[dfennell]

I've had my Volt for a few months now. My daily commute is 37 miles total. My question is does the volt start the ICE once and a while if it is never run? I mean if I drive to and from work for years then suddenly have a situation where I will run the vehicle out of charge and need the engine to run to produce power, I wouldn't expect that it would be in to good of condition. You know what happens when an engine just sits. I'm sure GM engineers thought of this but I didn't see any reference to it in the owners manual. I live in AZ so the engine will not be needed for heat ether. Was wondering if any of you had any insight or information concerning this. So I just put it in hold or mountain mode once and a while to let the engine run?
Thanks,
Darin

 

[Steverino]

Yes, GM did design for that. It's called EMM, Engine Maintenance Mode. It will force you to run the engine every so often if it's otherwise not being used.

There is also a FMM. Can you guess what that is?

 

[TSquare]

EMM will run every 6 weeks. Only runs a few minutes to get the engine up to temperature.
FMM will run every 12 months. Runs until all the old f*** is used.

 

[jcanoe]

6 weeks seems like a long time to me for the engine to not run so I will put the Volt in Hold mode and bring the engine up to temperature every 3 - 4 weeks if I have not otherwise used any gas. You can observe the engine coolant temperature on the Driver's Information Console. I run the Volt's gas engine for 8 - 12 miles on the highway and the engine coolant will reach ~195F - 205F. This drives any moisture out of the engine oil and crankcase and uses ~ 1 quarter gallon of gas. The Owner's Manual recommends keeping the fuel tank 1/3rd full (about 3 gallons) if you don't regularly need to use gas.

 

[Loboc]

Just don’t charge it once a month and the generator will come on. I don’t have this concern since my commute is 50 miles and ELR’s range is 38. I also change the oil more often than the meter says.

I plan to keep ELR for a few more years, so, I pamper her every chance I get. Her name is REDD.

 

[dfennell]

Thank you all for the input this makes sense to me, I figured they thought of it. Thus far I love the car, should have got one a long time ago.

 

[mark4090]

I just bought my 2018 six weeks ago yesterday. In the first week, EMM mode came on for a few minutes. Yesterday it came on again. So, I guess this is normal? I have yet to drive using the ICE and am at 387 miles.

 

[alfon]

We have a 2016 Volt Premier and before that a 2014 Volt LTZ (Premier). Both were and the 2016 Volt is my wife's car as we traded the 14 Volt in for it in July 2016. We never had the engine run either Volt on EMM or the Yearly fuel run for old fuel.

Don't be too concerned running your Volt on gas. The gas mpg will rival or beat nearly every eco box car out there as well. Outside the area all of our trips living here in northwestern Oregon we have to use gas with our 16 Volt. Once the 16 Volt's 1.5 engine warms to 195-210 F you will be surprised at the mpg achieved, usually far exceeding the EPA of 42 mpg. By the way not many cars have a EPA combined rating of 42 mpg.

 

[saghost]

I just bought my 2018 six weeks ago yesterday. In the first week, EMM mode came on for a few minutes. Yesterday it came on again. So, I guess this is normal? I have yet to drive using the ICE and am at 387 miles.

Yup. That's normal.

 

[jampers]

I agree with your numbers with the exception that: if you drive at more than 60 - 65 MPH then the aerodynamic drag will really suck your mileage down whether running on gas or battery. It seems to me that holding 70+ MPG versus 55-60 will use double the kWh and deplete the battery very quickly.

 

[RSL239]

I have 2500 miles on my 2017 Volt. I have never used gas except for
"maintenance". It is 13 months old and now it uses gas all the time.
How much of the old gas must I use before I fill the tank, so it will
stop using the gas engine?

 

[IceT]

If I'm not mistaken, someone on the forum quoted the owners' manual as saying that the tank should be filled when it is 2/3 empty.

My 2018 Volt is currently running in Fuel Maintenance Mode and I've driven the fuel level down to 20% from Full. Looks like it is about time to top it off.

 

[obermd]

I have 2500 miles on my 2017 Volt. I have never used gas except for
"maintenance". It is 13 months old and now it uses gas all the time.
How much of the old gas must I use before I fill the tank, so it will
stop using the gas engine?

According to the 2017 manual FMM will occur when the average age of the gas is estimated to be 50 to 52 weeks. You can either let it burn the gas down or put in at least two gallons to reset the FMM calculation. Personally in your case I'd probably burn the tank down to the low fuel light and then fill to halfway so as to not waste as much fuel the next time FMM comes around.

 

[jcanoe]

If I'm not mistaken, someone on the forum quoted the owners' manual as saying that the tank should be filled when it is 2/3 empty.

My 2018 Volt is currently running in Fuel Maintenance Mode and I've driven the fuel level down to 20% from Full. Looks like it is about time to top it off.

