Love my Bolt, but no way I would buy one without CCS lol. I was shocked how many I found without DCFC when I was looking, but it’s a great little car. I did 6700 miles this summer and loved it
They really are nice vehicles, especially for the money. And this one was in too good condition to pass up. I think it will be fine for a High School Senior. And I agree, I would not go without CCS if it was for me.
I overlooked it when I bought mine 6 months ago, but I commute 200 miles everyday and I havent had any problems honestly it works out so I cant stray from home for to far.
@@daveedwards6727 I’m new at this. Tell me what CCS means and does the Chevy buy back mean the ones they bought back and replaced the battery with the new ones? What years would be best for a used Bolt? Did all of these buy backs go to dealers? Is there tax credit for a used Bolt? Thanks
@@ronniemullis8717umm you want ccs it’s level 3 charging about 50kwh compared to 8kw my numbers may be roughly off I use a tesla but idk about the buy back.
My 19 yr old son is the current driver of my 2017 Bolt. It has DC charging pins, but currently charges exclusively at home (240v - 16A). He drives about 1000 miles per month, and never waits for the charger. For this little runabout, do you need DC? Mostly not, if it doesn’t go more than 150 miles in a day. Great little car!
Nice! Great content and info. I purchased a 2017 Chevy Bolt 1LT back in April of 2022 for my daughters senior year of high school with only 28,000 miles for $17,900. The recall on the battery was changed out and the DC fast charging plug was added. She just rolled 43,000 miles with 0 issues. I myself, purchased a 2023 Chevy Bolt 2LT in March 2024 with only 4500 miles for $19,000! Slight hail damage that is unnoticeable is what brought the cost down. I travel close to 1200 miles a week. I do have a 240 volt level 2 charger at home. I charge 90% at home and 10% DC fast charging. I travel 200 miles every evening, 6 days a week. Winter range is 190-210 miles and fall spring summer range is 230-250. I live in Northeast TX. My Bolt just rolled 52,000 miles. My lifetime average kWh is 3.9. Happy New year everyone! 🎉
@ I’ve had 0 issues from both of our 2017 and 2023 Bolts. They are very reliable. I usually arrive home with 25-40 miles range left and it’s full when I’m ready to go to work again. The best part is charging up full at home for $4.00 a day!It’s a no brainer!😂. Enjoy your Bolt. My daughters looks just like yours.
You were able to get the DC fast charging added? I no longer have my bolt but I remember it being discussed early on in production and most people ruled it out as a impossibility
@ the dealership where I purchased the 2017 had a total of 5 used 2017s base models. When the battery was was changed out they went ahead and upgraded the base level 2 charge to the fast charging connectors to sell the bolts faster. Those bolts set in their parking lot for a full year before the batteries were changed out.
Put that ‘17 Bolt into L. You’ll have near 1-pedal driving. Once in Drive, pull back once -> L (v. strong regen), pull back again -> D (mild regen); like a toggle in/out of near one-pedal drive mode.
Wow Adam, brave adventure if not a bit crazy 🤪🙂 As a Bolt Premier owner since Jan 2020 I can only recommend a Bolt (as long as you understand it's charging limitation) My buying recommendation: - Make sure the version you buy has DCFC - makes the car much more useful for multiple use cases (this was only a $500 option when new and on the used market should not make a big $ diff). I just completed a 2700 mile road trip with mine and not everyone has charging at home, so DCFC option is needed. - If you live in a cold weather state then make sure you have the heated steering & seat option. This will become your favorite comfort option and will allow you to save lots of range if you need to turn down the cabin heat. - The premier model gives you a 360 camera (making parking a breeze) and a few other good options. Note: Some dealers will ship these car across the country if you are not as brave as Adam 👍🙂
I gotta go 5.5/10 on the Sarcasm. It was only one time, and every mile took 7 minutes to add to the battery, with the Climate off. But the sarcasm was well delivered here. It was, in fact, not pleasant, feel free to refer to the title for clarification.
2023 Vermont Bolt owner… my wife leaves all the heat settings on high when she gets home at night. In the morning, she starts the car remotely while it’s plugged in. 15 minutes later, she is toasty for her ride to work. It is not a great winter road tripper, first sure. Day to day, it is perfect.
It's a shame that Chevrolet did not add DC fast charging as a standard feature on US Bolts. If I'm not mistaken, all Canadian Bolts were mandated to have DC fast charging but it was and optional upgrade in the US. It seems like such a small line item for such a difference in long-term use
By the end of the first generation of Bolts, DC became standard, but the legacy of AC-only, I think, is an anemic DC charge rate (max 55 kW). Gen 2 Bolts are expected to charge at a max 145 kW, so not world-beating but respectable.
Realistically most people don’t need DC fast charging if you have lots of access to AC charging. But the option makes any road trips so much better so you don’t need to sit and wait for your vehicle to charge. If you DC fast charge on a trip and keep your battery at a low state of charge, they recharge faster because of the charge curve. Check out State of Charge with Tom Malogney. He tests all new EVs and tells you the charge curve so you don’t sit and charge when your battery recharge rate slows on a long trip. It’s always better to do many small stops. Some people call it a splash and dash. But the splash part is really just time to pee, refill drinks and get back on the road. I would rather stop three times to pee and charge and get back on the road immediately instead of waiting for over an hour to top up the battery. He tried to get back home with 25% state of charge. He should have been aiming for 10% or even lower since he knew he could charge at home (his final destination). He gets home with low range. That’s the best way to do it. Beginner pro at the end and didn’t even realize it.
This looks like some of the calculations I used to make when my 2017 Bolt was new. DC chargers were widely spaced outside of the big city back in 2017/18. It was sometimes necessary to use L2 chargers to make the distance to the desired DC charger.
That’s the problem I have. You shouldn’t have to plan out your stops, just get in and go and stop when necessary. In July of 2024 my wife and I moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia and I had to fly back and get my wife’s car and my cat. In the 32 hours-5 of which I slept, and driving by myself I stopped for gas three times, once in Quebec and once in New Brunswick and when I hit Nova Scotia. Watching the Trucked Up EV I would have had to stop more times and for longer, meaning it would have taken two days to get to Nova Scotia. When the batteries can be charged in 5 minutes without the hydro company or the government choking back the high speed charger and they are using EVs themselves then I will get an EV.
@@kevinW826 If inconvenience for the sake of cost, or efficiency, or any reason is a deal breaker, you’ll never get an EV. I’m always shocked that people taking 2-3 day trips are in a hurry to do so.
@ I would. It would be a Subaru Solterra as it has physical buttons and knobs. No touchscreen/touch capacitive BS. I like driving. EVs and the current state of the infrastructure restricts that. If I want to drive from Toronto to Cleveland and back in one day I should be able to do that without stopping more than once. If I’m driving across country because I just want to get home I shouldn’t have to plan out how much charge is going to last, where is the nearest charger etc etc. As I said, until the infrastructure is built up and the government use EVs themselves, I will stick with gas. It’s a case of “do as I say, not as I do.”
@@kevinW826 the bolt has both knobs buttons and touch screen for all functions. Redundant capability with the convenience of knobs and buttons. It's quite ideal.
Ha! I just picked up a buyback bolt EV last Thursday. These things are an insanely good deal. The more I learn about the Bolt the more I like it. The one-pedal driving is awesome and it stops smoother than anything I’ve driven before.
@@Aslash304 I gotta ask, how much did the dealer take for the car? It's a bit of a unicorn and will make an outstanding grocery getter and can do pretty much anything within 100 miles of home.
@ that’s a helluva deal and the best one I’ve heard yet! I got my 2019 Premier with 67k for $14.5 and thought I made out pretty good. These buybacks are an absolute steal.
You absolute mad lad, I'm glad you survived! Those stock Bolt tires are not known for their inclement weather performance, even without 8 years of lot rot. A gently used Bolt seems like the perfect starter car for a teen driver.
The button on the shifter is also a safety thing. It's super easy to bump it, so putting the button there prevents the passenger (or even driver) from accidentally bumping it.
It can still shift into neutral without the button. That happened several times when I took my Bolt EV on a road trip with my wife. She would lean over to grab something from the rear seat and accidentally put the car into neutral while I was driving. Honestly, it's a pretty stupid shifter design. Even gas cars don't need those big chunky center console shifters anymore, designers just need to put them back onto the steering column so they're not in the way.
@@seanplace8192 Yeah. They eventually got rid of it, though I'm still not a huge fan of their button layout design. My understanding is, the designers thought it would "ease the transition" for gas car owners. But I know of at least one instance where someone was unable to steal a Bolt EV because they couldn't figure out the shifter! 😂
We purchased a 22 Bolt EUV premier launch edition. So, it literally has every feature. It had 22k miles and 2 chargers. After the tax rebate, it was 18k. We had 5k from the insurance after my wife hit a deer, so 15k after all taxes and fees and interest.
Our Chevrolet Bolt EUV 2022 drive pretty nice, has a very supple ride, it's not noisy on highways. Yes, it has a slow charging CCS1 capability but these days it can be charged at Superchargers with an adapter. It has a button which can switch 100% one pedal driving on. It holds on even the brakes while stopped. One pedal driving can be entirely swithed off. In the winter we use winter tires on separate wheels since it's way too dangerous to use EV dedicated all season tires on snow and ice. We bought it 199 miles away from home. Driving back from dealership which charged it to 100% we ended up adding 20 kW (range anxiety) at EA DC just because we knew, we will be redirected due to forest fires. The trip ended up being aroud 270 miles. That was only one DC charge in our experience. Since then during 1.5 years we AC charge home on level 2.
