[Aeiou]

Well I now know what happens when the battery goes completely dead in the Bolt. Took a small trip yesterday to a city a couple hours away to a couple of stores we don't have around here. About 260 miles round trip. Both stores had level 2 EVSE nearby, so I figured I would top off the battery on those while inside. That part worked out pretty well, although the first one was actually across the street from the store and there were no crosswalks on a busy road, so that wasn't a lot of fun, but it worked out. The temperatures were around 40F, so not terrible but still enough to use the heat a little. Ended up averaging 3.7m/kwh on the way up there, which I was pretty impressed by, since we haven't seen that high since before winter. After going to the stores, I had about 25miles range more than I needed to get home with the heat turned off, and right about even range if I turned the heat on. We decided to grab a bite to eat while we topped off a little more at a free DCFC nearby. We left there with about a 30mile buffer over what we needed with the heat turned on. Good thing we did.

Aparantly, on the way there I had a pretty strong tailwind that I didn't realize. The range plummeted on the way back. Still though, I had a good buffer, and turning down the heat, turning off sometimes (it wasn't too bad with just the heated seats and no heat, but my wife likes to stay warm....) I thought I was still doing ok. I never felt like I was in trouble. There is even a L2 EVSE available at a Chevy dealer about 10 miles from my house, but at that point it still looked like I had a good 20miles range left. For some reason, though, once the GOM hit "LOW" it was not long at all and I started to notice that I was not getting any response out of the accelerator. I would press it but not go any faster. I was maintaining speed, but couldn't go faster. At this point I was about 2 miles from home. Right at that point, there is a decent hill that I was able to regen down, and at the bottom I was again able to accelerate a little. The last mile was just slowing down to a crawl slowly. I made it into the drive way (just) at not much more than a crawl. I should have just pulled straight into the garage, and if I had I probably would have been fine. But I like to back into the garage, so I pulled around to start that turn. That was it. The car simply would not move anymore. Adding to it, I was in a little bit of snow, so I was a little stuck as well. Well at least we made it home, but what do I do now. I wasn't able to push the car out, it was stuck too much and I didn't have traction myself. I do have, however, a 50FT long cord on my backup EVSE, and have a 240v plug in my mudroom that we are planning on moving the laundry to. Plugged that in there and it reached the car. I figured 15min or so should give it enough juice to move into the garage. after a little bit (and some impatience) it did have enough power to move a little, but power was still limited. It didn't have enough power to overcome the snow that it was in, not even enough power to spin the wheels. So I decided to grab the other car (Subaru Forester) and pull it out with that. Fortunately I have a tow rope for just such an occasion. After realizing that the recovery hook on the Bolt is reverse-threaded, I got it hooked up and pulled the Bolt out (Good thing for Subaru AWD - the driveway is in less than perfect condition and it needed it). Once it was back up on the main driveway the Bolt was able to pull into the garage and get a nice long charge overnight.

Just thought I would share. I guess I need to be a little more liberal with my range buffers going forward, but at least I didn't get stranded!

 

[Brad]

Good that you made it home. Here is one thing someone mentioned on this forum ... use the lower estimate on the gom. When driving conditions are not the best, ignore the upper and middle gom estimate and use the lower estimate to determine whether you have enough range.

 

[The Other Tom]

I didn't know the tow hook is reverse threaded. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[micantony]

...For some reason, though, once the GOM hit "LOW" it was not long at all and I started to notice that I was not getting any response out of the accelerator. I would press it but not go any faster. I was maintaining speed, but couldn't go faster...

Interesting. When my GOM goes to 'LOW' i still have plenty of juice left (5% maybe? 2-3 kWh); at least enough to drive a few miles even in cold weather.
How quickly did yours reduce where you could notice reduced propulsion? I never even notice the reduced propulsion and I've been to 'LOW' several times.

I have read that at a low state of charge if the GOM quickly goes from low % to zero, it may indicate a failing cell. Might be worth it to get an OBDII reader and check your cells; (there's a thread if you search for it).

 

[George Knighton]

Wow.

That was close! And thanks for the warning about the reverse threads.

 

[TFPDrive]

Tow eye in the back... I only knew about the spot in the front. There's something I wish I had known a few days ago.

Glad you made it home before having to deal with a dead battery.

 

[Aeiou]

Interesting. When my GOM goes to 'LOW' i still have plenty of juice left (5% maybe? 2-3 kWh); at least enough to drive a few miles even in cold weather.
How quickly did yours reduce where you could notice reduced propulsion? I never even notice the reduced propulsion and I've been to 'LOW' several times.

I have read that at a low state of charge if the GOM quickly goes from low % to zero, it may indicate a failing cell. Might be worth it to get an OBDII reader and check your cells; (there's a thread if you search for it).

