Kyle drives the @outofspecdave1554 ELR and Volt - join us for this very long, very boring test drive video For further inquiries please reach out to info@outofspecstudios.com #volt #elr #phev
Gen 1 volt will likely be recognized one day as one of the most important EVs of all time. A gen 1 volt with high miles was my first introduction to EVs, I now own 3 EVs. The volt is a gateway drug, I know many folks with an experience like mine.
I bought a Chevy Volt 13 years ago this month. It still feels and drives like new. The base Volt sold for &41K, a lot of money in 2011. The major cost driver was the 16 kWh battery, which GM claims to have costed over $16K to manufacture. Worse yet, GM has no new replacement battery packs available, only refurbished packs. I think it would be great to see GM make the Volt a real classic by making Volt life extension kits consisting of 2 or 4 module Ultium battery packs, an Ultium inverter to power the Volt’s existing motors, and a black box to adapt Ultium to the Volt’s software. The 2 module battery would restore the Volt’s original mileage and eliminate almost 300 pounds, the 4 module battery would more than double the Volts original range yet still be at least 30% lighter. GM claims the Ultium cells costs 1/10 to manufacture than the cells in the Volt. That means a 2 module 17.6 kWh pack should cost less than $2K to manufacture, an 8 module pack would cost twice that. I for one, would be willing to pay $8-10K for a 2 module Volt Life Extension Package, and maybe $3-4K more for a VLEP that would more than double my Volt’s original range. I think the dealers would like this as well as they can sell suspension/steering overhaul work to match the battery life extension kits. BTW, keeping the Volts running for 10 or 15 more years would really reduce the environmental impact of the Volt and make a great marketing statement as to GM’s capability to produce great cars.
This makes far too much logical sense, therefore GM will never do it. [I bought my mom a 2017 Volt in 2020 and we adore the thing; it has nearly 150k on it and is still chugging along!]
I still have >90% battery life left on my 2017 (about 150k km on the battery), when the time comes I really hope someone will make a refurbish kit for it. By then an LFP upgrade should offer just as much if not better range, which is more than enough for me as is, especially since all the extra cooling won't be needed as well as the 80/20% buffer. It looks like GM is going to push a new line of PHEVs soon though, so battery refurbish kits for our cars won't be made from the factory most likely, which is a shame.
I had a 2015 Volt and LOVED it. It was definitely my gateway to all electric. I only had 1 complaint. I had a 50 mile commute and hated when it ran out of battery every day. It made me sad when it switched to ICE.
@@aPpiknik Same. It's amazing how much you can learn to increase your mileage with speed, weather, tires, etc. Now that I'm all electric, I just drive.
My 2014 Volt was my first EV and the best car I’ve ever owned. I lived in an apartment so I’d actually drive to work on gas. Then charge at work. And drive home on electric. It was a nice compromise.
Yeah with the amount of room they had for the older batteries, and we can only use 80/20% of it, with a modern LFP blade battery (deeper discharge capability) taking up the same space a 150km range should be possible and more than enough to cover most any commute. But yeah long commutes or not being able to charge daily is where a BEV would be better.
2013 volt owner here, the Click/clunk in L is the outer front axle nut being loose. It’s a known issue. The only fix is to replace the Nut and Special Washer.
@@ShastaTodd L provides heavier regen breaking to a near stop condition. Almost one pedal driving, but you do need a little brake near the end at a stop. L does nothing with regard to pulling so it’s just like being in D in that regard.
Kyle, thanks for your video. A couple of things. First, I had a Volt as a company car and I currently own a 2016 ELR. There both great cars but I would take the ELR. I worked for GM and I remember when Chevy was developing the Volt Propulsion system. I had lunch with Bob Lutz (was an executive with GM) at the time. He told us that the world was watching and Chevy considered this their Moon Shot. It has to be right out of the box. It was. It's a very robust system. By the way, the wood is real not fake. The Volt propulsion system was moved over to the ELR in 2014 with no changes. However, for 2016 Cadillac totally went through the system and increased power and refinement. An example would be like Rolls Royce. They use a BMW V12 engine but Rolls brings it up to their specifications. GM also improved the suspension, brakes, and steering. The 2014 ELR is a fine car but if you can find a 2016 ELR that is in good shape that is the one to own. Cheers!!!
