[Jorgi]

I’ve seen several posts recommend keeping the charge in the 30-70% range. Being a new owner of a 2017 Bolt EV, I don’t know how to set it to do that. I could not find instructions in the user manual and the Chevy dealer knows very little about the car.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Eriamjh1138]

You can’t. It’s 90% (hilltop mode) or 100%.

Setting it to anything else wasn't possible until the 2018 models. There is no known way to get the 2018 software installed on a 2017.

 

[Jorgi]

You can’t. It’s 90% (hilltop mode) or 100%.

Setting it to anything else wasn't possible until the 2018 models. There is no known way to get the 2018 software installed on a 2017.

Thanks.

 

[Vertiformed]

Hilltop is actually about 87.5%. People think it's 90% because they see 18 bars, but 18 bars means 85.1% to 90.0%.

 

[wesley]

You can’t. It’s 90% (hilltop mode) or 100%.

Setting it to anything else wasn't possible until the 2018 models. There is no known way to get the 2018 software installed on a 2017.

2019 models, actually. 2018 models still came with that "hilltop" mode. If there was a way to backport new software into older models, I'm sure this forum would have had a dedicated how-to thread.

Hilltop is actually about 87.5%. People think it's 90% because they see 18 bars, but 18 bars means 85.1% to 90.0%.

Not that I dispute your experience, but in my case it charged to anywhere between 88 and 90% according to my OBD-II readings. On one occasion charging stopped at 89.8% displayed, 87.84% raw. So "around 88%" works for me.

 

[ga2500ev]

I’ve seen several posts recommend keeping the charge in the 30-70% range. Being a new owner of a 2017 Bolt EV, I don’t know how to set it to do that. I could not find instructions in the user manual and the Chevy dealer knows very little about the car.
Thanks for your help.

You can see other posts in terms of mechanism. I wanted to address the policy. I firmly believe that many EV folks have taken poor prior experiences and generalized them. Specifically early model Leafs were absolutely the worst way to build and manage a pack. There was no thermal management whatsoever and generally no software to manage the top and bottom usage of the pack.

GM with the Bolt has been ultra conservative with the pack management of the Bolt. From full active thermal management, to moderate speed DCFC charging, to software management of both the top and bottom ends of the battery, the Bolt is designed to care for its battery to prevent unnecessary dedregation.

So extra measures, such as only using half the pack capacity, or other external pack management strategies are really unnecessary. If you don't need full pack capacity, then Hilltop reserve is good because it's less than a full charge on a daily basis and gives you instant access to regenerative braking. But it's equally as likely that one could DCFC charge every day to 100%, drain to 0% everyday, in desert heat, and the battery would still be fine.

ga2500ev

 

[p7wang]

You can set it on departure charging for a later time. Knowing HTR is like 88%, you just work backwards from your charge rate. If you are charging at 32A, you will likely be charging about 10% per hour... so set your departure time for about 2 hours after your actual departure time.

 

[Vertiformed]

Not that I dispute your experience, but in my case it charged to anywhere between 88 and 90% according to my OBD-II readings. On one occasion charging stopped at 89.8% displayed, 87.84% raw. So "around 88%" works for me.

My most recent ODB-II logged charge on Hilltop Reserve was to 87.45% (Battery Level Displayed) [which was 85.49% State Of Charge HD Raw]. Over the last year, I've seen it between 87.45% and 88.63%, with 88.24 being the most common value.

So actually, yeah, let's say 88%.

 

[hickman55]

Depending on your EVSE, this is possible. The JuiceBox Pro 40 has the ability to set a max charge below 100% using the App.

 

[Vertiformed]

Depending on your EVSE, this is possible. The JuiceBox Pro 40 has the ability to set a max charge below 100% using the App.
View attachment 27579 View attachment 27579

The JuiceBox has no idea what the actual state of charge is for the Bolt (or any car). This deeply misleading screen just means “cut off power after delivering X kWh”. It's not a great way to control charging because you have to know what the Bolt is going to require. For example, if the JuiceBox is set to allow 50% charge, and your Bolt is at 60% when you plug it in, the JuiceBox will never cut power at all, because the most the Bolt will draw is 40% to get up to 100%

 

[hickman55]

You can set the starting state of charge too. Look at the picture again.

 

[Vertiformed]

You can set the starting state of charge too. Look at the picture again.

It's not that you can, it's that you must — every time. But it's fundamentally flawed, because the Bolt might draw power to condition rather than charge the battery, which will count against the percentage you set.

(FWIW, I have a JuiceBox myself.)

 

[neutrondrip]

Also, doesn't the Bolt do cell balancing at the end of the charge if you set it to hilltop reserve? I have a feeling that if you set it to stop at whatever point through the EVSE, the Bolt would not get a chance to balance the cells at the end of the charge.

 

[GJETSON]

Also, doesn't the Bolt do cell balancing at the end of the charge if you set it to hilltop reserve? I have a feeling that if you set it to stop at whatever point through the EVSE, the Bolt would not get a chance to balance the cells at the end of the charge.

Once initially balanced, lithium ion batteries maintain their balance remarkably well. There are many DIY EVs that have gone many thousands of miles without any subsequent re-balancing. Unless your Bolt has a faulty cell, it should be able to go a year without re-balancing..