41:32 The 2017 Chevy Bolt EV's one-pedal driving is available in "L" by default. There's no separate button or setting to enable it, and it doesn't work in Reverse. So long as the battery is not too full or too cold, the car will come to a complete stop in L. The max regen available by lifting completely off the accelerator in L is 65 kW, and using the Regen on Demand paddle behind the steering wheel while in L provides a max regen of 70 kW. I've found that in L, the car will come to a complete stop from ~60 mph in less than 500'.
A year ago I met a guy driving a new Bolt as I was disconnecting and leaving. He pulled up to the J1772 charger and I told him 'I'm leaving, take my charger not that motorcycle charger'. I didn't (and until your video I didn't) believe him when he was explaining that his Bolt couldn't connect to the charger I was using (CCS). He couldn't believe anyone would drive an EV if it took two days to charge.. I told him that can't be right, nobody would manufacture a car without fast charging.. anyway, I felt bad for leaving without helping to figure it out but the car still had the sticker in the window... I told him to take it back to the dealership.. Yeah, if it's just to use in-town and back home but really how much more does it cost to add DC Fast charging and make the car more usable.. and especially for someone living that far north. As the air cools and becomes more dense then your drag increases and range decreases. As it gets colder then your also using some energy to warm the battery pack and cabin, again reducing range.. anyway.. I shocked to see chevy is actually selling a low-cost EV by not including DC connectors and I presume a battery cooler.. Sorry to see you go through this. The only reason this is a strong feeling for me is that nobody can say "Over the next 10 years I will never need to drive further than X". Unexpected things happen.. and when your running out of charge is when the highway will be closed for a traffic accident and your routed 10 miles around a darn lake... and by the time one is back to the highway they are really, really concerned..
I appreciate the concern. My Son is insured on all 4 of our cars. This one is his car to drive to school and work. It will not be upgraded. It will be able to function for every task that it needs to perform. Also, I have no fear of running out of charge for any reason. Carry a level 1 and a moderate dose of common sense, and running out of battery just doesn’t happen.
3:49 I own a 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage, it's awesome (to me), I've put 36,000 miles on it in about a year, my average MPG is 53.7. 1 Thing, the road noise is very dependent on tires, a better set of tires can help a lot!
The tire pressures varied by like 8 pounds, they didn’t match, a myriad of other things were not helping. It was literally the only thing with 4 wheels I could rent
@@Aslash304 At least you got it! I was considering getting a Spark, but decided to get the Mirage. The spark is a tad heavier, has 98 HP instead of my 78 HP, but it gets worse MPG, plus was slightly less reliable so I went with a Mirage. (: Someone up there in Cumberland actually made videos on the Mirage, I forgot their channel name, it was pretty neat. They helped inspire me to get the car. Lol.
Did I miss whether the battery was replaced under recall? My understanding is that all 2017 Chevy Bolt EVs eligible for the battery recall has had a replacement. It's not huge, but it's an additional ~5-6 kWh in usable capacity.
It was replaced. All of the buyback resale units that dealers are getting have had the new battery. No way to tell if the replacements were the same size based on the limited research I have done
I bought a 2017 Bolt Premium, no premium info system, but everything else. I love it. Only had 14,000+, in Atlanta. Dealer gave me $8,000 for my pristine Lia Sol so it only cost me $10,000. Dealer had approx 10 vehicles. Since my husband has a Tesla, we charge at home. My applecar play works great on this.
Yes. Since I had to wait at the enterprise for about an hour waiting for a ride, I can confirm that my car was rented again before I left. No way they cleaned anything.
Honestly that looked like a nightmare. GM decided to make DC fast charging a $750 option for the Bolt - it never fails to amaze how GM will take a good product or technology and make it worse on purpose.
"one pedal" mode on a Bolt is a double pull down on D. L mode is engaged which gives you that one pedal mode down to like 2 mph. You want to have your foot on the brake anyway as if someone rear ends you, you don't want to be launched into the car in front of you.
Thank you for doing a drive at a low speed, that is awesome! People all over the US say "drivers here in X suck and will run you off the road if you drive at all below the limit, at least go 5 over, cars go 15-25 over here"... Or something like that. I've drove all over the US, mostly at 55 MPH, and have had no issues. El Paso was a bit sketchy, the right lane trucks where slowing down from 80 to 55, and couldn't merge left because the left lane was very busy. I sped up to 65, and that was still happening. Once I got out of the busy section it was much nicer! (: Driving slow is awesome, I get 60 MPG roughly at 55 MPH in my Mitsubishi Mirage, although my average is only 53.7. But it does great! I want an EV some day, but have no use for a 2nd car. But was wondering how efficient it would be at 55 MPH, and you've shown how good it can get. With a bit higher PSI in the tires, and better weather like we have down here, maybe it can get close to 250 miles of range?
@@Aslash304 Ah! AC is very much needed here, in July the average temperature here is 112F, it gets down to 86F for the average low in July though. I often go there. Where I live it's only 99F on average.
I have a Bolt also. Something you may not know, on the max/min guessometer display, if you notice, the line to the left will highlight based on your current driving style and conditions. For example on your final screen display where your mileage shows 5336 miles, just above and to the left of the 26 mi indicator there is a short green line. That means that your remaining range is slightly more than 26 miles. Notice that when you drive the line will shrink and grow and can even go negative toward the min range number. I find this feature very useful.
Thanks for showing this is possible! I am a new Aryia owner in Los Angeles and showing my family members that here in LA an EV is cheaper overall than ICE I am coming from a 2018 clarity that had 71k miles when I sold it and I rarely even used the ICE part of the car. We have a lot of broken chargers here that is my biggest gripe. I live next to a free Shell 50kw CCS charger so I rarely even pay for charging Love the stickers I bought from you as well!
@@Lightdog555 thanks so much for the Support! I think the Ariya is a nice ride. And what a cool bonus to live near a free 50kW. I hope you have a great start to your 2025!
@ I forgot to mention even though it was over the $25k for used EV tax credit (empower + with 14k miles 2023 26,900) so cal Edison approved me for the 4k rebate. I feel I got a solid car for a solid price at the end of the day! Enjoy your holiday!
There were around 200 of these Bolts in a storage lot near me. Various years, all recent. They had their milage written on the windows, nearly all under 20,000. Turns out they were all defective and were awaiting repair at a local dealer. 5 months later there are still around 80 left.
Great video. I have a 2020 Bolt Premier for going on 4 years and am pleased with it. Make a video about where you get your replacement tires and how they do with range (this seems to be a sticky issue with Bolt owners as well as for other EVs). Thanks for sharing the ride with us!
I love the extra challenge of the free charging. And the lake effect snow storm, if that was the day after Thanksgiving then we both got derailed by the same storm. I have a video documenting our experience in an Acura ZDX EV. It was a hoot.
Ah, the Bolt is just like my old Spark where it felt like it would fall apart on the highway. I cannot imagine trying to drive it in winter weather like this.
We live in central PA, so absolutely know Williamsport, State College and the like. I hate winter driving to begin with, and I can't imagine creeping down the highway at 50, or slower. One thing's for sure... it'll be an adventure you won't soon forget. I recently took a test drive in an 18 Bolt. Driver's seat seemed awful narrow.
I always thought about this type of roadtripping in the early days of EVs. If I had the patience to do a cross country level 2 roadtrip. Thanks for taking us on yours.
What I would have done if I was you just to make the trip easier on myself is I would have turned off hilltop mode before I started my first charge after leaving the dealership or before leaving the dealership. Who knows it might also limit your charging speed. You might have got a little bit faster charging. Also, I would have just let the car charge overnight at the hotel to 100% to maximize your total range and reduce the overall time you needed to spend sitting at chargers and reduce your range anxiety a little bit more not to mention the fact that the buyback cars have the swapped out larger battery packs. So all the Chevrolet bolts now have a 65 KW usable pack. Your car may not have been recalibrated for that yet. In order to recalibrate the car just plug it in, turn off hilltop mode, charge it to full and then after letting it sit there for an hour or so plugged in after it says it is done charging or maybe just half an hour unplug it. Wait 30 seconds. Plug it back in. See if it takes any more charge and then if it doesn't take any more charge unplug it and drive it around. I would suggest drive it really low on battery and get into the neighborhood and drive it till it won't move anymore. Then take it and plug it back in that will recalibrate the car or what I should be saying the BMS for the larger 65 KW hour usable battery you have in the car as well as just recalibrate it for being sure what is 100% state of charge and what is 0% state of charge as well that could be really handy and then just once or twice a year turn off hilltop mode and charge the car up to 100% just to recalibrate the VMS on what really is 100% state of charge that will also give you a more accurate range estimate as well since the car knows it's got a 65 KW hour usable battery and it is now at 100% state of charge.
@@MrTrevorkemp Thanks a lot for your feedback! I learned later that turning off hilltop does nothing because you have to drive it a certain amount before it will even charge above 80%, this is explicitly addressed in the video in a text box. This is also why the dealership gave me the car with 80% charge. It was the most they could charge it. With a 32 amp onboard charger there is no way to charge faster than 7 kW in any situation regardless of circumstance using AC power. Once again, due to the fact that buyback bolts require a certain number of miles before they can charge to 100, I did let the vehicle charge to its maximum capacity at the hotel. I did use a significant amount of battery in the morning preconditioning it, which is why I waited for the sun to come up before I departed. As it is my son’s vehicle and he will never leave town with it, whatever range it currently has at 80% is totally satisfactory for me. I will never charge it to 100%. I will never discharge it to 0%. If this damages the car then so be it.
