If the battery is too full, or too cold, or too warm, it will limit the amount of power you can capture with regen braking to prevent the battery from being damaged. Also, if the engine is running, it will also limit regen (because the engine is charging the battery as well until it shuts down).

 

Also, if the engine is running, it will also limit regen (because the engine is charging the battery as well until it shuts down).

The engine is rarely ever charging the battery. And if it does it will be only for a brief instance when the car is in transition. When the Volt operates in a Series mode the energy goes direct from the motor acting as a generator to the motor acting as the traction motor. The Volt always tries to minimise battery use when in charge sustain mode. Mostly for maximum efficiency as any energy routed through the battery is subject to charging losses.

When the Volt is in parallel mode the gas engine is directly sending power to the wheels.

 

Odd my paddle is fairly predictable. It phases in regen over time. The amount of peak regen achieved seems to be based on vehicle load and speed.

 

Use the pedal instead. It's just as effective and variable in slowing you. As a bonus, it can blend in the friction brakes if you need to stop faster than regen can alone -- or in emergency situations. Brilliant.

 

Usually what I do is I grab the paddle while I'm moving my foot to the brake in that case. I can reach the paddle faster than the brake pedal even if just by a fraction of a second. Using the paddle when possible feels smoother in my opinion as well.

 

I can't make sense of it. It does this when the battery is fully charged, going downhill (20 KW or so) or later, with partial battery on level street. Sometimes it will generate 40 KW or so when decelerating with a full battery. I've been watching this behavior for over a year, trying to understand the logic. I'd like to be able to anticipate how it will decelerate....

(I know, "use the brake pedal")

 

Are you saying you experience wildly different amounts under the same exact circumstances? So if you're going 30mph on a flat road, sometimes it will give you 20kW and sometimes 40kW?

 

Interesting

 

During the summer while I was in vacation in CA, I rented a '16 Volt via Turo for several days. I noticed that, compared to my Bolt's regen paddle, the Volt's regen braking seemed less refined, and more hurky-jerky than my Bolt. Just my 2 cents.

 

Not sure why but the paddle does not always work (on 2017 LT). Under identical circumstances (speed, angle, etc) it sometimes works and sometimes does not. The difference is obvious and has nothing to do with any factors. Does anyone else experience the same?

 

Are you saying that sometimes you get nothing at all from the paddle? One thing might be your right foot. If you are on the gas at all, the paddle is disengaged.