[ChrisC]

I'm starting to dig out of the hole I've been in for a few months, and will start updating the FAQ here again soon.

Thanks to those of you who have continued to keep the FAQ link in your signatures!

 

[raypark86]

I was nervous about getting a Chevy Volt but I finally did it. Between DeLuca Chevy and www.greenerenergysolutions.net I had the confidence to cut the trips to the gas station. I have to say I'm really happy with my purchase and I feel like a celebrity in this thing. everyone always asks me about it, and after they check it out the inside they want to take it for a spin. Just wanted to share my experience.

 

[lpdover]

Hello all, I am a newbie, having just received my 2012 Volt 2 days ago. I am learning a lot from reading and appreciate all of the links and insight. My question is as follows:

Is there a disadvantage to leaving the car plugged in once the battery is fully charged? Does it continue to draw significant current under that circumstance? Is it recommended to just leave it plugged in if possible?

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

@ lpdover,

It is recommended to keep the vehicle plugged in, even when fully charged, to keep the battery temperature ready for the next drive. This is important when outside temperatures are extremely hot or cold.

Congratulations on your new Volt! If you do have any additional questions, feel free to give our Volt Advisor Team a call (contact information in my signature). We are available from 7AM to 12 midnight EST, 7 days a week.

 

[Red Volt]

Also, if you leave your car plugged in, and you remote start it (I start mine about 25-30 minutes before I leave) and let it "run" for the 10 minute period, it will warm/cool your car. After that cycle, it will recharge in about 10 minutes if you are using the 240V charger. It will take longer with the 110V charger, I don't know how long.

I imagine that could be handy this time of year in NY.

Search the forum for people who park in the garage, as I can't remember if there is a way to disable the ICE from coming on if it's really cold outside.

 

[lpdover]

Thanks. Does the Volt continue to draw significant power even when the battery is fully charged?

 

[WVhybrid]

ChrisC:

This would be a good addition to the FAQ.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?9117-What-do-all-the-acronyms-mean&p=87861#post87861

 

[ChrisC]

Agreed, added!

 

[ChrisC]

Time for my periodic plea for the admins to raise the profile of this FAQ

The FAQ, the first post in this thread, is the mother of all posts, started in December 2010 when I was extremely active here. I took all the useful posts and collected them together, and have been updating it ever since. You can't add things to the FAQ yourself, you have to get me to do it. The way to alert me to a good post for the FAQ is described ... in the FAQ! (at the bottom)

Volt owners Scott (scottf200) and Marty (WVhybrid) have been most active in occasionally submitting FAQ additions to me. Some users also keep a link to the FAQ in their sigs, like mine below, to raise the profile of the FAQ. As has been discussed in this FAQ thread, we would love to have a more prominent link to the FAQ, e.g. on the menu bar of the site, but our requests for that have fallen on deaf ears here. To be fair, we haven't tried very hard. I guess we're all too busy making money so we can afford our shiny futuristic cars

If any admins are reading this, we would love for the "FAQ" item on the blue menubar above to link to my FAQ below. What it links to now is just the generic vBulletin FAQ. Further, there's the "FAQs" item in the grey menubar above, which does provide some very basic Volt info; perhaps at the bottom of that FAQ you could link to mine (and rename that link to "Volt FAQs"). However that would really be burying the link and nobody would ever find it, so that solution by itself wouldn't be sufficient. PM me if you'd like to discuss. If you raise the profile of my FAQ, I will commit to maintaining it indefinitely, starting with a sorely needed reorg!

 

[Shaft]

I think these 2 videos should be referenced:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an-VyIau-FM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=343-NQKOvLg&feature=relmfu

 

[Runnn]

Thanks for the info!!!

 

[BillyGibsun]

RESPECT
Sometimes I feel very alone in TN trying to advocate and support the EV market. I am in solar, but I totally respect the folks that are pushing the EV market forward. Solar supplementing the charging is a great way to go. A lot of my solar customer's have an EV. We're currently working on a Solar powered charging station that will work standalone. So you pay no Utility tax on the electricity. It will also allow you house to run off your EV battery. Anywho, respect nothing but respect for the EV guys from the solar guy.
GIBSUN

 

[ChrisC]

I came back here (to the big FAQ I assembled as the first post of this thread) to get a link to something, and noticed that my signature here had "hidden content" replacing the four hyperlinks. Apparently the forum software thinks I have posted ZERO times to this forum. True, I haven't posted here much in a couple years, but back in 2010 I posted here over 1000 times So I'm just doing this post to see if that resets the counter or something. And posting here will also bump up this thread and remind people that it exists ...

EDIT: yessir, that fixed it! Hey mods, the forum engine has a bug ...

 

[jwetherb]

Agreed -- great post! And that it was a bit hard to find...

I just got a 2016 volt, am loving it, and want to learn all about how to maximize my experience (optimized braking, best charging practices, software downloads, etc.). Is there a page like this specific to the 2nd gen Volts?

Jon in San Mateo (CA)