Wow I would not attempt such a long trip without CCS. That being said, I've had my Bolt for 5 months and have only fast charged once. Once the Bolt is at home, it should be a great car.
@@ericcindycrowder7482 it’s stealth 1P mode! Took me a minute to figure out it existed since the L is only backlit on the shifter after you pull it back a second time.
Enjoyed all of the math you went through at each stop. I used to have a Leaf and a small battery. Math is your friend in not running out, so is not running heat. Just bring a blanket and use the seat heater.
I think the farthest I've gone in my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV using only L2 AC was about 700 miles over a weekend. My car does have CCS, though. It's just that there were no DC fast chargers in Northern Arizona at that time.
@Aslash304 Two overnight stops and charging at most destinations plus decent weather went a long way. Still, I won't be doing that again! Not with DCFC littering the route now.
That Bolt does have one pedal driving. It’s just called something else. You may want to download the users manual. The only change I would consider is getting the CCS upgrade
35:07 The 2017 Chevy Bolt EV has unlock buttons on both the front and rear doors. They deleted the rear unlock buttons on the 2018/2019, as I recall. I can't remember which off the top of my head.
I was once told that successful families go camping. Because the pain and suffering bond you together. I'm surprised your son did not join you on this trip. This trip would bond you like superglue.
From the Ford Lightning owners manual>>> DO NOT use DC fast charging as it will accelerate the degradation of the battery pack. Use the provided slow AC charger at home overnight to slow charge your truck which will extend the battery pack service life. !
I thought a dealer couldn’t sell a car that had tires that were over 5 years old. I’m not sure EV’s are suited for cold weather. I live in a part of Georgia where the only time we see snow is on TV.
@@Aslash304I was told this by a dealer when I traded in my Dodge P/U on a new Ford Maverick Hybrid. I have driven a Bolt and the Equinox. The Equinox is a lot quieter with more power but the Bolt is a lot better deal.
its not that EVs are not suited for cold weather, its just that there are some preconditions that need to be met for it if you want to drive long distance. a) a modern EV should have a heat pump. That way the winter penalty is way less severe b) it should have battery conditioning, so that fast charing can actually be fast (and it should have fast charging in the first place) c) it should have a base line batter size. Older EVs like Smart Cars, VW eUps ETC only had 20ish kWh batterpacks, which means that even with a heat pump your range shrinks rather quickly. If you have that it really isnt much of an issue, as seen by the nordics having a very high EV density just running fine. That being said if its just a commuter car and you can charge at home you can make it work easily even if you dont have above mentioned features
I can understand getting a bolt without CCS If you can charge in your garage and you're just going to put her around town rather than going between one city and another. The thing that perplexes me is why you didn't simply drive up there with a trailer and put the bolt on the trailer and haul it back down on the trailer. Renting a trailer is cheap and you could have made the journey in far less time.
We got our 2023 Bolt 2LT for $16,000 after fed, state and electric company incentives. We save around $120/month vs. our old Subaru. Dollar for dollar, the best car we have ever purchased.
What an undertaking! However, I have a question regarding the statement you made at 6:10 that one pedal driving is missing? How is regen activated since it absolutely does have regenerative braking (Hilltop reserve mode is there to allow 10% battery at the top to facilitate using regen as it won't function effectively without battery capacity to store it)
I was wrong about 1 pedal driving, it’s the “L” setting on the shifter. Hilltop reserve used to allow 10%, a software update changed it to 20%. Thanks for watching!
Excellent video. I have a 2023 Bolt EV I bought new in November 2023. I waited nearly a year after I ordered it. I almost bought a Mercedes at Carmax because I was so tired of waiting for it. It was absolutely worth the wait. I love it to death. It has a little over 10 thousand miles on it and it has never been DC fast charged. I'm extremely excited for the 2026 Bolt. I may get it However, there's rumors about a Tesla Model Q. The next couple of years are going to be interesting indeed. 🚗🇺🇸🔌⚡
Love your videos! But wanted to mention that I'm pretty sure your range is better when you drive slower due to reduced losses from aerodynamic drag (being proportional to velocity squared). It's not really due to regen since you only recover energy when you are actively trying to slow down
I have a Rivian R1S and I love it, but I have to admit I rented a Chevy Bolt EUV a while back - wow, it was fantastic. The 2025 versions have NACS and probably some more advanced features, but it's a delightful vehicle. It's a majorly underrated car.
Is there decent/good Tesla charging in your west Virginia? Chevy should really put more investment in a bolt type car with supercharging instead of trucks and SUVs they would eat up the market. Well done on documenting your journey, this seemed more real world than others!
Are the buyback Bolts hard to insure? I know my insurance company will not take any kind of branded title and it was a factor in my recent EV acquisition. I had looked at some Mach-E Selects that were buybacks about 600 miles away from me online for around $20K. I like the Bolt but the Mach-E is a lot more car for the money. But the fact my current insurance company would not take them was a red flag for me. Maybe if I would have just shopped the coverage around it would have been ok. I'm currently in a Lightning lease on an insane deal, but at $45K buyout, there's no way I'm keeping it long term. The Lightning, while fun, is also extremely inefficient, 2.3 mi/kwh is about the most you'll get on the highway and that's going under the speed limit. Also no way I'm going back to ICE. I might give these buybacks another look when the Lightning lease is up.
I want something like that for my son when he's 16. I've just gotten used to fast charging on long trips now, it would be interesting doing what you did, but I'd probably do what you did as well. Not sure if I'd do it in the winter ;-)
My guess is you paid $14,999 for it before any credits.. But I think it should be closer to $17,999. But you said it's a great deal, so that's why I guessed so low. I want one.
@@chetsaxton1526 Oooo! That would be even better! Is DC charging the "super" charging? If so, I'd want that too, being I drive 120 miles each way for work.
Adam - you are gutsy or nuts or, perhaps both. I could not (in any way) convince myself to buy a non-level 3 capable, >150 mile EV. I get that as a commuter car, a J1772 only EV is adequate and very cost effective. But too many times, I’ve found myself over-planned for travel distance and a quick 10-15 min on a CCS closes that problem. When I bought my first EV, a ‘16 Spark EV, it HAD the CCS port, and I did use it 5 or 6 times in my ‘EV-experiment’ year (even though only using it for workday travel).
Am I opinion a 17-year-old that has trouble navigating across town due to the lack of knowledge and experience should have no issue with 150 miles of range. I could be wrong, we will definitely find out. I really appreciate you sharing your feedback, and I definitely wanted a Chevy spark several years ago.
I’m looking for my 26 year old who doesn’t plan well, but needs a reliable car (07 Camry is @ 195K, lots of upstate NY winters). So seeing Ki-Po made me go look. Thanks for keeping content relevant!!! IMHO, used EV’s are the main way we’ll bring EVs into the mainstream. And the Bolt IS the poster-child. Thanks again!
I want an EV now. But it’s the new Cadillac Optiq that’s not out yet. If it doesn’t come out before the tax credit ends, that will be a deal breaker because of the big depreciation on EV’s.
EVs don’t do big depreciation. The depreciation calculation doesn’t take the tax credit into account. Therefore, there’s an “extra” $7,500 in depreciation that all EVs get that shows up like it happens because of demand or market factors. It’s on the hood.
@ I think that’s what I meant. That the tax credit would help a lot to offset the depreciation. But without the tax credit the buyer would take an additional depreciation hit.
Consider a Lyriq. I love mine. I also think you will be better off with a car that has been out for a year. On the Lyriq forum it seems that it is mostly people with the Debut Edition who are having problems. The dealers and GM are really dealing. I leased. At the same time my daughter leased a VW Atlas. Both cars were well equipped but the Lyriq was better equipped. The VW was $300/mo more. Between the $7500 credit, manufacturer and dealer incentives, and super high residuals the lease deals are almost too good to be true.
@@djrbikes1 We set in the Lyriq at our local Cadillac dealer. It was beautiful and we loved the style. GM has Tesla beat by miles on this. It is only my wife and I and the Lyriq was just too big for us. That’s why we’re hoping the Optiq will come out soon before the tax credit ends. Plus the Sport 3 Optiq loaded is less than $60k before the tax credit. As far as the Lyriq being out for a year and getting the bugs worked out, I’m hoping they are using that knowledge while building the Optiq. Thanks for replying to me.
No way I would get a J1772 only … unless it’s my 2nd car for around town. I have owned a mix of 3 Bolt EVs and 2 Blazer EVs. And had a Silverado EV and a Silverado 2500 6.6L. I’m pretty disappointed with GM and only really recommend the Bolt EV. And that’s because the price and cost per mile are fantastic
@Aslash304 I have. I was just hoping to see your "Free Car!" video. 😁 Personally, I think a non-CCS should be significantly discounted, but some people probably still value it. It's certainly still capable, as you demonstrated.
From what I can discern if you are only using level 1 or 2 charging it doesn't matter or put much stress on the battery to charge up to 100 percent. You're not even losing charging speed on level two like you would charging past 80 percent on DC charging. So there really is no real reason to handicap yourself to 4/5 of the range.
I made a video about charging, it’s linked at the end of this one, that goes into some pretty specific and explicit detail regarding the dangers of charging NMC chemistry batteries to 100%.
Wow, that was cringy to watch on your last miles with the hazard lights on. My cousin drove from Santa Clarita to Las Vegas and back, it's not 500 miles but she still had to stop and charge between those distance in a Bolt.
