Advanced Diagnostic Software Package

fairkelley said:

"has this software successfully detected any battery issues on anybody's Bolt?"

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Some "detections" have occurred. Knowing a little more than most about battery technology and being an engineer, I think it's complete hogwash. The software may detect poorly performing cells, which are unlikely to be related to any fire potential, but that's it. The fact that the cells in the pack are tied together in sets of 3 and the existing sensors lack high resolution, means it's not possible to detect defects. If you isolated a cell (complete disassembly of pack) and used high precision laboratory equipment, you MAY be able to detect the defect.

It is likely to be slightly better than version 1.0 we had previously depending on what they learned from the last few fire post mortems and the root cause of the defect creation. Our car sensors are still in groups of 3 cells so they can only monitor so much but they may have lowered the thresholds which will cause some cars to get a priority repair. I don't trust it at all but at single digit temps and below I no longer have a choice but to use a wider range of the battery capacity and take my chances. Really hoping I get my buyback offer next week. They've been doing the math since 12/20 so how long can it take? Well I suppose it's been almost five months since I first called so it could be another five.

MisterJJ said:

Some "detections" have occurred. Knowing a little more than most about battery technology and being an engineer, I think it's complete hogwash. The software may detect poorly performing cells, which are unlikely to be related to any fire potential, but that's it.

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It clearly detects something, since it has flagged some folks' batteries for replacement. And GM is not only spending money to have this software installed but they're telling us that with this software they no longer recommend any charging restrictions. I think that in practical terms those facts are worth something to a lot of folks.

MisterJJ said:

Some "detections" have occurred. Knowing a little more than most about battery technology and being an engineer, I think it's complete hogwash. The software may detect poorly performing cells, which are unlikely to be related to any fire potential, but that's it. The fact that the cells in the pack are tied together in sets of 3 and the existing sensors lack high resolution, means it's not possible to detect defects. If you isolated a cell (complete disassembly of pack) and used high precision laboratory equipment, you MAY be able to detect the defect.

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While I do agree that I think it is not possible anything in this new diagnostics can directly detect the defects. I also believe certainly is possible for it to detect patterns in charging/discharging that seem to be related or have a higher chance of occurring when the defects are present. One of the advantages of onstar sending diagnostic details back from the cars would be the ability to find patterns in the cars that did catch fire. Also given the amount of time that has passed I expect they have also been able to locate batteries that have not failed that contained the defect and run tons of tests on them. GM actually has a pretty amazing facility dedicated to battery testing. So I think it is quite possible they have some patterns to look for that may not 100% mean a defect there but it could mean it is a higher likelihood so they would want to proactively replace that battery.

Pete Blair said:

...it is quite possible they have some patterns to look for that may not 100% mean a defect there but it could mean it is a higher likelihood so they would want to proactively replace that battery.

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If this detection software was 100% foolproof, we might not get all batteries replaced but since this is a temporary measure and they are going to replace all the batteries anyway, I'm sure it is tweaked to detect the slightest abnormality (i.e. have way more false positives than false negatives). They seem pretty much convinced that it is good enough to allow customers to resume "normal" use of the car (albeit at a reduced capacity).
Now I'm sure the charge limiting to 80% itself does 80%+ of the fire prevention job but if it can get me a battery replacement any faster, I'll take it too.

dborn said:

If this detection software was 100% foolproof, we might not get all batteries replaced but since this is a temporary measure and they are going to replace all the batteries anyway, I'm sure it is tweaked to detect the slightest abnormality (i.e. have way more false positives than false negatives). They seem pretty much convinced that it is good enough to allow customers to resume "normal" use of the car (albeit at a reduced capacity).
Now I'm sure the charge limiting to 80% itself does 80%+ of the fire prevention job but if it can get me a battery replacement any faster, I'll take it too.

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Yeah I expect if they thought they could 100% identify they would not replace everyones batteries. So anything they detect that makes them think a defect could be present is certainly to have some percentage of false positives.

When I went to the service stations to update my equipment, the workers often told me that they did not have this or that software or did not know whether they had it at that time. I was irritated by such unprofessionalism. I always thought that at least the car dealership manager should be aware of all the products, tools, programs, and parts available. Since then, I've come only to places with cloud storage set up and quality software to store and transfer the info on all products like AutoLeap. Only those places can help me right away because they can identify all the breakdowns, make a quick diagnosis, and tell me how long I can have an updated car. So you should be happy to get that kind of notice.

Every authorized dealer should be able to access the wan to get the software for your car. It is not like looking for a hose clamp.

I had the software installed in maybe 1 hour actual shop time. We went to lunch and it was ready on return. I didn't want any car wash or such.

The 80% limit is hard limit and one could run to 0% now on current software.
It removes the parking restrictions and you get a stupid sticker on windshield.

I want to know if it finds an issue. I have always said that the warranty still states that they will replace defective modules. They don't claim they will give me all new modules which I'd hope for.

My update was painless too....had a couple other things that needed to get fixed so they did everything in one trip.
I've done my part and if anything should happen then it is not my problem.

jefro said:

I have always said that the warranty still states that they will replace defective modules. They don't claim they will give me all new modules which I'd hope for.

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It might be time to move on from this argument. There have already been a handful of 2020s that have become battery eligible, and the dealer-owned Bolts with the new 943 recall are all getting brand new batteries. It is pretty evident at this point that GM gave up on the idea of individual battery module replacement a long time ago.

It truly is a new battery for everyone.

Let us hope so. I will prefer to believe it when I see it. (if that is OK?)

jefro said:

Let us hope so. I will prefer to believe it when I see it. (if that is OK?)

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Hey, I don't have the power to force anyone to believe or not believe anything. Nor should I. I was just pointing out that the evidence for universal Bolt battery replacement is growing, and the reasons to suspect otherwise are dwindling.

Yet my life is full of shattered dreams.......