[little bevo]

I'm just completing my first month with my new car and there is so much to learn. Yesterday, I drove exclusively in L mode around our township, getting a feel for the one-pedal driving. I admit that the driving is more fun that way, because it (for me) seems to require more control of the accelerator and good anticipation and timing on turns. I have a few questions, though. If you can offer some insight, please speak in layman's terms. I'm an accountant, not an engineer.

My last car was a hybrid, and any deceleration (lifting foot off accelerator, braking) added energy back to the hybrid battery. In the Bolt, does the L mode add MORE energy back to the battery than the D mode for the same type of driving? And why?

I've read on this Forum that the L mode is like an "Eco" mode. Was the car designed to be driven in L mode all the time or only when additional traction is needed? I don't drive far each day, so I don't know why I'm so obsessed with conserving my range, but I feel the need to get the most out of each charge and drive as efficiently as possible.

Thanks for your help.

 

[wonderbolt]

My last car was a hybrid, and any deceleration (lifting foot off accelerator, braking) added energy back to the hybrid battery. In the Bolt, does the L mode add MORE energy back to the battery than the D mode for the same type of driving? And why?

I've read on this Forum that the L mode is like an "Eco" mode. Was the car designed to be driven in L mode all the time or only when additional traction is needed? I don't drive far each day, so I don't know why I'm so obsessed with conserving my range, but I feel the need to get the most out of each charge and drive as efficiently as possible.

Thanks for your help.

1) Short answer, Yes, because you make less use of the friction brakes in "L" mode then you do in "D" (The brake pedal) so more energy is recovered during deceleration

2) Yes, The vehicle can be driven all the time in "L", most of us do just that. It was designed to be driven in "L" all the time, unlike a car with a gas engine. The reason that "D" exists is to make the transition as easy as possible for someone coming from a gas powered vehicle. No retraining required, in "D" it drives just like a gas vehicle, it creeps forward when you lift your foot off the brake, etc...


Welcome to the Forum and Congratulations on your new Bolt!

 

[XJ12]

I bet there's little difference between L and D in terms of energy being saved. Unless in D one pushes too hard on the brake pedal where one engages the friction brakes. For the most part, regen and light braking will return energy back to the battery. L mode just provides more regen on demand depending on the accelerator position. It also allows the car to come to a complete stop. D provides light regen and doesn't bring the car to a complete stop without touching the brake. Supposedly the car will use power through the motor to keep the car stopped in L. Not sure if applying the brake at stop in D uses the same motor power or engages the friction brakes. Through the electric brake booster, the friction brakes use power also. So it might be a complete wash in energy use/saved between D and L.

 

[little bevo]

Thank you, wonderbolt! Is it difficult to get used to driving in L on the freeway? I think that I will need to override my gas engine instincts when I see someone cut in front of me and try NOT to lift my foot immediately off the accelerator.

I have found this Forum so much more helpful than the owner's manual.

 

[Vertiformed]

I'm just completing my first month with my new car and there is so much to learn. Yesterday, I drove exclusively in L mode around our township, getting a feel for the one-pedal driving. I admit that the driving is more fun that way, because it (for me) seems to require more control of the accelerator and good anticipation and timing on turns. I have a few questions, though. If you can offer some insight, please speak in layman's terms. I'm an accountant, not an engineer.

My last car was a hybrid, and any deceleration (lifting foot off accelerator, braking) added energy back to the hybrid battery. In the Bolt, does the L mode add MORE energy back to the battery than the D mode for the same type of driving? And why?

I've read on this Forum that the L mode is like an "Eco" mode. Was the car designed to be driven in L mode all the time or only when additional traction is needed? I don't drive far each day, so I don't know why I'm so obsessed with conserving my range, but I feel the need to get the most out of each charge and drive as efficiently as possible.

First, you absolutely can drive the car in L all the time. That's what I do. It feels very effortless because the car is always going at exactly the speed I want.

