[Upstart]

I'm waiting for my Bolt LT to arrive and have been studying the owner's manual. Page 39 states "This button will be on the RKE transmitter if the vehicle has remote start. The climate control system will use the previous settings during a remote start." The button has a partial circle with an arrow at the bottom pointing to the left, but the word "if" implies remote start could be an option. I'm assuming the LT, like the Premier, can be remotely started (and heated or cooled) with the RKE from inside my house while it's still charging?

 

[NY-Rob]

Both the LT and Premier have remote start/conditioning via the fob.
Both can also use the MyChevrolet or Onstar RemoteLink app to pre-condition as well.

I know that if you remote start using the FOB, the climate control activates at the state it was in when you last turned the car off. So if it's a warm evening but it's expected to be cold in the morning- remember to turn the heat on before powering down for the last time else the pre-conditioning will do nothing in the morning. That one got me a couple of times with the Volt.

IIRC, if you pre-condition via one of the apps, it automatically sets the climate control at 72F, even if the climate control was off when you powered down the vehicle.

Lastly, if you pre-condition with heat and you're using L1 120v charging... you will run a net energy deficit as the heater uses more energy than L1 charging can supply. It's not an issue with L2 charging.

 

[Upstart]

Thank you! Very helpful, including the tip re heat on Level 1 charging. I plan on having a L2 charger installed.

 

[Mat613my]

Both the LT and Premier have remote start/conditioning via the fob.
Both can also use the MyChevrolet or Onstar RemoteLink app to pre-condition as well.

I know that if you remote start using the FOB, the climate control activates at the state it was in when you last turned the car off. So if it's a warm evening but it's expected to be cold in the morning- remember to turn the heat on before powering down for the last time else the pre-conditioning will do nothing in the morning. That one got me a couple of times with the Volt.

IIRC, if you pre-condition via one of the apps, it automatically sets the climate control at 72F, even if the climate control was off when you powered down the vehicle.

Lastly, if you pre-condition with heat and you're using L1 120v charging... you will run a net energy deficit as the heater uses more energy than L1 charging can supply. It's not an issue with L2 charging.

Will the Bolt automatically heat or cool prior to a morning commute?

 

[quirkySquirt]

Mat613my, the Bolt will not automatically heat/cool/precondition based on a set departure time. You'll just have to manually start the preconditioning yourself. Make sure to set the HVAC controls/temperature to what you desire for your next drive.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

Both the LT and Premier have remote start/conditioning via the fob.
Both can also use the MyChevrolet or Onstar RemoteLink app to pre-condition as well.

I know that if you remote start using the FOB, the climate control activates at the state it was in when you last turned the car off. So if it's a warm evening but it's expected to be cold in the morning- remember to turn the heat on before powering down for the last time else the pre-conditioning will do nothing in the morning. That one got me a couple of times with the Volt.

I am forced do disagree NY-Rob. I have done remote start precon 3 times now with the temp set to 80 and the hvac system not on when I turned of the car off after work. The 20 min precon does work and the car is nice and toasty, This is with the fan completely off but when I turn the fan on the heat/cool light is lit. The car automatically heats during precon on mine under these conditions. And as far as I remember you are right that neither of my Volts would do this and everything had to be left on for warming or cooling to happen. I think the Bolt is smart enough to know when you want climate control and won't let you waste battery on remote start that does nothing.

 

[Pete Blair]

I am forced do disagree NY-Rob. I have done remote start precon 3 times now with the temp set to 80 and the hvac system not on when I turned of the car off after work. The 20 min precon does work and the car is nice and toasty, This is with the fan completely off but when I turn the fan on the heat/cool light is lit. The car automatically heats during precon on mine under these conditions. And as far as I remember you are right that neither of my Volts would do this and everything had to be left on for warming or cooling to happen. I think the Bolt is smart enough to know when you want climate control and won't let you waste battery on remote start that does nothing.

If you leave the HVAC system off when you turn the car off (that is everything off including the fan) it will decide if it needs to heat or cool the car based on exterior temperature. However NY-Rob is correct that if you leave the HVAC system on (even if it is just fan set to 1) it will use those settings during preconditioning.

