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Almost ended up stranded - Lesson Learned

15820 Views 43 Replies 17 Participants Last post by sundog, Jan 31, 2021

Novelh

Discussion Starter · Jan 21, 2021

I've only had my 2018 Bolt for about 2 weeks and decided to take my first long distance trip in the winter. Round trip 253 miles (123 downhill, 130 uphill). Given the recall I could only charge to 88% on Hilltop Reserve. Arrived after first leg with 77 miles of range left on the GoM. I had planned a quick DC charge about 40 miles away on my way back. Turns out the charger was out of service and I only had 40 miles of range to find a charger in the middle of nowhere. The closest level 2 charger was 38 miles away! At around 15 mile range the meter goes orange and beeps at you. At around 10 miles it changes and simply says LOW while flashing with frequent notifications to charge soon. I'm assuming around 5 miles it gave me a message that Propultion power has been reduced. Anxiety at level 10! I arrived to the charging station running on fumes and contemplating if I would ever do a long distance trip again. I had to charge for 2.5 hours to give me enough to get home. I was already driving like a granny to get the most range but my inexperience taught me several things.
1. Plan for redundancies in case of charger failure.
2. Drive between 50-60 mph max on highway
3. Don't use L on the highway (forgot and left it on during my second leg)
This experience has not deterred me from long distance trips but will make sure to better plan ahead.

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GJETSON

· #2 · Jan 21, 2021 (Edited)

Novelh said:
3. Don't use L on the highway (forgot and left it on during my second leg)

What do you think driving in L does to your range? It is the exact same gear as D. If you put the car in CC it is exactly the same regardless of which letter you choose.

Reactions: 5

NortonCommando

· #3 · Jan 21, 2021

Novelh said:
....This experience has not deterred me from long distance trips but will make sure to better plan ahead.

Good job!
At least you didn't have the 'Tow of Shame'!

Some road trips there are no 'redundancies'. You got to have faith on the CCS network, which is hard.
And you know the definition of faith, right?

PhilBo

· #4 · Jan 21, 2021

L will not give you any more range than D and vice versa. Always have a plan B which usually involves the location of an alternate charger. You can do 65 on the highway just be aware your range will be very slightly reduced vs. 60. Expect a summer range of ~240 miles and winter range of 150-170 depending on outdoor temperature. At least you made it home without a tow. Lesson learned.

Reactions: 1

NewsCoulomb

· #5 · Jan 21, 2021

I'm sorry for your experience, but I don't necessarily agree with your takeaways.

Novelh said:
1. Plan for redundancies in case of charger failure.

I would definitely say that you should be aware of backups and redundant chargers, but I wouldn't necessarily plan my trip around them. You said the charger was down when you arrived. Was it listed as up by PlugShare and the charging provider's app/website before you left? To me, that's the bigger takeaway: Be sure to check charger availability and status before leaving on a long trip, especially on routes with little to no redundancy.

Novelh said:
2. Drive between 50-60 mph max on highway

This is completely unnecessary, and I think it sets a bad precedent for EV owners. You should drive as fast as you feel comfortable within the bounds of the law and given the constraints of the conditions. Otherwise, you are making your trip as long as (or possibly even longer than) a trip where you encounter a downed, occupied, or unavailable charger. Essentially, you're making your trips longer and less convenient in anticipation of a possible event that -- if it happens -- might make your trips longer and less convenient.

Novelh said:
3. Don't use L on the highway (forgot and left it on during my second leg)

The L versus D setting have no impact on freeway driving. D isn't a true coast, so the only time the setting actually makes a difference is if you want to slow down, at which point, L will be slightly quicker and more effective (the car will start slowing more significantly the moment you take your foot off the accelerator).

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Novelh

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 21, 2021

GJETSON said:
What do you think driving in L does to your range? It is the exact same gear as D. If you put the car in CC it is exactly the same regardless of which letter you choose.