That said, there is pretty much nothing you can do in L that you can't do with the paddle and/or the brake pedal in D. When you push the brake pedal the first part of the travel is regen braking only and then as you press harder it adds in the friction brakes. But it's much easier to stay regen-only in L, because you don't have to worry about pressing the brake pedal “just enough but not too much”.

(Actually, the above paragraph might be false — sometimes I come to a rapid stop with foot-off-the-accelerator-in-L, hand on the paddle, foot gently on the brake, and that might be giving me more regen than I'd get if I was in D.)

I think L does encourage anticipative driving, you will sometimes feel like you failed in adequate anticipation if you have to bring in the paddle or the bake pedal, but ultimately the only person you're in a contest with is yourself. The car doesn't mind.

Also, yes, when you know how efficiently you're driving, it does push a little bit towards trying to “hit the high score” (I'm happy when I'm hitting 4.6 miles/kWh and feel like I've blown it if I drop below 4.0.) But on the other hand, another part of the joy of having a Bolt is “punching it” sometimes. The motor is very efficient and these bursts are brief, so it actually does much less harm to your mileage to tear away from a stop light than it does to drive 77 rather than 72 on the freeway.

 

[Terry Hancock]

L only, for too many reasons that have been discussed and proven in more blogs and forums than this one. L is designed by excellent engineers, to make micro second adjustments between battery use and regen.

The flipper and brake cannot be used during cruise on the highway, yet, L can be used at all times. I have yet to see a flipper and brake be used without dropping out of cruise. Yet, L is seen by each and every operator, to be taking the car into large amounts of regen, while maintaining a cruise of say 75 MPH.

Just watch what happens on the right side of your speedometer, when you come over a rise and start down an incline. Truly too many times to count, I have seen 30 to 55KW being shoved back into the Bolt battery, while I continue forward at 75 MPH. Flippers, brakes and D will never do that.

I find myself using flipper the most, just to drop out of cruise and take an exit. If the exit is coming up real fast? Sure the flipper can help L, add more regen, and usually come to a complete stop. If that does not work, you can kick in that rare thing called a brake, with its regen and disc brake all being applied.

As others have indicated, most here just put a Bolt in L and forget it.

 

[One1whaoo.]

And the other reason to use D mode is that it is a lot more comfortable on the highway, because it doesn't pull you back and forth when adjusting speed. L mode on the highway is like riding with a little old lady who uses the brakes any time she sees a taillight turn red.

 

[Sean Nelson]

And the other reason to use D mode is that it is a lot more comfortable on the highway, because it doesn't pull you back and forth when adjusting speed.

People who get pulled back and forth while adjusting speed in "L" mode simply haven't learned to use subtle changes of pressure with the accelerator pedal. I can speed up and slow down more smoothly in "L" mode than in "D" mode because the latter requires me to actually remove my foot from the accelerator pedal and loose power completely even if I want to slow down by just a very minor amount.

 

[Vertiformed]

And the other reason to use D mode is that it is a lot more comfortable on the highway, because it doesn't pull you back and forth when adjusting speed. L mode on the highway is like riding with a little old lady who uses the brakes any time she sees a taillight turn red.

I showed this to my spouse, who yelled “Doing it wrong!!”

Does your foot move like a bird walks, in jerks and lurches, rather than smoothly?

There's no need to take your foot totally off the pedal.

 

[TimBolt]

And the other reason to use D mode is that it is a lot more comfortable on the highway, because it doesn't pull you back and forth when adjusting speed. L mode on the highway is like riding with a little old lady who uses the brakes any time she sees a taillight turn red.

I only drive with “L” mode and I’ve never noticed anything like this, either on the highway or around town.

 

[gern_blanston]

And the other reason to use D mode is that it is a lot more comfortable on the highway, because it doesn't pull you back and forth when adjusting speed. L mode on the highway is like riding with a little old lady who uses the brakes any time she sees a taillight turn red.