All batteries suffer in the winter. But, since small batteries do more lifting overall for the vehicle because each kWh has more responsibility, I agree with your sentiment as well.
I’ve never heard of a Bolt without one pedal driving. Your doesn’t let you pull back twice on the shifter to get in “L”? Also: how about the paddle regen braking behind the left side of the steering wheel?
Why only use the climate while charging on this trip? I understand if you're trying to keep enough charge to get to a charger, but for efficiency's sake, it seems to me that it's using the same energy whether from the battery or the grid. So please correct me, but whether you used the climate on the way to the charger, or at the charger, isn't it adding the same amount of charging time to the stop?
No. The heat is resistive, and uses anywhere from 1-5 kW constant. My efficiency would have been more like 2.8 miles per kWh, had I run the climate, adding about 2-4 hours of charging to my trip. I turned it on when it was plugged in because then it uses power from the grid, not the car, to heat the car. No matter what, every minute I had the heat on added time to my trip.
@@cabinboybp1 shipping would have been $1,000. And for the cost of a 1 day car rental +$1 I got to prove that you don’t need DC fast chargers to make it around.
@@Aslash304 There are far more fires caused by ICE vehicles than electric vehicles. Frankly there are way more fires caused by gas lawnmowers than electric cars. There are also more fires caused by toy RC cars than electric cars.
My son lives not far from you, in Pittsburgh. We want to get him one of these Bolt buy backs. I have some specific questions. Is there a way I can email or direct message you. BTW I have had a Lyriq for about 3 months and love it. I think they are on top of the technology. There have have really only been a few minor tech glitches,, one of which was fixed by OnStar by sending a reset signal and the other is occasional hard emergency stops for no reason when o back out of my garage. It is my first EV and first GM. I’m a convert. I would like to know how you searched for the buybacks. What to look for/ask about, and of course price. I noticed a couple of dealers in Ohio, between Youngstown and Akron seem to have a lot of them, but seem to factor in the $4000 tax credit to the advertised price. I also wanted to know why it was worth your while to go all the way to NY for the one you purchased. Between dealers and the Mass Hertz dump there seem to be quite a few available within 100 miles of Pittsburgh (and Morgantown)in the $12k to $20k range.
Regenerative braking is not 100% efficient (more like 60-70%, I've read), so you will never get back all the energy you use going up a hill via regen on the other side.
Not true. And it doesn’t matter what brand. In extreme cold they are hard to charge, not to run. Don’t let your battery get low, you’ll never have trouble in extreme cold. People are treating winter like summer. You can’t run your battery to 3%. Those that do will suffer. The first thing a battery has to do before it charges is get warm. It has to be at an operating temperature to accept a charge. This is not the case when releasing energy. I explain this in easy-to-understand, explicit and complete detail in my charging video. th-cam.com/video/xA7HXHhR8LA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=cLKmfHhyN9YcKtSI
Easier to say buy the right tool for the job. Lots of 50k plus EV’s that roadtrip fine. Of course they are more expensive to buy and cost more to charge vs buying fuel for many ICE vehicles.Plus insurance is really going up.
I posted it in text form in the video. I don’t think I can. Like at all. The software updates have limited the battery to protect it. And, even if I could, I wouldn’t. Because I don’t. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I don’t charge NMC to 100 ever for any reason.
The charge is limited to 80% until 15k miles after the battery check/replacement, or so my local dealer told me. That's whether or not the battery actually needed to be changed.
@@Aslash304 Once or twice a year you should drain down to when the low is on the screen. Then charge to 100% to calibrate the batteries BMS( NMC only).
@@Aslash304 Even with DC charging, there are better EVs out there for road trips (and I say this even as I own one), but not at the same price point. I looked at how I would actually use the car (the first road trip I’d taken in five years was to buy my Bolt) and it fits my use very well.
It takes up to 7.6kW with the 32A on board. The limit of the charger was more my concern. I’m sure there was a number I could have chosen that would have been more optimal, but I chose 10.
@@Aslash304Even so, the charging station will not provide any more current than what the vehicle will take. The AC charger is actually in the vehicle and the external unit just tells it how much current is available.
Love my Bolt, but no way I would buy one without CCS lol. I was shocked how many I found without DCFC when I was looking, but it’s a great little car. I did 6700 miles this summer and loved it
They really are nice vehicles, especially for the money. And this one was in too good condition to pass up. I think it will be fine for a High School Senior. And I agree, I would not go without CCS if it was for me.
I overlooked it when I bought mine 6 months ago, but I commute 200 miles everyday and I havent had any problems honestly it works out so I cant stray from home for to far.
@@daveedwards6727 I’m new at this. Tell me what CCS means and does the Chevy buy back mean the ones they bought back and replaced the battery with the new ones? What years would be best for a used Bolt? Did all of these buy backs go to dealers? Is there tax credit for a used Bolt? Thanks
@@ronniemullis8717umm you want ccs it’s level 3 charging about 50kwh compared to 8kw my numbers may be roughly off I use a tesla but idk about the buy back.
Is there an adapter to charge on the go?
My 19 yr old son is the current driver of my 2017 Bolt. It has DC charging pins, but currently charges exclusively at home (240v - 16A). He drives about 1000 miles per month, and never waits for the charger. For this little runabout, do you need DC? Mostly not, if it doesn’t go more than 150 miles in a day. Great little car!
Thanks so much for this feedback! I hope your son enjoys more trouble free miles in the bolt!
Nice! Great content and info. I purchased a 2017 Chevy Bolt 1LT back in April of 2022 for my daughters senior year of high school with only 28,000 miles for $17,900. The recall on the battery was changed out and the DC fast charging plug was added. She just rolled 43,000 miles with 0 issues. I myself, purchased a 2023 Chevy Bolt 2LT in March 2024 with only 4500 miles for $19,000! Slight hail damage that is unnoticeable is what brought the cost down. I travel close to 1200 miles a week. I do have a 240 volt level 2 charger at home. I charge 90% at home and 10% DC fast charging. I travel 200 miles every evening, 6 days a week. Winter range is 190-210 miles and fall spring summer range is 230-250. I live in Northeast TX. My Bolt just rolled 52,000 miles. My lifetime average kWh is 3.9. Happy New year everyone! 🎉
Great to hear! I’m very excited about owning one
@ I’ve had 0 issues from both of our 2017 and 2023 Bolts. They are very reliable. I usually arrive home with 25-40 miles range left and it’s full when I’m ready to go to work again. The best part is charging up full at home for $4.00 a day!It’s a no brainer!😂. Enjoy your Bolt. My daughters looks just like yours.
You were able to get the DC fast charging added? I no longer have my bolt but I remember it being discussed early on in production and most people ruled it out as a impossibility
@ the dealership where I purchased the 2017 had a total of 5 used 2017s base models. When the battery was was changed out they went ahead and upgraded the base level 2 charge to the fast charging connectors to sell the bolts faster. Those bolts set in their parking lot for a full year before the batteries were changed out.
@ I think this was common.
Put that ‘17 Bolt into L. You’ll have near 1-pedal driving. Once in Drive, pull back once -> L (v. strong regen), pull back again -> D (mild regen); like a toggle in/out of near one-pedal drive mode.
Yes! It works, thanks so much!
Wow Adam, brave adventure if not a bit crazy 🤪🙂
As a Bolt Premier owner since Jan 2020 I can only recommend a Bolt (as long as you understand it's charging limitation)
My buying recommendation:
- Make sure the version you buy has DCFC - makes the car much more useful for multiple use cases (this was only a $500 option when new and on the used market should not make a big $ diff). I just completed a 2700 mile road trip with mine and not everyone has charging at home, so DCFC option is needed.
- If you live in a cold weather state then make sure you have the heated steering & seat option. This will become your favorite comfort option and will allow you to save lots of range if you need to turn down the cabin heat.
- The premier model gives you a 360 camera (making parking a breeze) and a few other good options.
Note: Some dealers will ship these car across the country if you are not as brave as Adam 👍🙂
Great feedback! Thanks so much for sharing!
Road trip in hard mode 😅
Correct
What a pleasant trip! Once again proving the efficiency and practicality of EV's. Heat and comfort while driving are way overrated.
I gotta go 5.5/10 on the Sarcasm. It was only one time, and every mile took 7 minutes to add to the battery, with the Climate off. But the sarcasm was well delivered here. It was, in fact, not pleasant, feel free to refer to the title for clarification.
@@Aslash304 I am a sarcastic S.O.B.😯
@@johnp.9947 you’ve got my highest rating of 2024. I, too, appreciate a good show of the sarcastic variety.
2023 Vermont Bolt owner… my wife leaves all the heat settings on high when she gets home at night. In the morning, she starts the car remotely while it’s plugged in. 15 minutes later, she is toasty for her ride to work. It is not a great winter road tripper, first sure. Day to day, it is perfect.
No climate control isn't practical.
It's a shame that Chevrolet did not add DC fast charging as a standard feature on US Bolts. If I'm not mistaken, all Canadian Bolts were mandated to have DC fast charging but it was and optional upgrade in the US. It seems like such a small line item for such a difference in long-term use
Agree.
By the end of the first generation of Bolts, DC became standard, but the legacy of AC-only, I think, is an anemic DC charge rate (max 55 kW). Gen 2 Bolts are expected to charge at a max 145 kW, so not world-beating but respectable.