I've heard that the aggressive regen of L mode actually uses energy if your are driving continuously without slowing down (like on highway). See this video 4:57min in where he explains the loss. I've watched many of his videos prior to purchasing an EV and found them really enlightening.

XJ12

· #7 · Jan 21, 2021

Novelh said:
Drive between 50-60 mph max on highway

Welcome to the forum. Last November I took a long road trip where through parts of Texas I drove 80 mph between the chargers. But my first leg of that trip, I had to drive 250 miles to get to the first charger. Yeah, drove like a granny to get there. As far as the orange, flashing bars, and reduced propulsion, you'll get use to that. Matter of fact, that's when you know you took full advantage of the car's range.

Reactions: 1

XJ12

· #8 · Jan 21, 2021

Novelh said:
See this video 4:57min in where he explains the loss.

Yeah, that's extreme hypermiling techniques. You can replicate even in 'L' mode if you avoid regen by feathering the accelerator pedal.

greendave

· #9 · Jan 21, 2021

Novelh said:
2. Drive between 50-60 mph max on highway
3. Don't use L on the highway (forgot and left it on during my second leg)

I'd recommend using secondary roads where possible. Going 45 or 50 won't be an impediment to traffic (unlike on the highway) and you'll save more energy.

Also, I disagree on L vs. D on the highway. In theory, yes, it could be more efficient, but every time I've tried to compare, the difference has not been measurable, or L has proven more efficient.

RichCapeCod

· #10 · Jan 21, 2021

Novelh, Eric's comment; "You said the charger was down when you arrived. Was it listed as up by PlugShare and the charging provider's app/website before you left? To me, that's the bigger takeaway: Be sure to check charger availability and status before leaving on a long trip, especially on routes with little to no redundancy." is a really important point to keep in mind.

On a long distance trip you MUST check the availability of the next DCFC station on PlugShare and, if you're using Electrify America, that site, you plan on using if you expect to have a "no problem" ride.

Ask me how I know...

Rich

GJETSON

· #11 · Jan 21, 2021

Novelh said:
I've heard that the aggressive regen of L mode actually uses energy if your are driving continuously without slowing down (like on highway). See this video 4:57min in where he explains the loss. I've watched many of his videos prior to purchasing an EV and found them really enlightening.

I have enjoyed Bjorn's videos. In the video you linked, he is correct. Slowing down and speeding up uses more energy than maintaining a constant average speed, and In stop and go traffic, this is unavoidable. There is much debate amongst us owners about L vs D. The few automotive engineers I have heard discuss this, say there are a few edge cases where regen can beat very attentive use of coasting. In either event, the total amount of energy it is possible to not expend, or recoup, is tiny.

On the highway, where you travel long distances at high speed, the most efficient means of getting from point A to point B is to decide how fast you want to get there, set that speed in CC, and relax. Any increase or decrease from your selected average speed will cost you. In CC there is absolutely no difference between L and D. The car is using the motor to maintain speed on the level, and up hill, and using the motor as a generator to maintain speed downhill. It is never using the physical brakes, so there is literally no difference in L or D in CC.

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Reactions: 1

Novelh

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 21, 2021

I checked PlugShare, ChargePoint and ABRP and I could have sworn it was available. When I got there and discovered it was down I called ChargePoint and it now shows as Under Repair. There was a bit of back and forth in the PlugShare comments that "it's not working", then "worked for me", so I couldn't tell. I'll make sure next time to check. On the topic of L mode I use it most of the time around town but haven't taken many highway trips but everyone here seems to think it makes no detrimental difference on range so I'll try leaving it on all the time.

Reactions: 2

tangolima

· #13 · Jan 21, 2021

Slower driving definitely saves energy. But the saving is less in winter due to the high energy needed for climate control. My rule of thumb; 10% change in speed, 15% saving in summer, 5% in winter.

