Electric vehicle owners - what advice do you have from experience for a new user?
This coming week, I'm taking delivery of a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt 2LT with 24k miles. [It's red, and I'm going to call it my "Cherriot". Awful puns make everything better, and I live in the Cherry Capitol, so.] Thanks to RTO, it's just not feasible to remain a one-car household any longer.
The Bolt EV was about $15,000 cheaper than a new hybrid. Even though the low-end Ford Maverick price new was only a couple of thousand more than I'm paying for used, I've grown to hate driving SUV-sized and configured vehicles. I'm attached to the vanishing compact hatchback variety of car - comfortable to drive and park, easy to load and unload. They've always had as much cargo and passenger space as I've ever needed, and the Bolt comes highly recommended.
I'm aware this car comes with some disadvantages compared to ICE or hybrid vehicles. The Bolt doesn't have the fastest charging speeds, but overnight Level 2 is fine. Range is supposed to be ~250 miles under ideal conditions. Typical use will average 10 miles/day. The longest road trips I'm likely to use it for should be well within range on a single charge, to destinations with plenty of charging stations.
I don't have a 220v outlet in the garage yet. Public Level 3 CCS chargers should meet any expected needs in the interim even if that takes 2 hours of charging every couple of weeks. It's understood that the range will drop up to 40% in cold weather. I'm hoping to have the garage outlet installed by the time that's a problem.
Otherwise, I've got all kinds of questions about the fine points of the EV driving experience.
-
Regenerative braking. I'd think this is safer on wet or icy roads than using the mechanical brakes. I drove a manual transmission for many years - is the effect of regenerative braking similar to using the clutch to slow down? Should I use the "one pedal driving" setting all the time?
-
Tire wear - how often should I expect to replace tires, and is regenerative braking a plus or minus for tire life? It's a front-wheel drive with all-wheel traction control. By all accounts, I will still need to swap to winter tires for safety in snow and ice. The odds are that I won't need new tires for a while. I try to save up in advance, and it would be helpful to have an idea of when I can expect that expense to arrive.
-
How much do I need to worry about extreme high or low temperatures? Do I need to park in the shade all the time when it's above 30°C, or use a heater in the garage on very cold (< 0°C) days?
-
Aside from the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule, is there anything I should be doing to prolong the life of the car?
Please feel free to give any other advice, positive or negative experiences, etc.
I just picked up my third EV this past Monday so I can probably be of decent help. Feel free to message me or ask here if you have additional questions.
One of the main benefits of having an EV is charging at home. Have that plug installed in your garage ASAP. Being able to roll home, plug in and never worry about having to go waste a bunch of time to charge or get gas is a life changer. Do that now!
Mixed opinions, but in my opinion I will never drive without regenerative braking again if I can avoid it. Once you get used to it, one pedal driving is superior. Yes, it is similar to using the clutch to slow down, so if you have done that in the past it should be an easier transition. I don't know if it's actually safety or not, depends on how you are as a driver. You just adjust your driving to the conditions. Your center of gravity is much lower thanks to the battery so I find EVs handle better in general on wet/icy/snowy roads. I never turn one pedal driving off, but it's a matter of preference.
Tire wear is a thing. Expect to be more often but also depends how you drive. The Bolt probably isn't one of those super exciting EVs so if you're not flooring it all the time then tire wear shouldn't be significant. Regenerative breaking is a small negative for tire wear. Your brakes will last forever though.
You don't, at least not in the range you're talking about. I live in Southern Ontario, Canada, so I get hot summer's and cold winters, but no true extremes. I would only worry if you live in Alaska or Mexico. I never think about it being too hot, especially since most EVs let you pre cool from the app. As for cold, I don't have a garage so my car sits in my driveway and isn't an issue even during the coldest days in the winter. Preheating your car before you drive is always a good idea, the more you can warm the battery while you're still plugged in, the less of a hit the weather is on your range.
Once you have the plug installed in your garage, charge to 80% and only charger higher if you're going on a longer trip. Beyond, there really is little maintenance. I put winter tires on and have them clean my brakes once a year because of salt on the roads here, but that was a Tesla recommendation and Polestar doesn't recommend that so who knows. It's an adjustment, but there normally isn't anything to worry about beside consumables.
