Hi Everyone, just got a new 2020 Bolt. So I have a newbie question. When I fully charge the Bolt, the range that shows in the enhanced display always shows Max 227, 193 mid, 158 min. Shouldn't the max show 259 since the range was extended for 2020? TIA.
Not charging to 259
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Yeah, it also depends on how the car has been driven recently and especially with new Bolts, the gauge hasn't really figured out the range yet.
There is a LOT of variability in that.
(Also, if you aren't charging to 100%. That is something you can set in the car, and a lot of us don't charge to 100% all the time..)
Also, CONGRATS!!!!
There is a LOT of variability in that.
(Also, if you aren't charging to 100%. That is something you can set in the car, and a lot of us don't charge to 100% all the time..)
Also, CONGRATS!!!!
@darnoc23 welcome to the forum. It seems every new Bolt owner has this same observation. One possible reason for the low range estimate is that the car hasn't learned your driving habits yet. Give it a couple charge cycles. But, as @Digi mentioned, if it's cold the estimate will be lower. And, if you spend all your driving on the highway at 75 plus mph, your range estimate will be lower. Straight from the factory in shipping mode and sitting on a car lot where the car is turned on many times without being driven causes the first range estimate on a full charge to be low.
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The part of the car that shows the range is usually called the “GOM”, which is short for guess-o-meter. That name reflects the idea that the car is trying to guess how far it can be driven, based on how much charge is in the battery, what temperature the battery is at right now, and what your recent driving efficiency has been like, and perhaps other factors like the phase of the moon.
After owning the Bolt for a while, you'll realize that you're Bolt goes into a mood of deep pessimism about the world if you drive it up a mountain (which requires lots of extra energy to lift the Bolt to the higher elevation), and is filled with boundless optimism if you drive it down one (due to all the extra energy that comes from heading downhill).
Likewise, pootle around town at 35 mph and your Bolt will have a rosy view about how far it can go, but drive it pedal to the metal on the freeway and it'll see things more negatively.
If, however, you consistently get 4.0 miles/kWh efficiency and you've discharged the battery quite low and recharged it and it still seems like you have low range, then perhaps there is something to worry about. Otherwise not.
After owning the Bolt for a while, you'll realize that you're Bolt goes into a mood of deep pessimism about the world if you drive it up a mountain (which requires lots of extra energy to lift the Bolt to the higher elevation), and is filled with boundless optimism if you drive it down one (due to all the extra energy that comes from heading downhill).
Likewise, pootle around town at 35 mph and your Bolt will have a rosy view about how far it can go, but drive it pedal to the metal on the freeway and it'll see things more negatively.
If, however, you consistently get 4.0 miles/kWh efficiency and you've discharged the battery quite low and recharged it and it still seems like you have low range, then perhaps there is something to worry about. Otherwise not.
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I have owned three electric cars. The Nissan Leaf 2018, the Chevy Volt 2019, I was not happy with the and recently on Black Friday of 2020 I bought the 2020 Chevy Bolt. I was not happy with the Nissan Leaf because it only had a hundred and fifty miles charge on the battery
For six weeks when I had my 2020 Chevy Bolt it charged up to 259 miles. Then I drove it to work for about a hundred fifty miles that week parked it for the weekend then I got back in my car after charging it and I saw it before my eyes in the 7th week of me owning the car it went from it was charged up to 2:59 and then it went down to 204. It's 70 degrees outside, it wasn't cold oh, it was in a warm garage for the whole entire time. So I don't like air conditioning but the car seems to think that the air conditioning is on. So I when I finish driving I look at the look at that turn the air conditioner on and I turn it off now and then I watched the the the charge on the battery go up. It's driving me crazy the car has gone down as far as a hundred and fifty miles it won't charge past that two or even 79 miles won't charge past that. It it doesn't make any sense I took it into the shop they said drive it I said you see that I have miles on the car I have to get to work this is my only car it's the craziest thing. Seriously this car is confused whether or not that the air conditioning system is on or not an insulae and it's multiplies the instance of air conditioning system. For example there is no reason for it to be as low as 150 miles based on my driving but if you tweak it and students and keep on drinking turning the air conditioner on and off it builds up to at least 231 I can't get it to 259 anymore. The miles are not hidden in the system it's seriously is the battery charged and it's unpredictable and I even had to drive home praying that I will get home without orange light saying I'm out of charge that should never happen for the short amount of time distance that I drive. They need to change the programming
As a new member of the forum, welcome! A couple of suggestions that will help you navigate the forum:
1. Please use punctuation and paragraphs in your posts. It makes it easier for everyone to read and understand what you want to say.
