[Electro]

This was actually a good read as I've learned new things about the Chevy Bolt and you may too! This was posted by MotorTrend. Some things that stuck out to me were:

Tricky Shifter:

The Bolt EV does not creep when in one-pedal high-regen mode, so it’s easy to forget you’re in gear and hop out. To prevent this, here’s what happens: Unclick the driver belt, and the electric parking brake sets; open the door, and the car selects park automatically; walk away, and it shuts itself off after an hour—two if you leave the key in the car. (That shut-off strategy apparently holds for most GM cars.)

and...

Rear Camera Washer:

Activating the rear window washer sends a squirt of fluid down to the rear-facing camera, keeping it squeaky clean when driving on wet, salty, or dirty roads. Also note that if the front wipers are on and you shift to reverse, the Bolt gives you a courtesy wipe of the rear.

Did you learn anything from the article?

http://www.motortrend.com/news/chevrolet-bolt-ev-engineers-reveal-11-cool-facts-car-year/

 

[Roth33d]

I don't know about you guys but I come from a history of spending too much time in dealers just waiting for them to tell me what might be wrong. Then there's the whole other process of waiting for the problem to be resolved. At least with how intensive the diagnostics are that might mean less time in the dealer for us!

Thumbing the Start button on a Bolt EV sets in motion an extensive diagnostics test of 1,400 items, as the central controller queries the 35 sub controllers (a Cruze uses about 20), checking for open or crossed circuits too much or not enough circuit resistance, etc. It’s typically completed in less than 0.5 second.

 

[Sean Nelson]

At least with how intensive the diagnostics are that might mean less time in the dealer for us!

I dunno. I seem to read a lot of posts by Volt owners where the dealer is clueless as to what's causing some of those diagnostic codes. You'd think it would be a pretty simple step to go from the car specifically saying "I don't like the way THIS looks" (which is basically what a diagnostic code is) to the service department saying "OK, that means we need to do so-and-so". But it doesn't always seem to be that way. And I've seen at least one Bolt post that fits this pattern as well.

I'm hoping that the relative simplicity of the Bolt EV with no ICE powerplant to worry about will make it more reliable overall.

 

[David M O'Rourke]

I dunno. I seem to read a lot of posts by Volt owners where the dealer is clueless as to what's causing some of those diagnostic codes. You'd think it would be a pretty simple step to go from the car specifically saying "I don't like the way THIS looks" (which is basically what a diagnostic code is) to the service department saying "OK, that means we need to do so-and-so". But it doesn't always seem to be that way. And I've seen at least one Bolt post that fits this pattern as well.

I'm hoping that the relative simplicity of the Bolt EV with no ICE powerplant to worry about will make it more reliable overall.

my experience with electric cars is that they are like most Digital electronics - they either work or they don't - but there is not a lot of in between - once they are broken however they are not "fixed" - the broken don't get repaired - rather entire systems just get replaced - not a lot of diagnostics, but I have had items replaced under warranty…

they stuff that has broken on my EV is:

1. 12v battery - replaced under warranty
2. power window regulator
3. heating unit - failed outright
4. sun roof mechanism
5. buttons on the steering wheel
6. main dash LCD screen
7. leaky tail light assembly that allowed water to get into it and accumulate

all minor league stuff - and problems that I've also had on other cars from other manufacturers…

but I've not had a fuel pump, oil pump, water pump, distributor, fuel injector, timing chain, belt, or hose clamp fail - all items I've had fail on other cars.

 

[Posatronic]

At least with how intensive the diagnostics are that might mean less time in the dealer for us!

I dunno. I seem to read a lot of posts by Volt owners where the dealer is clueless as to what's causing some of those diagnostic codes. You'd think it would be a pretty simple step to go from the car specifically saying "I don't like the way THIS looks" (which is basically what a diagnostic code is) to the service department saying "OK, that means we need to do so-and-so". But it doesn't always seem to be that way. And I've seen at least one Bolt post that fits this pattern as well.

I'm hoping that the relative simplicity of the Bolt EV with no ICE powerplant to worry about will make it more reliable overall.

Dealers don't do all the diagnostics because they have a number to call GM. They have a team that takes responsibility for the dealer and tells them what to fix. So every Volt in the country that has a problem goes through that department. To me it seems a much better system for any car. We have had good service from dealer for a Volt.

 

[Electro]

I think that is a much better system as well.

Have specialized knowledge hubs that can guide the techs through every step possibly. Ones their accurate enough, it'll be hard for anyone to screw that up

 

[Sean Nelson]

Dealers don't do all the diagnostics because they have a number to call GM. They have a team that takes responsibility for the dealer and tells them what to fix. So every Volt in the country that has a problem goes through that department. To me it seems a much better system for any car.

That would be great if the brain trust at GM could actually diagnose the problem quickly. But I keep seeing posts about people whose cars end up being stuck at the dealer for days or even weeks on end while they try to figure out what's wrong with it.

Now that's just purely anecdotal evidence. I have no idea whether that sort of thing is very rare in relation to all the servicing that gets done - I'm sure it's in the minority. And it's not like those kinds of things don't happen with conventional ICE vehicles as well.

But my point is that while having the car run diagnostic checks and tell you what it finds sounds like a great idea on paper it doesn't always work out that way in reality. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but it's not nirvana - at least not yet.

 

[eops]

Dealers don't do all the diagnostics because they have a number to call GM. They have a team that takes responsibility for the dealer and tells them what to fix. So every Volt in the country that has a problem goes through that department. To me it seems a much better system for any car. We have had good service from dealer for a Volt.

Now that is something I never knew and glad to know since in the end what that means for us is better quality work and odds are we won't end up returning to have an issue looked at a 2nd time. And on that point with how focus service is on GM's EV cars it would be interesting to compare it too what service is like for all the other "regular" GM vehicles out there.

 

[GRS]

I dunno. I seem to read a lot of posts by Volt owners where the dealer is clueless as to what's causing some of those diagnostic codes. You'd think it would be a pretty simple step to go from the car specifically saying "I don't like the way THIS looks" (which is basically what a diagnostic code is) to the service department saying "OK, that means we need to do so-and-so". But it doesn't always seem to be that way. And I've seen at least one Bolt post that fits this pattern as well.

I'm hoping that the relative simplicity of the Bolt EV with no ICE powerplant to worry about will make it more reliable overall.

Having worked with computers, what I've seen is that codes are often generated quite a ways from the actual problem and indicate the terminal failure, not the source problem. Systems generate a whole lot of messages that can obfuscate the issue. And knowing what the problem is doesn't mean you know what the fix is. Sometimes we just made one attempt after another until the problem (or the user) went away.

 

[msavides]

I think most of the errors that the dealers are having issues with are the failure of the diagnostic sensors that send ghost info to other sensors and it is hard to track down the defective sensor.
While most of the electronics are fine, it is the diagnostic devices that are failing.