[cforbes]

I had 2 recalls on my 2017 Bolt. One for the Infotainment Center and the second was declared a safety issues with propulsion after the battery drained to a certain level. So, like a good customer I had Chevy perform both recalls. After the 1st one I noticed a decrease in my nightly charge - it wasn't hitting 238 like normal. Then I get the safety recall in the mail. They do that and it has been nothing short of a disaster since. My nightly charge is somewhere between 204 and 217 max. And note: NOTHING has changed. My commute is the same, the time I leave and return from work is the same, I live in So. Cal - the weather never changes here, I drive the same, my charging chord is the same, the outlet I plug my car into is the same. Net net is nothing has changed but the software updates.
I have discussed this with the service manager and they have kept my car for review with Bolt software engineers. They claim nothing is wrong. I called again. I now have to do it again. Bear in mind, my commute is 90 miles a day, gas costs $30/day for their loaner car and I cannot get into the HOV lane causing my commute to double each way.
I'm willing to do all that BUT they cannot guarantee they can fix it and the Service Manager says he's only as good as the information the software engineers give him.
Can anyone help me? I am so frustrated and I don't feel like I'm ever going to get the range back that I originally bought! Please anyone any advice?

 

[discodanman45]

I have seemed to have lost about 3 kWh since I did the battery update. I never drain my battery much below 20% so I don't know exactly what this update did. It could be putting more kWh for the last 5% so that less people get stranded. I always had lower than estimated battery range with 57 kWh max. Now I am sitting at 54 kWh. Nothing I can do about this since the battery will only have to be replaced by GM if it goes below 36 kWh with their 60% degradation standard. I agree that this update has caused me issues on longer trips. That 3 kWh makes a big difference when doing a 300 mile drive.

 

[Sperling3]

Forget relying on your guess-o-meter to determine how much range you get per charge. The only true test is to use 60kwh of charge and see how many miles you drive.

 

[GJETSON]

As far as I can tell, the two battery software mods did not reduce anybody's actual usable battery capacity. The guess-o-meter range number does not affect actual range. The only way to know actual usable battery capacity is to run the car from 100% full to empty.

Mine, like everybody else's, is losing capacity. This is not from software, but a reality of batteries.

 

[bro1999]

I had 2 recalls on my 2017 Bolt. One for the Infotainment Center and the second was declared a safety issues with propulsion after the battery drained to a certain level. So, like a good customer I had Chevy perform both recalls. After the 1st one I noticed a decrease in my nightly charge - it wasn't hitting 238 like normal. Then I get the safety recall in the mail. They do that and it has been nothing short of a disaster since. My nightly charge is somewhere between 204 and 217 max. And note: NOTHING has changed. My commute is the same, the time I leave and return from work is the same, I live in So. Cal - the weather never changes here, I drive the same, my charging chord is the same, the outlet I plug my car into is the same. Net net is nothing has changed but the software updates.
I have discussed this with the service manager and they have kept my car for review with Bolt software engineers. They claim nothing is wrong. I called again. I now have to do it again. Bear in mind, my commute is 90 miles a day, gas costs $30/day for their loaner car and I cannot get into the HOV lane causing my commute to double each way.
I'm willing to do all that BUT they cannot guarantee they can fix it and the Service Manager says he's only as good as the information the software engineers give him.
Can anyone help me? I am so frustrated and I don't feel like I'm ever going to get the range back that I originally bought! Please anyone any advice?

How long has it been since you had the most recent battery software update? I believe one (or both) of the updates resets the GOM and takes a few drives/charges to adjust back to "normal".

 

[cforbes]

How can I check to see what the most recent battery software update is? Where do I look?

 

[wesley]

How can I check to see what the most recent battery software update is? Where do I look?

He was asking when you got the car last serviced. It's pretty clear some sort of update did take place and it's quite likely to be the latest, so checking the version number probably is going to be less relevant.

The reason why "when" is asked instead of "what" was already pointed out - the numbers do mess up a bit initially after the update and from what I've seen this is common. It only gets normalized after a few days / weeks of driving.

It's been speculated that the software became more conservative at estimating the range, even though the actual range remained the same. But as I drove more and more after the update, I'm now wondering if it's just the resetting previous driving data (used for the basis of calculating the range) being the culprit of the behaviour instead of the software's estimation algorithm being changed.

 

[boltage]

I used the following method to estimate battery capacity:


* Note the kWh used since last full charge on the pop up screen when turning the car off.
* From the percentage remaining in the myChevrolet app, calculate the percentage used.
* Divide the kWh by the percentage used (expressed as a decimal, i.e. 67% => 0.67) to get battery capacity.
* Obviously, partial charges since the last full charge make the calculation more complicated.



Before having both recalls done, this calculation generally gave about 58 kWh. After the recalls, this calculation generally gives about 56 kWh. I doubt that the battery had a large stepwise loss of capacity at that time, so it looks like the new software has changed either the charging behavior or the implied capacity being (indirectly) reported.

 

[Sperling3]

One variable we're not sure is accurate is the % charge remaining as displayed on the myChevy app. In fact, simple rounding methodology of the app could impact your calculations showing a battery capacity change from 58 to 56 kWh. While your formula is a good guesstimate, I would not rely on it for absolute accuracy.

