[HuskieJohn]

Hi all HuskieJohn here and just got my first EV 2020 Bolt LT.

I have been 100% a used car person and buying a new car has always been outside consideration. I have been eyeballing a used 2017+ e-Golf, 2017+ Bolt or 2018+ Leaf and planning on purchasing at the end of 2020 at the earliest...until the beginning of the month (Jan 2020) when the latest GM rebates and additional $1000 in GM credit card rewards came in and the new 2020 bolts cost less than the almost all of the used ones in my area. I knew that my next car purchase would impact my kids driving so with that in mind I ONLY looked at Bolts with the Driver Confidence I & II to justify the additional expense (think of the children!). Anyways even with those options I couldn't believe how low the sticker prices were relatively to a used one and after two weeks of searching and comparing with the range of a used one I went for it.

I traded in my 2009 Pontiac Vibe GT with almost 124k miles which I had since 5/2014 at 69k. Then in the past 18mo the engine had started to burn/eat oil. When I realized this I immediately went from an oil change every 6k miles to every 3k miles AND topping off the oil with about 1/3rd of a quart at every gas fill up. At 24-26 average mpg, the double oil changes and additional top offs I felt like it was a bit wasteful for a small car...which really was not even that sporty. Other then that the car served me well so I will remember it fondly.

Back to Bolty...hua guess I just named my car such an unoriginal name but shrug
Black exterior, dark interior, DC fast charging, Driver Comfort, Driver Confidence I & II and the flexible weather floor mats which are much too short.
I would like the rear cargo shelf but I have not seen this as an aftermarket purchase.

The first full day I had it I tried a free L2 charger at a Walgreen's for a few min because I needed a bathroom stop and an excuse to use the charger. I was happy to find no membership was required and simpler than filling up with gas. No rewards card swipe, credit card swipe, enter your zip code, do you want a car wash, do you want a receipt, select your grade....something went wrong please go see the cashier and guess at how much a fill up will cost.

Today I have to go to our other office and will try out a free ChargePoint+ DC fast charger in a parking garage. I wont NEED the energy but i am curious as to the process so when I do need it I am not 100% new to it. Yes I already have my ChargePoint+ card activated that came with the Bolt and I have a second free one being mailed to me because I did not realize I had one in the car.


I went through the manual a few times and played with as many settings as I understood but still feel like there is a hidden trick or two to get it just right for me.

The main thing I am still trying to figure out is a charging schedule...
Just FYI I have the home top charge set for 80% and away top charge set at 90%

If I have departure schedule on does it warm up my cabin for that departure time? (I think it does but want to verify)

If I have departure schedule on but I do not have the vehicle plugged in will it condition the vehicle and warm up the cabin (I think it does NOT but want to verify)

If I set up a departure schedule is there a way to remove a few days? (I think there is NOT but want to verify)

Here is where I am getting at...99% of the time I do not use my vehicle on the weekend so I do not want my vehicle to heat/cool the cabin or warm up the battery when I will not be using it as this wastes energy. Also with where my L1 cord needs to be plugged in it is a tripping hazard for my family on the weekends, even with a floor mat over it to help. As I understand it right now I think the way I want to charge is by not plugging in the vehicle from when I get home on Friday until Sunday evening while plugging after I get home...but that is with the 3 assumptions above.


Thanks

 

[macfisherman]

With my 2017 Bolt, the departure schedule just ensures your car is charged to the level you specified by that time. To warm your cabin, you need to manually precondition it.

 

[micantony]

with only the L1 evse, I would recommend against setting the departure charging; only because it charges so slowly it is kind of pointless. Just plug it in whenever you can. Takes 50 hours or so to go from 0% to 100% (dont forget to set to 12 amps if your circuit can handle it where you plug it in; otherwise it defaults to 8 amps only and charges slower, which may be fine for you). You wont be charging that long, but you get the point.

As far as i know, departure charging has nothing to do with heating or cooling the cabin, only charging the battery. So you don’t need to worry about wasting energy leaving it plugged in.
As mentioned above, look up Pre-Condition in the manual. that is what you want to do before you leave in the morning. using the keyfob or the app to activate it for 20 minutes i think it is.
you cant schedule precondition in my 2019 LT. as far as i know. it is a manual process.

welcome to the Bolt community! you’re going to love the car.

note: if you truly want to schedule charging by day, you need to get into the utility rate settings (time of day?) where you can program every day and specific charging times if desired. from there, you could turn off the weekends as you can program everything is my understanding. i don’t use it, so others could give you more detailed info on it if you desired to know.

 

[HuskieJohn]

Good info above.


Just got back from my work day 83mi road trip. I am in Chicagoland so its cold now and used the heater sparingly but even though I didnt start the day with a full charge I had no range issue.

Got to my first a DC fast charger and the cord was not long enough...what? No idea how the installer thought that length was good since our plug is towards the front of the vehicle. Really only a Leaf could charge from these.

Got to the second DC fast charger and went to have lunch. Ended up getting 22.95kw in 49min for free. That being said I am happy to realize that if this DC charge would not have worked out that I still had enough charge to make it back to work then home for the night even with the heat on.

I am slightly disappointed in the performance of the heated steering wheel. It feels like it has 4 spots that get warm while the rest does not. I found my driving hand style didnt really make use of the heated wheel zones so I turned it off for half the time.

I already LOVE the one pedal driving!...but am concerned about driving my Traverse with the family on the weekends.

I would also love to know how to turn off the radio when the vehicle starts.

 

[XJ12]

I would also love to know how to turn off the radio when the vehicle starts.

Welcome to the forum. There's technically no off to the radio. Turn the sound down to zero before exiting the car and you will be greeted with radio silence on your next start.

 

[The Other Tom]

Congrats on your new Bolt. If you haven't figured it out already, DC charging slows down after you hit the 50% charge mark. It slows again around 67%, and yet again around 85%, etc. DC Fast charging near empty vs. half full - Chevrolet Bolt EV Forum

 

[iwatson]

Just got back from my work day 83mi road trip.

I am slightly disappointed in the performance of the heated steering wheel.

I already LOVE the one pedal driving!

Hello HuskieJohn, and welcome. Congratulations on getting a great deal on a 20 Bolt EV.
If you're regularly driving 83mi a day, I would strongly urge you to purchase a L2 home EVSE or purchase an adapter that will allow you to use the supplied EVSE on 240V. If you are putting down that many miles daily you want to recoup more miles at home with the faster charging of L2 rather than over using DC fast charging. Don't get me wrong fast charging is great especially when traveling but it's a little harder on the battery than L2 Charging which can usually replenish your battery in one overnight charge. As for the heated wheel, to each his own, it is my favorite feature. I use it all the time. One pedal driving is great in the Bolt. Even the Tesla does not have anything to compare to it.