[psyflyjohn]

Having lived in Chicago for many years, I was wondering what the Bolt experience is in -20 degree weather. I recall that I couldn't even start a cold car back then. Any reports?

 

[max]

Having lived in Chicago for many years, I was wondering what the Bolt experience is in -20 degree weather. I recall that I couldn't even start a cold car back then. Any reports?

No issues for me so far with multiple < -25F mornings.

I keep it plugged in when I can and precondition before leaving.

As I mentioned in another thread, I am hearing Nissan Leaf's are not faring as well in these temps.

 

[Nook]

-29F today. Started fine. Total range 122miles.
My average range has been 130-150miles when it's below freezing.
I'm seeing smaller than expected range loss due to cold, I believe because I keep it plugged in lots.
The heater did NOT keep my feet warm, even with preconditioning, though. Small price to pay.

 

[KeithMoon]

Having lived in Chicago for many years, I was wondering what the Bolt experience is in -20 degree weather. I recall that I couldn't even start a cold car back then. Any reports?

No issues for me so far with multiple < 25F mornings.

I keep it plugged in when I can and precondition before leaving.

As I mentioned in another thread, I am hearing Nissan Leaf's are not faring as well in these temps.

The temperature you quote is 45°F warmer than what the OP was asking about. There is a massive difference in battery performance between the two temperatures.

 

[KeithMoon]

The heater did NOT keep my feet warm, even with preconditioning, though. Small price to pay.

No shame in that, most cars won't keep your feet warm at that temperature. The 122 miles range is interesting though. No long distance travel possible with that range.

 

[max]

The temperature you quote is 45°F warmer than what the OP was asking about. There is a massive difference in battery performance between the two temperatures.

Forgot the "minus" sign (-). Fixed with an edit.

 

[psyflyjohn]

Thanks for the responses. I admire you folks who are operating the Bolt in these arctic conditions.

Here's a sensitive question: If you had it to do over again, knowing the loss of battery capacity at -20, would you buy an electric again?

 

[max]

Thanks for the responses. I admire you folks who are operating the Bolt in these arctic conditions.

Here's a sensitive question: If you had it to do over again, knowing the loss of battery capacity at -20, would you buy an electric again?

100% yes.

 

[KeithMoon]

Thanks for the responses. I admire you folks who are operating the Bolt in these arctic conditions.

Here's a sensitive question: If you had it to do over again, knowing the loss of battery capacity at -20, would you buy an electric again?

100% yes.

If there were an EV that only lost 5-10% of its range in -20° would you choose that over one that loses 50% of its range?

 

[max]

If there were an EV that only lost 5-10% of its range in -20° would you choose that over one that loses 50% of its range?

If it met my needs and budget, absolutely. But I'll take an EV that potentially only has half the range in extreme winter over an ice any day. My day to day driving needs are metropolitan and fit within a 120 mile per day max budget. I had a 2015 Leaf in the past and in winter, it did not meet the need.

 

[Nook]

Thanks for the responses. I admire you folks who are operating the Bolt in these arctic conditions.

Here's a sensitive question: If you had it to do over again, knowing the loss of battery capacity at -20, would you buy an electric again?

I just got mine, so I only decided 2 months ago. But, yes.
I came from a Volt, which had an average of 40% loss due to winter (general winter, no doubt specific days were worse than others). The volt helped me to understand the pain and savings that comes with the electric lifestyle change.

ANY current electric is going to save $10k-$15k in operating costs over a good hybrid and $25k-45k over a typical ICE car over the car's lifetime. So, if the purchase difference is less than those savings, you should go electric. (Maintenance cost differences are not included, but should only help electrics.) Another way to phrase your question is "Would you be willing to drive an electric car if it saved you enough money for a free car every 10 years?"

It's -30F here and I drove electric today, while having ICE vehicles available. My awful winter range is still enough for my regular commute. If I didn't have charging available near work, then I would have driven the Volt and bumped my wife to the Prius. Or we would have traded cars for any day that's too cold for my commute. Most mild days I'll have longer range (I expect).
Can electric be a pain? Absolutely. Is it great to get free charging every trip? Absolutely. Does the gain outweigh the pain? In my view, yes, but for others I expect the answer is no.
Even if you're pessimistic, there's lots of people who have a convertible/motorcycle, or winter beater, etc. that they don't drive everyday. Your electric could be that, or you can make it work for virtually everyday.

 

[Nook]

If there were an EV that only lost 5-10% of its range in -20° would you choose that over one that loses 50% of its range?

All other things being equal, yes, of course.
Just like I would choose a car that had unlimited range or infinitely fast charging over one that didn't.
But all other things won't be equal, there will be costs or compromises.

Is temperature intolerance improvement worth $1k? Maybe. Maybe not. I bought a car with enough base range to handle my needs, assuming large temperature losses. I would need to run the specific numbers to see if enough electricity would saved to make it worth it.

There will be few days that cold, just like there will be few trips beyond 200 miles one way. You need to have a plan for any odd or unusual event. The cold plan is similar to the long distance plan, which could be drive your ICE car, or work in an "extra" charge that wouldn't be needed for a mild day.