Welcome to the wonderful world of EV ownership. Again, let me know if you have any other questions!
Very much appreciated! I'm not a speed demon, but the local roads have sharp curves, so it's handy to know that the low center of mass will help maintain control. Spouse put stabilizer bars on our Subaru Outback and it helped, but the thing still leans more in turns than I like due to the high center, and it's one of the reasons I'm not crazy about SUVs.
I missed that your commute was only 10 miles. I would still install the 220v plug like you plan, but you are probably fine for a while.
Yeah the low centre of gravity combined with the weight being spread out instead of all at the front makes EVs great in poor weather conditions and in general. If you live in an area with snow, which it sounds like you do, I still recommend winter tires. I haven't been stuck once since I started driving EVs and rarely even slip/lose traction.
We typically get 100+ inches of snow every winter. With 17" wheels, I'm not going to chance driving when there's more than 6" of snow, or without snow tires in any case. I'm aiming to keep my one day a week of WFH for the worst days before the plows and sand trucks get the roads under control.
Yeah sounds like I don't need to sell you on winter tires!
Counterpoint, I hate it. I drive with 0 throttle-selected regen 95% of the time. I get slightly better m/kwh that way and I prefer how it feels. Obviously when I press the brake pedal the regen kicks in then, but I really don't like one pedal driving. Unless I'm hitting really twisty country lanes, in which case I have regen turned up to full so the second I lift the pedal the car brakes hard. That's the only time I put the car in sport mode too, for better steering/suspension response.
As you said though, just a matter of preference. It's not like it's hard to change on every EV I've driven though - my current Hyundai has flappy paddles to select regen levels and you can set preferences for each key so different drivers can have different setups.
It's way, way more about how you drive. EV tyres do wear slightly faster than the same car driven the same way with an ICE but driving style is the major factor. I change my EV tyres about every 2-3 years and my ICE cars before that was about the same. Buying tyres designed for EVs solves almost all of the tyre wear issue in my experience, and with the bonus you can get much quieter spec tyres to take full advantage of your lovely silent motor.
Is the Bolt so vintage that it doesn't have battery balancing? I had a 2014 Nissan Leaf which I had to do this with but my current car I just charge to 100% every time and it's doing just fine. Barely lost any range in 2+ years of driving, but some battery fade is unavoidable unless you never charge/discharge the thing..
What really hurts the battery is fast charging, but even that isn't so bad with modern battery management systems.
Me too! Initially I felt like I was some sort of bad EV driver or I was standing in the way of progress for not adopting one-pedal driving, but after trying it a few times (and hating every second), I realized why it wasn't for me:
I am a habitual "brake coverer." My foot comes off the gas to cover the brake ALL the time as a precautionary measure. When I'm going through intersections? My foot hovers over the brake pedal. When I'm planning to turn but it's too early to start braking? Foot over the brake. When there are kids playing basketball in their driveway? I'm ready to slam on the brakes if needed.
I do it completely automatically and didn't even realize it until I tried one-pedal driving, where the moment I took my foot off the gas to cover the brake, my car actually started braking. I didn't realize how much of my driving was actually coasting at speed with my foot over the brake -- it's a LOT, especially when driving in neighborhoods.
I tried to force myself to get used to it, but I simply couldn't rewrite years of muscle memory, reflex, and comfort.
As a matter of habit that's hard to break, I understand where you're coming from!
But insofar as one might argue that brake hovering is the "safer" or "better" way to drive - I generally agree! And a big bonus of one pedal driving is that you are functionally always brake hovering :)
Realistically, regenerative braking is also robbing you of energy if you were otherwise driving optimally. Coasting maintains speed at no expenditure of energy (minus some as it naturally slows) and the most efficient way to drive is simply maintaining speed. If you have to continuously add acceleration or have regenerative braking decelerating you (and only some of the energy is recovered), you're going to end up using more overall.
I find regenerative braking to be a major deterrent from wanting a hybrid or EV. (I also trail brake in turns habitually, and get irritated by traction control doing dumb things on snow.) Though I suspect the new Civic hybrid's take on it is probably more tolerable, since it can default to none and let you ramp it up with the paddles that used to control the CVT on older models, basically mimicking engine braking.
