[Davis0042]

Well I found out today there isn't anymore tech help with the volts since they disbanded Volt advisors. Called Chevrolet customers service and explained that I had a 2012 Volt that had a 16.5 kW battery pack and I was getting 10.2 to 10.4 KWs . I told him I traded up to a 2015 with a 17.1 kW battery and saw no improvement still getting 10.2 to 10.3 kW and 48 to 50 miles ev range. I asked how many usable kW does the 2015 volt have available for use and I was told he didn't have a clue I asked if I could be directed to someone who might know another I don't know answer. So first I took it to a dealership that has volt tech and he had no clue either. My concern is A. Did my car get the wrong battery pack. B. Is it possible I have some bad cells.

Right now I am kind of stuck because when they find out how much ev range I get well you know sir we said it would get 38 mpg so you are doing much better than that. I even explained my 2012 with the smaller battery was putting up the same numbers. So I don't know.

 

[firehawk72]

Well I found out today there isn't anymore tech help with the volts since they disbanded Volt advisors. Called Chevrolet customers service and explained that I had a 2012 Volt that had a 16.5 kW battery pack and I was getting 10.2 to 10.4 KWs . I told him I traded up to a 2015 with a 17.1 kW battery and saw no improvement still getting 10.2 to 10.3 kW and 48 to 50 miles ev range. I asked how many usable kW does the 2015 volt have available for use and I was told he didn't have a clue I asked if I could be directed to someone who might know another I don't know answer. So first I took it to a dealership that has volt tech and he had no clue either. My concern is A. Did my car get the wrong battery pack. B. Is it possible I have some bad cells.

Right now I am kind of stuck because when they find out how much ev range I get well you know sir we said it would get 38 mpg so you are doing much better than that. I even explained my 2012 with the smaller battery was putting up the same numbers. So I don't know.

You are not a newbie, so lets look at it this way. We all know the kWh estimates is just that, so that isn't a great tool to go by. Also, you are getting an average of 49 miles per charge...what is there to complain about with that type of range.

Ok, have you checked the tires on the new 2015 Volt? Are they LLR tires?

 

[Ladogaboy]

The MY2015 has some advantages over the MY2012, but none of them have anything to do with efficiency or EV range. The MY2015 has a slightly higher capacity battery, but in my experience, the MY2012 has the same EV range. I think that is due to the removal of some aerodynamic features on the MY2015 (shorter air dam, no smooth under paneling, etc.). Also, if you had a late year MY2012, it likely came with a higher capacity battery.

If I were going to go back and buy another first generation Volt (they are still one of the best values on the market, in my opinion), I would favor the late MY2012 over pretty much every other model year.

 

[Davis0042]

I agree the 2012 was the best year Volt made. I did have a late build and it did have a 16.5 kW battery pack. I was just a little disappointed I was hoping to break the 50 mile mark but my 2015 is basically gets the same range or less.

 

[ClarksonCote]

I agree the 2012 was the best year Volt made. I did have a late build and it did have a 16.5 kW battery pack. I was just a little disappointed I was hoping to break the 50 mile mark but my 2015 is basically gets the same range or less.

Let the average sort itself out for a while, you may still find it gets better range. When you're talking about a few miles difference it's just too hard to say "it's the battery" as there's several other variables. People have cited the tires as one such example.

 

[BAZINGA]

But regardless of how many miles you get from a "charge" you should still see something NORTH of 11 kW before the ICE starts. Many have reported 11.4 kW whereas a 12/13 would only yield about 10.2 kW.

So you are saying your not getting 11.x kW from your fully charged/discharged battery?

 

[2VoltFamily]

explained that I had a 2012 Volt that had a 16.5 kW battery pack and I was getting 10.2 to 10.4 KWs . I told him I traded up to a 2015 with a 17.1 kW battery and saw no improvement still getting 10.2 to 10.3 kW and 48 to 50 miles ev range.

You are getting 4.7 miles per kW. Consider yourself lucky. I am getting about 3 miles per kW on my 2013. I could only get 4.7 miles per kW on the very best of days. So many variables but cold temps are to blame right now. And since you were getting near that with the 2012 I wonder why you traded. A .6 increase in capacity would only translate into about 2 miles of range.

If you are driving 48 to 50 miles on a charge I would stop looking for a problem that does not exist.

 

[flyingsherpa]

Here, you dropped these: h h h h h

(sorry, pet peeve)

To be fair, GM didn't get new EPA ratings for that MY, so you are getting what was advertised. But I can understand the annoyance since we "know" it has .5 kWh more. Is this a brand new car? Tires take time to break in. I'd give the whole car some time to break in, and even if nothing changes, it could be that your battery was slightly left of the bell curve but still within spec.

 

[2VoltFamily]

And just for the record, I have seen times when I fully depleted the battery on my 2013 and the guessometer showed 9.9 after driving 40 miles and other times when the guessometer showed 10.4 after driving 35 miles.

It seems that the guessometer is most consistent when I fully deplete the battery before connecting back to a EVSE. However I like to have a full battery as often as possible. Therefore, when it is in the garage I hook it up, guessometer be damned.

 

[telveer]

Gen 1 Volts do not report other usage (such as Heat, AC and battery conditioning). So, depending on Heat/AC usage and weather conditions, a greater portion of your battery may be going to non-traction usage.