Realistically most people don’t need DC fast charging if you have lots of access to AC charging. But the option makes any road trips so much better so you don’t need to sit and wait for your vehicle to charge.
If you DC fast charge on a trip and keep your battery at a low state of charge, they recharge faster because of the charge curve. Check out State of Charge with Tom Malogney. He tests all new EVs and tells you the charge curve so you don’t sit and charge when your battery recharge rate slows on a long trip. It’s always better to do many small stops. Some people call it a splash and dash. But the splash part is really just time to pee, refill drinks and get back on the road. I would rather stop three times to pee and charge and get back on the road immediately instead of waiting for over an hour to top up the battery.
He tried to get back home with 25% state of charge. He should have been aiming for 10% or even lower since he knew he could charge at home (his final destination). He gets home with low range. That’s the best way to do it. Beginner pro at the end and didn’t even realize it.
This looks like some of the calculations I used to make when my 2017 Bolt was new. DC chargers were widely spaced outside of the big city back in 2017/18. It was sometimes necessary to use L2 chargers to make the distance to the desired DC charger.
It’s a rare occurrence nowadays to need level 2, but it’s nice to know it’s there. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Great job Adam, showing that with proper planning, you can road trip any electric vehicle in harsh conditions. #roadwarrior
Much appreciated! It’s true. Planning is powerful. Cheers!
That’s the problem I have. You shouldn’t have to plan out your stops, just get in and go and stop when necessary.
In July of 2024 my wife and I moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia and I had to fly back and get my wife’s car and my cat. In the 32 hours-5 of which I slept, and driving by myself I stopped for gas three times, once in Quebec and once in New Brunswick and when I hit Nova Scotia.
Watching the Trucked Up EV I would have had to stop more times and for longer, meaning it would have taken two days to get to Nova Scotia.
When the batteries can be charged in 5 minutes without the hydro company or the government choking back the high speed charger and they are using EVs themselves then I will get an EV.
@@kevinW826 If inconvenience for the sake of cost, or efficiency, or any reason is a deal breaker, you’ll never get an EV. I’m always shocked that people taking 2-3 day trips are in a hurry to do so.
@ I would. It would be a Subaru Solterra as it has physical buttons and knobs. No touchscreen/touch capacitive BS.
I like driving. EVs and the current state of the infrastructure restricts that. If I want to drive from Toronto to Cleveland and back in one day I should be able to do that without stopping more than once.
If I’m driving across country because I just want to get home I shouldn’t have to plan out how much charge is going to last, where is the nearest charger etc etc.
As I said, until the infrastructure is built up and the government use EVs themselves, I will stick with gas.
It’s a case of “do as I say, not as I do.”
@@kevinW826 the bolt has both knobs buttons and touch screen for all functions.
Redundant capability with the convenience of knobs and buttons.
It's quite ideal.
Ha! I just picked up a buyback bolt EV last Thursday. These things are an insanely good deal. The more I learn about the Bolt the more I like it. The one-pedal driving is awesome and it stops smoother than anything I’ve driven before.
@@anthonyc8499 it’s really nice! I just found out it had it. My son is super excited about it!
@@Aslash304 I gotta ask, how much did the dealer take for the car? It's a bit of a unicorn and will make an outstanding grocery getter and can do pretty much anything within 100 miles of home.
@@anthonyc8499 video soon
So true. Bought a 2022 Bolt euv premier for 16k. New tires 31k miles. Mint. Fantastic car. Oh, it has ccs. Chevy made a gem
@ that’s a helluva deal and the best one I’ve heard yet! I got my 2019 Premier with 67k for $14.5 and thought I made out pretty good. These buybacks are an absolute steal.
You absolute mad lad, I'm glad you survived!
Those stock Bolt tires are not known for their inclement weather performance, even without 8 years of lot rot.
A gently used Bolt seems like the perfect starter car for a teen driver.
@@dlhorne42 Thanks for watching! He Loves it so far!
The button on the shifter is also a safety thing. It's super easy to bump it, so putting the button there prevents the passenger (or even driver) from accidentally bumping it.
Very good point!
It can still shift into neutral without the button. That happened several times when I took my Bolt EV on a road trip with my wife. She would lean over to grab something from the rear seat and accidentally put the car into neutral while I was driving. Honestly, it's a pretty stupid shifter design. Even gas cars don't need those big chunky center console shifters anymore, designers just need to put them back onto the steering column so they're not in the way.
@@seanplace8192 Yeah. They eventually got rid of it, though I'm still not a huge fan of their button layout design. My understanding is, the designers thought it would "ease the transition" for gas car owners. But I know of at least one instance where someone was unable to steal a Bolt EV because they couldn't figure out the shifter! 😂
We purchased a 22 Bolt EUV premier launch edition. So, it literally has every feature. It had 22k miles and 2 chargers. After the tax rebate, it was 18k. We had 5k from the insurance after my wife hit a deer, so 15k after all taxes and fees and interest.
Well done! A great deal!
Our Chevrolet Bolt EUV 2022 drive pretty nice, has a very supple ride, it's not noisy on highways.
Yes, it has a slow charging CCS1 capability but these days it can be charged at Superchargers with an adapter. It has a button which can switch 100% one pedal driving on. It holds on even the brakes while stopped. One pedal driving can be entirely swithed off.
In the winter we use winter tires on separate wheels since it's way too dangerous to use EV dedicated all season tires on snow and ice.
We bought it 199 miles away from home. Driving back from dealership which charged it to 100% we ended up adding 20 kW (range anxiety) at EA DC just because we knew, we will be redirected due to forest fires. The trip ended up being aroud 270 miles. That was only one DC charge in our experience. Since then during 1.5 years we AC charge home on level 2.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
@Aslash304 Sorry! Our family isn't brave enough to road trip an only AC charging EV. I admire your tenacity, though.
@@nevco8774 I appreciate you taking the time to watch!
@@Aslash304 I just found the channel and subscribed!
41:32 The 2017 Chevy Bolt EV's one-pedal driving is available in "L" by default. There's no separate button or setting to enable it, and it doesn't work in Reverse. So long as the battery is not too full or too cold, the car will come to a complete stop in L. The max regen available by lifting completely off the accelerator in L is 65 kW, and using the Regen on Demand paddle behind the steering wheel while in L provides a max regen of 70 kW. I've found that in L, the car will come to a complete stop from ~60 mph in less than 500'.
Thanks so much for this!
A year ago I met a guy driving a new Bolt as I was disconnecting and leaving. He pulled up to the J1772 charger and I told him 'I'm leaving, take my charger not that motorcycle charger'. I didn't (and until your video I didn't) believe him when he was explaining that his Bolt couldn't connect to the charger I was using (CCS). He couldn't believe anyone would drive an EV if it took two days to charge.. I told him that can't be right, nobody would manufacture a car without fast charging.. anyway, I felt bad for leaving without helping to figure it out but the car still had the sticker in the window... I told him to take it back to the dealership.. Yeah, if it's just to use in-town and back home but really how much more does it cost to add DC Fast charging and make the car more usable.. and especially for someone living that far north. As the air cools and becomes more dense then your drag increases and range decreases. As it gets colder then your also using some energy to warm the battery pack and cabin, again reducing range.. anyway.. I shocked to see chevy is actually selling a low-cost EV by not including DC connectors and I presume a battery cooler..
Sorry to see you go through this. The only reason this is a strong feeling for me is that nobody can say "Over the next 10 years I will never need to drive further than X".
Unexpected things happen.. and when your running out of charge is when the highway will be closed for a traffic accident and your routed 10 miles around a darn lake... and by the time one is back to the highway they are really, really concerned..
I appreciate the concern. My Son is insured on all 4 of our cars. This one is his car to drive to school and work. It will not be upgraded. It will be able to function for every task that it needs to perform. Also, I have no fear of running out of charge for any reason. Carry a level 1 and a moderate dose of common sense, and running out of battery just doesn’t happen.
3:49 I own a 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage, it's awesome (to me), I've put 36,000 miles on it in about a year, my average MPG is 53.7. 1 Thing, the road noise is very dependent on tires, a better set of tires can help a lot!
The tire pressures varied by like 8 pounds, they didn’t match, a myriad of other things were not helping. It was literally the only thing with 4 wheels I could rent
@@Aslash304 At least you got it! I was considering getting a Spark, but decided to get the Mirage. The spark is a tad heavier, has 98 HP instead of my 78 HP, but it gets worse MPG, plus was slightly less reliable so I went with a Mirage. (:
Someone up there in Cumberland actually made videos on the Mirage, I forgot their channel name, it was pretty neat. They helped inspire me to get the car. Lol.
Did I miss whether the battery was replaced under recall? My understanding is that all 2017 Chevy Bolt EVs eligible for the battery recall has had a replacement. It's not huge, but it's an additional ~5-6 kWh in usable capacity.
It was replaced. All of the buyback resale units that dealers are getting have had the new battery. No way to tell if the replacements were the same size based on the limited research I have done
@@Aslash304 Look under the car (mine was at the driver side rear door) on the battery should be a white sticker that says 64 kw.
I bought a 2017 Bolt Premium, no premium info system, but everything else. I love it. Only had 14,000+, in Atlanta. Dealer gave me $8,000 for my pristine Lia Sol so it only cost me $10,000. Dealer had approx 10 vehicles. Since my husband has a Tesla, we charge at home. My applecar play works great on this.
That’s a good deal! I’m glad you are enjoying it. My son really likes his. Cheers!
Can we talk about rental cars? They don’t even clean them anymore. They just spray awful amounts of perfume in them. I miss COVID.
