We went to visit family in Michigan over the long weekend and against my wife's plea's of not again, we took the Bolt. We had done a 2,500+ mile trip back at the end of March and while my wife didn't kill me I think it came close. Back in March it was cold and rainy and the charging network was less that it is today...sort of. A long trip is a long trip, add in the charging time and chargers that don't work and it makes a person weary and frustrated very quickly. We have 28,000 miles in only 9 months on our Bolt and don't mind the trip that requires a charging stop and we have actually gotten good at learning to only charge the amount needed away from home without "filling up". Ultimately we made the decision we would try it again on a long trip. Central NJ to SW Michigan, 1,440 miles round trip.
This time it was better...sort of. We had planned the route via "A better route planner' and Plug-share. Between the two we were mostly confident in limiting our frustration and cost. We had signed up for the EA pass+ plan to save money estimating it would cost us $27 going and $23 on the way back.
Our first stop was supposed to be EA chargers in Bloomsburg PA at the Sheetz gas. After sitting in horrific traffic for the last hour and a half we pulled in and they were all caution taped off!! Guys were working on them but said they were all down. I wanted to shoot myself! I could feel my wife about ready to kill me. I almost turned around right there to go home and take the Prius. Luckily with the warmer weather and a few minutes of searching I realized we could make it to State Collage where Sheetz had a FREE Green lots charger. Free sealed the deal so off we went. After topping off to 98% on the free DCFC charge (and a few purchases, but that's another story) we were off again. Charging stop number 2: EA at Sheetz in Girard OH....it took 3 tries to get a charger to initiate but finally one worked. Good for us because there were only 4 chargers there. Stop number 3: Blue Heron Service plaza with EA. Back in March this was not yet functioning so we were happy to have this 'easy off/ easy on' option on the turnpike. First charger I pulled up to the latch was broken and it wouldn't initiate...second one worked. Overall we made it about 725 miles with 3 charging stops. We were of course 100% when we started and only about 30 miles left at our final destination. Now the return trip. First stop: Tiffin River service Plaza. We only needed a quick bump of about 30 mile to make it to Wyandot Service and things went as they should: No issues. Next stop Wyandot service plaza on the turnpike. We pulled in and there was a big truck ICEing a couple of chargers so I pulled into the first available and plugged in...nothing, moved to the next one...nothing. By this time the guys that owned the truck had returned from grabbing a coffee...they were the service techs we had seen in Bloomsburg. Yup, all of the units here were not working either. In the end after about half an hour and playing musical chairs with the car, they were able to get me started charging at one. Talking with the techs was eye opening. They work on all chargers not just EA, all over. Bottom line: EA chargers are a disaster! From software issues to hardware it was clear these guys were busy enough to be working 7 days a week...even thankfully on Labor day!! Next stop EA in Girard and we could only get one charger out of the four to initiate, same as last time. Next stop, our free charger from Green Lots with no issues. The final stop was Bloomsburg were our new service tech friends had fixed the previous issues. First two chargers not working, the third one wouldn't take payment and the last one wouldn't initiate with the app or my phone but it took my credit card. I suppose I should have called EA and had them initiate the charge from my account but I didn't. I realized after charging started that I was not getting the pass+ rates so I called only to be told that there was nothing they could do now that charging had started, no refund no credit. Admittedly I should have called them before but still in the end they didn't care. I canceled my EA pass+ account today.
We continue to love the Bolt but hate a significant portion of the infrastructure.
The stats: 1,440 miles. All DCFC. 367.7 KWh used. 4% of that was used for the AC/heat, set on Auto at 72 F, which was on all of the time.The outside temp varied between 89-55 F. 0% was used for battery conditioning. The Cruise control was set at 71 mph the entire way. 2 adults and one child with the standard 4 days of stuff. We left for MI at 2 pm and traveled through the night. Returning we left at 7 am. The route was primarily Route 80/90 through PA, OH and IN; Central NJ to SW Michigan and back. We saw no one else charging but we did meet one guy that owned a 2017 Bolt and had opted to rent a car for his long trip.
The trip cost us $47, slightly less than we had estimated. If we had taken the Prius it would have been approx $85 for gas. The trip took us 15 hrs each way including charging. In the Prius we've made it in 11 hrs each way.
