest is almost three hours away! I am planning on doing that soon. Hoping to have access to the network soon so I can drive to the supercharger 20mins away.
150kW is a joke in 2024, basically means these are all local commuter cars yet again.
So many people focus on the highest power, it’s all about the curve and average charge speed. This is bad yes, but fixable to be ok. When fixed it should be on par with the Mach-E. But I do agree that this charging performance is not ok.
I’m retesting tonight in under better circumstances to see if I can get a better session and see if it is at least possible.
I got a way better charging curve on a tesla supercharger with a awd blazer ev which is supposed to have the same charging capacity. Got 155kw from 16-30%, 120-130kw from 30 to 38%, 120 down to 105kw at 50%, a little dip from 50 to 65% with 75kw then ramped up to 90kw from 65 to 75% then slowly goes to 65kw at 80%. 61kwh in 37min.
Dont know why you got bad result but it was bot the car fault
Thanks for the data
Wow my model y hits 250kw everytime and slowly goes down as it charges. 250 should be standard by now.
Well it's not. The vast majority of EVs peak lower than that
@@shethjones4494 China is already testing 500kw stations so we need to get our act together. Newer stations EA,ev go etc already have 350kw. So these car companies need to step it up. Seems like only Hyundai and Tesla are pushing. Next Gen LFP will have 6c charge rate so they will charge in 10 minutes if given enough power.
Wow that taper holy shit
Yes… not great. It is a thermal issue that I believe can be fixed with software.
Some Chinese EVs are charging at 550 kw speeds. That's 10% to 80% charge in under 10 minutes. But we'll probably never see that here
The 84 is not a good charging vehicle. We have a 2023 Pro S plus. We’ve taken numerous cross country trips with. It completely sucks. Especially compared to the Tesla model Y. So much nicer of a road trip.
I can’t recommend them because the entertainment center completely sucks too. I expected a lot better from Volkswagen.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I have had no issues with ID.4 and the charging performance has been great.
Wow surpisingly disappointing! Thats just little faster than Bolt!! For the price they are asking?? There are way too many choices
I think it will do better in mild weather and with some software updates, for what it’s worth.
I was really interested in the Equinox, but now I'm leaning toward the Ioniq 5. Especially the 2025 updated version.
Not acceptable for 2024. This is horrible. Is the Blazer EV any better?
There needs to be a baseline for people to compare cars. Every car maker will show numbers that make their car look good. Need standards similar to comparing phones, cameras and computers.
The standard blazer battery has same specs as this vehicle. The rwd Blazer, lyriq and zdx have 190kw max charging and 102kw battery
Those are very disappointing results. About double what my ioniq5 takes. I was sort of interested in this car, but not so sure after seeing your video unless there’s another factor at work.
The extreme heat definitely made it worse that it likely is, but it is my opinion that the car should be able to perform consistently regardless of environment. So many cars can do that already! GM needs to tweak some things to make it better. I think they can make it happen.
This is quite bad
Yes it is! I’m pretty sure it will do better on cooler days, but I think it should work pretty much the same regardless of weather. My ID.4 does (except for the cold, but they fixed that with the 2024).