They changed the HPCM2 over to a gen2 volt version but everything else is the same. With that there were more kw available when stomping on it. In the video I think the battery was cold soaked and voltec system was not allowing all the power to be accessed. (91kw is just over 1/2 max power)
I've had the same volt since 2013. The biggest issue I've had is the brake rotors rusting here in the northeast from salty roads and the car sits outside 100%. Had I known about that I would have done some "hard braking" to clear the rust of the rotors periodically, because I drive in L all the time and the brakes get basically no wear in my normal driving. My screen has me at 249 MPG lifetime because the bulk of my driving is under 40 miles, and my car just sits on the 120v charger all the time. Oh I'm also still on the original 12v battery which absolutely amazes me, but I think thats also because it has been on the charger for 98% of its life. Incredible car, I was always shocked at how poorly it did in the market, I got my for low 30s after the 7500 tax credit back then. Also very useful to load stuff with the liftback hatch, I've hauled so much in this car that I never could have done if it was a trunked car like the model 3.
oh yea sometime after 8 years I had issues with the front wheel bearings and replaced the myself. I also would blame this on rust, since its a low mileage car. If I could have garaged it I would be interested to see how much less maintenance the car would have needed with less corrosion.
I’m glad you like (finally) the Volt. I bought a 2011 Volt brand new and it’s been my DD for almost 13 years. Just want to clarify one thing. When driving in extended range mode with the ICE, the engine will clutch to the wheels at 35 MPH and over with a steady state speed (not accelerating). Years ago some GM person mistakenly said 70 mph and it stuck, but I know as a fact it’s 35 and over. I’ve driven around with scan equipment many times and I can feel when the engine clutches to the wheels. Also FYI the Volt first went on sale in December 2010 as a 2011 model year. Enjoy the Volt.
You can change the temperature at which the engine will come on. It's somewhere in the settings menu, I believe it was called "Engine assisted heating" and it had two modes "At low temperatures" (Below 32f) and at "At very low temperatures" (Below 15f). I always used the lowest one since I really didn't care about extra battery usage since my daily usage is around 15 miles (Well within even winter battery range). There's also a setting to prevent the engine from running while plugged in. So you should be able to safely precondition the car without having to open the garage door.
sounds like GM engineers really thought through the displays on the Volt... sadly, I don't see that on our Toyota, Porsche, and Volvo PHEVs... Porsche ICEs kick in right at freezing (32 deg F), which I hate; Toyota and Volvo will let you go much colder before the ICE comes on.
I owned 3 Volts up until going Tesla in 2021. My wife used the Volts for commuting and she would regularly be forced to use up the gas in the tank every 9-12 months due to the Volts stale fuel warning. She would plug it into a 100 outlet every night and regain the 38-40 miles. Her commute was 25-30 miles so it was essentially an EV for her use case. They were great cars and I know Chevy lost money on every one they made hence they discontinued the model. One of our daughter is still using the last 2018 Volt and loves it.
Yeah I only keep around 1/8 of a tank in mine until I go on a road trip for that very reason, the battery is more than enough for me to get around in daily driving. They were planning on using the Voltec system in more vehicles to bring down the costs and would have been better served to put the Voltec system in an SUV or CUV and not a compact sedan since domestic sedans were dying off when this came out, even the regular ICE ones. I think with the death of the Malibu there won't be any more domestic sedans.
If the 12 volt hasn’t been changed in the elr recently do it. These cars act REALLY weird with weak / dead 12 volts. Also When it’s cold outside the gas engine will run for a bit to heat up the car but it’s normally really cold like below 32 cold.
Yep, went an entire winter in the middles states with the range extender heating menu option on and never really saw a change in my fuel level, it just idles the engine for a few minutes at a time to bump up the coolant temp, with it on recirc it goes several minutes before starting again. The only weird thing that happened to me is when my fuel level was really low it wouldn't use the feature, so it wouldn't run the tank dry if the fuel level is down to one bar, but this is on a gen 2 and gen1 might be different.
Enjoyed this video. Fell in love with the Volt during a test drive after a Prius test drive really underwhelmed me. Leased a silver base 2014 Volt LT. A few years after the lease, I bought a black 2014 Volt Premier with 46k miles for $10k. Has 86k miles now. Still get factory range here in temperate Los Angeles. Been ultra reliable and fun. Has a solid, confident road feel. It holds tons of cargo. Two unplanned repairs were an axle replacement due to ripped boot (non-warranty) and a software update (warranty) to two computer modules. Black spec, tinted windows. Solid door thunk. Will never let this car go. I hope, in addition to the PHEV truck announcements, that GM resurrects the Volt or at least puts a 3rd gen Voltec drivetrain in more cars.
The engineering on the OG volt was so cool. I really wish they would have kept with it and spread it out to their other vehicles. I want to say it was Jay Leno's garage, back when he did deep dives, did one on the volt with the engineers. Lots of technical stuff to make the car light and strong while staying affordable.
Yeah it's crazy that the gen 1 and gen 2 Volts were the most advanced cars GM made up till then until they started work on the C8 E-Ray. They really should have put the Voltec system in a Blazer or Tahoe with updated styling, they would have sold much better, especially since they could have made GMC and Cadillac branded ones where folks would be willing to pay the higher prices. Nobody wanted what was essentially a Celebrity/Cavalier/Cobalt/Cruise that cost that much!
