[jessemcc58579]

I am considering purchasing a 2017 Volt. The one thing I did not like in my 2015 Volt was that the heat was pretty much non-existent in electric mode. Has anyone had bad luck with the heat in electric mode on the 2017...or does it work pretty good. Would hate to buy a 2017 and have the same problem.

 

[firehawk72]

I am considering purchasing a 2017 Volt. The one thing I did not like in my 2015 Volt was that the heat was pretty much non-existent in electric mode. Has anyone had bad luck with the heat in electric mode on the 2017...or does it work pretty good. Would hate to buy a 2017 and have the same problem.

Hmmm, I have a 2012. The heat works GREAT, but you really need to crank it up to about 78 or above on COMFORT. If you do that, you are nice and toasty. On ECO, you will freeze in cold weather until the car has LOTS of time to heat the car. On Comfort, the Volt is pretty much as good as any car once you really crank it up. Edit..this is on battery of course. With Engine heat, it really is a regular car.

 

[jessemcc58579]

I am convinced there is something wrong on my current 2015 Volt. I will have the heat in Comfort mode and force it to run on gas to start out with. I will wait for it to warm up nice and warm. Then I will switch back over to electric mode. At that point, it might blow warm air for 15 or 20 more seconds and then it feels more like my AC is on. I do realize that in general heat in electric mode may not be quite as good as heat in gas mode, but it seriously has felt more like AC for me. I even had the heat temperature set on high. Took it into the dealership and they ran a few tests and really couldn't figure out what was going on. Even when in gas mode and I stop at a stop light where the engine stops running, it'll switch to more of an AC feel.

 

[OneMatt]

I have a 2017. The heat works, and works well. I have used the precondition feature and finished work to have a toasty warm car waiting for me. After that, seems to hold the temp well enough.

But as others mentioned...in Eco mode, it takes its dear sweet time to heat up. In Max mode, it consumes up to 5kW. You want comfort, or battery life?

 

[Fourdoor]

I am convinced there is something wrong on my current 2015 Volt. I will have the heat in Comfort mode and force it to run on gas to start out with. I will wait for it to warm up nice and warm. Then I will switch back over to electric mode. At that point, it might blow warm air for 15 or 20 more seconds and then it feels more like my AC is on. I do realize that in general heat in electric mode may not be quite as good as heat in gas mode, but it seriously has felt more like AC for me. I even had the heat temperature set on high. Took it into the dealership and they ran a few tests and really couldn't figure out what was going on. Even when in gas mode and I stop at a stop light where the engine stops running, it'll switch to more of an AC feel.

If you keep the 2015 get a volt adviser in on the problems you are having with the heat. In comfort mode the electric heat should be fantastic, it should not feel any different than heat from the ICE. If you trade up to a 2nd gen, the heater should once again be fantastic, and if it isn't then it is broken and needs to be fixed

Keith

 

[voganni]

I agree with Fourdoor. The electric heat in my '13 is better than the ice in that it's instant. I have heat within a minute or less. I quit using eco and switched to comfort after the first winter. The fan runs faster, and once the car is warm, the heater ramps down to same as eco. I just leave it on auto, 74°, and I'm always warm. (Ironically, this is what the manual says to do!) You have a gas backup, so why freeze? If the car can't roast you in electric mode, something is wrong.

 

[TSquare]

I am considering purchasing a 2017 Volt. The one thing I did not like in my 2015 Volt was that the heat was pretty much non-existent in electric mode. Has anyone had bad luck with the heat in electric mode on the 2017...or does it work pretty good. Would hate to buy a 2017 and have the same problem.

I leased a 2013 for 3 years, now I own a 2017. the heat in the 2017 is much improved. Unless cold soaked, I usually run it in Auto/Eco at 74* and it has no problem warming up quickly. In the 2013, I had to run it in Max all winter to stay comfortable.

 

[BAZINGA]

Both of my two Gen 1's had no trouble generating heat in the winter


Sounds like your 15 needs to go to the dealer.

 

[Barry]

It sounds to me like your 15's heat is broken, so you should be able to get a huge improvement by either getting a 17 or fixing your 15. If your dealer has given up on the problem, contact a volt advisor. They can help a dealer get it fixed by connecting them with technical assistance at Chevy.

