[BrodyWhite]

I recently purchased a 2014 Volt. The battery seems to work fine however I don't think I have seen its full potential being that here in KC, MO we are in the dead of winter. When fully charged it estimates 31 miles. I am hoping that estimation it higher with warmer weather however the battery could have degraded some too. A bigger concern I have is the gas range. When researching I always saw 38 miles for battery and ~345 miles for gas with premium fuel. Unfortunately even with premium fuel my estimated gas range is 200-215 miles. That is a serious loss of miles. I was expecting a range comparable to my previous traditional ICE Hyundai Sonata but I am losing about 100 miles. Has anyone else experienced this? Could something be wrong? Does the ICE lose range in the winter too? Does the range estimation provided not factor in mpg well enough to calculate a 345 mile range?

 

[emartin00]

The mileage estimates are based off of recent trips. You'll find if you actually take a long trip, your estimated miles will decrease a lot slower than your driven miles.
Also, relatively short runs are bad for efficiency of the gas engine. Again, if you drive a long distance, you will likely get many more miles than the prediction.

 

[BAZINGA]

BOTH of those numbers are "estimates" based on many factors but mostly how the vehicle has been driven/operated in the last several cycles. If the car was driven in CS mode in COLD weather it will use that as a baseline to GUESSTIMATE future range.

The major issue with the Volt's ICE fuel mileage is that most of it's use is in COLD temps and often when the car is driven a short distance, parked and driven again. ERDTT will kill fuel mileage.

I suggest filling the tank with fresh premium fuel and taking it on a long drive and watch what happens to those numbers.

There is nothing wrong with your car.

 

[BrodyWhite]

I appreciate the replies. I was extra concerned because I am driving it to Oklahoma to visit family for Christmas and usually I don't stop for gas with a normal ICE car (270ish mile trip). Hopefully the long drive will fix the estimations as you both have suggested.

Basically it is running in ERDTT 80% of the time lately and all I take is short trips living in the city so I am making the estimate drop pretty drastically with those driving habits. It probably also didn't help that when loaning/test driving the car for a few days I ignorantly filled it up with regular fuel which probably threw off the estimates.

 

[calebh2002]

I just returned from my annual trip to central MO to visit the family! I ran on gas the entire week because there was no place for me to plug in. I generally got about 275ish miles per tank, exceeding the speed limit. I drove 2,700ish miles during the trip, with highway speeds of 85-90mph, except when I was stuck on I-70 in the ice storm Friday, and then Saturday on my way back to GA. I averaged 33mpg for the entire trip.

Edit: Typo on trip mileage.

 

[llninja]

.

There is nothing wrong with your car.

There might be something wrong with the driver... are you driving it like Jeff Gordon? Don't worry, my 2013 guessometer says 28, but in the spring and summer it climbs. I don't think anyone has reported any battery degradation to date. I used to drive like a grandpa trying to eek out every last EV mile. Now I just drive, taking on ramps and offramps at high speed and taking on any pony cars and ricer boys at stoplights. The dash still says I'm getting 73 MPG (take that, Prius fans) when it used to be in the 90's and occasionally break 100mpg.

 

[BrodyWhite]

I have only been driving the car for a week so most of the stats would be from the previous driver or others who test drove the car. I am far from a cautious or fuel efficient driver but the green ball thing has helped my acceleration and breaking. I think I am over thinking it with the battery and range as my family was appalled at the idea of an electric car (battery going out/furutre maintenance/reliability etc) but from all my research and everything on these forums I have found little to nothing negative.

 

[canehdian]

If you drive mostly EV, the gas range will be very pessimistic prior to going on a long trip.

I find I'm driving on "nothing" or even "make" extra fuel miles appear several minutes into a long cruise simply because it was a low estimate and it is adjusting longer to be more realistic based on current conditions.

 

[llninja]

I have only been driving the car for a week so most of the stats would be from the previous driver or others who test drove the car. I am far from a cautious or fuel efficient driver but the green ball thing has helped my acceleration and breaking. I think I am over thinking it with the battery and range as my family was appalled at the idea of an electric car (battery going out/furutre maintenance/reliability etc) but from all my research and everything on these forums I have found little to nothing negative.

Yeah, come back to the family with oil changes every 20k+ miles, 70-255 MPG, barely ever any brake work, a much lower fuel bill, and a ride smoother than a Rolls Royce.

Don't worry come summertime, you'll be hitting 40s and even 50s if you drive like a grandpa. Speed kills, so if you have two route, one at interstate and one slower with few stops, thenslower one always wins in the range game. But again, beating a mustangs and camaros off the line is a whole lot of fun. You've got them from 0 to 30 mph, it's only when they get roaring from 30-75 mph that they can catch you.

 

[mhguy]

I had to do a double take on this subject "2014 Gas Range". At first I thought you were selling a near new kitchen appliance.