 

[wonderbolt]

I came to the forum tonight to post a thread "2017 Bolt VS the 2019 Polar Vortex" I had it composed in my head, it sounded so good, " I kept the crankcase heater going all night but even with that, at temperatures below zero, I can't say I wasn't worried, it cranked s...o...o...o... s....l...o...w... my heart raced for a bit, then it caught and fired right up"

Just kidding, I had taken a picture of the dash display at 1°F and was going to report how much I enjoyed the seat heaters and the steering wheel heater at these temperatures, and how strange the snow sounds driving over it when it is so cold, but I won't embarrass myself anymore by posting that "extreme temperature" picture and will just go back to reading this thread now, nothing to see here, move along...

 

[BruceA1923]

The question was would I buy EV again?




Yes definitely! My Bolt has kept me warm....toasty warm.... thru the entire cold spell with respectable mileage and battery conditioning. Flawless operation.

 

[Nook]

Just kidding, I had taken a picture of the dash display at 1°F and was going to report how much I enjoyed the seat heaters and the steering wheel heater at these temperatures, and how strange the snow sounds driving over it when it is so cold, but I won't embarrass myself anymore by posting that "extreme temperature" picture and will just go back to reading this thread now, nothing to see here, move along...

Don't feel bad. 1F IS cold for a lot of the country, even though that's shorts weather in the spring here. Most people here in MN think that Alaskans, Antarctic, and Siberia are crazy cold, so it's all relative to what you're used to. We know somebody in TN whose school closed yesterday due to "extreme cold" with a low of +27F. Yes, 5 degrees below freezing and 80 degrees above the windchill we're seeing.

For everybody else, this morning was again -26F but it felt like a heat wave due to no wind. My range was still 118miles.
Yesterday, I got 1.86 mi/kwh on about 120mile trip.
My vehicle average is 2.6 mi/kwh with 4600 miles total (all since early Dec., so not quite 2 months).
Sunday is forecast to be 70F warmer than Monday was, 100F warmer with windchill.

 

[wonderbolt]

So although I am not in the coldest area of the country, to answer the question would I buy the Bolt or any EV again? Would not have even given it a thought, absolutely

 

[Sean Nelson]

Here's a sensitive question: If you had it to do over again, knowing the loss of battery capacity at -20, would you buy an electric again?

The issue isn't really whether the car looses range in cold weather. It's whether the cold-soaked range is still adequate for your needs. If so, then there's no reason to fret.

The same goes for those of us who purchased their car with the intent to drive it into the ground over the course of a decade or more. We need to consider whether the car will still be useful for us after it's lost perhaps 25 to 30% of its battery capacity. In my case, the answer is "yes".

 

[Dimitrij]

Thanks for the responses. I admire you folks who are operating the Bolt in these arctic conditions.

Here's a sensitive question: If you had it to do over again, knowing the loss of battery capacity at -20, would you buy an electric again?

I think with the Bolt many people got not only the car that has its pros and cons, but also the unique experience of an early adopter - which, you'd agree, is hard to quantify, or assess the usefulness of post-factum.

I would say the Bolt is a less practical, and a lot more idiosyncratic than I expected, but on balance it does hit the suitability benchmark of our household car, given that we already have a stinker and a hybrid and that we really want to have an EV.

 

[max]

Don't feel bad. 1F IS cold for a lot of the country, even though that's shorts weather in the spring here. Most people here in MN think that Alaskans, Antarctic, and Siberia are crazy cold, so it's all relative to what you're used to. We know somebody in TN whose school closed yesterday due to "extreme cold" with a low of +27F. Yes, 5 degrees below freezing and 80 degrees above the windchill we're seeing.

For everybody else, this morning was again -26F but it felt like a heat wave due to no wind. My range was still 118miles.
Yesterday, I got 1.86 mi/kwh on about 120mile trip.
My vehicle average is 2.6 mi/kwh with 4600 miles total (all since early Dec., so not quite 2 months).
Sunday is forecast to be 70F warmer than Monday was, 100F warmer with windchill.

Don't be concerned with any averages at this point.
Once spring hits, your averages will sky-rocket.
I had a couple 300 mile per 60KWh stints last summer - only needed to plug in about once a week.

 

[max]

I think with the Bolt many people got not only the car that has its pros and cons, but also the unique experience of an early adopter - which, you'd agree, is hard to quantify, or assess the usefulness of post-factum.

I would say the Bolt is a less practical, and a lot more idiosyncratic than I expected, but on balance it does hit the suitability benchmark of our household car, given that we already have a stinker and a hybrid and that we really want to have an EV.

I'd also argue, for any idiosyncrasies present, my car(s) has/have gotten me from point (A to B) or (A to B to C to D) 100% reliably and comfortably the entire time I have owned.
(2017 MY - 2/2018 to 11/2018, 2019 MY - 11/2018 to present)

Infotainment is buggy - sure - but the EV heart of this vehicle is rock solid!