It went to LOW with probably about 5-7miles left (my guesstimate based on memory) but it had just said 10-15 miles range before that so I didn't think I would have a problem. I have taken it to "LOW" before and it said reduced propulsion, but the only thing I had noticed then was a slight reduction in top end power (might have only been able to get 120KW of power or so) but was still able to accelerate. I'm not too worried about it, because it was pretty windy and gusty at that, so I think that could definitely have caused confusion.

 

[PhilBo]

I've started trips using very little heat then when I was sure I would be able to make it to my destination I turned up the heat. Safer than the other way around.

 

[GregBrew]

Pretty clear that you don't have any cells that are substantially lower in capacity than the others. They would have raised their ugly heads otherwise.

 

[TheLondonBroiler]

It went to LOW with probably about 5-7miles left (my guesstimate based on memory) but it had just said 10-15 miles range before

Well Ho Lee Fuk, someone else had it happen. Is your's a 2019 too?

My latest theory is that "us lucky folk," have a range inaccuracy problem that is most often triggered by fast charging. How it goes: Do some driving, then do a fast charge(s), now your "range estimator" is inaccurate/overly optimistic/just forking wrong, go to low SOC and run out of juice with "range remaining."

@GJETSON eagle eyed my torque pro screenshots and realized when I almost got stranded the second time, my average cell voltage was lower at a higher SOC, then when I was able to go all the way down to 4% SOC without incident.

Range indicator "inaccuracy" strands me once...

I didn't realize until recently how much more active this forum is, compared to the mychevybolt.com forum. I didn't get much response there, so I'm pandering here. Essentially my 2019 Bolt left me stranded when it went from 14 miles of range to limp mode within a matter of seconds, at the end of...

www.chevybolt.org

 

[Sean Nelson]

When driving conditions are not the best, ignore the upper and middle gom estimate and use the lower estimate to determine whether you have enough range.

...and be aware that if you encounter even more adverse conditions, such as having to drive up a fair bit of elevation at the end of your journey, even the "Min" estimate could be optimistic. It's still just an estimate, not a guarantee.

 

[PLP]

I should have just pulled straight into the garage, and if I had I probably would have been fine. But I like to back into the garage, so I pulled around to start that turn. That was it. The car simply would not move anymore.

That is something I experienced with FIAT.
Exactly same thing, but I actually got stuck 0.5 mile from home. Had I made the next 200 yards, I would have been on a 100 yards steep slope that would add regen enough to allow me crawl to home.

Anyway, when I stopped on the side of the road, the car still had juice to pull forward. Once I shifted to Park, it would not shift to D anymore (or R). Only N. Wife, slowly, towed me home and then charged at 120 V for 10 minutes - enough to pull inside.

I have not had this close call with Bolt yet. I pushed it a few times till reduced power and blinking or gone last bar, but never to be actually stuck.

Well, lesson learnt.
Good luck with other trips!!

 

[jaymac]

That was close! I wound up on tow truck when I ran out 2 miles from an EA fast charger under extremely adverse conditions.

 

[EV Engineering]

My rule in winter to keep charging every 100-120 miles no matter what I have left on the battery if going on the trip..
Anxiety is gone and no problems with keeping cabin at full comfort. And doing it this way you will still have good margin if charging destination is out of service to get you to nearest charging even if has to be EVSE

 

[GetOffYourGas]

My rule in winter to keep charging every 100-120 miles no matter what I have left on the battery if going on the trip..
Anxiety is gone and no problems with keeping cabin at full comfort. And doing it this way you will still have good margin if charging destination is out of service to get you to nearest charging even if has to be EVSE

Lately, my winter range has been about 125 miles on a full charge. I try to stop every 80 miles or less. I love most things about winter (cold, snow) and generally don't like spring (i.e. mud season). But there is a silver lining to warmer weather...

 

[NortonCommando]

... use the lower estimate on the gom. When driving conditions are not the best, ignore the upper and middle gom estimate ..

And also those small Trend lines.
They tell you which side of the main GOM number you are currently on, and by how much.
If the tan Trend line is big and pointing down that means the MIN.
You can see that Trend line change size by slowing down a little or turning the heat down a little. It takes a minute or so to display the changes you make.

 

[GJETSON]

I would get Torque Pro on my phone. Then you would know if you have a low cell, and whether you need a module replaced...or you can just speculate..

 

[Brad]

And also those small Trend lines.
They tell you which side of the main GOM number you are currently on, and by how much.
If the tan Trend line is big and pointing down that means the MIN.
You can see that Trend line change size by slowing down a little or turning the heat down a little. It takes a minute or so to display the changes you make.

I can see that being very useful!