Dick

 

[freshcut]

I can say that with a 270 mile trip, you should easily make that on one tank. I've taken the drive from here to Vegas which is right around the 300 mile mark and arrived close to empty, but not entirely (low fuel w/15 miles battery left due to MM). I will admit, I was a bit disappointed in that figure, but my car also has about 73K gas miles and no history or engine maintenance other than regular oil changes. I recently replaced the plugs in it and although they looked practically new, I feel better. I will be doing that drive again this weekend and am looking forward to the comparison. I think the original 350 mile estimate didn't take into account sustained 70-75 mph drives which do have a noticeable affect on mileage.

 

[llninja]

I can say that with a 270 mile trip, you should easily make that on one tank. I've taken the drive from here to Vegas which is right around the 300 mile mark and arrived close to empty, but not entirely (low fuel w/15 miles battery left due to MM). I will admit, I was a bit disappointed in that figure, but my car also has about 73K gas miles and no history or engine maintenance other than regular oil changes. I recently replaced the plugs in it and although they looked practically new, I feel better. I will be doing that drive again this weekend and am looking forward to the comparison. I think the original 350 mile estimate didn't take into account sustained 70-75 mph drives which do have a noticeable affect on mileage.

Yes, 70-75 mph will kill your range. Doing the same trip at 55-65 will yield more range, but gas is relatively cheap, and you definitely don't want to be a laggard on some of our nation's highways where people might run you down, give you strange looks, and share finger gestures.

 

[emartin00]

Basically it is running in ERDTT 80% of the time lately and all I take is short trips living in the city so I am making the estimate drop pretty drastically with those driving habits. It probably also didn't help that when loaning/test driving the car for a few days I ignorantly filled it up with regular fuel which probably threw off the estimates.

ERDTT is 90% of the drop in estimated range. I have seen my estimated range drop to as low as about 150 miles on a full tank. However, after driving 100 miles, I looked down and noticed the estimate was now at 120 miles.

 

[BrodyWhite]

Well I am certainly no longer concerned about the range and I can't wait to share the results of my trip!

 

[freshcut]

Yes, 70-75 mph will kill your range. Doing the same trip at 55-65 will yield more range, but gas is relatively cheap, and you definitely don't want to be a laggard on some of our nation's highways where people might run you down, give you strange looks, and share finger gestures.

Absolutely. And in the case of the drive on I-15 into Vegas, 70-75 still gets a fair number of angry drivers behind you, even in the right lane, But, the plus side is, a full tank is usually around $20 anyway, so saving a buck or two just to get a few extra miles of range isn't always worth the angry horn blowing from the guy who can't wait to go blow his vacation money at the blackjack table.

 

[saltsman]

Also, I don't think we've observed any battery degeneration on any Volt yet. No worries, your range will be back in the spring.

 

[llninja]

I appreciate the replies. I was extra concerned because I am driving it to Oklahoma to visit family for Christmas and usually I don't stop for gas with a normal ICE car (270ish mile trip). Hopefully the long drive will fix the estimations as you both have suggested.

Basically it is running in ERDTT 80% of the time lately and all I take is short trips living in the city so I am making the estimate drop pretty drastically with those driving habits. It probably also didn't help that when loaning/test driving the car for a few days I ignorantly filled it up with regular fuel which probably threw off the estimates.

If you filled with regular, I would add premium as soon as you have room in the tank to add any fuel, and keep doing so to continue to raise the octane level. On the flip side, I wouldn't go so far as to get the tank drained by the dealership. Many run on regular and haven't reported issues, but I for one am not going to deviate on what the owner's manual says for a gen 1.

 

[BrodyWhite]

For future reference and others who might be shopping for Volts and are worried about range here are the stats from my trip:

To Oklahoma:
250 miles driven
Started with full battery
~35 miles driven with only the battery
~43-45mpg
Cruise set to 70mph 95% of the trip
Climate: No heat used. Air conditioning for 20-30min on low temp with low fan. (had a warm front and the sun directly on us)
115 miles left

Return to Missouri:
250 miles driven
Started with no battery (no place to charge in Claremore and grandma's house would've been struggling even at 8amps)
0 miles with battery
~35mpg (my brother drove back and did not try his best to be fuel efficient)
Cruise set to 70mph 50% of trip 75mph 25% and 80mph 25%
Climate: Little to no use. A little AC
65 miles left

Let it be known that the speed killed my mpg on the return trip. I tried explaining to my brother but it wasn't until half way through the trip when more than half of our estimated range was gone that he finally went down to 70. The speed change from 75-80 down to 70 only adds about 20-30 min to the trip but greatly improves gas mileage. We could've made it going 75 or 80 but the more gas I can save the better.

The estimated range with a full tank of gas now is about 315 miles and I am getting a full charge to see if the electric range estimate improved too.

I think the lesson I learned is to just trust that the car knows what it is doing and to just enjoy driving it. However this is all new to me and it is somewhat exciting to monitor and attempt to improve my range and mpg stats. Unfortunately this trip dropped my lifetime mpg from 75mpg to 69mpg but I mostly blame that on my brother. After this trip I know I will enjoy this car for a long time.