Thanks for the detailed info. My plan is to EMPTY the tank and then add 2.5 gallons of fuel. And that will hold me until this winter and start using fuel for ERDTT duties.Once FMM starts the Volt will start to burn all of the fuel in the tank, i.e. 5 gallons. You can reduce the amount of fuel that will be consumed by FMM right now by mixing fresh fuel with the old fuel. The Volt will compute the average age of the fuel ((age of old fuel * gallons of old fuel in tank) + (age of fresh fuel * amount of fresh fuel added))/2.
It all depends on how much gas you are comfortable having sit in the fuel tank. If you allow FMM to use up 2.5 gallons of old fuel, starting now, and then purchase 2.5 gallons of fresh fuel, FMM will be suspended with 5 gallons of a mixture of 50% old fuel and 50% fresh fuel in the tank. In six months the Volt will ask you to allow FMM to run again.
You could suspend FMM right now by filling the fuel tank with 4 - 5 gallons of fresh fuel but then you would be carrying a full tank of fuel in the Volt when you regularly need to use only minimal amounts of gas. In this case too, in six months, the Volt will ask you to allow FMM to run again.
Since you normally use so little gas you may want to allow FMM to burn up all of the fuel in the tank (get the amount of old fuel in the tank down to less than 1/3 or 1/4 gallon) and then add 1.5 gallons of fresh fuel. That amount of fuel should last about a year with Engine Maintenance Mode running for about 10-15 minutes once every 6 weeks. Then, a year from now, you would purchase another 1.5 gallons of fresh fuel.
I keep my Volt's fuel tank between 1/3 and 1/2 full because I like knowing I have at least 150 - 200 miles of ICE range. As a rule I don't wait for EMM to run once every six weeks. I use Hold mode and run the ICE engine for about 8 - 10 miles every two weeks to circulate the fluids and and to fully heat up the engine oil to 190 F + to drive out any moisture from the engine.
5+ years, 3 Volt's and 1st FMM - Rat's
I knew it was lurking, bought our 2017 Aug 20th 2016. Have driven over 7400 miles and only have 50 miles on the ICE. VoltStats reports I'm operating my Volt at 99.3% all electric. My other two Volt's (2012 and 2013 driven over 45K miles) but they never needed a FMM. So today I get the FMM message and accept it. I have about 5 gallon's of gas in the tank. So I have one question and one observation.
Question: How much fuel will be burned off, all 5 gallons, a percentage, how much?
Observation: I know the door label shows my car was built 06/16, but since the FMM chose today to run, can I assume my car was "built" or given birth on June 22nd 2016, 365 days ago? I say that because there must be a clock/calendar built into the car and someone had to write the code to make this work and it makes sense to say "365 days from TODAY start FMM on the day the car registered fuel being added". Thoughts/comments.
Question: How much fuel will be burned off, all 5 gallons, a percentage, how much?
Observation: I know the door label shows my car was built 06/16, but since the FMM chose today to run, can I assume my car was "built" or given birth on June 22nd 2016, 365 days ago? I say that because there must be a clock/calendar built into the car and someone had to write the code to make this work and it makes sense to say "365 days from TODAY start FMM on the day the car registered fuel being added". Thoughts/comments.
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Thanks for the detailed info. My plan is to EMPTY the tank and then add 2.5 gallons of fuel. And that will hold me until this winter and start using fuel for ERDTT duties.
More good info. Thanks. And I know the Volt isn't a BEV but we don't use it for long distance travel, and the Gen II's range is a lot more than I need for 99% of my DD duties. We need/use the BIGGER GMC Acadia for ANY road trips hence the limited of miles on my ICE. Unless something changes my ICE will be barley broken in when I trade it in a few years, probably for a BEV.The FMM is triggered when the "average age" of the gas in the tank is ~12 months old, which suggests someone filled your Volt’s gas tank about June 22, 2016.
The FMM continues until something happens to change that average age of the gas in the Volt. Until then, you won’t be driving in Electric Mode, even with a full charge. If you drive until you run out of gas, you regain access to the battery, but go into Reduced Propulsion mode (reminding you that out of gas means engine is no longer available).
Whenever you run out of gas, after you put new gas into the tank, the engine will start and run a short self-test. If all is ok, everything returns to normal and you continue on in the driving mode you choose. I once used the Torque Pro app to monitor my gas volume when parked on a level surface, and refilled when it read 0%, 0.0 gallons remaining. There was no engine self-test performed in this case, indicating more fuel was remaining in the lines than if I had driven until the ICE stopped for lack of gas.
Even if you run out of gas, there’s still a wee bit of fuel in the lines. When I ran out of gas in my 2012 Volt to end my first FMM and filled the tank, my next FMM occurred 363 days later. Our friend Ari also chooses to run out before adding the minimum amount that will end the FMM (~1.5 gallons), and his FMMs usually occur ~313 days later (because the gas remaining in the lines after the tank is empty is enough to affect the overall "average age" of the ~1.5+ gallons now in the tank, lowering the next FMM date below the one year mark).
I’ve owned my 2012 Volt since April 2012, and drive 99% ev around home. I also tend to make a long vacation drive once a year or so (twice drove from Oregon to Michigan and back), so I try to time my last vacation fill-up to happen at least 100 miles from home. I reach home with plenty in the tank for any unexpected range extender needs, and I know it’s very possible I may make my next long trip before the next FMM window closes. After one of those fill-ups happened in late November, I discovered that if the most recent trip to the gas station was in mid to late winter one year, the desire to run the ICE and use up some of that getting-older gas for cabin heat the following cold season becomes very strong...
LLninja, thanks for the summary, you pretty much outlined my lifestyle. And for The Blue Flash, I actually thought the Gen II Volt could work as our retirement road vehicle until we had two grandchildren pop into our lives. We tried living with a 5 seater (Volt and then Equinox) but after one trip to visit them we soon discovered we needed a BIGGER vehicle. 25% off MSRP on the new 6 pax GMC Acadia Denali with ACC sealed the deal. So our Volt has become my DD getting me to/from work (22 miles r/t) taking me to retirement soon and with a Level II EVSE in the garage I have even driven my Volt over 100 miles on a Saturday meeting 100% of my needs.
I have lusted over a Tesla MS (even own stock) but contrary to many fanboy pronouncements I'm still not comfortable going LONG distance even in a Tesla with their S/C network. I have family in three locations and two are at the limits of my comfort
/safety limits so a Volt is still my perferred long distance "EV".
In a nut shell, a GMC Acadia sized vehicle with a Voltec power train that could go about 40 miles electric would be the PERFECT vehicle for me and I suspect millions of Americans.
I have lusted over a Tesla MS (even own stock) but contrary to many fanboy pronouncements I'm still not comfortable going LONG distance even in a Tesla with their S/C network. I have family in three locations and two are at the limits of my comfort
/safety limits so a Volt is still my perferred long distance "EV".
In a nut shell, a GMC Acadia sized vehicle with a Voltec power train that could go about 40 miles electric would be the PERFECT vehicle for me and I suspect millions of Americans.
Why not add an Escalade to our FrankensteinSubyukonLade!!!!
Roger......The "ade" was for the Escalade. Subyukonade is easier to pronounce than Subyukonlade. The thing to add would be Subyukonaderado to add a Silverado to the mix.
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