Charging the battery to 100% and letting it sit is much worse than fast charging. That said, max charge can be mitigated if the EV reserves a portion you don't have access to and doesn't let you fully charge, although I am unaware of any EV that actually does that. Most brands recommend you charge to 80/90, but I will admit I am less familiar with the Bolt.
So, I looked into this when I bought my Bolt (2023). There's a lot of muddy information out there, but I ended up finding a quote from a Chevy engineer that said something like "we've designed everything to be charged so that you don't have to worry about it."
I can't find the source anymore, but I got the impression that they were well aware that the 80% recommendation used to be standard (I think older models even had it as a default setting), but they have since designed away that need so that the optimization happens automatically and behind the scenes, rather than being driver-facing. I always just charge mine to full and don't think about it. I've had it for two years so far and haven't seen any battery degradation.
Thank you for the experience report! I plan to have a long, thoughtful read of the manual and will report back if there's any clarity to be found on the battery charge management system for the 2023 model.
People like me get obsessed over small details with tech. You'll probably be fine either way. Enjoy the drive!
Fair enough, not an expert! Probably have just watched too many nerds on YouTube. New tech is always fun.
That's exactly what mine does. It's a 2017 Hyundai Ioniq (designed in 2015), I would assume all subsequent Hyundai/Kia cars do the same. I am fairly certain I don't have the option to undercharge it, short of setting up some programming on the charger or through my smart home server.
Ideally, we discharge the battery to around 20% then charge to 100% but the unpredictable nature of our driving requirements mean it's often put on to charge at 70% or more, and it regularly sits plugged in for multiple days straight. 2.5+ years and tens of thousands of miles of doing this and we've barely lost any range since we bought the car (which was used with 45k on the clock).
To be honest, I'd be shocked by any EV less than maybe 15 years old which doesn't manage the battery properly. I certainly wouldn't buy one which required me to do battery management manually!
You set the charge rate once so it's not exactly hard to "manage manually". Lithium ion batteries don't like sitting fully charged as they form crystals which reduce energy density. The general recommendation which science backs up, is to charge to 80% including for your car. That said, if you're happy with it so far then obviously no need to change what you're doing. Most of the initial range was likely lost before you purchased the car anyways as it is the biggest drop when newly used.
I do know how batteries work ;)
Modern, well designed EVs handle all that for you though, is my point. I checked when I was out just now and I cannot make my car charge to only 80% reported charge without getting into it and watching the charge go up and unplugging it at 80%. Which is pretty manual!
It's not actually charging to 100% underneath but users don't need to know that. It is charging to 100% usable charge though, which is the only figure that actually matters.
If I may, I’d love to veer off topic and ask for yourself and @mat to weigh in on battery advice, but for smartphones
I recently upgraded from my 2022 iPhone SE to the most recent iPhone 16 Pro Max, so a massive jump in physical size but also battery capacity.
I’ve turned on the “only charge to 80%” feature as I’m hoping to get even more longevity out of this phone than any of my previous ones, but now I’m wondering if I’m cycling too shallow — I think the lowest I’ve seen it in regular day-to-day usage is about 60% before it goes back on the charger overnight.
If my intention is for maximum battery longevity, should I skip overnight charging occasionally to drain further before recharging it? If so, how far down should I go, ideally?
I’m going to slightly be sabotaging myself here anyway since I really like StandBy mode at my desk at work, so I bought a 5W USB power adapter to slow down my MagSafe/Qi charger but it’s still wireless charging and it’s still basically all day every weekday. But if anything, that reinforces my preference to look after the battery as best I can in other ways!
I care less about the battery in a $1000 phone vs an EV, but sure.
Generally, charging to 80% and then using your phone until it gets down to 20% before charging again is the "most ideal" but I don't know how much of a difference that really makes compared to charging your phone when it's at 60%.
Avoid charging to 100% and leaving your phone sitting there plugged in fully charged for hours or days and your battery will be fine.
Modern phones heat management is good, general consensus seems to be wireless charging isn't an issue.
Cold can dramatically reduce mileage. There is no residual engine heat to warm your car, so that energy is coming from the battery.
Btw if you really are driving 10 miles a day, I recommend just trying a regular outlet. That’s what I do and don’t have need for more at my apartment.
You don't need 220v if you average less than like 80 miles a day. A 110 circuit will be fine except on the rare occasion that you need to go far several days in a row.