The Volt Owner's Manual recommends keeping the fuel tank 1/3rd full (approx. 3 gallons) if you don't regularly use gas when driving your Volt. 20% of 8.9 gallons (the Volt's stated fuel capacity) is 1.78 gallons. Personally, I would just purchase $5 worth of 87 octane regular unleaded and forget about gas again until you plan to take a longer distance trip or need to buy another couple of gallons of gas. The Engine Management Mode (EMM) will start the gas engine, every 6 weeks, for ~10 minutes to circulate fluids and lubricate engine parts. This will use a small amount of gas. Over 12 months you will use up most of the ~3 gallons in the fuel tank. Then it will be time to buy another couple of gallons of fresh gas.

What I do is keep the fuel tank between 1/3rd and 2/3rd full. I purchase ~$9 worth of 87 octane regular unleaded gas every 6 months. I generally use my gas engine every 3 or 4 weeks for 8 - 12 miles. This uses approx. 24 ounces to 1 quart of fuel each time I use gas.

 

[pianocaddie]

Hmm...enjoying this discussion. Wondering, though, what the condition of 10% ethanol fuel is after being stored for 10-12 months? I was under the impression that it becomes a bit compromised sooner than that, around 6 months?
Thoughts? Actual data?

 

[jcanoe]

Ethanol is both corrosive as well as hydrophilic (attracts and absorbs water). Manufacturers can ensure that the fuel line, fuel tank, fuel pump, seals and gaskets are compatible with a fuel mixture that includes ethanol (up to 85% ethanol in E85 summer blend.) It is the water that eventually mixes with the ethanol that can cause fuel separation and break down of the fuel. The Volt has a stainless steel fuel tank so it will not corrode. The fuel system is sealed and pressurized so no outside air or moisture can normally get into the fuel tank.

The reason the Volt's fuel system is pressurized has to do with minimizing, detecting fuel vapor leaks. To qualify as a partial zero emission vehicle (PZEV) in California and other CARB compliant states the fuel system vapors need to be contained, any leaks detected. Because the fuel system is sealed the lighter, more volatile, hydrocarbons in the fuel mixture can't evaporate out of the fuel, into the tank and eventually pollute the outside air. If the fuel system won't hold pressure, most likely due to an improperly closed fuel cap or a failed fuel cap gasket the vehicle will detect the loss of fuel system pressure and indicate a problem with the fuel system. This would show up during a vehicle emissions test readout from the vehicle's computer memory.

It is a happy coincidence that the Volt's pressurized fuel system, designed to minimize gasoline vapors from escaping and polluting the air, enables fuel to remain in the fuel tank, for up to 12 months, before it must be used. The Owner's Manual states that only TOP TIER detergent gasoline be used in the Volt. If TOP TIER detergent gasoline is not available one bottle of GM Fuel System Treatment Cleaner added to the fuel tank at every oil change, can help. GM Fuel System Treatment Cleaner (available from your dealer) is the only gasoline additive recommended by General Motors.

 

[KenC]

If you don't plan on using the ICE, perhaps you should add a little fuel stabilizer to the tank to prevent separation.

Hmm...enjoying this discussion. Wondering, though, what the condition of 10% ethanol fuel is after being stored for 10-12 months? I was under the impression that it becomes a bit compromised sooner than that, around 6 months?
Thoughts? Actual data?

 

[hellsop]

The Volt Owner's Manual recommends keeping the fuel tank 1/3rd full (approx. 3 gallons) if you don't regularly use gas when driving your Volt. 20% of 8.9 gallons (the Volt's stated fuel capacity) is 1.78 gallons.

And that's also enough to always turn off the LOW indicator, even if you had previously run the tank dry. 1.4, 1.5 gallons seems to be that point, as whenever I fill at the next opportunity after getting the "LOW" indication, it takes 7.5 gallons, give or take a couple of ounces.

 

[hellsop]

Hmm...enjoying this discussion. Wondering, though, what the condition of 10% ethanol fuel is after being stored for 10-12 months? I was under the impression that it becomes a bit compromised sooner than that, around 6 months?
Thoughts? Actual data?

Thoughts: GM's engineers had been presuming E10 in the Midwest for a decade when starting to design the Volt's fuel system, and they knew some people would be keeping fuel in the tank for a long, long time. Long enough that they had recommendations for how to handle it in the manual. They even knew E15 was coming, because legislation about that had been in the works for five years. This stuff was not new and not a surprise.

 

[hellsop]

Ethanol is both corrosive as well as hydrophilic (attracts and absorbs water). Manufacturers can ensure that the fuel line, fuel tank, fuel pump, seals and gaskets are compatible with a fuel mixture that includes ethanol (up to 85% ethanol in E85 summer blend.) It is the water that eventually mixes with the ethanol that can cause fuel separation and break down of the fuel. The Volt has a stainless steel fuel tank so it will not corrode. The fuel system is sealed and pressurized so no outside air or moisture can normally get into the fuel tank.

Weirdly, if you LET the alcohol keep the water in it that it started with instead of drying it further, the corrosion effect (especially on aluminum parts) basically vanish. Drying the ethanol uses non-trivial energy (basically you have to redistill it again just before using), which makes the fuel blending more expensive (because it's more energy intensive to make), which makes the final fuel cost more too. The only reason we're still using anhydrous ethanol for fuel blending anymore is the legislation that required the blending specified that, and we'd all be better off changing it.

(cite for those interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ethanol_fuel_mixtures#hE15 )