I suggest you use the car for a few months, run down the battery to zero a few times, and let it settle down. No saying how the previous owner used it. As long as you get around 11kwh (give or take a few watts), I believe your 2015 Volt with 17.1kWh battery is well within the specs. The extra .5kWh should generally give you about 2 extra electric miles (at 98mpge).

In any case, you seem to be getting well over the EPA estimate of 38 miles per charge

 

[hellsop]

Peukert says different drives will mean different discharge rates to the point at which the car switches to CS, which means the "kwh used" figure will vary. It's not like emptying a tank.

 

[Davis0042]

Iam lucky if I get 10.2 or 10.3 kW which is what I got with the 2012 and about the same ev range I am beginning to think I might have gotten a 16.5 kW instead of a 17.1

 

[Ladogaboy]

As far as the displays were concerned (I've owned both a MY2012 and MY2015), the kWh used were always the same. Right around 10.5 kWh.

 

[trm2]

Twenty months and nearly 12,000 miles later, my '15 doesn't seem to get the same efficiency that my '13 got. Maybe it is the color, my '13 was blue and I miss it dearly.

 

[ClarksonCote]

Iam lucky if I get 10.2 or 10.3 kW which is what I got with the 2012 and about the same ev range I am beginning to think I might have gotten a 16.5 kW instead of a 17.1

The dealer has a test they can perform if you feel the battery is not performing within the specs of the warranty. Bring it in and let them test the usable capacity, while it's still under B2B warranty.

 

[VoltenRock]

The dealer has a test they can perform if you feel the battery is not performing within the specs of the warranty. Bring it in and let them test the usable capacity, while it's still under B2B warranty.

This is the answer.

WOP did a good post a while back on the specific service request and how to interpret the results. It's not so simple as generating a printout that says "you have the 17.1 kWh battery." A lot of '14 owners wanted this test to see if they got the larger battery.

In the meantime, you could always try measuring how much charge it takes from "empty" to "full"--minus the efficiency losses. This will give you a ballpark.

 

[sparks]

The MY2015 has some advantages over the MY2012, but none of them have anything to do with efficiency or EV range. The MY2015 has a slightly higher capacity battery, but in my experience, the MY2012 has the same EV range. I think that is due to the removal of some aerodynamic features on the MY2015 (shorter air dam, no smooth under paneling, etc.). Also, if you had a late year MY2012, it likely came with a higher capacity battery.

If I were going to go back and buy another first generation Volt (they are still one of the best values on the market, in my opinion), I would favor the late MY2012 over pretty much every other model year.

This ^^^. The additional battery capacity merely offset the removal of aerodynamic features (cost cutting). I owned both a 2012 Volt and a 2015 Volt, and if anything, the 2012 got a few more miles all-electric than the 2015. I agree with others on the forum who claim the 2012 was the best Gen 1 Volt year.

 

[wordptom]

Well I found out today there isn't anymore tech help with the volts since they disbanded Volt advisors. Called Chevrolet customers service and explained that I had a 2012 Volt that had a 16.5 kW battery pack and I was getting 10.2 to 10.4 KWs . I told him I traded up to a 2015 with a 17.1 kW battery and saw no improvement still getting 10.2 to 10.3 kW and 48 to 50 miles ev range. I asked how many usable kW does the 2015 volt have available for use and I was told he didn't have a clue I asked if I could be directed to someone who might know another I don't know answer. So first I took it to a dealership that has volt tech and he had no clue either. My concern is A. Did my car get the wrong battery pack. B. Is it possible I have some bad cells.

In a thread discussion not long ago, WOP posted: "The old "Volt Advisor" program hasn't really been "discontinued" but it has been re-worked and is now referred to as the "Chevy Electric Customer Support Team." Still, the advisors are there to help customers interact with dealer service departments, and are not necessarily familiar with details such as battery specs.

Not sure how much of a range increase you were expecting from a mere 0.6 kWh increase in full battery capacity. Based on normal ev mileage (you do not mention yours), a full charge range increase in your 2015 Volt because of increased useable kWh might be only a couple of miles. Something as modest as a difference in tire pressure between the two vehicles might be enough to offset the larger battery’s potential electric range advantage.

Without a "SOC at this point in time" display that shows us the state of charge as we unplug from the grid with a full charge and when the vehicle switches itself to ICE and at any point in between, we cannot expect the kWh Used shown on the usage screen when the battery is fully depleted to reflect the same % change in soc each and every time. There are a number of potential influences other than total battery capacity on the total kWh Used number that is displayed after the battery is fully depleted, especially if the determination of the switch-to-ICE soc point is influenced by the speed and torque demands experienced by the vehicle at that point in time.

 

[Bill Step]

I agree with others on the forum who claim the 2012 was the best Gen 1 Volt year.

what does the 2012 have that 2013 doesn't,,the 12 have a hold mode?

 

[2VoltFamily]

what does the 2012 have that 2013 doesn't,,the 12 have a hold mode?

The 2012 does not have HM which is why I avoided that one. I bought both mine new and with the exception of tracing the heater issue (which I think can happen on late 2012s as well) and a firmware update that made it lose miles when sitting in the parking lot, I have been happy. The issues were resolved and we love both cars.