It is important to realize that you don't need to charge it to full, just enough to make your trip. If you run it to near empty, charge overnight, run 40 miles the next day, and charge overnight, you are still totally fine and moving toward full eventually.
My car holds a max of like 90 miles in the summer and I have literally never used a public or fast charger.
I have a lot more to say but not enough time to type this moment, I will provide a more full response later today!
The Bolt EV is notorious for extremely slow charging at 110v (like 2 miles/hour) but I think the models pre-2023 had a default 110v/8 A charging setting, and now that's up to 12 A (4 miles/hour). Useful to know that there's no need to worry about the number of charging cycles, and I can just leave it plugged into household current daily.
I have an older model than yours is and it defaults to 8A. You just have to change the setting to get 12A.
Last June I bought a 2021 Nissan Leaf SL Plus with about 24,000 miles. It is, on paper, worse than your Bolt in almost every way: CHAdeMO fast-charging is uncommon and not the fastest; air-cooled battery means no trips that require said fast-charging more than once a day in the summer; not the greatest reputation for battery longevity; lower range.
All that being said - I love it! I charge on 120v in my garage, just plugged into a normal outlet. My commute is less than 15 miles round trip, and even with an occasional run to the city I could probably charge on the weekends only if I had to. But I don't! I can plug in any time, and even though it's slow it doesn't matter to me at all.
I use "eco mode," which provides some regen when I let off the accelerator but not as much as one-pedal driving does. I haven't really used one-pedal much, didn't really like it, but I love the regen and seeing my battery percentage occasionally go back up while I slow down on downhill slopes.
I've noticed no excess tire wear over the past 10,000 ish miles, so that's good I guess? And I'm... kind of still excited about the instant torque of the electric motor, so I am not particularly gentle with the throttle.
My car is known for being a problem child with temperature ranges. I live in a place with temps from well below 0°F to above 100°, and I don't really pay attention to the temp for my car ever. I do park in a garage at night, but otherwise it's outside while I'm at work and I've never had to give it a second thought.
I sure hope not. I'm not doing any extra.
Good luck with your EV!
I looked at the Leaf because my daily commute is relatively short. However, weekend erranding can put the miles on around here. I do occasionally have passengers, so I'd like a back seat that can fit adults... And the Bolt is just big enough that I can conceivably car camp, as I used to do with previous hatchbacks.
120v is going to be plenty enough to service your needs if you are really only going to be driving 10 miles a day, and you will have absurd wiggle room. I would actually suggest you set your home charging limit to around 80% in order to improve overall longevity of the battery.
Regenerative breaking is like free electricity. Use it all the time if you can. The Bolt has a paddle on the left rear of the steering wheel that will increase the effect of the regenerative breaking and I would encourage you to use that as your primary brake, only pressing on the foot brake when necessary. The foot break also uses regenerative breaking, but it also mixes in the mechanical breaks.
Personally speaking, it has been years and I am still on the factory tires. But the Bolt is a very heavy car with a lot of torque and the pedals have an aggressive acceleration curve, so be careful when accelerating from a standstill to avoid skidding. The reason my tires have lasted so long is because I baby that pedal most of the time.
Most EVs have some form of active temperature management built into it; usually at least a heater for the batteries. That means that it will keep the temperature so the batteries don’t degrade, but keep in mind that they will use battery power, so on days that the temperature is crazy, just make sure it’s plugged in.
There aren’t really any things that I would really have checked out more than recommended. EVs really don’t need much maintenance. The only think I would worry about if you aren’t taking it back to a dealership is to make sure they check out the suspension, since, again, it’s heavy and torquey.
Coda:
After some paperwork and delivery delays, the beautiful Bolt was dropped off this past Wednesday. In most respects, this is absolutely the perfect car for my needs, the one I've been waiting for all my life. It's quiet and responsive; rides relatively smoothly on crappy roads: accelerates, turns, and brakes exactly as I expect; parks so much more easily than the Outback SUV; braking, wipers, and lights were fine in heavy rain... The ergonomics are terrific; visibility and sight lines are good; the seat is comfortable; and the important controls are mostly mechanical. The cargo capacity was sufficient for weekly groceries and other shopping without putting the rear seats down.