 

[boltage]

True, it does fluctuate. But it used to fluctuate around 58 kWh; after the recall, it fluctuated around 56 kWh.

 

[DaV8or]

My numbers are lower now too, but I have yet to do the second battery management update. I quit caring about the GOM number when I get in the car in the morning. As long as it's + or - 15 miles of what I think, I'm OK. What I do look at is the "gas gauge" bars on the left. If they are where they are supposed to be, I'm good.

I now drive my Bolt like I used drive my ICE cars. Watch the gas gauge until it gets down low and then switch to worrying about the range estimate. It should be noted that I'm not adventurous like some of you and have no intention, or desire to travel cross country and beyond the range of my Bolt in a day.

 

[bro1999]

My numbers are lower now too, but I have yet to do the second battery management update. I quit caring about the GOM number when I get in the car in the morning. As long as it's + or - 15 miles of what I think, I'm OK. What I do look at is the "gas gauge" bars on the left. If they are where they are supposed to be, I'm good.

I now drive my Bolt like I used drive my ICE cars. Watch the gas gauge until it gets down low and then switch to worrying about the range estimate. It should be noted that I'm not adventurous like some of you and have no intention, or desire to travel cross country and beyond the range of my Bolt in a day.

So I may be simply misunderstanding the techno-jargon, but it looks like to me the battery update to address the "sudden death" condition reduces the amount of energy the Bolt's battery puts out at low voltages? So basically restricting how low the cells can go voltage wise, which in turn reduces the amount of usable energy slightly?

 

[ajaybarve]

2018 Mileage reduction

I have a 2018 Bolt EV and on Monday I noticed after a full charge the range dropped to 215 Miles. Previously it would report 240 or so. I have not taken it to the dealer so wondering if I got an OTA update that caused the range to drop? Any other 2018 owners experiencing a similar issue? I think I have the OTA updates enabled.

 

[XJ12]

I have a 2018 Bolt EV and on Monday I noticed after a full charge the range dropped to 215 Miles. Previously it would report 240 or so. I have not taken it to the dealer so wondering if I got an OTA update that caused the range to drop? Any other 2018 owners experiencing a similar issue? I think I have the OTA updates enabled.

Monday's number depended on how it was driven on Sunday, climate settings, and outside temperature. To my knowledge, the 2018's haven't had an OTA update. Either the car thinks it's very cold outside or your teenage driver had a little too much fun the day before.

 

[DaV8or]

Monday's number depended on how it was driven on Sunday, climate settings, and outside temperature. To my knowledge, the 2018's haven't had an OTA update. Either the car thinks it's very cold outside or your teenage driver had a little too much fun the day before.

Also, if you like to precondition the car to keep it cool while your shopping, or having lunch (I do this a lot now that it's over 100 here), this will also ding your range estimate the next day.

 

[Vertiformed]

I had 2 recalls on my 2017 Bolt. One for the Infotainment Center and the second was declared a safety issues with propulsion after the battery drained to a certain level. So, like a good customer I had Chevy perform both recalls. After the 1st one I noticed a decrease in my nightly charge - it wasn't hitting 238 like normal.

You claim that you're in SoCal? Well, it's been way hotter in SoCal in the last month than it was a few months ago. Your efficiency is taking a hit because of the heat.

What is your efficiency in miles/kWh on your trips to and from work?

 

[Rick CH]

I have a 2018 Bolt EV and on Monday I noticed after a full charge the range dropped to 215 Miles. Previously it would report 240 or so. I have not taken it to the dealer so wondering if I got an OTA update that caused the range to drop? Any other 2018 owners experiencing a similar issue? I think I have the OTA updates enabled.

The OTA update is only for the Infotainment system. Any other software updates, e.g the computer that controls the battery system, can only be done at the dealership.

 

[cforbes]

@Vertiformed I drive 45 miles each way to/from work. I use 9.7 kWh per trip on average. Since the 2 recall updates, I have had nothing but erratic nightly charges. One morning it says 204 then 213, then 240, then 200 then 207 and it just goes on. I have not changed the plug, cord or anything else. Prior to recalls I consistently got at 238 full charge. Post recalls its all over the map. And the one pattern I am seeing is the higher the nightly charge the faster the battery drains.

 

[Vertiformed]

@Vertiformed I drive 45 miles each way to/from work. I use 9.7 kWh per trip on average. Since the 2 recall updates, I have had nothing but erratic nightly charges. One morning it says 204 then 213, then 240, then 200 then 207 and it just goes on. I have not changed the plug, cord or anything else. Prior to recalls I consistently got at 238 full charge. Post recalls its all over the map. And the one pattern I am seeing is the higher the nightly charge the faster the battery drains.

So every day you use the exact same 9.7 kWh? I find that really hard to believe. 45 miles / 9.7 kWh = 4.64 miles/kWh. You're getting that in the heat, running the A/C? What kind of commute do you have?

What about the A/C? The car will show totally different range for the A/C on vs off?

 

[max]

I don't have hard data but since the recall, I "feel" like estimated range is reduced compared to prior, however, I think I'm getting just as much battery as I was before. Seems like the GOM is a bit more conservative now...kind of like setting your clock forward 5 minutes to help ensure you aren't late.