Not. I drive exclusively in 'L' and have no discomfort at all.
It's called being smooth and subtle with the pedal.

 

[Bolt Action]

I just wish the L and Sport could become the default modes.

 

[NoMoPetrol]

And the other reason to use D mode is that it is a lot more comfortable on the highway, because it doesn't pull you back and forth when adjusting speed. L mode on the highway is like riding with a little old lady who uses the brakes any time she sees a taillight turn red.

Using cruise control also eliminates the potential problem mentioned by 1whaoo. We've driven our Bolt in L since Day 1; haven't even bothered with the regen paddle.

 

[GJETSON]

Using cruise control also eliminates the potential problem mentioned by 1whaoo. We've driven our Bolt in L since Day 1; haven't even bothered with the regen paddle.

I drive in L and cruise control not only on interstates, but two lane roads as well. I set the cruise to the speed limit, or a couple mph above, never having to look down to see if I speeding, or worrying about police. It is the most relaxing car I've ever owned. I use the regen paddle to drop out of cruise, and when I am entering a turn in conditions I deem too fast for the cruise setting.

 

[Vertiformed]

I drive in L and cruise control not only on interstates, but two lane roads as well. I set the cruise to the speed limit, or a couple mph above, never having to look down to see if I speeding, or worrying about police. It is the most relaxing car I've ever owned. I use the regen paddle to drop out of cruise, and when I am entering a turn in conditions I deem too fast for the cruise setting.

The nice thing is that in cruise you can be even more prepared because, if you see a situation ahead that might require you to brake, you can move your foot to hover over the brake so that you now have the option of tapping the paddle to drop out of cruise, holding the paddle to slow rapidly, or jamming your foot on the brake to stop on a dime.

 

[One1whaoo.]

If you keep an eye on your speed while in L mode on the highway, it is almost impossible to avoid speeding up and slowing down by a mile or two per hour without using the cruise control.
This constant speed changing wastes energy, and is not as comfortable for passengers as using D mode, because they are not in control, so they don't know when to brace themselves against small changes that the driver is aware of.

 

[NoMoPetrol]

If you keep an eye on your speed while in L mode on the highway, it is almost impossible to avoid speeding up and slowing down by a mile or two per hour without using the cruise control.
This constant speed changing wastes energy, and is not as comfortable for passengers as using D mode, because they are not in control, so they don't know when to brace themselves against small changes that the driver is aware of.

Sounds like D mode will work much better for you on the highway. Unless you are interested in reading the last three posts that explain how to avoid the speed up-slow down issue.

 

[GJETSON]

I think this is one of those things built in the brain. It is like a liberal and a conservative listening to a description of a situation, and coming to polar opposite conclusions, and no amount of thoughtful discussion can change either's view. My wife and I agree on almost everything. Neither of us have ever meet anyone with whom we agree more. But she is a D driver, and I am an L driver, so after several discussions, it was off the table. thankfully, this is one disagreement that doesn't effect anything important.

 

[jrstinkfish]

I just wish the L and Sport could become the default modes.

This. I wish it could be a setting you could toggle. My double-pull down to L isn't always successful (it is mostly, but from time to time, I either do it too fast or too early or too lightly, I dunno), so it'd be nice to just pull it down once and be right in my preferred default driving mode. I imagine Chevy has their reasons for now allowing that to be a driver-controlled setting.

 

[jrstinkfish]

I drive in L and cruise control not only on interstates, but two lane roads as well. I set the cruise to the speed limit, or a couple mph above, never having to look down to see if I speeding, or worrying about police. It is the most relaxing car I've ever owned. I use the regen paddle to drop out of cruise, and when I am entering a turn in conditions I deem too fast for the cruise setting.

I use a combo of the paddle and pedal when dropping out of cruise -- I find if I do one or the other, it's a bit jolting for my passenger if I'm in L.