The only downside is that the 2LT model I got for the locally all-important "luxury" features (heated seats and steering wheel, improved driver's seat adjustments, cameras I became used to on the Outback) has a shorter maximum range listed in the control panel than I expected - 208 miles, as opposed to the EPA-rated 259 miles. This is a practical concern for me, since I'm about 230 miles from the long-range destination I'd visit most often, and the density of chargers along that route is thin. I expect I'll figure it out.
I've been Level 1 charging at night to 80% without issues, and took the long, hilly route for weekend erranding yesterday, about 50 miles. The odometer and battery drain rate were in agreement. I did use both AC and heat over the course of the last few days, neither at extremes, so the extra battery drain was under 10%. My driving efficiency was about 6% better than average, though I'm still getting my head wrapped around what that actually signifies and whether it can be improved.
A thousand thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread!
You have officially joined the Bolt Battery. ⚡️🔋🫡
Welcome to the club, patience! 😁
And Cherriot is gorgeous! Love her stunning red dress.
The choice to go with heated seats and steering wheel was the right one. They are SO nice during the winter. Nothing better than toasting my buns on my way to work when it’s freezing outside!
I did think of some tips to share between when I last posted and now:
Keep a microfiber cloth in the center console/glovebox/nook in the front. The display looks fine while it’s on, but when you turn the car off you will see EVERY single fingerprint.
I bought some adhesive bumpers to put on my climate controls so I can navigate them by feel and not have to look down at them while driving.
I bought this center console organizer (something that they should have just built into the car, IMO).
I bought these coasters which fit perfectly inside the cupholders. I like being able to take them out to clean them.
I bought an AirTag and put it in my trunk. Helps me remember where I parked my car, especially with city parking or in big lots (like airports).
Highly recommend buying floor and trunk liners. I have the official Chevy ones, but you can get cheaper ones from other brands that probably work just as well. Chevy’s “trick” is that they give you a bunch of Chevy rewards points when you buy the car that you can put towards the liners which makes them, surprise, just slightly cheaper than the WeatherTech ones!
Not sure if you got adaptive cruise control with your model, but if you did it’s WONDERFUL. My only complaint is that it doesn’t work well for stop-and-go traffic, but for traffic at speed it’s unbeatable.
Remote start can be done by pressing the lock button on your key fob then holding the circle arrow button below it for three or so seconds. The coolest part of an EV? Being able to remote start it in a garage and not having to worry about, you know, asphyxiation. When it’s cold? Warm it up! When it’s hot? Cool it down!
Worried about the battery cost of running it for five minutes before you get in the car? It’s essentially negligible if you’re running the AC, and only a very minor hit if you’re running the heat. One time I got stuck in traffic and didn’t move for the better part of an hour (yes, it was miserable). I was running the AC, and I didn’t lose any range. It’s driving that eats your battery FAR more than anything else (even the heater).
Speaking of which, you now technically have a heated garage. Need to get some work done out there in the winter? Open the car doors, turn on the heat, and let it run! It’s like a big space heater.
Chevy has an official NACS adapter if you want to increase your charging options on the go. I’m assuming there are also third-party ones available but I haven’t looked into those and just ended up getting the official one.
I thought “getting ICEd” (an ICE vehicle parking specifically to block EV charging) was mostly an overblown internet phenomenon on sites that traffic in outrage bait, until it happened to me in real life literally the first time I tried to charge my car away from the house. Keep this in mind when looking for available chargers. Even though an app says they’re open, they might not be (or they might not be maintained, or the system might be down, etc.).
Also, charging is kind of a mess right now because every service wants you to use their own app. The myChevrolet app has started trying to integrate with different ones so it might have gotten better, but I haven’t tried that out yet because I try to stay away from it for the most part (see below).
I love my car, and I love my local Chevy service department, but I don’t love Chevy. The company was pretty openly scummy to me at multiple points, including selling my driving data to insurance companies without my consent. Verdict? Love
the sinnerBolt; hatethe sinChevy. Be careful that you don’t accidentally sign up for any of their overpriced subscription services.Also, if you bought from a Chevy dealer, expect to get SiriusXM spam in your IRL mailbox for months.
Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now, but if anything else comes to mind I’ll let you know. Also, if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
Thank you - this is super helpful!
Yes, the one blemish on my car when it arrived was a set of very noticeable fingerprints on the console screen, so I've already got microfiber cloths stashed handy to clean it.