Yes. Since I had to wait at the enterprise for about an hour waiting for a ride, I can confirm that my car was rented again before I left. No way they cleaned anything.
Honestly that looked like a nightmare. GM decided to make DC fast charging a $750 option for the Bolt - it never fails to amaze how GM will take a good product or technology and make it worse on purpose.
It was a nightmare. And I’ll address the strategy in an upcoming video. Thanks much for the feedback!
"one pedal" mode on a Bolt is a double pull down on D. L mode is engaged which gives you that one pedal mode down to like 2 mph. You want to have your foot on the brake anyway as if someone rear ends you, you don't want to be launched into the car in front of you.
Thanks for this! It works!
Thank you for doing a drive at a low speed, that is awesome! People all over the US say "drivers here in X suck and will run you off the road if you drive at all below the limit, at least go 5 over, cars go 15-25 over here"... Or something like that. I've drove all over the US, mostly at 55 MPH, and have had no issues. El Paso was a bit sketchy, the right lane trucks where slowing down from 80 to 55, and couldn't merge left because the left lane was very busy. I sped up to 65, and that was still happening. Once I got out of the busy section it was much nicer! (:
Driving slow is awesome, I get 60 MPG roughly at 55 MPH in my Mitsubishi Mirage, although my average is only 53.7. But it does great! I want an EV some day, but have no use for a 2nd car. But was wondering how efficient it would be at 55 MPH, and you've shown how good it can get. With a bit higher PSI in the tires, and better weather like we have down here, maybe it can get close to 250 miles of range?
Yes, with no climate with control you could do 250. No chance with AC.
@@Aslash304 Ah! AC is very much needed here, in July the average temperature here is 112F, it gets down to 86F for the average low in July though. I often go there. Where I live it's only 99F on average.
I have a Bolt also. Something you may not know, on the max/min guessometer display, if you notice, the line to the left will highlight based on your current driving style and conditions. For example on your final screen display where your mileage shows 5336 miles, just above and to the left of the 26 mi indicator there is a short green line. That means that your remaining range is slightly more than 26 miles. Notice that when you drive the line will shrink and grow and can even go negative toward the min range number. I find this feature very useful.
Super super good to know! Thank you!
Thanks for showing this is possible! I am a new Aryia owner in Los Angeles and showing my family members that here in LA an EV is cheaper overall than ICE I am coming from a 2018 clarity that had 71k miles when I sold it and I rarely even used the ICE part of the car. We have a lot of broken chargers here that is my biggest gripe.
I live next to a free Shell 50kw CCS charger so I rarely even pay for charging
Love the stickers I bought from you as well!
@@Lightdog555 thanks so much for the Support! I think the Ariya is a nice ride. And what a cool bonus to live near a free 50kW. I hope you have a great start to your 2025!
@
I forgot to mention even though it was over the $25k for used EV tax credit (empower + with 14k miles 2023 26,900) so cal Edison approved me for the 4k rebate. I feel I got a solid car for a solid price at the end of the day!
Enjoy your holiday!
@ you definitely did!
There were around 200 of these Bolts in a storage lot near me. Various years, all recent. They had their milage written on the windows, nearly all under 20,000. Turns out they were all defective and were awaiting repair at a local dealer. 5 months later there are still around 80 left.
They need the battery recall completed. It’s a mandate.
This stuff is insane to gas car owners, but I love it. We're masochistic at times with our EVs. Doesn't look like your wheel has the heater :(
It’s the base base base model.
Great video. I have a 2020 Bolt Premier for going on 4 years and am pleased with it. Make a video about where you get your replacement tires and how they do with range (this seems to be a sticky issue with Bolt owners as well as for other EVs). Thanks for sharing the ride with us!
Great feedback! Next video on the tires. Stay tuned.
I love the extra challenge of the free charging. And the lake effect snow storm, if that was the day after Thanksgiving then we both got derailed by the same storm. I have a video documenting our experience in an Acura ZDX EV. It was a hoot.
It was the same storm. I’m glad you got to test your ZDX as well!
Crazy to see you going through where I live. I charge at the Jersey Shore charger all the time and walk to the pizza place down the road.
It’s a great shop! Good food for sure. Thanks for watching!
Ah, the Bolt is just like my old Spark where it felt like it would fall apart on the highway. I cannot imagine trying to drive it in winter weather like this.
The Spark was not super fun to drive
We live in central PA, so absolutely know Williamsport, State College and the like. I hate winter driving to begin with, and I can't imagine creeping down the highway at 50, or slower. One thing's for sure... it'll be an adventure you won't soon forget. I recently took a test drive in an 18 Bolt. Driver's seat seemed awful narrow.
If you can get over the size and comfort being C+ to B grade, it’s a good value. Thanks for watching!
I always thought about this type of roadtripping in the early days of EVs. If I had the patience to do a cross country level 2 roadtrip. Thanks for taking us on yours.
I appreciate you taking the time to come along for the trip!
What I would have done if I was you just to make the trip easier on myself is I would have turned off hilltop mode before I started my first charge after leaving the dealership or before leaving the dealership. Who knows it might also limit your charging speed. You might have got a little bit faster charging. Also, I would have just let the car charge overnight at the hotel to 100% to maximize your total range and reduce the overall time you needed to spend sitting at chargers and reduce your range anxiety a little bit more not to mention the fact that the buyback cars have the swapped out larger battery packs. So all the Chevrolet bolts now have a 65 KW usable pack. Your car may not have been recalibrated for that yet. In order to recalibrate the car just plug it in, turn off hilltop mode, charge it to full and then after letting it sit there for an hour or so plugged in after it says it is done charging or maybe just half an hour unplug it. Wait 30 seconds. Plug it back in. See if it takes any more charge and then if it doesn't take any more charge unplug it and drive it around. I would suggest drive it really low on battery and get into the neighborhood and drive it till it won't move anymore. Then take it and plug it back in that will recalibrate the car or what I should be saying the BMS for the larger 65 KW hour usable battery you have in the car as well as just recalibrate it for being sure what is 100% state of charge and what is 0% state of charge as well that could be really handy and then just once or twice a year turn off hilltop mode and charge the car up to 100% just to recalibrate the VMS on what really is 100% state of charge that will also give you a more accurate range estimate as well since the car knows it's got a 65 KW hour usable battery and it is now at 100% state of charge.
@@MrTrevorkemp Thanks a lot for your feedback! I learned later that turning off hilltop does nothing because you have to drive it a certain amount before it will even charge above 80%, this is explicitly addressed in the video in a text box. This is also why the dealership gave me the car with 80% charge. It was the most they could charge it. With a 32 amp onboard charger there is no way to charge faster than 7 kW in any situation regardless of circumstance using AC power. Once again, due to the fact that buyback bolts require a certain number of miles before they can charge to 100, I did let the vehicle charge to its maximum capacity at the hotel. I did use a significant amount of battery in the morning preconditioning it, which is why I waited for the sun to come up before I departed. As it is my son’s vehicle and he will never leave town with it, whatever range it currently has at 80% is totally satisfactory for me. I will never charge it to 100%. I will never discharge it to 0%. If this damages the car then so be it.
Wow I would not attempt such a long trip without CCS. That being said, I've had my Bolt for 5 months and have only fast charged once. Once the Bolt is at home, it should be a great car.
Couldn’t agree more. Do not attempt.
2017 Bolt EV does have one pedal driving. Pull the gear selector back twice and will switch from D to L, L is your one pedal driving. Thank you
I tried this and it works! Thank you so much!
@@ericcindycrowder7482 it’s stealth 1P mode! Took me a minute to figure out it existed since the L is only backlit on the shifter after you pull it back a second time.
Enjoyed all of the math you went through at each stop. I used to have a Leaf and a small battery. Math is your friend in not running out, so is not running heat. Just bring a blanket and use the seat heater.
Exactly. Couldn’t have said it better myself
Yikes! I have the 2017 Bolt too, but with the DCFC. 86000 miles. Doing very well so far! Love the car. It got its new battery in 2022.
This is confidence inspiring for sure. The car is for my son, who won’t be taking any long trips.
I think the farthest I've gone in my 2017 Chevy Bolt EV using only L2 AC was about 700 miles over a weekend. My car does have CCS, though. It's just that there were no DC fast chargers in Northern Arizona at that time.
That’s a lot of miles!
@Aslash304 Two overnight stops and charging at most destinations plus decent weather went a long way. Still, I won't be doing that again! Not with DCFC littering the route now.
That Bolt does have one pedal driving. It’s just called something else. You may want to download the users manual. The only change I would consider is getting the CCS upgrade
Thanks so much. I found it!
35:07 The 2017 Chevy Bolt EV has unlock buttons on both the front and rear doors. They deleted the rear unlock buttons on the 2018/2019, as I recall. I can't remember which off the top of my head.
This is 100% accurate. It was one of the differences I noticed between the one I got and the new ones.
Love the Bolt... Hate the seats....
Definitely fair. I was glad a drove a Chevy Spark to pick it up. It made the seats feel like a Dream. But I was probably the one dreaming.
I was wondering if it's possible to switch out the seats from a newer one if I can find a wrecked one and pull the seats out
@@drwatson1234 Try adding foam to the seat. You can DIY this. I did this to our 19 Bolt and made the world of difference.
one pedal driving on the 2017-2020 bolts is the "low" mode
Thanks for this! I tried it and it worked!
That is a base vehicle, no heated seats, no heated steering wheel
Correct
I was once told that successful families go camping. Because the pain and suffering bond you together. I'm surprised your son did not join you on this trip. This trip would bond you like superglue.