So if you want the car to decide to heat or cool your car based on exterior temperature you have to remember to leave the HVAC system off when you turn the car off.

 

[Sean Nelson]

So if you want the car to decide to heat or cool your car based on exterior temperature you have to remember to leave the HVAC system off when you turn the car off.

By this do you mean that you press the "Heat & A/C" soft button at the bottom of the screen so that the little orange "light" in the top part of the button goes "off"?

 

[NY-Rob]

I like to set the heat for the next morning myself because the few times I've let the Bolt decide it just wasn't really sufficiently warm when I got in.

I only pre-condition for 10min, so I set the heat for 78F, fan on speed "5" and all three vents activated.
This way when I get in the windows are clear, the car is warm, and I don't need heat when the Bolt is running on battery.

This morning it was 40F and windy, I pre-conditioned as stated above, used cabin heat on battery for the first 4miles or so, then went with just seat and steering wheel heat for the remainder of my 28mi commute. I was running late this morning so I drove at 70mph for most of the commute, but with no need for full time cabin heat because of over-saturating in the driveway while still plugged in to the L2 EVSE- I ended up at 3.5mi/kHw when I arrived at work.

 

[drdiesel1]

Why limit the heat to 78° when pre-conditing ? Why not turn it to high ?
This way you won't need to run the HVAC while driving at all, from your explanation.

 

[Packard V8]

I just used the pre-conditioning for the first time today. The key fob button did nothing, so I went to myChevrolet app on the i-phone and that showed it was doing something to update the link and I started it via the i-phone. I should have tried the key fob to see if that will also work, but that will have to wait til later.

jack vines

 

[Sean Nelson]

I just used the pre-conditioning for the first time today. The key fob button did nothing...

If you look at the owner's manual you'll see that to activate pre-conditioning via the key fob you need to first press the "lock" button and then press and hold the "remote start" button for a few seconds. A quick press of just the "remote start" button won't do anything.

 

[Pete Blair]

By this do you mean that you press the "Heat & A/C" soft button at the bottom of the screen so that the little orange "light" in the top part of the button goes "off"?

No the system has to be completely off, fan and all. If you leave the fan running at 1 and turn the heat & ac button on the screen to off (no orange light on) it will precondition with no heat or ac and the fan running at 1.

I assume they did it like this to give you the option of presetting the car to whatever temp/fan/settings you want to precondition at while still having the ability to let the car decide for you if you so choose.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

No the system has to be completely off, fan and all. If you leave the fan running at 1 and turn the heat & ac button on the screen to off (no orange light on) it will precondition with no heat or ac and the fan running at 1.

I assume they did it like this to give you the option of presetting the car to whatever temp/fan/settings you want to precondition at while still having the ability to let the car decide for you if you so choose.

I also like that the heat is off and not causing more battery use when you take off so I don't have to physically turn it off. On a side note I looked at the energy screen right after getting in post precon and the battery conditioning was @ 90%.

 

[Ajampam]

If you look at the owner's manual you'll see that to activate pre-conditioning via the key fob you need to first press the "lock" button and then press and hold the "remote start" button for a few seconds. A quick press of just the "remote start" button won't do anything.

Ah - I remember reading this when I first got the car and completely forgot. I was trying to remote start to defrost the windshield but was doing it the way I start the Jeep - a double tap. Nothing happened obviously and I knew I would search it out here once I got to work. Well - now I know! >

 

[Sean Nelson]

No the system has to be completely off, fan and all.

OK, so then you're talking about the soft button on the screen labelled "On", right? You push that button so that the little orange "light" in the top half of it goes "off"?

 

[Pete Blair]

OK, so then you're talking about the soft button on the screen labelled "On", right? You push that button so that the little orange "light" in the top half of it goes "off"?

That is one way to turn the hvac system all the way off. You can also just use the fan speed down button and if you put it to 0 it turns the system off as well.

 

[Sean Nelson]

That is one way to turn the hvac system all the way off. You can also just use the fan speed down button and if you put it to 0 it turns the system off as well.

Gotcha, thanks!