 

[Gary Norton]

I've had five Volts, 12,14,15, and currently 16 and 17. The heaters in all will drive you out, and faster than with the engine on, they just suck the battery. Obviously you can't be using eco. And below 15 degrees the engine comes on anyway. The heater is covered by your warranty. Maybe you should get it looked at.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I leased a 2013 for 3 years, now I own a 2017. the heat in the 2017 is much improved. Unless cold soaked, I usually run it in Auto/Eco at 74* and it has no problem warming up quickly. In the 2013, I had to run it in Max all winter to stay comfortable.

Yep, our experience with the 2013, especially when defogging so it's bringing in outside air (which you'll pretty much always be doing in cold temperatures) it just can't heat well enough. My wife has Reynaud's and is really never that comfortable in cold winter temperatures.

In our 2013 the magic temperature seems to be 76*. Below that it seems like the heating isn't doing anything.

My suggestion to the OP is that they wait a very cold winter day, take a highway test drive and see whether it heats adequately.

 

[PodCat]

The electric heat in my 2013 essentially did not work at all. It is a known problem based on the manufacturing date - midyear, I believe. After an in-warranty replacement it now works fine.

 

[snic]

My problem with my '16 Volt's electric heat is not so much that it doesn't work - it clearly does. It's that it seems to be very inconsistent. Sometimes 74 makes it so warm I keep notching it all the way down to 68 or 67, and I'm still too hot. Sometimes I set it to 74 and it never warms up to feel anything like 74. This is always with Eco mode. Part of the problem might be that it just takes a long time (like, an hour) to reach the desired temperature, and I never experience that because my commute is only 25 minutes.

I also find it annoying that it's impossible to put air flow mode to "defrost" without the a/c coming on. Why is there a "Max defrost" and "regular defrost" if they both do the same damn thing? Or is there something wrong with my car here?

 

[TSquare]

I also find it annoying that it's impossible to put air flow mode to "defrost" without the a/c coming on. Why is there a "Max defrost" and "regular defrost" if they both do the same damn thing? Or is there something wrong with my car here?

What you are calling "regular defrost" only controls the vents that the air is directed to. Select this control to direct the air to come out of the windshield vents. In "Fan Only" mode there will be no A/C.
The "Max Defrost" uses higher fan speed and A/C to clear the windshield.

 

[khalfyard]

If you use the MAX button for heat, the hot air arrives quite quickly off the electrical power. It sucks down the drive battery in a very noticeable way. Personally, I find the ECO mode for heat good enough, most of the time I just use the heated steering wheel and seats

My wife likes the cabin warm, it's her car, and she always cranks everything on her commute back and forth to work. Still plenty of range even as she drives to work on the highway (17km each way, in the HOV lanes by herself). And I agree with here philosophy of Volt ownership: Why not use the car to be comfy, if that floats your boat, the car has plenty of range for a city car.

 

[Triarius]

Honestly, just run the engine if you want to use heat. It's much better for the environment in most of the US.

 

[accelerus]

What you are calling "regular defrost" only controls the vents that the air is directed to. Select this control to direct the air to come out of the windshield vents. In "Fan Only" mode there will be no A/C.
The "Max Defrost" uses higher fan speed and A/C to clear the windshield.

Kind of makes sense the way they setup those buttons -- the outer buttons (max defrost, rear defrost, eco, and max) all control direct AC functions (i know rear doesn't use any AC just the electro wire defrost thingy)

the inner buttons (regular defrost, recirculate, floor vents, etc) all control *where* the air goes. For me at least, I'll look down and as long as I don't see the "power" button illuminated I know I'm just in vent mode and not willfully wasting juice on HVAC.

I know sometimes the car decides it needed some extra cooling for the batteries though, which I can't control. *shrugs*

 

[Splitting Atoms]

Heat in my 17 is just fine. I am not chasing kWh or fuel economy numbers though. I use eco and if that's not enough, I have no qualms about going to max. On that setting, the heat is great.

 

[snic]

What you are calling "regular defrost" only controls the vents that the air is directed to. Select this control to direct the air to come out of the windshield vents. In "Fan Only" mode there will be no A/C.

This is the problem: when I have everything off (i.e., the eco and max lights are not on, so I'm in fan only mode), when I push the inner defrost button (the one I called "regular defrost"), it blows cold air onto the windshield (and any other vent that's blowing air). I can also see the energy use go up when I do this while stopped. So that indicates that the AC is coming on.

Are you SURE your AC doesn't come on when you do the same thing? Maybe mine is defective...

 

[wws]

Try pressing the two top buttons to put the system in AUTO mode. Press ECO (or MAX if really needed), then dial in the temperature you want. The car will then do the rest.