[Alan Spector]

After zero degree weather in February my charging range dropped from 230 to 130, and efficiency was about 3.9 mi/kwh

Now with weather in the 30 deg. range (in N.J.) the charging range has dropped even lower to 76 miles, and efficiency is still around 3.9 mi/kwh. My Usual driving distance is about 30 miles for local shopping every day or every other day.

I'm charging with 240 volt charger in my garage and I'm now keeping the car plugged in all the time when I'm not charging.
I've had the Bolt for almost 2 years and have about 19,000 miles on it (mixed local and highway miles)

Shouldn't the range start increasing instead of decreasing so much?
Is it time to take it to the dealer ?

 

[XJ12]

76 miles on a full charge? Others have noticed drop offs of range right before they got the dreaded OnStar message for their battery needing replacing.

 

[hatchy]

So your efficiency is staying at 3.9 despite all this going on?!

 

[DucRider]

If your efficiency is indeed 3.9 m/kWh, then there is almost certainly a battery issue.

Most of the cold weather range loss comes from reduced efficiency (use of heater, etc). A small percentage comes from the slowed chemical reaction and effective reduce capacity of the battery, but nothing near the nearly 70% capacity loss you are reporting.

A visit to the dealer should be pretty high on your "to do" list.

 

[gregb]

Is it time to take it to the dealer ?[/U]

76 miles is so low. Time to go to the dealer, IMO. Perhaps some of the other forum members from cold weather states could speak more authoritatively about this, but that amount doesn't seem right.

 

[Cataract2]

76 miles is so low. Time to go to the dealer, IMO. Perhaps some of the other forum members from cold weather states could speak more authoritatively about this, but that amount doesn't seem right.

My commute is 120 miles round trip here in NH. I have kept my charge stop point at 85% in cold as low as 0F in the morning and I regularly get 150-160 miles range at worst.

 

[max]

I've never seen less than 150 on the GOM - we're talking -20 air temp.
Still getting about 200 right now (car does live in a partially insulated garage when not being driven).

 

[PhilBo]

My lowest GOM reading was 150 miles at 100% charge just last week when overnight temperatures were in the single digits.

 

[Nook]

I had a range of 118 miles when we were at -30F. Around 10F is 150miles. Freezing is about 160 miles. Those are total range when full - the middle number on the left of the display.
As far as I know, I have the worst temperature induced range, due to details about my commute and driving style. I average 2.5mi/kwh. I have never seen >3.

If you are seeing a range when full of 79 miles, something is definitely wrong.
Here's some "Is it plugged in" style checks first:
19's can set their "charge to" % as long as 40%. Check to see that you didn't accidentally set you target charge low and/or your vehicle is attempting to get full.
As a debug step, use the stock charger AND a different outlet to charge your car. See if you get different results.
If you happen to know any electric car owner (or can borrow one), have them charge on your 240V charger and your outlet to see if they can get full.
Take your car to a public charging location and see if you can get full (or more than 79 miles) there.
Some combination of the above will get you proof that your outlet+charger are working and/or your car is not.

You could also go straight to the dealer without the above steps.

 

[max]

I've never seen less than 150 on the GOM - we're talking -20 air temp.
Still getting about 200 right now (car does live in a partially insulated garage when not being driven).

To add to this, I drive an average of 40 mph - not much freeway, precondition while plugged in & don't run heat when I don't need it.
Nook's range seems about right if I were driving faster/farther and needing more heat.
Can't imagine range below 100 miles from a 100% charge in any conditions however.

 

[Alan Spector]

The Chevy dealer service dept. confirmed that my 2017 Bolt EV needs front battery cells replaced. They've ordered the cells and will install them next week. So I'll be driving a loaner for at least one full week.

They didn't describe any reason for the battery failure but from what I've read about some other 2017 models if there is a failure in one cell that does not permit full charging and range. There was a detailed article on InsideEVs here: https://insideevs.com/chevrolet-bolt-battery-died-twice-why/

I hope this is limited to early 2017 models, and I hope I don't have another battery failure before my lease is up in March 2020.