Going faster almost always arrived sooner. But the saving in time gets offset significantly by bolt's mediocre DCFC charging speed, especially so in Winter. My rule of thumb; 10% change in speed, 5% time saving in Summer, 3% in Winter.

I always go slow if I don't have to go fast. If time is critical, I ditch EV. Road trip in EV is a sort of luxury that I need to be able to afford.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

NortonCommando

· #14 · Jan 21, 2021

Novelh said:
1. I've heard that the aggressive regen of L mode actually uses energy if your are driving continuously without slowing down (like on highway).
2. See this video 4:57min in where he explains the loss. .

1. If you are 'driving without slowing down' there is no regen.
If you must slow down use regen, but if you get it from letting off the Go Pedal in L or get it from stepping on the Brake Pedal in D,,, Regen is Regen. That value displayed is what is going into the battery.
Brake Pads start working near and after Max Regen.

2. What he is saying is Regen is not 100% efficient a capturing kinetic energy to electric energy.
And that was some seriously slow driving in that vid segment!

I only watched the part you recommended. He said something about 'hypermiling'. Please don't do that unless it's a serious situation.

Reactions: 1

Brad

· #15 · Jan 21, 2021

Hopefully in the next year or two there will be many more charging stations put up. That would prevent the problem you had due to having other choices. I cannot drive to my dad's place in Wyoming due to lack of chargers. I figure in the next few years that will be taken care of.

BillG49

· #16 · Jan 21, 2021 (Edited)

Novelh said:
Given the recall I could only charge to 88% on Hilltop Reserve.

If you still have Hilltop Reserve, the recall fix has not been applied. Also, if you still have Hilltop Reserve, you could have safely charged to 100%, as long as you headed out shortly after achieving full charge. You probably left 25-30 miles of range on the table before you started.

shrox

· #17 · Jan 21, 2021

GJETSON said:
What do you think driving in L does to your range? It is the exact same gear as D. If you put the car in CC it is exactly the same regardless of which letter you choose.

Not every knows that.

Now I'd better not hear you explaining a Bose-Einstein condensate incorrectly.

Fivedoor

· #18 · Jan 21, 2021 (Edited)

greendave said:
I'd recommend using secondary roads where possible. Going 45 or 50 won't be an impediment to traffic (unlike on the highway) and you'll save more energy.

Every time I check into this, the secondary road route adds 25 or more miles to a trip... so if I can go 160 miles via highway at 75 mph and arrive with 3% SOC, or drive 185 miles at 55 mph and arrive with 12% SOC I will take the highway... if I have to do 200+ miles, it is still faster to slow down a bit and take the highway route rather than driving really slow on a secondary route for 230 miles. Only times I have driven UNDER the speed limit are one trip in east Texas going south to corpus Christi, and a trip out west going through the desert south west 1 week before they opened up a new EA station along my route that would have cut an hour off of the trip

Both times it was faster to slow down a bit on the highway rather than take secondary roads.

Keith

GJETSON

· #19 · Jan 21, 2021

shrox said:
Now I'd better not hear you explaining a Bose-Einstein condensate incorrectly.

You mean journalists? Oh wait! That is the fifth ESTATE.

Fivedoor

· #20 · Jan 21, 2021

RichCapeCod said:
Novelh, Eric's comment; "You said the charger was down when you arrived. Was it listed as up by PlugShare and the charging provider's app/website before you left? To me, that's the bigger takeaway: Be sure to check charger availability and status before leaving on a long trip, especially on routes with little to no redundancy." is a really important point to keep in mind.

On a long distance trip you MUST check the availability of the next DCFC station on PlugShare and, if you're using Electrify America, that site, you plan on using if you expect to have a "no problem" ride.

Ask me how I know...

Rich

I don't just check status of the next station.

At the start of a multi day trip, I check status of every station I plan to use on the entire trip. Then at the start of each day I check status on every station I plan to use in that days driving, and at each stop I RE-check the status of the next station on down the line.

Keith

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