I've had our 2017 Volt for just over a month and have yet to see more than 30 miles of electric driving on a full charge. When I talked to the dealership they have suggested continuing to monitor the range on our Volt. Recently we did a round trip of 280 miles to pick up our granddaughter. We left St. Paul at 7:15 am after a full overnight charge and drove east on 94 at between 50 and 60 mph. That morning was in the mid-60s so we used fan only, no a/c. Tires were at 40 lbs and I drive conservatively (no jackrabbits allowed). About 30 miles out of town the Volt switched over to gas. The Range Estimate was saying 27 miles when at full charge (the highest I’ve ever seen it read after a full charge is 28 miles). At trip's end the Info screen said we'd used 4.4 KWH. This 30 mile range basically duplicated our previous trip when we dropped off our granddaughter a couple of weeks ago, so it's not a one-time thing. From what I’m reading in the Volt Owners Forum we ought to be getting in the high 40s, at least. Do we have a problem here that we should be addressing?
Range Question from a New Owner
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Wait. The info screen said 4.4 kWh, not 14.4?
If the car is switching to gas on it's own and indicating the battery is exhausted after 4.4 kWh, you do have a problem - but getting 30 miles on 4.4 kWh is pretty impressive.
The usual advice is that mileage varies a lot with conditions and driving, but you're describing what sound like pretty ideal conditions and I would have expected a lot more.
Check the temperature of the rear brakes after a drive - I haven't seen it on a gen 2 yet, but we've had a few experiences with jammed calipers on gen 1 rear brakes causing poor mileage with no other obvious symptoms until you have the wheel off.
Have you tried contacting OnStar and asking them for any error codes they can see being generated by your Volt? Let the dealer know if there are any codes.
A quick test to determine if you have a battery issue or a Voltec drive system problem, possibly a stuck wheel or brake caliper is to select Hold mode and run the Volt for at least 10 miles on gas and see how much fuel you use. The Volt should get at least 42mpg on regular gas at any speed up to 65mph, in many cases more. That should be approx. 0.24 gallons or less to travel 10 miles. If you are using more than a quart of gas to travel 10 miles then there is definitely a problem with the drive system, wheel or brakes since this would be happening whether on battery power or using the gas engine.
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4.4 kWh makes me think they forgot to hook up 2/3rd of your battery. It should easily be getting 40-50 miles of range unless you drive like Jeff Gordon or Speed Racer. After a long trip, carefully touch your front and rear rims to see if they are abonormally hot - that would indicate a stuck caliper as others have suggested.
I'd say take it back to the dealership or to a different dealership if the range doesn't improve.
I'd say take it back to the dealership or to a different dealership if the range doesn't improve.
Something is definitely boogered up and especially for this time of year vs. winter. I aways run at least 45 miles but usually closer to 60 if I am not doing 80mph on the highway.
If you haven't been in for the recalls: 17228-Reduced Propulsion Power and 17197-Malfunction Indicator Lamp, you probably need to go into the shop anyway. Not sure if the Reduced Propulsion Power could be your issue but some reported less EV mileage than anticipated.
Here is a link to a discussion on these recalls:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...p-with-DTC-P0442&highlight=reduced+propulsion
Best of luck
Jon
If you haven't been in for the recalls: 17228-Reduced Propulsion Power and 17197-Malfunction Indicator Lamp, you probably need to go into the shop anyway. Not sure if the Reduced Propulsion Power could be your issue but some reported less EV mileage than anticipated.
Here is a link to a discussion on these recalls:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...p-with-DTC-P0442&highlight=reduced+propulsion
Best of luck
Jon
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Something def seems like there is something wrong. I have had my Volt LT since the end of May and have averaged right around the 53 gm says with normal driving and ac on eco none stop. I have noticed keeping it below 63-64mph I can get 55-57 all hwy on my commute. usually around 14.2 kwh used give or take a couple of points. But 30 miles isn't even close
I would take it back immediately
I would take it back immediately
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127 Posts
Ditto. Take it back to the dealer.
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My 2017 Volt is averaging 58-62 miles on a charge. I only go about 50 on a charge because that's my round trip commute and I always have EV range left when I complete the round trip. I'm concerned about the 4.4KWh you reported (I'm hoping that's a typo on your part). Definitely check the rear brakes for heat after you drive a few miles - dragging calipers will kill your efficiency and the brakes.
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Ditto... something is very wrong and needs to fixed. This is not normal, at all. My 2017 which I've driven over 2000 miles already shows, and gets, 52-56ish miles on a charge and I drive normally and keep up with traffic. I also get around 44mpg gas on the highway going 70mph.
The owners stated that before starting a recent trip the Volt showed being fully charged with an estimated range of 27 miles, so the Volt is fully charging the battery or at least as much of the battery as is available to be charged.
Our 2016 Volt Premier with over 20,000 miles is indicating with a full charge: 67 electric miles. Gas only miles for over 230 miles on the last few trips is 52 mpg, on regular 87 octane Costco gas. Also per full charge to depletion the computer reads anywhere from 14 to 14.4 KWH used which with summer is over 60 miles of driving on roads 25-55 mph....
Something is very wrong. I am still recovering from a trip with a lot of 70mph driving with A/C (2017 premier), but now I'm back to 55 miles full charge as I'm back to mostly local driving. I think I got to 63 miles full charge last year (some do better), and sometimes I run the A/C, and I don't always drive conservatively.
Since you came here for help, it might be good to do a full charge overnight (to steady green as noted above), then post a few pictures of your energy display pages (center display) and you driver information console (driver's display) from a phone camera, or just jot down some numbers and post them. Many here can probably help get you started in the right direction. Call Onstar and check for any codes too.
Since you came here for help, it might be good to do a full charge overnight (to steady green as noted above), then post a few pictures of your energy display pages (center display) and you driver information console (driver's display) from a phone camera, or just jot down some numbers and post them. Many here can probably help get you started in the right direction. Call Onstar and check for any codes too.
Looks like we have a fix.
On my second visit to the dealer about this problem (at the first I was told to monitor the issue and report back, which I did, with photos) I told them I'd leave the Volt until it was fixed. Their "Volt Tec" dived into the issue and drove the car home that night (over 30 miles) which demonstrated to him the car was only doing 25-30 miles on a full charge. The next day with the help of GM Tech Center he was able to solve the problem. The guess-o-meter now reads 56 miles on a full charge, instead of the former 27. The Advisor told me this was a "first" for everyone, apparently including the Tec Center
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. I'm suspecting a factory problem here since the car showed 27 miles range from the day I got it new. Seems the battery management unit only recognized half of the battery capacity. I have attached a photo of the service record explaining what was done, in case this may be of help to anyone else encountering this problem. Thanks for the feedback and advice from Forum members. It helped me convince the dealership that something wasn't right.
On my second visit to the dealer about this problem (at the first I was told to monitor the issue and report back, which I did, with photos) I told them I'd leave the Volt until it was fixed. Their "Volt Tec" dived into the issue and drove the car home that night (over 30 miles) which demonstrated to him the car was only doing 25-30 miles on a full charge. The next day with the help of GM Tech Center he was able to solve the problem. The guess-o-meter now reads 56 miles on a full charge, instead of the former 27. The Advisor told me this was a "first" for everyone, apparently including the Tec Center
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4 Kwh x 3 M/KwH = 12 Miles You have a defect.
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I so called it in post #4.... you weren't using the full battery. glad it's fixed now.
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?293473-Range-Question-from-a-New-Owner&p=4141841#post4141841
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