[flmgrip]

Is there any benefit for religiously pre condition the car before every drive? Does it benefit battery life?

I know it warms/cools your cabin but will it increases battery life?

Thanks

(Socal temps, parked mostly in garage)

 

[NY-Rob]

The battery takes care of it self autonomously, pre-conditioning is only for the benefit of the human driver and passengers.

 

[EldRick]

Also, preconditioning should be done while plugged in, to avoid wasting power from the battery, and thus reducing range.

 

[specialed]

Also, preconditioning should be done while plugged in, to avoid wasting power from the battery, and thus reducing range.

Unless it has been parked out in the hot sun for hours. It is much nicer to get into a cooled off car rather than waiting for it to cool off while I'm driving.

Ed

 

[EldRick]

Preconditioning also cools the car, and takes battery power, thus should be done while plugged in if possible.

 

[XBS]

I do it every time before I drive we have so much range doesn't matter your not driving 200 miles a day

 

[Electro]

Is the battery longevity in question or the battery range ?

 

[Bazinga]

I believe warming the car before driving was something carried over from when carbureted engines were widely used so the Bolt doesn't really need it unless you want to be warm before your drive.

 

[devbolt]

I believe warming the car before driving was something carried over from when carbureted engines were widely used so the Bolt doesn't really need it unless you want to be warm before your drive.

The advantage of pre-conditioning in a traditional ICE vehicle is that you can get the car to a comfortable cabin temperature before taking off, clear the windshield of ice/snow, etc. While the necessity of needing to warm up an engine to optimize fuel efficiency and reduce emissions is lessened with advanced fuel injection engines, and the advanced emissions monitoring that modern cars have, it still does help. And people still use it a lot in areas that get a lot of snow. It sucks getting into a freezing cold car that takes forever to warmup and has reduced performance.

The advantage of pre-conditioning in the Bolt while plugged in is to bring the cabin up (or down) to a comfortable temperature level before driving off. The less battery power you spend on climate control, the more range you get. For someone who lives in snow country, this is essential to preserving range during winter.

 

[flmgrip]

Is the battery longevity in question or the battery range ?

I want to treat my battery as good as I can for longevity

 

[flmgrip]

The advantage of pre-conditioning in a traditional ICE vehicle is that you can get the car to a comfortable cabin temperature before taking off, clear the windshield of ice/snow, etc. While the necessity of needing to warm up an engine to optimize fuel efficiency and reduce emissions is lessened with advanced fuel injection engines, and the advanced emissions monitoring that modern cars have, it still does help. And people still use it a lot in areas that get a lot of snow. It sucks getting into a freezing cold car that takes forever to warmup and has reduced performance.

The advantage of pre-conditioning in the Bolt while plugged in is to bring the cabin up (or down) to a comfortable temperature level before driving off. The less battery power you spend on climate control, the more range you get. For someone who lives in snow country, this is essential to preserving range during winter.

but does pre conditioning put THE BATTERY in it's ideal temperature for longevity of the battery?

 

[EldRick]

No.

 

[Posatronic]

The advantage of pre-conditioning in a traditional ICE vehicle is that you can get the car to a comfortable cabin temperature before taking off, clear the windshield of ice/snow, etc. While the necessity of needing to warm up an engine to optimize fuel efficiency and reduce emissions is lessened with advanced fuel injection engines, and the advanced emissions monitoring that modern cars have, it still does help. And people still use it a lot in areas that get a lot of snow. It sucks getting into a freezing cold car that takes forever to warmup and has reduced performance.

The advantage of pre-conditioning in the Bolt while plugged in is to bring the cabin up (or down) to a comfortable temperature level before driving off. The less battery power you spend on climate control, the more range you get. For someone who lives in snow country, this is essential to preserving range during winter.

but does pre conditioning put THE BATTERY in it's ideal temperature for longevity of the battery?

If the battery is too cold or too hot pre-conditioning does not affect the battery. But it the car is plugged in the car will heat or cool battery as needed(battery conditioning).

 

[sbindley]

Thread re-vamping...

Can these cars be preconditioned from the app remotely, so ac or heat can run a few minutes before re-entering car? From what I see on the app, you have to be near or in the car, which defeats the purpose.

 

[mboni]

The smartphone app will use bluetooth (keypass) or cellular (onstar) to talk to the car. You should be able to use either one to trigger a preconditioning. I know I've done it from a few hundred yards across a parking lot and inside a building, which is probably further than the bluetooth would reach.

 

[quirkySquirt]

Thread re-vamping...

Can these cars be preconditioned from the app remotely, so ac or heat can run a few minutes before re-entering car? From what I see on the app, you have to be near or in the car, which defeats the purpose.

Essentially, if the app has internet access to reach OnStar's servers, it can issue commands to the car. So all those commands on the app can be done no matter where you are so long as you have internet access. I have used the cellular on my phone and the wifi of my house to precondition my car. I especially love it when checking out at the store I start preconditioning. By the time I'm done and walked back to the car, it's nice an toasty. Especially recently with some 45F days, the warm cabin is nice.

 

[Sean Nelson]

Essentially, if the app has internet access to reach OnStar's servers, it can issue commands to the car.

...and it should be noted that the car must also have access to the Internet as well, either via it's cellular connection or via a WiFi connection to another network, such as your home network.

 

[figgy_scott]

I just bought my Bolt last Saturday and I have a slightly different question about preconditioning. Do people feel comfortable activating that feature when your car is parked in a public space (garage or surface parking)? It turns on the outside lights (minimally) so I am just wondering if I am super paranoid in thinking that I don't want to attract attention to my car when I am not around. It definitely would be nice though turning on that feature just as I am finishing having dinner at a restaurant.

 

[devbolt]

I just bought my Bolt last Saturday and I have a slightly different question about preconditioning. Do people feel comfortable activating that feature when your car is parked in a public space (garage or surface parking)? It turns on the outside lights (minimally) so I am just wondering if I am super paranoid in thinking that I don't want to attract attention to my car when I am not around. It definitely would be nice though turning on that feature just as I am finishing having dinner at a restaurant.

I wouldn't worry about it, but I don’t know the area that you live in. We have preconditioned a couple of times when out in public. It was during the day and we were running the A/C to cool off the interior. I wasn't too worried about it attracting undue attention.

 

[TimBolt]

I just bought my Bolt last Saturday and I have a slightly different question about preconditioning. Do people feel comfortable activating that feature when your car is parked in a public space (garage or surface parking)? It turns on the outside lights (minimally) so I am just wondering if I am super paranoid in thinking that I don't want to attract attention to my car when I am not around. It definitely would be nice though turning on that feature just as I am finishing having dinner at a restaurant.

The Bolt has to be locked before preconditioning, and it is not “on”, in the sense that it can be broken into and driven away. Only the climate control is activated. When entering the car when it’s preconditioning a driver still needs to unlock the car and start it as usual. If anything, a car with lights on may deter theft, not encourage it.