I did get floor mats from the dealer - Michigan mud and salt will ruin car foot wells quickly without. I've found that a cheap moving blanket makes a better cargo liner than a vinyl mat. I can just shake it out and launder it as needed, and folding it to cover groceries provides some heat/cold protection.
The car did come with adaptive cruise control, but I'm enough of a control freak that I've rarely used cruise control in any vehicle - really only on long stretches of unpopulated country highways.
I haven't needed to worry about preheating/cooling the car yet. We're still tussling a bit over who gets the space in the one-car garage... I'll keep the remote start and pre-climate control in mind for the peak extreme temperature seasons.
I'm still on the free trial period for OnStar, but as you say, I don't trust the data harvesting and won't be paying for the service. I can't see that the built-in wireless hotspot does anything for me that I can't do with a phone.
As for public chargers, I haven't even begun to investigate what's available locally. Google Maps and the MyChevrolet app yield wildly different results. No firm road trip plans yet, but the little research I've done gives me some pause - I'm a good distance from areas with abundant stations.
Again, greatly appreciated, and happy to be a Bolter!
Welcome to the Bolt club! Ours is named Steve Bolt. We are absolutely smitten with it. So far it has been dead reliable and we’ve never found ourselves in a charge predicament. The only outage was an issue with the HV battery connector, which put us out for a week or so but was under warranty.
We live in the PNW where chargers are bountiful, so on longer trips we can plan it such that we can take a long lunch break in a cute port city and do some window shopping and it’s actually a pro. It’s nice being forced to take breaks on longer trips. I’m a person who wouldn’t typically do that voluntarily and would rather white knuckle it hundreds of miles in one sitting, but I’ve definitely noticed longer trips are more pleasant now.
I wouldn’t stress about getting a 220v charger installed just yet. If your expected average usage is 10 miles a day, you’ll be fine with a standard outlet. We were fretting that as well and had budgeted for the extra expense when we bought our Bolt over a year ago, and we just never ended up needing it.
I don’t even notice regen braking. If there wasn’t a little icon on the dash showing it was active, I would question if it was even on most of the time. It doesn’t feel any less safe in any condition. Maybe this is different for different EVs, but with the Bolt it just feels like hitting the brakes in a normal car. I personally can’t stand one pedal braking (if you mean the toggle-able feature with automatic braking when you let off the accelerator) but regen braking also works with two pedal driving so it’s no big deal.
No advice here yet, we haven’t reached that point yet. I will say that the Bolt is a more modest EV — it’s got plenty of giddyup compared to other cars I’ve owned, but unless I activate the “sport mode” (which I never do), it’s pretty difficult to spin the tires, even in bad weather. Not to say that it’s an exception to the general woes of EVs on tires, but it’s not like a Tesla where people are positively leaping off the line at a red light.
Honestly, I haven’t been impacted by this at all. The max range shifts with the weather, but there’s very little impact on my real life. In the dead of the PNW winter (so on average hovering right around freezing temps), the max will drop to 180ish miles, but if I’m driving normally, that’s still ~160 more miles than I’d need in a day. If I’m driving long distance in cold weather, I might have to shift where or when I stop to charge, but 180 miles is still a long way :)
Again probably too early for me to say yet. The most we’ve had to spend on maintenance is $8 for a jug of wiper fluid so far. As Wafik mentioned, some say the best practice is to not charge over 80% if you don’t need it for a longer trip. You can set charge limits on the Bolt, so this is trivial to accomplish.
✊🏻Steve Bolt!✊🏻
I neglected to mention that the regular 10 miles/day is going to be mostly in city traffic at 25 - 45 mph. If I understand correctly, that means I should get substantially greater than EPA-rated range, which assumes highway driving with worse aerodynamics. As mentioned, that sounds like there's no need for a Level 2 charge at home.
For sure, you should be totally fine. We don’t commute daily but there are lots of times we don’t even plug it in for a few days. Definitely give it a few months without the L2 charger to see if you really need it before spending money on it. We also have the peace of mind of an L3 charger literally two blocks from our house, so if we ever make a series of terrible decisions that leave us in a battery level pickle, we only need to limp a few hundred feet to get a big charge.
