This is a key fact that most people have a hard time understanding about Lithium based batteries. Battery chemistries differ to suit what the manufacturer wants from the cells, but the overall trend seems to hold true. The assumption is that your car will be used on a regular basis. Keeping your battery at full, or worse at empty, for extended periods of time (months), is also detrimental to cell health. This has also been shown in various studies, however each cell chemistry is different. Based on various articles, it seems as though GM specified a more mediocre cell chemistry to allow future expansion to higher energy density cell chemistires (more mi/kW) whereas Tesla chose a more aggressive chemistry but is dialing back the range because some users are pushing the batteries too hard. It's all a trade off in the auto industry, but I'm hoping GM played it on the safe side because we hope to own our Bolt for another 8-10 years after which we would consider battery service (individual cells, hopefully not the whole pack) part of the typical EV maintenance.
-
Hey Guest, welcome to ChevyBolt.org. We encourage you to register to engage in conversations about your Bolt.
Battery charged 100%
About a month ago I bought the Chevrolet Bolt EV, I have heard that charging the battery 100% can cause damage to it. The manual says nothing about it. That's right?
1 - 2 of 25 Posts
That's exactly why Chevy said up to 40% (from what I remember reading on here somewhere) degradation is acceptable over the 8 year warranty. It should cover 99% of cars sold if the cells are manufactured and assembled properly regardless of how the average user charges and discharges the battery. But what if you want to keep your car for longer (not the average user)? I had my last car for 18 years. Seems like a great idea to minimize degradation as much as possible so it still has good range well after the warranty runs out. If you don't plan on keeping the car for very long then you probably don't care, but the poor sap who gets the car after you will.You can probably increase the life of the battery by not fully charging or discharging, but I don't think the level of degradation that occurs is of concern to the average user.
1 - 2 of 25 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Chevy Bolt EV Forum
We’re the Largest Chevy Bolt EV Online Community and Owner's Club. Join to discuss sport mode, reviews, battery range and charging!
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
