My 2017 volt has ~2500 miles on it. Starting at 2000 miles the electric range indicated on the dash has gone from 53 miles after a night charge, to 45 miles. What is causing this decrease? It is set to charge for 6 hours overnight on a 220v outlet.
Indicated Electric Range Going Down
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Probably something to do with the fact that it has been getting colder in most parts of the US. The Volt considers temperature, the driver's driving habits and historical energy usage when estimating EV range.
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The estimated range is just that, an estimate. It's not a hard and fast absolute number. Your actual charge isn't any different, and your range is still dependent on your driving and accessory usage. It'll be a little less in the cold. The car's computer is providing an educated guess as to your next full charge's range. It doesn't mean you're losing any battery life.
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It would help if you included a geolocation in your profile. But I suspect you are experiencing COOLER or COLDER temps from when you bought your Volt. That also means your tire pressure has dropped. Suggest you check and set them to 38 PSI when COLD. That will help some.
Then learn about pre-conditioning and judicious use of the HVAC system.
Then learn about pre-conditioning and judicious use of the HVAC system.
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At least the OP included model year and miles... More people should have grown up listening to Car Talk, with Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers. Model, year, miles, location, & problem where standard info callers were asked to provide. Here, we often just get the last—problem—and are supposed to guess the rest.
I miss Click and Clack. My local station doesn't air the reruns anymore.
I think it's a bit more than a "little" ;-) Of course it depends on all those factors. I got my 2018 LT in October, still warmish weather, and I had range estimated at 100KM. Now it's hitting -3 to -6C and my range estimate is down to 75KM. It officially isn't even winter yet - it will get much colder, so I am sure my range will go down even more. Maybe to 60KM....which sucks
Still, 60KM should be enough for my daily commute, but I am bound to see ERDDT if the temperature hits -9C (which I am sure it will in the depths of January/February!)
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Because they've stopped airing the show altogether
https://www.npr.org/about-npr/487608540/nprs-best-of-car-talk-to-end-production-in-2017
My Volts range is down to 38-40 right now. Temp low is 45/50 F (California) but my wife cranks the heater like it's sub zero outside and drives highways like a race car. You can say if you push the Volt to the absolute limit the minimum range would be where we are. So glad we went with gen 2 than gen 1 as we can still make the daily commute on electric.
At least she doesn't crank the heater AND crack open the window, which is my wife's standard practice. That's fine for an ICE car where the climate control heat is just waste heat from the incredibly inefficient engine. For an electric car, that habit is costly.
(And don't get me started about how mrs snic constantly forgets to close the window, allowing rain and snow in overnight... This is why cars are like toothbrushes: a married couple needs two of them.)
It's below freezing here, I started using the heat liberally on Max (without the ICE), and drive like an old fart. My range is down to about 47.
"..Stations interested in continuing to broadcast more traditional repeats of Car Talk after September 2017 will have the option to do so. ..."
Thankfully my local station has continued the show in its normal slot.
Thanks for that. I actually thought I have a bad set of batteries. Here in Canada it's 85km. The most I got was 81km indicated.
Speed might be another issue. I have prejudices about Ontario drivers and lead feet. It's the only place I've driven that 125kph felt like it was impeding traffic. You'll get best range staying under 100.
Nah. Speed is not the issue. Just climate. I've reviewed my stats and climate is at -5 and technique is at +3.4 give or take. I'm not like other Ontario drivers.
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Respectfully disagree. The faster you go the more wind resistance, and the more energy it takes to move the car. The resistance graph line goes up like a hockey stick. Any car, gas or electric.
So, all things equal, you will be able to drive further on a charge at 45 MPH than at 90 MPH.
Yes, other things also impact range as well. At any given speed, the car with the resistance heat off will go further than the car with the heat cranked to the max.
It's cumulative. So the car at 45 with heat off will go much much further than the car going 90 with heat cranked to max. Now throw in traction loss for dry pavement vs wet/snowy pavement. It all matters.
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