One novel concept with EVs is public charger etiquette. It takes almost as long to charge from 10% to 80% as it does to charge from 80% to 100%. Nothing in the world of EVs frustrates me more than people taking up a plug at a busy public charger when you really need the charge, and they’re at 94% just trickle charging to full. That’s a difference of less than 20 miles, where a person on low battery might charge 100+ miles in the same time, even at the Bolt’s slower L3 rate. Don’t be that person :)
Also, hang around for a minute or so after plugging in at a public charger. We’ve had them error out on us right after we left for a 30 minute walk, and returned to almost no charge added to the car. There’s probably a way to detect this for a person who is more open to downloading one of the 900 apps there are for each provider, but I prefer to just tap a credit card and charge without apps. We only have had someone unplug our car from a public charger once, it was annoying and a minor inconvenience, but not so bad overall.
Greatly appreciated, and thank you for etiquette advice. In fact, spouse just said, "we can park it at the charger and run errands", and I replied that it wouldn't be a good idea to take up the space longer than needed to charge.
I did download the MyChevrolet app, and was surprised how much more sensible and easy to use it was than the corresponding Subaru app. All the most important information is right up front. They really did put thought and effort into making EV ownership convenient.
Caveat: I am much less frustrated when people run an errand while plugged in and it goes past 80%. The thing that kills me is when people are sitting in their car charging past 80%, just poking at insta and wasting everyone’s time.
When you plug in the Bolt, it gives you an estimated time to 80%, which is usually pretty accurate. It’s easy to plan a charge-time outing to match that time and not take up a slot.
The fact that you’ve considered it already tells me you’re not the type of person I was describing 🤣
Yeah, you're probably fine. Stop and go traffic is better in that Regen braking is feeding it back in every time you slow down, so unlike ICE cars where you're still burning fuel, EVs you end up using way less energy in stop and go traffic.
Steve Bolt!
Damn. Now I’m mad I didn’t think to name my Bolt that.
I bought a Bolt, then two of my friends drove it and each bought their own (the car is THAT good -- it sells itself!).
We started calling ourselves the "Bolt Brigade" for the "cohesive unit" feel (and the alliteration) before realizing that the absolute best name was just sitting right there, waiting for us.
We now call ourselves a "Bolt Battery." 😂
Oh, and one of the Bolts is red, so she's "Red Leader."
What about "Usain"?
Yours can be ✊Uncle Mike✊
Lots of great advice in the thread already. Mine is that DC fast charging is great when you need it but should not be your main charging plan. As others have said, even at normal outlet voltages you will be just fine charging overnight.
Really it's an adjustment in your thinking. Instead of planning to "fill up" while out and about, plan to have your car plugged in when it's home. Normal variations in your day will eventually keep it between 50-80% which is the sweet spot.
If you do need to take longer trips, check out PlugShare on top of whatever Chevy offers itself when it comes to "road trip" planning. You can optimize charging stops if required.
I looked at PlugShare, and Google Maps had more up-to-date information for my locale. In addition, I saw some advertising permission requests (e.g. run APIs in background) from PlugShare that I wasn't totally happy with. I run a variety of blockers on my phone, but don't want to encourage the app behavior. I appreciate the recommendation, though, and the trip planning advice.
Edit: I should add, I've owned a Volvo EV for 2.5 years now in a semi-rural area.
I'm very reluctant to actually use the Plugshare and ElectrifyAmerica apps and all that. There are too many brands, payment plans, etc. to keep up with. When I do longer trips (150 miles+) I just pay with credit card at the charging station and skip the "convenience" of the app -- which often offer now monetary savings at the fast charging stations I use anyway. Also, ElectrifyAmerica does that thing where you have to "top up" the credits in the app in like $20 increments. That's some MTX/gambling app shit and I hate it. That along with their annual service fee ... I'd rather just pay at the pump, so to speak.
I agree with Pilot about the philosophical paradigm shift of simply being more conscientious about when to charge and how to plan your stops. If you already eat out a lot, or enjoy going to the mall, then building charging the car into a stop for fast food/shopping really feels more like saving time than taking time out of your day. Do always have a backup plan for charging somewhere else, though. MANY of the chargers in my area listed on Google Maps are not public chargers; a number of them are on dealership lots, hotels offering 1 or 2 Level 1/2 chargers only to guests, and that kind of thing. Know before you go!
