24 miles electric capacity 2017 Volt and 18MPG on ICE engine???
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Not normal. Maybe if you drive at 90 mph. Our 2017 gets about 63 miles on battery and 38 mpg on gas with outside temps around 60. From a previous post I see you have about 1500 miles on the car. You are running the cold tire pressure around 40? After driving are any of the wheels hot to the touch maybe because of a sticking brake? Was there a recent trip to the dealer for a software update? Updates can mess up the economy readings for a while.
MPG and electric range are of course highly variable, but unless it's cold you should be seeing the EPA numbers. Without a lot more information it's difficult to say if this is normal, but assuming standard temperatures, technique, and terrain, this would not be normal.
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Short answer: Yes, this could be normal. But under abnormal conditions.
See Voltstats.net for other Volt real-world stats. Note that averages would be more typical than a single trip would yield.
Was the route uphill?
Was the speed > 70mph? Was the throttle on the floor the entire time?
Was the temp 55F (as shown) the entire time?
Are there any other symptoms? Maybe a brake is dragging, for example. Which would give a bad smell like a burnt clutch. Are all the rotors the same color?
Was it in fact all one trip, or several short trips (which would lower gas mpg drastically due to multiple warm-up cycles.)
See Voltstats.net for other Volt real-world stats. Note that averages would be more typical than a single trip would yield.
Was the route uphill?
Was the speed > 70mph? Was the throttle on the floor the entire time?
Was the temp 55F (as shown) the entire time?
Are there any other symptoms? Maybe a brake is dragging, for example. Which would give a bad smell like a burnt clutch. Are all the rotors the same color?
Was it in fact all one trip, or several short trips (which would lower gas mpg drastically due to multiple warm-up cycles.)
Please provide some additional information including:
Tire pressure: 36 lbs is recommended but many Volt owners operate with tire pressure 2 - 3 lbs above the recommended pressure.
Your average driving speed: Nothing kills EV range and MPG like driving faster that 65 mph
Climate control settings: Do you use the Volt's electric heat? In extreme cases the electric heat can consume maybe 30% of your EV range. Try preconditioning in the morning; Set climate control to Auto, Recirculate, Max and temperature on HI. Two 10 minute preconditioning cycles will get the interior of the Volt quite warm. Once you get in and start the Volt set the temperature to 74 F. Use the heated seats and steering wheel (if equipped). Set the climate control to fan only on a low to medium setting. Cycle the electric heat on and off as needed by selecting the Economy or Max buttons.
In colder temperatures (below 35 F) the default setting of Engine Running Due to Temperature (ERDTT) will cycle the ICE on and off to generate some heat. The gas consumed will be minimal. You can defer the ERDTT, then the Volt will not start the ICE until the outside temperatures reaches 15 F or colder.
Tire pressure: 36 lbs is recommended but many Volt owners operate with tire pressure 2 - 3 lbs above the recommended pressure.
Your average driving speed: Nothing kills EV range and MPG like driving faster that 65 mph
Climate control settings: Do you use the Volt's electric heat? In extreme cases the electric heat can consume maybe 30% of your EV range. Try preconditioning in the morning; Set climate control to Auto, Recirculate, Max and temperature on HI. Two 10 minute preconditioning cycles will get the interior of the Volt quite warm. Once you get in and start the Volt set the temperature to 74 F. Use the heated seats and steering wheel (if equipped). Set the climate control to fan only on a low to medium setting. Cycle the electric heat on and off as needed by selecting the Economy or Max buttons.
In colder temperatures (below 35 F) the default setting of Engine Running Due to Temperature (ERDTT) will cycle the ICE on and off to generate some heat. The gas consumed will be minimal. You can defer the ERDTT, then the Volt will not start the ICE until the outside temperatures reaches 15 F or colder.
Welcome to the forum. Given your first two posts, I encourage you to take the Volt you claim to own to the dealer.
WOW that was fast thanks so much. BTW love Chicago went to grad school in that neck of the woods
Were you in stop and go traffic? Towing a trailer? Carrying excessive cargo weight? Have a load on the roof? Driving on an unpaved surface or in bad weather? If there is no unusual driving condition, including those mentioned earlier in the thread, I would suspect a problem with the car like bad steering alignment or a sticking brake caliper, etc.