2. Check out the the post at the top of the New Member Introductions board, titled "Useful Vocabulary and Abbreviations". There, you'll find an explanation for the range estimator on the Bolt, what we frequently call the "Guess-O-Meter" or GOM:
GOM - Guess-O-Meter, the snarky nickname for the range estimate displayed on the Driver Information Center (DIC). This will rarely indicate the advertised range (238 miles for early models, 259 for later models). A lower displayed range is NOT an indicator of battery degradation by itself, nor are you somehow guaranteed the EPA range at any point. The guesstimated range will depend on how efficient you’ve been driving, weather conditions, terrain, tire pressure and wear, use of the air conditioner or heater, weight of passengers and cargo, and other factors. When your driving is less efficient, or when the battery is partially depleted, your range estimate will be less than advertised. The good news is, the opposite is true so when your driving is more efficient, your range will be higher than advertised.
Finally, regarding your question about air conditioning, the Bolt has an "Auto-Defog" setting that will automatically run the air conditioner based on humidity and other factors. You can turn that setting off by going to:
Home -> Apps (icon is 4 colored dots) -> Settings -> Vehicle -> Climate and Air Quality -> Auto Defog
I'd say Tony's post at 2013 SL - Range Dropped quickly - My Nissan Leaf Forum "Whole new threads started about the inaccurate GOM earn the coveted "dog chasing his tail" award:" is just as applicable for Bolt as it is for Leaf.
There is really no point in mucking or trying to decipher the GOM. Better to look at % state of charge, unfortunately only available in 1% increments via the My Chevrolet app. Otherwise you have the 20 battery bars that are 5% each but you can't tell if you're at the top, middle or bottom of a bar.
One can also think of 60 kWh battery (or 66 on 2020 and 2021 Bolts) in conjunction w/a reset trip odometer and miles/kWh display.
The GOM can't predict the future and know whether you will drive fast or slow or up or downhill, use or not use your heater/AC, etc. Mysterious drops/increases an happen due to auto-defog or the use of auto on HVAC, which is why I turn off auto defog and don't use auto.
If you drive at 4 miles per kWh and let's say we want to only use 55 kWh, then at that efficiency, you could drive 220 miles. if you drove slowly and achieved say 5 miles/kWh, on 55 kWh, you could go 275 miles.
Think of miles per kWh like miles per gallon and kWh like gallons of gas. (One gallon of gasoline has about 33.7 kWh of energy content.)
There is really no point in mucking or trying to decipher the GOM. Better to look at % state of charge, unfortunately only available in 1% increments via the My Chevrolet app. Otherwise you have the 20 battery bars that are 5% each but you can't tell if you're at the top, middle or bottom of a bar.
One can also think of 60 kWh battery (or 66 on 2020 and 2021 Bolts) in conjunction w/a reset trip odometer and miles/kWh display.
The GOM can't predict the future and know whether you will drive fast or slow or up or downhill, use or not use your heater/AC, etc. Mysterious drops/increases an happen due to auto-defog or the use of auto on HVAC, which is why I turn off auto defog and don't use auto.
If you drive at 4 miles per kWh and let's say we want to only use 55 kWh, then at that efficiency, you could drive 220 miles. if you drove slowly and achieved say 5 miles/kWh, on 55 kWh, you could go 275 miles.
Think of miles per kWh like miles per gallon and kWh like gallons of gas. (One gallon of gasoline has about 33.7 kWh of energy content.)
Just a quick addon to @MichBolt great post above. Many drivers tend to think that the EPA is both magic and set in stone. Neither is true. You can see the EPA highway testing drive cycle here. Note that it averages 48.3 MPH. Most of us know that on many stretches of highway that speed will get you run over.
Overall mileage on a full battery is strictly a function of efficiency in miles/kWh. The EPA efficiency is 3.9 miles/kWh. If you average that over a full to empty battery, you will get close to 259 miles. If you average less, you'll get less miles.
The great thing is that the driver has control over that efficiency. Items like excessive speed, jackrabbit starts, and blasting the heater all affect that number. Simply put if one needs more range than the GOM is showing, adjust your climate controls and slow down. It will extend your range.
ga2500ev
Overall mileage on a full battery is strictly a function of efficiency in miles/kWh. The EPA efficiency is 3.9 miles/kWh. If you average that over a full to empty battery, you will get close to 259 miles. If you average less, you'll get less miles.
The great thing is that the driver has control over that efficiency. Items like excessive speed, jackrabbit starts, and blasting the heater all affect that number. Simply put if one needs more range than the GOM is showing, adjust your climate controls and slow down. It will extend your range.
ga2500ev
it is even better than this. The UI provides the information you need to accomplish this. Watch the trend bars. I find that these are quite accurate. If you need more range than the GOM estimate, drive such that the trend bar extends above the estimate, and never below the estimate.
Ed
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