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35 Miles fully charged on a 2013?

2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  clublife.peoria 
#1 ·
This may be a bonehead question.. but new to the forum and just purchased a 2013 Volt with 110k miles on it.

From the searches I have done range was supposed to increased from 35 to 38 EV miles from 2012 to 2013.

I did a full charge last night and it stated only 35 miles fully charged.

Is there something I am missing.. battery degrading.. or?
 
#2 ·
Sorry.. after some more searching I came across my answer from DonC:

01-01-2013, 04:56 PM
Congrats on the car. Note that the range that shows up is a guess as to your range based on recent driving history not how much energy your battery pack has. The battery will charge to a given state of charge. The number of miles that shows up is an estimate based on that state of charge and your recent driving history (i.g., how fast you drive and how much you turn up the heater LOL). Don't worry too much, as it gets warmer and you have more experience with the car the range will increase.
 
#4 ·
Davin, Thanks for answering your own question and congrats on the new ride. Many new members, especially those new to the Volt seem to always express concern there is a battery issue because they don't get the range the expect before switching to gas in their "new to them" car. Just to give my personal experience I have a '13 I bought 3 years ago and have experienced a wide range of estimated miles for mine. I live in the central part of CA which sees extreme heat in summer and mild/cool winter with temps occasionally dipping around freezing but no extreme cold like many in the country. My range seems to fluctuate between 28-46. I don't drive aggressively and try to maintain 40-42psi in my tires (44 max psi for my current tires). I do enjoy keeping the cabin warm in winter and cool in summer which impacts my range quite a bit. Just a couple days of heavier climate usage sees a drop of several miles in some cases with winter being far more of a drop than summer. Once you've enjoyed your car for a couple/few months and have experienced a season change or two you will gain a better understanding on how various things you once did in a traditional gas car can really affect range in an EV, in particular that "free" heat you used to get from a gas engine now can cost you as much as 1/3 or more of your range if your generous with the heater A/C isn't usually quite as much but it can still take a range hit in extreme heat.

I hope my experience can help you and I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing how little things such as driving technique can impact both good and bad. It's much more obvious when you are dealing with a "range" of just a few miles rather than the 300+ range a full tank of gas in a normal ICE car gives you. It's like every day getting to start over to experiment and see how changing something as simple as setting the climate temp a couple degrees can give you an extra couple miles of range, or drop it by several. Hope you get to enjoy your Volt as much as many of us here enjoy ours.
 
#6 ·
Davin, Thanks for answering your own question and congrats on the new ride. Many new members, especially those new to the Volt seem to always express concern there is a battery issue because they don't get the range the expect before switching to gas in their "new to them" car. Just to give my personal experience I have a '13 I bought 3 years ago and have experienced a wide range of estimated miles for mine. I live in the central part of CA which sees extreme heat in summer and mild/cool winter with temps occasionally dipping around freezing but no extreme cold like many in the country. My range seems to fluctuate between 28-46. I don't drive aggressively and try to maintain 40-42psi in my tires (44 max psi for my current tires). I do enjoy keeping the cabin warm in winter and cool in summer which impacts my range quite a bit. Just a couple days of heavier climate usage sees a drop of several miles in some cases with winter being far more of a drop than summer. Once you've enjoyed your car for a couple/few months and have experienced a season change or two you will gain a better understanding on how various things you once did in a traditional gas car can really affect range in an EV, in particular that "free" heat you used to get from a gas engine now can cost you as much as 1/3 or more of your range if your generous with the heater A/C isn't usually quite as much but it can still take a range hit in extreme heat.

I hope my experience can help you and I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing how little things such as driving technique can impact both good and bad. It's much more obvious when you are dealing with a "range" of just a few miles rather than the 300+ range a full tank of gas in a normal ICE car gives you. It's like every day getting to start over to experiment and see how changing something as simple as setting the climate temp a couple degrees can give you an extra couple miles of range, or drop it by several. Hope you get to enjoy your Volt as much as many of us here enjoy ours.
Thank you for this information. Just purchased my 2014 two weeks ago, and wondered why after charging, it didn't show the "full battery" at more than 35, when the last charge showed 37. More highway driving this time, and warmer temps here in CO. So far, love the car, and have impressed some skeptics as to ride, mileage and room in the front seats.
 
#5 ·
Be aware that most of the "new" PHEVs out there have half the range of the Volt in the interests of keeping the costs down and not having to carry the weight of a bigger battery around when it is seldom used. Many Volt owners would probably be surprised at the "seldom used" part but that's why they have Volts and not something else.
 
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#7 ·
The range on my Volt is hardly ever actually accurate. Literally 99% of the time a full charge will result in a range of 35 miles. Never more, never less. I typically get an actual 30 or 31 miles to a charge (I don't drive conservatively). Rarely do I ever exceed 35. I would expect it to give an estimated range of 30-32, but never see that. My guess is maybe a built in minimum limit of 35? I don't know. Seems weird, but at least it's consistent, lol.
 
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