[Geert Aerts]

I never have any rear seat passengers (and suspect most Volt owners don't either). To avoid wasting electricity to heat the rear seat footwells, and heat up mine and my passenger's feet quicker, I taped over the outlet ends of the rear seat footwell heater ducts. These ducts are pretty large and a total waste. I attached a pic with the left driver duct taped and the right driver duct not taped. The rear seat passengers can't see these ducts as they are waaaaayy under the driver and passenger seats.

In other cars I've removed these useless ducts completely. Does anyone know if there's an easy way to remove the side panel next to the console tunnel to disconnect and cap (or remove) the rear seat heater duct where it splits off at the front?
Thanks!

 

[somms]

I never have any rear seat passengers (and suspect most Volt owners don't either). To avoid wasting electricity to heat the rear seat footwells, and heat up mine and my passenger's feet quicker, I taped over the outlet ends of the rear seat footwell heater ducts

If you haven't installed the popular VoltShelf add-on yet you ought to think about considering this since it creates a smaller cabin interior by blocking off the rear hatch area which should help speed the heat-up the interior of your Volt as well!

 

[quirkySquirt]

That's a neat idea. I'm going to do the same with maybe some cloth or something to avoid the tape residue later on. Was it a night/day difference in front footwell heating? Cause that's one of the gripes I have about my Volt. With just windows and feet routed for heat, everything but my feet are warm.

 

[Arcanox]

Where does the battery ventilate to? I'm assuming it must be somewhere outside if it doesn't vent into the cabin. My '06 Highlander Hybrid had battery vents near the floor on the middle row passenger seating, and the manual stated that they had to remain completely clear, but I'm assuming that the Volt, with its active battery temperature system, probably has that better under control.

 

[kns]

Where does the battery ventilate to?

The 12v battery is in the cabin under the rear deck. It is a sealed lead acid (SLA) type.

KNS

 

[Arcanox]

The 12v battery is in the cabin under the rear deck. It is a sealed lead acid (SLA) type.

KNS

I was referring to the traction battery, which I would imagine doesn't really need air ventilation (as it has liquid coolant), but I wasn't sure if it had any vents anywhere.

 

[llninja]

I was referring to the traction battery, which I would imagine doesn't really need air ventilation (as it has liquid coolant), but I wasn't sure if it had any vents anywhere.

Venting battery gasses into the cabin would be a sure-fire way to lose customers. In my BMW 535i, the battery was placed under the back seat, and there were hoses that you had to attach to vent the gasses out of the cabin. That not an issue when the battery is placed in the negine compartment.

 

[Raymondjram]

Where does the battery ventilate to? I'm assuming it must be somewhere outside if it doesn't vent into the cabin. My '06 Highlander Hybrid had battery vents near the floor on the middle row passenger seating, and the manual stated that they had to remain completely clear, but I'm assuming that the Volt, with its active battery temperature system, probably has that better under control.

In the Ford fusion Hybrid and Energi (the difference is the battery size), there are two vent inputs at the rear deck behind the rear seats (they look like a second pair of rear speaker grilles). The exhaust is in the trunk floor facing out. The Fusion uses a large fan to force cabin cooled air to the battery. No passenger can feel or hear the fan in operation. The Fusion manual explicitly states that the rear deck must be clear of any package or cover at all times.

Here is a picture of the Fusion battery outside of the vehicle. The view layout is as if it was seen from the inside toward the rear (the two snorkels are the inputs). You can see the fan and exhaust which face the trunk. The orange plug that disconnects the HV battery is visible here, but hidden behind the rear seat back inside the Fusion, and under a cloth cover.

The HV battery sits so low in the trunk that the height of the snorkels allows a large cargo passthrough when the rear back is folded down. The snorkels are visible in the trunk looking toward the rear set but don't block the pass through. Visit a Ford dealer and you can see for yourself how well packaged this HV battery and venting systen is done. There is good trunk space still available.


BTW, the 12VDC accessory battery sits on the driver side (left) fender in the trunk, behind a cover, and is very easy to open and check.

 

[ampera_jed]

You can also consider simply putting some things in the rear footwells, like old pillows. Or packing blankets.

This stops warm air from the front drifting to the back and being 'wasted'.

In fact, have you ever reached down and felt how cold it is near the seat rails, or anything metallic bolted to the chassis? You could put a screen across the aperture below the seat cushion at the front, keep the heat in the front footwell.

 

[Dutch]

The 12v battery is in the cabin under the rear deck. It is a sealed lead acid (SLA) type.