Overall the average was 4.1 miles/KW for the trip..
Was the $40 we saved in gas worth the 8 extra hours...plus the aggravation of chargers not working? No but we did appreciated the peace and quite. We set the cruise control at 71 with no engine noise. Even though it took longer we were less tired; its surprising how engine noise can really take a toll on you.
This time it was better...sort of. We had planned the route via "A better route planner' and Plug-share. Between the two we were mostly confident in limiting our frustration and cost. We had signed up for the EA pass+ plan to save money estimating it would cost us $27 going and $23 on the way back.
Our first stop was supposed to be EA chargers in Bloomsburg PA at the Sheetz gas. After sitting in horrific traffic for the last hour and a half we pulled in and they were all caution taped off!! Guys were working on them but said they were all down. I wanted to shoot myself! I could feel my wife about ready to kill me. I almost turned around right there to go home and take the Prius. Luckily with the warmer weather and a few minutes of searching I realized we could make it to State Collage where Sheetz had a FREE Green lots charger. Free sealed the deal so off we went. After topping off to 98% on the free DCFC charge (and a few purchases, but that's another story) we were off again. Charging stop number 2: EA at Sheetz in Girard OH....it took 3 tries to get a charger to initiate but finally one worked. Good for us because there were only 4 chargers there. Stop number 3: Blue Heron Service plaza with EA. Back in March this was not yet functioning so we were happy to have this 'easy off/ easy on' option on the turnpike. First charger I pulled up to the latch was broken and it wouldn't initiate...second one worked. Overall we made it about 725 miles with 3 charging stops. We were of course 100% when we started and only about 30 miles left at our final destination. Now the return trip. First stop: Tiffin River service Plaza. We only needed a quick bump of about 30 mile to make it to Wyandot Service and things went as they should: No issues. Next stop Wyandot service plaza on the turnpike. We pulled in and there was a big truck ICEing a couple of chargers so I pulled into the first available and plugged in...nothing, moved to the next one...nothing. By this time the guys that owned the truck had returned from grabbing a coffee...they were the service techs we had seen in Bloomsburg. Yup, all of the units here were not working either. In the end after about half an hour and playing musical chairs with the car, they were able to get me started charging at one. Talking with the techs was eye opening. They work on all chargers not just EA, all over. Bottom line: EA chargers are a disaster! From software issues to hardware it was clear these guys were busy enough to be working 7 days a week...even thankfully on Labor day!! Next stop EA in Girard and we could only get one charger out of the four to initiate, same as last time. Next stop, our free charger from Green Lots with no issues. The final stop was Bloomsburg were our new service tech friends had fixed the previous issues. First two chargers not working, the third one wouldn't take payment and the last one wouldn't initiate with the app or my phone but it took my credit card. I suppose I should have called EA and had them initiate the charge from my account but I didn't. I realized after charging started that I was not getting the pass+ rates so I called only to be told that there was nothing they could do now that charging had started, no refund no credit. Admittedly I should have called them before but still in the end they didn't care. I canceled my EA pass+ account today.
We continue to love the Bolt but hate a significant portion of the infrastructure.
The stats: 1,440 miles. All DCFC. 367.7 KWh used. 4% of that was used for the AC/heat, set on Auto at 72 F, which was on all of the time.The outside temp varied between 89-55 F. 0% was used for battery conditioning. The Cruise control was set at 71 mph the entire way. 2 adults and one child with the standard 4 days of stuff. We left for MI at 2 pm and traveled through the night. Returning we left at 7 am. The route was primarily Route 80/90 through PA, OH and IN; Central NJ to SW Michigan and back. We saw no one else charging but we did meet one guy that owned a 2017 Bolt and had opted to rent a car for his long trip.
The trip cost us $47, slightly less than we had estimated. If we had taken the Prius it would have been approx $85 for gas. The trip took us 15 hrs each way including charging. In the Prius we've made it in 11 hrs each way.Overall the average was 4.1 miles/KW for the trip.
.Was the $40 we saved in gas worth the 8 extra hours...plus the aggravation of chargers not working? No but we did appreciated the peace and quite. We set the cruise control at 71 with no engine noise. Even though it took longer we were less tired; its surprising how engine noise can really take a toll on you.