50% stop and go, 50% freeway. no trailer or excess cargo weight, no load on the roof. slight grade through grapevine but not extreme by any measure. normal speed of traffic in carpool lane without pedal on full throttle. In fact, vehicle would not exceed 75mph during ascent even when pedal was depressed all the way. Fans were running extremely loud. nothing wrong with brakes or calipers. climate control off except for heated front windshield. tire pressure at normal cold pressure rating plus a little. braking is normal
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My worst so far has been a electric range of 30 miles. That was cold weather and some uphill with 65-80mph speeds. 24 miles is less than 2 miles per kWh, seems abnormal unless it was all uphill then it could be right.
The Grapevine is a pretty intense drive for any car. You're getting roughly 50% of the rated EPA range/MPG which is what I experience in an ICE car going through the Grapevine.
For those unaware this is a stretch of road that through several sections ascends several thousand feet of elevation with a median traffic speed of about 70 MPH. It's so severe that there are signs all along the road to turn off air conditioning to avoid overheating.
The back side of the Grapevine drops in elevation so much I could usually pick up 10 miles of EV range in my Volt.
Depending on the section of the Grapevine this is not abnormal at all. This is one of the roads that "Mountain Mode" was designed for (literally) and I would recommend using it to avoid loss of propulsion power and overheating.
You mention that "climate control is off except for heated front windshield". Having the heated front windshield on is equivalent to being on Comfort mode directed entirely at the windshield (defroster). If the fans were loud, I would expect that you had the desired temp set high and the fan speed set to auto. If this is true, you could be using 6600W per hour just for the climate control. Were your windows really fogging/icing up that bad to need this? Setting climate control to ECO helps reduce power. Use Comfort if it is cold or if the ICE is running as it will use the excess heat from the ICE.
So we have half the drive in stop and go traffic. Half climbing several thousand feet. And the defogger running with high fan speed. BTW that might include running heat and air conditioning simultaneously. That would explain the efficiency you saw. The car is efficient, but all those things consume energy.
I drive this section of I5 all the time too. It is very intense of mountain/elevation climb and then also temperature.. Was just a few years back they had to close I5 here due to heavy snow.. When I heard I5 was closed I thought it was going to be up on the OR/CA border but it was in the Grapevine section of I5..
Not surprised by the energy usage reported.
A few recommendations:
Using Front window defog could be a double whammy in certain situations .. which means it can run both heat and ac at the same time. Together, these modules could consume well over 7kw (the power module for EACH of these systems is rated for 7.7kw, if I am not mistaken). Use defog only when you need to, and switch to ECO all other times. If you enable auto-defog, it will try to keep your windshield fog-free as well, without you having to manually run it all the time.
75 mph is not good for mileage in any car. And if you are doing this up a steep grade, it is even worse. Next time you plan to go over steep grades, consider using Mountain Mode. It may not be any more efficient but at least, you won't be limited to 75mph, as MM maintains a larger battery buffer.
And you are gaining potential energy as you gain elevation. At some point, you will have to lose that elevation, and when you do, you will get back some of the energy that was lost when you climbed via regen. See how the averages are after you complete the whole trip.
As with any vehicle, YMMV.
Using Front window defog could be a double whammy in certain situations .. which means it can run both heat and ac at the same time. Together, these modules could consume well over 7kw (the power module for EACH of these systems is rated for 7.7kw, if I am not mistaken). Use defog only when you need to, and switch to ECO all other times. If you enable auto-defog, it will try to keep your windshield fog-free as well, without you having to manually run it all the time.
75 mph is not good for mileage in any car. And if you are doing this up a steep grade, it is even worse. Next time you plan to go over steep grades, consider using Mountain Mode. It may not be any more efficient but at least, you won't be limited to 75mph, as MM maintains a larger battery buffer.
And you are gaining potential energy as you gain elevation. At some point, you will have to lose that elevation, and when you do, you will get back some of the energy that was lost when you climbed via regen. See how the averages are after you complete the whole trip.
As with any vehicle, YMMV.
You might experiment with using Mountain Mode or Hold on the way up the Grapevine, leaving 1/3rd to 1/2 of the battery capacity for energy recapture on the downhill run. The ICE will provide heat for the defroster, the AC may run to defog the windows as it should.
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