For convenience, and also to be sure that I'm hitting fast chargers that actually work, I tend to plan longer trips around changing stops at major conveniences so that I'm more likely to be able to get the service I want in the timeframe I want. Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, charging mid-day at the mall has always been pretty quick (plus the other EV patrons know the rules and etiquette). I might have to wait for someone to finish charging, but even at popular malls I'll get my turn to charge pretty soon. I strongly avoid grocery store chargers. I have also noticed that Walmarts have a partnership with some fast charging providers, so I'm looking at using those more often even though I don't set foot in a Walmart unless I absolutely have to.
It sounds like a lot of that stuff won't be relevant to your particular use-case, but I hope that other EV-adopters will take note of some of the quirks of the charging options outside of cities.
On the topic of L3 charging, when you do need to fast charge, I would recommend looking specifically for chargers in the 50-65kw range. The Bolt 2LT has a max charge rate of 55kw anyways, so you aren't missing out on a faster charging experience. But what you will miss out on, is the line of people waiting to charge at most stations faster than 100kw. By contrast, I've never had to wait for a 50kw station in my local area.
Depending on where you live, that advice might be outdated already. Most 50-60KW fast chargers in my area have been replaced with higher wattage ones already.
This isn't the first time I've heard this, but it is strange to me because I live in Southern California and we have yet to buck most of our slower L3 stations. I'd always kind of assumed that with the number of EVs in my area that we would see more infrastructure development than most places, but it seems non-Tesla charging is lagging in my local area.
Everybody else has covered pretty much everything else you need to know, so I'll just say congratulations on getting your Bolt! Welcome to the club! I have a 2023 EUV, and I absolutely adore it.
Also, "Cherriot" is SO cute.
I just want to comment on the regenerative braking question. You should definitely use it in city driving or stop and go traffic, but completely disable it on the highway.
In the city you are usually either accelerating or braking, so one pedal driving is convenient and energy efficient. On the highway you often want to let off the accelerator and coast for a bit. Regenerative braking and/or one pedal driving will not let you do that and dramatically decrease your range.
Regenerative braking is more energy efficient than just throwing away energy by using mechanical brakes, but regenerative braking still has energy losses. If coasting is possible, as it often is on the highway, it’s definitely more efficient.
Also, you will never feel a greater rush than when you drive up a large mountain and watch your battery percentage tick down rapidly only to crest the peak and be able to use regen to gain a ton of it back on the way down.
I've had my 2017 Bolt since December and love it. I'm lucky in that my work commute is no more than 15 miles/day and I can charge for free at work. With that I've barely had to charge at home. Also I love the "one pedal driving" mode. It took about two days to get accustomed to it and I've never gone back. I'm not adding anything new to the conversation, but I just wanted to chime in as a fellow Bolt owner. Mine doesn't officially have a name yet, though.
The other thing I'd add, which a bunch of people have mentioned already, is that 120V/12A charging is good for something like 3-5 mi (5-8km) of range an hour. Charging overnight gets you a minimum of like 30mi (50km) of range. If your typical daily use is 10mi, you absolutely do not need a 240V charger installed; plugging into a regular 120V outlet will meet all your home charging needs.
Thank you for the advice!
Don't worry too much about the temperature you're starting the car at unless you keep it outside or in a detached, unheated garage or other situation. Typically attached garages won't get nearly as cold as outside temps anyway (this coming from someone who needs to better insulate their garage doors). Your car should often be within nominal operating range when you start it (or maybe on the low side for a few minutes until it warms up).
Not a Chevy owner, but I would think most if not all EVs, including your Bolt, will tell you if they're unhappy in the cold when you start it. My Volvo tells me how much "power" (whether that's HP or torque) is restricted until the system has literally warmed up. Chevys should be telling the user if the battery needs a bit to warm up, too, but it'll also let you drive at a reasonable speed.
To help with battery efficiency many EVs have fans to blow either warm or cool air over the battery packs -- this is necessary because when using the batteries they generate a good amount of heat in an otherwise confined space. But also because of the cold temperatures that you're concerned about. So don't worry, engineers have already thought of that. Hopefully the accountants and management-as-interior-designers have allowed the engineers to do their jobs.
Some points I didn't see mentioned :