[KCF]

I know it's winter but it's CALIFORNIA!
I bought my Volt in August 2018 and my wife and my I really love the volt!
When we first got it we were getting 53 miles to the charge as advertised. But it's capacity seem to drop right away. Now it gets about 40 miles to a charge. It's only 50 degrees outside. I wouldn't consider that extreme cold..... Lord help us if it's actually below freezing.
Tonight I'm trying to go back to the charge cord 120 V charging to see if that brings up my total miles.
Also My "My Volt" app calculates 20 hours for a full charge which seems to be much longer than it took when I first bought it. (I haven't used it since I bought the 240-volt charger..)

Any thoughts?

 

[VoltAP1]

The capacity isn't lower, you're using more power running the heat. This is entirely normal as long as you use ~14.0-14.1 kWh over a full charge.

Read this: https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?232241-Getting-to-Know-Your-2016-Volt

And your owners manual, which addresses this very topic.

 

[Steverino]

The battery range ESTIMATE you are referring to is just that, it's not a meter. And it's based on your recent driving history, heavily influenced by your driving style, roads, weather, cabin heater use, etc.

See my FAQ in the Newcomers forum: https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?18609-Battery-Mile-Estimate-in-30-s-not-40-s-50-s.-Problem

 

[ackattacker]

Normal. It's the heater.

The 120V charge cord won't change anything. You're better off using 240V.

I get similar mileage using the heater. When it gets properly cold my miles goes into the mid 30s. When I brought it up I basically got jumped all over for daring to use the heat. Apparently you're supposed to just use the seat heaters and wear a hat and coat like it was a 1962 VW Beetle.

You can use the precondition to warm up the cabin when it's plugged in, which will help your range, but you're still heating with electricity so you're still paying for it.

 

[boberonicus]

Apparently you're supposed to just use the seat heaters and wear a hat and coat like it was a 1962 VW Beetle.

First laugh of the day! I like the image of salaryman donning a trilby, teeth chattering, hunkered over the steering wheel. Bet he's wearing leather gloves too.

 

[FI Spyder]

When I bought my Volt this spring it read 57 Km. After a few longer runs it went up to 70 Km. This winter it is down to 45Km. It is a Gen 1 and I won't go into Km/mile conversions because the percentages stay the same. And it rarely goes below freezing here (it is 45F and sunny this morning) although I'm in Canada, it's the PNW, consider this California North (not Northern California which for some reason Californians consider anywhere north of LA). The point being any time the temp's go below 70F and you use the heater (I know you California types do it) range is going to take a hit. Some of the new EV model's are starting to use heat pumps rather than resistive heating but I don't know how much of a difference that makes.

 

[soutthpaw]

Na, u wear these. I do. Zip feet off and they are easy to slip over clothes. (Or over nothing) https://www.selkbagusa.com
20 hours sounds like you do not have location based charging enabled for 12 amp 120v instead of 8 amp 120v which it will always default to each start due to Fking lawyers and stupid people...

 

[wordptom]

The 53 mile per charge advertised range is the EPA rating. If your driving habits and driving environment enable you to match the EPA mileage numbers, you will also get that range. Your mileage may vary.

The start of day range estimate reflects the driver’s driving habits, but for a new car, it takes time to gather data to make those estimates. Perhaps that’s why it remained around the 53 mile estimate when you first started driving the car, and then it went down as it started to reflect your driving at this time of the year (if two drivers are sharing the tasks, the estimate reflects data from the two of you).

Charging rate doesn’t affect the start of day range estimates - the quantity of usable power in a full charge remains fairly consistent (which, when multiplied by a calculated mileage based on the gathered data, gives the range estimate).

If this is your first Volt, it could be your first car with a fuel tank (i.e., the battery) that holds only enough fuel for one or two "gallons’ worth" of driving distance. That can make you extremely sensitive to how far you go before you refuel (even though "a full charge" is not a unit of fuel).

If you are used to driving hundreds of miles before adding gas to the tank, you are rarely aware of how far you drive on each and every gallon, and thus you may not pay much attention to the effect the season of the year or the use of air conditioning has on the fuel mileage. That changes when you start driving on electricity.

When temperatures drop, the power used to heat the cabin reduces the amount of power available for propulsion. Other seasonal factors impact the range. Cold air is denser than warm air. Precipitation modifies the road surface. In general, in the colder seasons it takes more energy to move a given distance than it does in warmer seasons to move the same distance, and distance driven on a tank of fuel is less.

Many people don’t drive beyond battery range each day, so the time it takes to recharge depends on how empty the battery was when you started recharging. The 120 volts / 8 amps setting may, indeed, take up to 18+ hours for a full charge. If your wall plug can safely handle 12 amps, then the Gen 2 Volt has a "location based charging" setting that can define any parking spot where you regularly do your charging as a "home" location, enabling you to set the default charging as 120 volts / 12 amps for that particular parking spot.

 

[VoltAP1]

In 35-50 F weather, I get about 35-39 miles per charge with the heater at 72 F and MAX. Changing to 72 F and ECO gives about 44-47 miles of range on the guessometer. ECO is really just a feel good term to describe "next to no heat if the cabin temp is within ~15 F of the setpoint," but it does give more range if you're comfortable driving like that.

Some days I run it on MAX, some days on ECO. I don't really worry about the energy usage as it's a couple of bucks a month either way.

 

[Geohec]

I get in the mid 40's in the winter from the occasional use of the heater but I wear a light jacket everyday to work anyway.

I don't like it too warm in the morning because I start getting too comfortable and have caught myself getting a little tired, so I only turn the heater a couple times for a few minutes in the morning and in the evening when commuting to work and back.

The biggest hit I take in guess-meter is from driving too fast because of a light day of traffic on the freeway and my lead foot.

Been driving mine for over 3 years and I'm at 60k. I still enjoy driving my car everyday. Best commuter I've ever owned.

 

[Toolworker]

The heater's the major factor. But battery capacity will also decrease noticeably as temperatures go down.

Another factor could be driving in the rain, which in California is a winter phenomenon. It definitely reduces range. I believe there are threads on why.

 

[barich]

The heater uses a massive amount of electricity, even when the temperatures are fairly mild. I wish GM had included a heat pump, as that would make heating more efficient down to a much lower temperature.

I try to avoid using the heat at all and just use the heated seat/steering wheel down to about 30-40 degrees. Much colder than that and I have to turn it on to avoid the windows fogging up. I also turn it on if I have passengers, because I am willing to endure some minor discomfort to save energy, but I'm not going to force others to.