[DarrenHD]

Hi...had my new 2018 Silver Volt now for (almost) 2 weeks. Loving it so far! Driven totally on electric other than a short highway drive where I tested the ICE. It's very fast and no squeaks or rattles. I've had some questions and issues, but nothing really major (see my other posts here). I'm actually trying to find reasons to go out and drive it...like "Honey, do we need anything from the grocery store?" ? LOL!

Weird though my wife doesn't want to drive it! She has a Nissan Rogue and loves her SUV! I love the fact that I am not visiting the gas station!


Right now I'm showing an estimated range of 98 km (60.89 miles) (fully charged). Colder weather coming soon so we will see how that goes.

My commute to work (both ways) is about 26 km (16.15 miles) so I am easily on electric all the time. Even if I have to run errands on the way home I'm well within the 85 km (53 mile) range. I'm hoping with colder weather I'm still going to be OK, although I have heard that in really cold weather the ICE may come on (like -20 C / -4 F)...if we have a cold winter here in Southern Ontario those temperatures are possible.

I'm parking the Volt in my garage overnight and it seems the connection to the MyChevrolet app is very bad. I also tried myvolt.ca and the Onstar Android app...but all are the same... Most of the time it times out trying to connect to the Volt. I will see next week when I am parked outside at my work if the connection is better.

I'm wondering if I should get rust proofing done on it (lots of salt/sand poured on the roads here during winter. My previous car - a 2002 Nissan Maxima, was totally rusting out...wheel wells totally rusted away and under the car it was all rusting. But I am worried about spraying and oil spray on my new Volt. Worried about a rust proofing company drilling holes into my Volt or taking things off (fear of later squeaks and rattles).

Also wondering about pre-conditioning in my garage, which normally doesn't get below zero unless it is extremely cold out. Usually all the snow and ice is melted off my car (at least my old one) by time morning hits. Worried that thawing/freezing cycle will promote rust. :-/

Darren

 

[dannycamps]

Congrats and enjoy your Volt. Even after 1.5 years of ownership for me, I still invent 'reasons' to go for a drive (trips to the store, etc...). I find driving it to be an almost peaceful experience.

I typically average about 61-62 miles of EV range in the summer on the GOM. Last winter (the first winter I had the car), the range dropped to about 42 miles so we will see what this winter will bring.

 

[BAZINGA]

Are you charging on a Lvl I or II EVSE? In your neck of the woods I would pre-condition every chance I can on shore power. Departing on a cold morning with a fully pre-conditioned car will drastically reduce the initial draw on the cars battery.

And don't forget to monitor your tire pressure in the winter. As a minimum I keep mine at 2 psi over what is recommended on the label by the drivers door.

 

[jemez]

I'm hoping to have an 18 LT in the next couple of weeks, also in Ontario. I've found rustproofing makes a huge difference in how my cars hold up, but I don't think I'm going to do it to the Volt. I'm concerned about the drilling and impact of the goop they use on the electrical systems. FWIW I've used Krown in the past.

 

[hellsop]

I'm parking the Volt in my garage overnight and it seems the connection to the MyChevrolet app is very bad. I also tried myvolt.ca and the Onstar Android app...but all are the same... Most of the time it times out trying to connect to the Volt. I will see next week when I am parked outside at my work if the connection is better.

Might still not work well. There seems to be something broken someplace between Chevy and OnStar that makes connections slow enough to be unreliable for "on demand" use. VoltStats gets about one update a day functional and not always the same timeframe, keyfob commands from apps usually work, but trying to locate a car or send an address mostly hasn't been very successful. This is widespread enough that it's not just you parking in a garage.

 

[DarrenHD]

Are you charging on a Lvl I or II EVSE? In your next of the woods I would pre-condition every chance I can on shore power. Departing on a cold morning with a fully pre-conditioned car will drastically reduce the initial draw on the cars bettery.

And don't to monitor your tire pressure in the winter. As a minimum I keep mine at 2 psi over what is recommended on the label by the drivers door.