Very good advice. He had School, unfortunately.
@Aslash304 So you both got an education in November. I own a 2019 Bolt. He will love it.
From the Ford Lightning owners manual>>>
DO NOT use DC fast charging as it will accelerate the degradation of the battery pack.
Use the provided slow AC charger at home overnight to slow charge your truck which will extend the battery pack service life.
!
I think that’s a little shortsighted, but that’s just my opinion.
I thought a dealer couldn’t sell a car that had tires that were over 5 years old. I’m not sure EV’s are suited for cold weather. I live in a part of Georgia where the only time we see snow is on TV.
I said this as well. No help. I’ll cover this in an upcoming video.
@@Aslash304I was told this by a dealer when I traded in my Dodge P/U on a new Ford Maverick Hybrid. I have driven a Bolt and the Equinox. The Equinox is a lot quieter with more power but the Bolt is a lot better deal.
its not that EVs are not suited for cold weather, its just that there are some preconditions that need to be met for it if you want to drive long distance.
a) a modern EV should have a heat pump. That way the winter penalty is way less severe
b) it should have battery conditioning, so that fast charing can actually be fast (and it should have fast charging in the first place)
c) it should have a base line batter size. Older EVs like Smart Cars, VW eUps ETC only had 20ish kWh batterpacks, which means that even with a heat pump your range shrinks rather quickly.
If you have that it really isnt much of an issue, as seen by the nordics having a very high EV density just running fine. That being said if its just a commuter car and you can charge at home you can make it work easily even if you dont have above mentioned features
I can understand getting a bolt without CCS If you can charge in your garage and you're just going to put her around town rather than going between one city and another.
The thing that perplexes me is why you didn't simply drive up there with a trailer and put the bolt on the trailer and haul it back down on the trailer.
Renting a trailer is cheap and you could have made the journey in far less time.
It’s hard to prove that you can drive 500 plus miles without CCS if you’re not driving.
Whenever I complain about the DCFC speed on my Bolt I remind myself that it was NOT standard on the first gen.
Would have been nice to have. But it was also very nice to give my son a very low mileage car. It was definitely a choice.
We got our 2023 Bolt 2LT for $16,000 after fed, state and electric company incentives. We save around $120/month vs. our old Subaru. Dollar for dollar, the best car we have ever purchased.
It’s a great little car!
What an undertaking! However, I have a question regarding the statement you made at 6:10 that one pedal driving is missing? How is regen activated since it absolutely does have regenerative braking (Hilltop reserve mode is there to allow 10% battery at the top to facilitate using regen as it won't function effectively without battery capacity to store it)
I was wrong about 1 pedal driving, it’s the “L” setting on the shifter. Hilltop reserve used to allow 10%, a software update changed it to 20%. Thanks for watching!
We have a dealer around here selling it after $4,000 credit in Illinois between $12K and $15k for the 2020 and 21.
Very nice!
Excellent video. I have a 2023 Bolt EV I bought new in November 2023. I waited nearly a year after I ordered it. I almost bought a Mercedes at Carmax because I was so tired of waiting for it. It was absolutely worth the wait. I love it to death. It has a little over 10 thousand miles on it and it has never been DC fast charged. I'm extremely excited for the 2026 Bolt. I may get it However, there's rumors about a Tesla Model Q. The next couple of years are going to be interesting indeed. 🚗🇺🇸🔌⚡
Couldn’t agree more. The Bolt is a really nice car. And an affordable Tesla would be a very interesting option. Cheers!
These are quite OK, with one fatal flaw... terrible seats without lumbar support.
Yes. That’s another reason they are good around town cars, and not necessarily great road trippers.
Love your videos! But wanted to mention that I'm pretty sure your range is better when you drive slower due to reduced losses from aerodynamic drag (being proportional to velocity squared). It's not really due to regen since you only recover energy when you are actively trying to slow down
@@hdhdhshscbxhdh4195 correct. speed increases wind resistance, which reduces range.
Wheel size has gone nuts, why was free so important? I thought charging was dirt cheap?
Free when it comes to level 2 also means reliable. There are a lot of strange and hard to use payment systems. Also, why not?
I have a Rivian R1S and I love it, but I have to admit I rented a Chevy Bolt EUV a while back - wow, it was fantastic. The 2025 versions have NACS and probably some more advanced features, but it's a delightful vehicle. It's a majorly underrated car.
Agree. I, myself didn’t give it as much credit as it deserves until after this trip.
I thought the Bolt was discontinued after 2023 and the new one with the Ultium platform hasn’t been released yet?
@@djrbikes1 I believe the “2025” refers to the Rivian R1 series.
Is there decent/good Tesla charging in your west Virginia? Chevy should really put more investment in a bolt type car with supercharging instead of trucks and SUVs they would eat up the market. Well done on documenting your journey, this seemed more real world than others!
There are some well placed Superchargers throughout the state.
There is one pedal driving if you put it in Low mode, which was weird on the early models. Great job though on your trip.stay safe.
Thanks for watching, and for the tip! It worked
Rough trip but hopefully you'll enjoy the new (used) wheels. All in I'm guessing it cost around $7,250.
@@mschruntek I’ll reveal the price next video. I’m a big fan so far!
I would have requested that the Bolt be 100% charged at delivery.
It couldn’t. It’s a software thing. I had to look it up
Are the buyback Bolts hard to insure? I know my insurance company will not take any kind of branded title and it was a factor in my recent EV acquisition. I had looked at some Mach-E Selects that were buybacks about 600 miles away from me online for around $20K. I like the Bolt but the Mach-E is a lot more car for the money. But the fact my current insurance company would not take them was a red flag for me. Maybe if I would have just shopped the coverage around it would have been ok.
I'm currently in a Lightning lease on an insane deal, but at $45K buyout, there's no way I'm keeping it long term. The Lightning, while fun, is also extremely inefficient, 2.3 mi/kwh is about the most you'll get on the highway and that's going under the speed limit. Also no way I'm going back to ICE. I might give these buybacks another look when the Lightning lease is up.
Don't get the Nissan Leaf. Because they don't have liquid cooling on the batteries.
This was the one major drawback of the Leaf. Well said.
I want something like that for my son when he's 16. I've just gotten used to fast charging on long trips now, it would be interesting doing what you did, but I'd probably do what you did as well. Not sure if I'd do it in the winter ;-)
It was cold. A summer version of the same trip might be a lot more fun. Thanks for the feedback!
My guess is you paid $14,999 for it before any credits.. But I think it should be closer to $17,999. But you said it's a great deal, so that's why I guessed so low. I want one.
You’ll be surprised…
I'm thinking more like $8K to $10K do to a lack of people willing to buy an EV without DC charging, so the dealer just wants it off the lot.
@@chetsaxton1526 Oooo! That would be even better! Is DC charging the "super" charging? If so, I'd want that too, being I drive 120 miles each way for work.
"No place Ny". Ransom village lake 20 minutes from Niagara falls New York. I live in Lockport, Ny
That’s where I dropped off the rental car because it was the closest rental car place to Ransomville
We know Honda didn't rework software in Prologue, other than add CarPlay/AndroidAuto back in and change some basic fonts/layout. It's mostly GM.
Couldn’t agree more.
Adam - you are gutsy or nuts or, perhaps both. I could not (in any way) convince myself to buy a non-level 3 capable, >150 mile EV. I get that as a commuter car, a J1772 only EV is adequate and very cost effective. But too many times, I’ve found myself over-planned for travel distance and a quick 10-15 min on a CCS closes that problem. When I bought my first EV, a ‘16 Spark EV, it HAD the CCS port, and I did use it 5 or 6 times in my ‘EV-experiment’ year (even though only using it for workday travel).
Am I opinion a 17-year-old that has trouble navigating across town due to the lack of knowledge and experience should have no issue with 150 miles of range. I could be wrong, we will definitely find out. I really appreciate you sharing your feedback, and I definitely wanted a Chevy spark several years ago.
I’m looking for my 26 year old who doesn’t plan well, but needs a reliable car (07 Camry is @ 195K, lots of upstate NY winters). So seeing Ki-Po made me go look. Thanks for keeping content relevant!!! IMHO, used EV’s are the main way we’ll bring EVs into the mainstream. And the Bolt IS the poster-child. Thanks again!
I want an EV now. But it’s the new Cadillac Optiq that’s not out yet. If it doesn’t come out before the tax credit ends, that will be a deal breaker because of the big depreciation on EV’s.
EVs don’t do big depreciation. The depreciation calculation doesn’t take the tax credit into account. Therefore, there’s an “extra” $7,500 in depreciation that all EVs get that shows up like it happens because of demand or market factors. It’s on the hood.
@ I think that’s what I meant. That the tax credit would help a lot to offset the depreciation. But without the tax credit the buyer would take an additional depreciation hit.
Consider a Lyriq. I love mine. I also think you will be better off with a car that has been out for a year. On the Lyriq forum it seems that it is mostly people with the Debut Edition who are having problems. The dealers and GM are really dealing. I leased. At the same time my daughter leased a VW Atlas. Both cars were well equipped but the Lyriq was better equipped. The VW was $300/mo more. Between the $7500 credit, manufacturer and dealer incentives, and super high residuals the lease deals are almost too good to be true.
