[ZackVolt]

Newbie here and wanted to say hello!

I just recently leased a 2017 Volt LT in Siren Red Tintcoat. This thing is beautiful and an eye catcher. I traded in my 2015 Colorado as I was interested in not paying for gas anymore. So far, I've gone about 330 miles and all but around 5 miles are electric (battery was not charged from dealer). I charge every night and my commute to work and back is less than 15 miles. I haven't received the first electric bill yet but am curious as to what it will increase to as I have not paid for gas yet and have had it about 2 weeks.

My main question is when should I actually run out the gas? I know gas goes bad eventually, but how long can it sit in the tank and not do any kind of mechanical damage? Chevrolet expects Volt owners to get up to 1000 miles between fillups with regular charging. I'm sure I'll be in a different category because I rarely drive besides to and from work.

No snow yet here in NY, so I don't know how well this will do in snow. Hopefully having new tires and weighing over 4400lbs, it should do just fine. I'll try to update if anyone is curious about that.

Thanks for taking the time and giving this a read! Any comments or anything are surely welcome!

 

[VoltMouse]

Hi Zack, and welcome to the board!

I'm a (relative) newbie as well since my wife and I just took delivery two days ago of the Kinetic Blue 2017 Premier we ordered in September. But I have been lurking around here for a year or so, and while I can't speak from experience here's what I have heard regarding burning off the dealer tank of gas.

If you are never using any gas during your actual driving because of the short distance, then there are a couple of instances where you likely will use some. First is ERDTT (engine running due to temperature). Since you are in NY, once the outside temperature dips below 35F (or 15F if you selected "Deferred" in the car), the engine will run to assist in heating both the battery pack and the cabin. Second would be the EMM (engine maintenance mode). From what I understand this will run the engine for about 15 minutes every 6 weeks or so just to keep the engine lubricated and all if the engine has not started due to other reasons (driving when the battery is depleted or ERDTT). Both of these will use very little fuel.

The last one is FMM (fuel maintenance mode). The car keeps track of the approximate age of the fuel in the tank and when it gets to about one year old, the Volt will burn the fuel off to force you to put in fresh fuel. The FMM will run the engine whenever the Volt is on until one of two conditions are met - either all the fuel in the tank is consumed, or enough fresh fuel has been added to bring the average age of the tank below one year. I'm pretty sure that is why most of the more veteran Volt owners here usually only have 2-3 gallons in the tank at any given time unless they know they will be using a fair amount (like a long road trip without recharging).

As to the electricity usage, I've been tracking ours for the last couple of days and a reasonable estimate should work like this: When you park the car for the night, before shutting down look on the energy consumed screen and see how many kWh you used for the day (energy consumed since last full charge). Add 1-2 kWh to that number for charging losses, then look on your utility bill for the per kWh rate you will be paying while the Volt is charging (finding that number is sometimes easier said than done!). Multiply the two together and you can get an approximation of your "fuel" cost for the day.

Anyways, congrats on the new Volt!

 

[DonC]

Hope you enjoy your car as much as most do. It's a quiet and smooth ride, and not having to go to the gas station can get addicting. I'm sure you've been told that the Red Volts are the fastest!

 

[kubel]

Good color choice. I went with a red LT as well, bought some Premier trim wheels, planning on doing the black powder coat + skim cut mod on the Premier wheels and using the stock LT wheels for winter tires, then put on some kind of high performance summer tire and use that once spring hits. It will destroy my range, but I think I would rather thoroughly enjoy 45 miles of all electric range than have to merely tolerate 55 miles with the stock LRR tires.

 

[ZackVolt]

Thanks so much, very helpful! I did see a Blue Premier at my dealers lot but it was a tad outside my price range, but looks great!

 

[ZackVolt]

For the little amount of driving I have done, I would've had to hit the gas station for a good 3/4 tank in my truck. So far, loving it!

 

[ZackVolt]

Those Premier rims looked great; I might spring for those a little down the road.

 

[hellsop]

Second would be the EMM (engine maintenance mode). From what I understand this will run the engine for about 15 minutes every 6 weeks or so just to keep the engine lubricated and all if the engine has not started due to other reasons (driving when the battery is depleted or ERDTT). Both of these will use very little fuel.

Not even that long. 5-7 minutes. Burns about 0.07 gallons or about a cup and a half of gasoline.