I'm just doing Level 1 now but I plan to buy the adapter and install a 240V outlet in my garage. So far Level 1 has been sufficient as my car fully charges overnight. It could become an issue on weekends if I drive the car alot in the morning and then need to in the afternoon. Level 2 would help with that.

 

[DarrenHD]

Might still not work well. There seems to be something broken someplace between Chevy and OnStar that makes connections slow enough to be unreliable for "on demand" use. VoltStats gets about one update a day functional and not always the same timeframe, keyfob commands from apps usually work, but trying to locate a car or send an address mostly hasn't been very successful. This is widespread enough that it's not just you parking in a garage.

Yes, it's unfortunate. Most of the time it doesn't work. Sometimes it does and I can get my charging status and level. The onstar app has never worked so far for vehicle status. MyVolt.com only gives me milage information, the "Charging" and "Efficiency" sections are unable to update. It keeps asking me to try again but it never works. Somehow milage works though.

Key Fob commands do seem to work.

I will plan to pre-condition using power from my house and turn off engine-assist as I will be parked in my garage.

 

[DarrenHD]

I'm hoping to have an 18 LT in the next couple of weeks, also in Ontario. I've found rustproofing makes a huge difference in how my cars hold up, but I don't think I'm going to do it to the Volt. I'm concerned about the drilling and impact of the goop they use on the electrical systems. FWIW I've used Krown in the past.

Yeah I'm in the same boat. I'm worried it may do more harm than good. I don't want that crap sprayed all inside my car...I guess I can just wax the outside of the car and keep it clean. I also wouldn't want them to take off all the door panels, lights, etc...which they sometimes do. I would worry about future squeaks and rattles. So I think I will not do Krown or any other rust proofing.

 

[jemez]

Yeah I'm in the same boat. I'm worried it may do more harm than good. I don't want that crap sprayed all inside my car...I guess I can just wax the outside of the car and keep it clean. I also wouldn't want them to take off all the door panels, lights, etc...which they sometimes do. I would worry about future squeaks and rattles. So I think I will not do Krown or any other rust proofing.

I've never had them remove panels or anything, and I know it works, but the holes + goop around electronics makes me nervous. I'll probably try to get it washed more in winter than I did with my old car (which was never washed in winter).

 

[timoshev]

I would contact Chevy about whether rustproofing is a good idea. Many cars are dipped at least halfway to fill all the cracks and some coat the steel down low before dipping. The cars are said to be better today, but if rust kills a fairly new Maxima all bets are off....

 

[AtomicPowered]

The entire underside of the car is covered with a cloth-like shield. I don't know if the undercoater may wreck it. It's best to follow what Chevy says and frequently flush the wheel-wells with water. Any way you can set up a hose? I do it when it gets above freezing.

 

[DarrenHD]

The entire underside of the car is covered with a cloth-like shield. I don't know if the undercoater may wreck it. It's best to follow what Chevy says and frequently flush the wheel-wells with water. Any way you can set up a hose? I do it when it gets above freezing.

Yes I have a hose in my garage. I can rinse it off (all the salt/sand). I guess water is better than leaving salt/sand on it.

 

[hellsop]

Yeah I'm in the same boat. I'm worried it may do more harm than good. I don't want that crap sprayed all inside my car...I guess I can just wax the outside of the car and keep it clean. I also wouldn't want them to take off all the door panels, lights, etc...which they sometimes do. I would worry about future squeaks and rattles. So I think I will not do Krown or any other rust proofing.

FWIW, Wisconsin winters aren't exactly salt-free and corrosion hasn't been even noticeable underneath. Metallurgy got better.

 

[DarrenHD]

FWIW, Wisconsin winters aren't exactly salt-free and corrosion hasn't been even noticeable underneath. Metallurgy got better.

Thanks, good to hear. Hopefully we don't have a bad winter this year...but they are forecasting one :-/

 

[glasspilot]

Weird though my wife doesn't want to drive it! She has a Nissan Rogue and loves her SUV!

Be careful! Don't let her drive it! Or she'll get hooked and you'll be driving that SUV!