[bro1999]

Found a video on Facebook where Darin Gesse (Chevy marketing exec, I think) answered some questions about the Bolt.

- majority of orders put in so far are for Premiers
- 90% ordered with fast charging option
- illuminated charge port a future option (can be added to existing Bolts later as a dealer install)
- false floor standard on Premier, accessory option for LT
- not possible to retrofit DC fast charging after the fact
- if a customer asks when Bolts will be available (in CA/OR), Gesse said to say "before Christmas"
- 60% battery capacity warranty
- goo injector NOT standard (available option)

And if you DIDN'T order a Bolt by now, looks like fat chance of getting one by the end of the year...unless someone backs out of an order and you manage to cherry pick it.

 

[Ladogaboy]

Interesting. Not really any surprises there, but I'm curious about just how large the initial allocation for private sale was. Could we see as many as 3,000 Bolts sold in the first month?

 

[SharkVolt]

9/hr. x 8 hours x 30 days = about 2100 for the first month.

 

[DonC]

The percentage opting for DC charging is interesting. If it's that high then DC charging should be standard. Then again with the majority of orders being for the Premier trim level, may be early orders.

 

[Steverino]

My preference would be Premier with DC as well.

 

[Ladogaboy]

9/hr. x 8 hours x 30 days = about 2100 for the first month.

They started production the first week of November, but it doesn't sound like they will start delivering until December. So all the sales for about 45 days worth of production could happen in December.

The percentage opting for DC charging is interesting. If it's that high then DC charging should be standard. Then again with the majority of orders being for the Premier trim level, may be early orders.

I know that the dealership I went through specifically requested that all the initial Bolt deliveries be DCFC equipped. Given the numbers (and depending on sales), I expect most non-DCFC Bolts to be special orders.

 

[BAZINGA]

Can the Bolt be charged like a Volt, meaning a fully charged and plugged in Volt is a Happy Volt. Can the Bolt continually be charged to 100% or do we need to treat the Bolt like a Tesla - charge to 80% and only charge to 100% once in a while.

I have operated my 3 Volt's probably 90% of the time in the upper 60% of my SOC. Frequently I depart my home run errands and get home with less than 10 miles driven and plug in and charge back to 100%. Seldom do I even exhaust my battery as can be seen on VoltStats. My worst mileage is 92.6%. My 2017 is at 99.6%. Hell I could have bought a Leaf ....... Ha ha

Don't recall seeing this written anywhere.

 

[bro1999]

Can the Bolt be charged like a Volt, meaning a fully charged and plugged in Volt is a Happy Volt. Can the Bolt continually be charged to 100% or do we need to treat the Bolt like a Tesla - charge to 80% and only charge to 100% once in a while.

I have operated my 3 Volt's probably 90% of the time in the upper 60% of my SOC. Frequently I depart my home run errands and get home with less than 10 miles driven and plug in and charge back to 100%. Seldom do I even exhaust my battery as can be seen on VoltStats. My worst mileage is 92.6%. My 2017 is at 99.6%. Hell I could have bought a Leaf ....... Ha ha

Don't recall seeing this written anywhere.

Based off what we've seen from the media drives, the Bolt uses much of its battery capacity (Green Car Reports showed a photo of 58.7 kWh used). That make me think the usable capacity could actually be 60 kWh. If that's the case, I believe the overall capacity has to be higher than 60, as I don't see GM allowing 100% of the Bolt's battery capacity to be tapped. So maybe the Bolt's battery is actually 62-63 kWh. Either way, that is over a 90% utilization rate, compared to the Volt's 65-75% usable capacity (G1/G2).

The Volt initially had a 8 year, 70% capacity warranty. But CA requires ZEVs to have a 10 year battery warranty, so I can see the 8 year/70% capacity warranty turning into 10 years/60%. If that's the case, the Bolt actually has the same battery capacity warranty as the Volt. Since this dealer demo was held in CA, the GM rep was probably quoting CA, 10 year warranty specs.

Seeing as no one has actually had a Volt's battery replaced due to "normal" degradation, I think we can feel pretty safe about the Bolt's battery longevity as well.

edit: nm, seems the ELR's 60% capacity warranty was for 8 years, not 10. So the Bolt's battery capacity warranty may not be quite as good as the Volt's. Makes sense, if it is using 90%+ of capacity and supports DC fast charging.

 

[Norton]

Dang, I am still trying to get a simple answer and I have been in contact with corporate communications:

When driving in Drive does the Bolt's Brake Pedal work exactly the way it does in Chevy's other two EV's?

Blended Brakes, with Max Regen available by JUST using the Brake Pedal.

Just like in the Volt and Spark EV.
No "Adopting a new Driving Style Required" to get max regen.

 

[bro1999]

Dang, I am still trying to get a simple answer and I have been in contact with corporate communications:

When driving in Drive does the Bolt's Brake Pedal work exactly the way it does in Chevy's other two EV's?

Blended Brakes, with Max Regen available by JUST using the Brake Pedal.

Just like in the Volt and Spark EV.
No "Adopting a new Driving Style Required" to get max regen.

I think the answer is "Wait till one of us on here gets one and tests it firsthand".

