I picked up an ELR a couple of weeks ago, have driven it daily with no issues and love the car. We're taking our first road trip in a week, about 400 miles one way. Anything I need to do before hand or anything unusual to look for. I plan to leave with the battery charged and keep it in hold mode to keep the battery for city use when we arrive. Does the engine run harder in hold mode then it normally would after the battery is depleted?
First long trip - Anything unusual to expect?
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My ELR does great on roadtrips.
Things to keep in mind.
You DO NOT have a spare tire. You have at best a possible limp kit. Get some 3rd party roadside, and don't bother with Onstar. You will be stuck for hours and regret it.
Throw it in hold mode and keep the EV miles as a buffer.
If available, get Non Ethanol gas ( REC 90 ). It cost about the same as premium and over road trips at highways speed I get near 50 mpg with it vs 36-38 mpg on premium. After the first dozen miles the car runs so so much better on non ethanol.
Things to keep in mind.
You DO NOT have a spare tire. You have at best a possible limp kit. Get some 3rd party roadside, and don't bother with Onstar. You will be stuck for hours and regret it.
Throw it in hold mode and keep the EV miles as a buffer.
If available, get Non Ethanol gas ( REC 90 ). It cost about the same as premium and over road trips at highways speed I get near 50 mpg with it vs 36-38 mpg on premium. After the first dozen miles the car runs so so much better on non ethanol.
Perfect long distance trip. I started with a full tank and full charge, put it in hold mode as soon as I left to keep the battery for an emergency. Mileage on gas was 33 MPG, very respectable for a 4000 lb car and I wasn't taking it easy, running 80 MPH most of the way. I had decided not charge while away to take advantage of the onboard generator but got stuck in a storm and heavy traffic in Orlando. I switched to battery because I don't like the engine starting and stopping so much. I think once the engine oil is hot, there is minimum wear on starts but it still bothered me. I ate up most of the battery stuck in traffic so the next morning I checked for chargers at Disney and they had several at the Magic Kingdom. I asked when we bought our parking pass and was directed to the handicapped parking, which is the very first row. There were two chargers not in use, I parked, plugged in, and was so close to the park we didn't need a TRAM. We walked across the street and were on the monorail.
ONSTAR app was a gold mine. My car is black, it was 95 degrees in Florida, which meant the interior of my car was probably 140 - 150. When we were getting on the monorail to get back to the parking lot, I logged into the ONSTAR app and did a remote/remote start. When we opened the door to the car, it was like a refrigerator inside. The integration of the electronics with this car are amazing.
ONSTAR app was a gold mine. My car is black, it was 95 degrees in Florida, which meant the interior of my car was probably 140 - 150. When we were getting on the monorail to get back to the parking lot, I logged into the ONSTAR app and did a remote/remote start. When we opened the door to the car, it was like a refrigerator inside. The integration of the electronics with this car are amazing.
The generator starts and stops about the same while on the highway. You just must not be noticing it. If you use Enhanced display you can see when the generator is on and what RPM it is operating at. This is the way the Voltec is designed to work. It will generate some power and when the battery has enough it cuts off. Wen the battery needs more power it starts back up.
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