KNS

NO, it is an AGM type (which is a variant of the SLA type, but NOT the same) which doesn't "vent" at all which is why that type is used in an interior space.

 

[Norton]

I never have any rear seat passengers ...To avoid wasting electricity to heat the rear seat ...

I like the idea!
But I can top that.
In my Spark EV I always have the rear seats down and a carpet cover for the whole area. Easily reversible.

I plan on using a Patio Door Winterizing kit to tape across the roof and down the sides to create a little 2 seater cabin.
A little hair dryer use and you can't tell it's there !
I'll leave it loose near the floor for positive air flow to the rear exhaust vents.
OCD all the way, I know!

 

[ampera_jed]

NO, it is an AGM type (which is a variant of the SLA type, but NOT the same) which doesn't "vent" at all which is why that type is used in an interior space.

Really?

I think all battery types may vent, and they will have designs to permit that. Valve regulated lead acid sealed types should vent no more than AGM, they may become lightly pressurised to encourage recombination of the hydrogen but will still vent in a fault situation.

FWIW the reverse is also true that there are wet cell batteries that won't vent and are suited for cabin space use.

 

[Arcanox]

Venting battery gasses into the cabin would be a sure-fire way to lose customers. In my BMW 535i, the battery was placed under the back seat, and there were hoses that you had to attach to vent the gasses out of the cabin. That not an issue when the battery is placed in the negine compartment.

In my Highlander Hybrid, the 12V was under the hood near the engine, but the hybrid battery was under the rear passenger seating. There were air vents that would force air either from the cabin to the battery, or from the battery to the cabin (not sure). I had a gauge set up in my Torque OBDII software that I could activate to turn the battery fans on "max", and I could hear them kick in and see the battery temp drop. (towards the later years of the car's life, if the battery was over 130 *F, regenerative braking was very weak. Typical NiCad battery behavior)

 

[Norton]

In my Highlander Hybrid,... There were air vents that would force air either from the cabin to the battery, or from the battery to the cabin (not sure). ....Typical NiCad battery behavior)

The NiCad battery pack is freely venting air to and from the cabin????
Where do I sign up for this safe, high tech engineering!!!

And then I'm sure they market this as a high tech, high efficiency "Heat Recovery" system.

 

[Arcanox]

The NiCad battery pack is freely venting air to and from the cabin????
Where do I sign up for this safe, high tech engineering!!!

And then I'm sure they market this as a high tech, high efficiency "Heat Recovery" system.

See for yourself

(although I stand corrected; it has Ni-Mh, not Ni-Cad. I read somewhere that it was Ni-Cad...I suppose that was inaccurate)

 

[Steverino]

I taped over the outlet ends of the rear seat footwell heater ducts.

Black plastic with a stout rubber band would likely work as well without the mess of duct tape adhesive.

 

[snorth]

Black plastic with a stout rubber band would likely work as well without the mess of duct tape adhesive.

It looks like he used black electrician's tape, not duct, so that shouldn't be as big of a problem.

 

[flyingsherpa]

See for yourself

(although I stand corrected; it has Ni-Mh, not Ni-Cad. I read somewhere that it was Ni-Cad...I suppose that was inaccurate)

Right, NiMH, not NiCD... I don't think any EVs this century have used NiCD (actually I don't know of any production ones that ever used them). And AFAIK, NiMHs don't vent, so those fans were strictly for air cooling the cells. To answer your original question: no, the Volt doesn't have any cabin vents to help cool the traction battery. It's a sealed liquid cooling system, and has a radiator in the engine compartment to reject heat.

 

[quirkySquirt]

I used some old socks (clean) to stuff them up and though I don't feel any air anymore at the rear vents, the front doesn't really feel warmer to me. Anyone else see the same? I might need to by an infrared thermometer to measure any changes.

 

[2VoltFamily]

I never have any rear seat passengers (and suspect most Volt owners don't either). To avoid wasting electricity to heat the rear seat footwells, and heat up mine and my passenger's feet quicker, I taped over the outlet ends of the rear seat footwell heater ducts. These ducts are pretty large and a total waste. I attached a pic with the left driver duct taped and the right driver duct not taped. The rear seat passengers can't see these ducts as they are waaaaayy under the driver and passenger seats.

In other cars I've removed these useless ducts completely. Does anyone know if there's an easy way to remove the side panel next to the console tunnel to disconnect and cap (or remove) the rear seat heater duct where it splits off at the front?
Thanks! View attachment 128929

I wish you could give those vents to me for my Gen 1. Rear passenger comfort is a common complaint.