 

[Norton]

I think the answer is "Wait till one of us on here gets one and tests it firsthand".

You're probably right.
All the reviews I have seen go on and on about '1 Pedal' driving. But no mention of just leaving it in Drive. 'NORMAL' driving style.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Can the Bolt be charged like a Volt, meaning a fully charged and plugged in Volt is a Happy Volt. Can the Bolt continually be charged to 100% or do we need to treat the Bolt like a Tesla - charge to 80% and only charge to 100% once in a while.

You could leave the Bolt plugged in and charged to 100% by default, but it would probably be harder on the battery that doing the same thing in a Bolt.

You have to remember that the Volt is designed for a usage case where the battery is regularly fully charged and then completely discharged every day. That's because its capacity is relatively limited (so you charge it fully to maximize range) and it's regularly driven past the point where the battery is exhausted (because it has a range extender). To deal with that kind of harsh usage, GM programmed the battery management system with generous buffers so that you never really "fully charge" nor "fully discharge" it. When the car tells you that the battery is full, it's really only at some 80 or 85% (I don't know the actual number off the top of my head), and something similar applies when it's "empty".

The Bolt, on the other hand has no range extender, so it's very unlikely to be fully discharged - certainly not on a regular basis. And because it has so much range, many people will be able to drive it without having to fill it completely every day. You really only need a completely full charge if you're planning a long trip.

Because of this, the Bolt is engineered with much smaller buffers so that "fully charged" is much closer to the actual real capacity of the battery and "fully discharged" really means there's essentially no juice left. So in normal operation you'd probably not want to charge it fully on a daily basis, only when you plan an extended trip. I believe that the Bolt has an "80% charge" mode where it will automatically stop charging when it reaches that level so that you can "plug it and forget" it rather than have to babysit it and manually stop the charge when it reaches that point.

 

[bro1999]

Because of this, the Bolt is engineered with much smaller buffers so that "fully charged" is much closer to the actual real capacity of the battery and "fully discharged" really means there's essentially no juice left. So in normal operation you'd probably not want to charge it fully on acne daily basis, only when you plan an extended trip. I believe that the Bolt has an "80% charge" mode where it will automatically stop charging when it reaches that level so that you can "plug it and forget" it rather than have to babysit it and manually stop the charge when it reaches that point.

Pretty sure allowing an 80% charge option would reduce the overall EPA-rated range, as the EPA would blend the 80% and 100% ranges. That's why Nissan ditched the 80% setting with the Leaf...in order to max out the EPA-rated range.

Unless someone completely exhausts the Bolt's battery on a daily basis, Bolt owners will probably see little degradation. I'm thinking the worst case scenario of draining the battery almost 100% each day + fast charging may be when the 60% capacity warranty would kick in.

 

[mczajka]

I would think with Chevy's "ease of use" in play, the average person would not have to worry about any of this. It's needs to be as easy as a gas car, to use.

That being said, when you fast charge the Spark EV, inside the car there is a noticeable 80% and hash mark indicated on the screen in the progress bar. I wonder if this will carry over to the Bolt.

 

[saghost]

Pretty sure allowing an 80% charge option would reduce the overall EPA-rated range, as the EPA would blend the 80% and 100% ranges. That's why Nissan ditched the 80% setting with the Leaf...in order to max out the EPA-rated range.

Unless someone completely exhausts the Bolt's battery on a daily basis, Bolt owners will probably see little degradation. I'm thinking the worst case scenario of draining the battery almost 100% each day + fast charging may be when the 60% capacity warranty would kick in.

Tesla addressed this with the charge slider. Maybe GM could do something similar? I would hate to see EPA ratings driving accelerated degradation for the majority that don't need the whole charge every day.

 

[Henry_FL]

Using an a home charger, 100% / leaving pulled in all the time has no effect on the longevity of the battery pack, as the C rate is so low. It's the is Fast DC charge one has to not abuse. And even with the fast DC charge, the battery has active cooling which mitigates the issues greatly.

 

[ChevyEMF]

- goo injector NOT standard (available option)

Huh? What is "goo injector"?

 

[jbakerjonathan]

Huh? What is "goo injector"?

I assume that the reference is to the flatt tire infiltrator kit that comes with the Volt, a can of "goo" to inject into the deflated tire to stop the leak from inside and an air pump to re-inflate the tire.

 

[Zoomit]

Using an a home charger, 100% / leaving pulled in all the time has no effect on the longevity of the battery pack, as the C rate is so low. It's the is Fast DC charge one has to not abuse. And even with the fast DC charge, the battery has active cooling which mitigates the issues greatly.

This is incorrect. The battery will not like remaining at 100% charge, especially when hot. How much the battery degrades as a result is not known. I would guess that you wouldn't notice a difference until many years down the road.

A 50kW DCFC is comfortably less than 1C with this car so I would NOT be concerned about somewhat frequent DC fast charging degrading the battery.

 

[Neromanceres]

I assume that the reference is to the flatt tire infiltrator kit that comes with the Volt, a can of "goo" to inject into the deflated tire to stop the leak from inside and an air pump to re-inflate the tire.

The Bolt EV will have self sealing tires so maybe GM felt the inflator kit was not necessary.