@@djrbikes1 We set in the Lyriq at our local Cadillac dealer. It was beautiful and we loved the style. GM has Tesla beat by miles on this. It is only my wife and I and the Lyriq was just too big for us. That’s why we’re hoping the Optiq will come out soon before the tax credit ends. Plus the Sport 3 Optiq loaded is less than $60k before the tax credit. As far as the Lyriq being out for a year and getting the bugs worked out, I’m hoping they are using that knowledge while building the Optiq. Thanks for replying to me.
No way I would get a J1772 only … unless it’s my 2nd car for around town. I have owned a mix of 3 Bolt EVs and 2 Blazer EVs. And had a Silverado EV and a Silverado 2500 6.6L.
I’m pretty disappointed with GM and only really recommend the Bolt EV. And that’s because the price and cost per mile are fantastic
I totally agree that the Bolt should be a very low cost per mile. This Bolt is for my son. He won’t need fast charging.
Alright. My official guess was $3,999.95 before tax, license, and tires. (Free car after used EV tax credit.)
I don’t know if you’ve looked at the market, but that’s a little under.
@Aslash304 I have. I was just hoping to see your "Free Car!" video. 😁 Personally, I think a non-CCS should be significantly discounted, but some people probably still value it. It's certainly still capable, as you demonstrated.
From what I can discern if you are only using level 1 or 2 charging it doesn't matter or put much stress on the battery to charge up to 100 percent. You're not even losing charging speed on level two like you would charging past 80 percent on DC charging. So there really is no real reason to handicap yourself to 4/5 of the range.
I made a video about charging, it’s linked at the end of this one, that goes into some pretty specific and explicit detail regarding the dangers of charging NMC chemistry batteries to 100%.
Wow, that was cringy to watch on your last miles with the hazard lights on. My cousin drove from Santa Clarita to Las Vegas and back, it's not 500 miles but she still had to stop and charge between those distance in a Bolt.
Yes. It was equally as cringe to drive it. Thanks for sharing your experience! Have a great start to your 2025!
So in this case you’d actually want to hit up 7 kW vs 5 kW or 3 kW options. Crazy tough trip.
I did the best I could. I’m sure there were optimizations I didn’t take advantage of. Thanks for watching!
The first gen Bolts were cuter.
Agree.
Ha, I'm pretty sure you bought the Bolt I was looking to buy from Ki-po back in Nov.
@@Bashaum I liked what it had to offer.
Man.. That was hardcore...
Yes it was! Thanks for watching!
You are nuts. 500 miles with NO DCFC in bad weather!!? You are definitely way more patient than most people.
This is likely true.
That grey is also called primer or undercoat grey here…………..
Happy New Year for 2025 from Scotland to you and your family.
Great to know! Happy new year to you and yours as well!
You are an adventurous soul!
Indeed! Thanks for watching, and happy new year!
Small batteries suffer in the winter
All batteries suffer in the winter. But, since small batteries do more lifting overall for the vehicle because each kWh has more responsibility, I agree with your sentiment as well.
I’ve never heard of a Bolt without one pedal driving. Your doesn’t let you pull back twice on the shifter to get in “L”?
Also: how about the paddle regen braking behind the left side of the steering wheel?
I did mention the paddle in the video. And yes, this one has the L mode. I just hadn’t found it yet. Thanks so much for the suggestion!
Why only use the climate while charging on this trip? I understand if you're trying to keep enough charge to get to a charger, but for efficiency's sake, it seems to me that it's using the same energy whether from the battery or the grid. So please correct me, but whether you used the climate on the way to the charger, or at the charger, isn't it adding the same amount of charging time to the stop?
No. The heat is resistive, and uses anywhere from 1-5 kW constant. My efficiency would have been more like 2.8 miles per kWh, had I run the climate, adding about 2-4 hours of charging to my trip. I turned it on when it was plugged in because then it uses power from the grid, not the car, to heat the car. No matter what, every minute I had the heat on added time to my trip.
While I get picking it up for content. I probably would have told them to ship it to me
@@cabinboybp1 shipping would have been $1,000. And for the cost of a 1 day car rental +$1 I got to prove that you don’t need DC fast chargers to make it around.
good video thanks but i will keep my 2021 Tesla model 3
My wife had a 2021 model 3. She traded for a 2024 model 3. She will always drive Tesla. I had a 2021 Model Y, they are great cars
@@Aslash304 i bought mine used with 13k miles on it but now have 27k on it paid about 40k for that but it only money
@@Aslash304 yes they are great vehicles thanks
If ever there was a commercial to not buy a bolt to go long distances it's this video 😂 nonetheless good commercial though😂
@@tonebonebgky2 It’s a short range car for my son. I transported it 400+ miles for $1.
@@Aslash304and made excellent content!
So how much did you pay? $9000? Do you even mention the price? New battery from the buyback?
I’ll address these in an upcoming video.
my neighbor 2 doors down got part of their garage burnt up from the chevy bolt. seriously folk, just get a Tesla and not worry about anything
Please please please let me know the location. There were 16 total. I’d love to know which one of the 16 it was.
@@Aslash304 There are far more fires caused by ICE vehicles than electric vehicles. Frankly there are way more fires caused by gas lawnmowers than electric cars. There are also more fires caused by toy RC cars than electric cars.
My son lives not far from you, in Pittsburgh. We want to get him one of these Bolt buy backs. I have some specific questions. Is there a way I can email or direct message you. BTW I have had a Lyriq for about 3 months and love it. I think they are on top of the technology. There have have really only been a few minor tech glitches,, one of which was fixed by OnStar by sending a reset signal and the other is occasional hard emergency stops for no reason when o back out of my garage. It is my first EV and first GM. I’m a convert.
I would like to know how you searched for the buybacks. What to look for/ask about, and of course price. I noticed a couple of dealers in Ohio, between Youngstown and Akron seem to have a lot of them, but seem to factor in the $4000 tax credit to the advertised price. I also wanted to know why it was worth your while to go all the way to NY for the one you purchased. Between dealers and the Mass Hertz dump there seem to be quite a few available within 100 miles of Pittsburgh (and Morgantown)in the $12k to $20k range.
I’ll answer all these in an upcoming video. adamsevreviews@yahoo.com
The range you lost going uphill you regain after going downhill due to the Regen feature.
Great point
Regenerative braking is not 100% efficient (more like 60-70%, I've read), so you will never get back all the energy you use going up a hill via regen on the other side.
@@dlhorne42 correct. Good point
I thought Evs were unreliable in very cold weather..remember people up state couldn’t drive their Tesla because of the extreme cold they were having
Not true. And it doesn’t matter what brand. In extreme cold they are hard to charge, not to run. Don’t let your battery get low, you’ll never have trouble in extreme cold. People are treating winter like summer. You can’t run your battery to 3%. Those that do will suffer. The first thing a battery has to do before it charges is get warm. It has to be at an operating temperature to accept a charge. This is not the case when releasing energy. I explain this in easy-to-understand, explicit and complete detail in my charging video. th-cam.com/video/xA7HXHhR8LA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=cLKmfHhyN9YcKtSI
This was amazing to see and has me re-revaluating road-tripping with my EV. Thank you for providing a blueprint, and the planning is everything 🔥🫡
I appreciate you taking the time to check it out! Happy new year!
can you provide a link where a person can buy one of these Buy back Bolts
I’ll address this in an upcoming video
This bolt has one pedal driving. Just throw it into B mode with the shifter.
How much did you end up paying for the Bolt?
Thank you so much for this! I just tested it, works great!
@@Aslash304it threw me off too cuz the L doesn’t light up in my 2019 until you toggle the shifter back one more time. Stealth 1PD.
Great urban runabout, but horrible road tripping or anything over 200 miles in the winter
Easier to say buy the right tool for the job. Lots of 50k plus EV’s that roadtrip fine. Of course they are more expensive to buy and cost more to charge vs buying fuel for many ICE vehicles.Plus insurance is really going up.
Absolutely right. It’s for my son, and will likely never leave town again.
@@ThanksForTheLaughCost more to charge? In what State?
If you can't use the heater, it's not a real car.
There ya go. A very gotcha comment. My son is going to be very disappointed that his car isn’t real.
Why not charge to 100% on a road trip, when you're sleeping in the hotel anyway ?
I posted it in text form in the video. I don’t think I can. Like at all. The software updates have limited the battery to protect it. And, even if I could, I wouldn’t. Because I don’t. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I don’t charge NMC to 100 ever for any reason.
The charge is limited to 80% until 15k miles after the battery check/replacement, or so my local dealer told me. That's whether or not the battery actually needed to be changed.
I believe the limit is 10,000 km or ~6200 miles for the battery diagnostic software.
@@dlhorne42 That'll be better, we've done 2,500 miles in 3 months so should unlock 100% charge possible by the Summer.
@@Aslash304 Once or twice a year you should drain down to when the low is on the screen. Then charge to 100% to calibrate the batteries BMS( NMC only).
So ...the moral to the story is the Chevy bolt is not a road trip car
The ones without CCS. Most of them have fast charging.
@@Aslash304 Even with DC charging, there are better EVs out there for road trips (and I say this even as I own one), but not at the same price point. I looked at how I would actually use the car (the first road trip I’d taken in five years was to buy my Bolt) and it fits my use very well.
Why did you limit the plug share search to 10kw, doesn’t your car take up to 11kw?
It takes up to 7.6kW with the 32A on board. The limit of the charger was more my concern. I’m sure there was a number I could have chosen that would have been more optimal, but I chose 10.
@@Aslash304Even so, the charging station will not provide any more current than what the vehicle will take. The AC charger is actually in the vehicle and the external unit just tells it how much current is available.