My 2012 volt was flawless until an auto accident. Drove mine for 477,000 miles. Best vehicle I've owned because of no planning for my 115 mile one way commute. Averaged 110 mpg.! Great car!
I passed on an ELR when I bought my 2017 Volt and I still think about it because I love the way the ELR looks. It is one of my favorite designs of all time. I was being practical. The ELR had slightly higher mileage and was slightly more money for an older car with older tech. It was also a 2 door and I wanted a backup “family” car to my wife’s SUV. The Volt has been fantastic but when I watch these videos I wish I had made the kids cram into the back of the ELR.
Our solution to your dilemma was to buy one of each. My wife prefers our 2013 Volt and I love to drive our 2014 ELR. She bought gas last year for the first time in years (I usually filled it once a year for her) and she had to ask the attendant how to work the gas pump. She said never again! The ELR is our travel car which we have taken to Mexico City and beyond as well as to the U.S. east and west coasts. My only complaint with the ELR is the low profile tires make for a rougher ride. Neither car has had any major issues.
I still have a 2012 Volt with 122 miles on it. Black leather interior and pearl white exterior with black trim. Looks brand new inside. I am original owner. Runs great. I still get at least 30 miles all electric on one charge. Lifetime mpg is 110 mpg. Most of my driving in the last 11 years have been all electric. If you are ever in Northern CA and want y to I video this one. You are welcome to. I may try to keep this car longer than any other Volt original owner. It has been problem free all these years. I could tell you some stories of hate I used to receive when I first was driving the car around. Fox News was bashing the car every night for about six months and it made a lot of people angry against volt owners.
The Volt debuted as a 2011 model in 2010. I drove my first Volt at a Team Chevy Test Drive at the Indy 500 in 2011. I was intrigued but couldn't afford the car. In 2015, I purchased a 2012 Volt Premium that was a lease return. In 2019, my son, who learned how to drive in the car was in a winter weather related car accident and totaled the car. He walked away without a scratch. Both of my kids learned how to drive in the Volt and asked that we replace it with another. So, we bought a 2015 lease return and still have it. We only have 60,000 miles on it and I just used it today to commute to my workplace..a 30 mile round trip and didn't use a drop of gas....and had about 8 miles of EV range left over.
been driving a 2011 chevy Volt since I bought it new. still have it. will never get rid of it. even meet Bob Lutz at Checy Volt homecoming with it. it lead me to getting a 2023 Bolt which I just traded in for a 2024 Cadillac Lyric! The Volt started it all! would have been an EV1 to start it all if I could have got one!
42:29 There are a few different triggers in the Voltec system that will automatically bring the engine online, even when the battery is full. One of those is if the hood is opened while the car is turned on, so that could possibly be a broken sensor that's being triggered.
8:55 My 2011 was base with the cloth seats, but my 2015 is a Premier with the leather seats. People liked them because of how wide they were, but they lacked bolstering and could have used a bit more padding. Also, the leather seats are extremely hard until broken in, which took probably 10,000 to 15,000 miles for mine.
An underrated feature of these Volts (and presumably the ELR) is just how fun they are to toss around on a backroad. As for the cloth seats, much prefer them over my 2012 Cruze leather seats. Ive taken both on 9 hour road trips and the Volt seats left me far less fatigued. The biggest gripe with the first gen Volt I have is the only 3 inches of clearance on the front air dam- it can and *will* hit everything. A random fun fact on the first gen Volt is the interior accents could be had in a horrible green, and for some reason the first few model years (2011-2012) were sold with black roofs and tailgates only, and was removed for 2013 onward.
I've owned both a 2012 Volt and a 2014 ELR. I still own the 2012 Volt and my son still drives it. Both of them eventually experienced the same issue with the engine running when the battery was fully charged. On the Volt the battery was indeed starting to go bad but wasn't below the threshold where it would cease to function and wasn't throwing any specific codes. I was able to buy a wrecked Volt locally for $1000 and the Chevy dealer did a battery swap for under $2000. The Volt has been perfect ever since. About a year later, the ELR started doing the same thing but again at just under 100K miles, no codes, and wouldn't be under warranty unless it threw codes. I didn't want to go through the same battery transplant for the ELR so I traded it in. I still miss that car because it was so beautiful and comfortable. Your dad's ELR battery is definitely going bad even though it is not showing any codes. Regarding the front end clunk, that is the axel nuts. Take off the center caps and use a torque wrench to tighten them up. Makes a world of difference. This is a common problem with both the Volt and the ELR.
If you want to drive the UNICORN of Volts, 2019 Premier with every option, 255,000km and first set of brake pads still in near new condition come to Vancouver Canada, love my Volt and ID4 If you jump in the 2nd Gen Volt the instrumentation reminds you of the ELR....best if two worlds.
I love my '18 Volt. However, it should have been a 2dr. My head sits behind the front window (I'm only 5'10), and if you open the window at anything over 25mph, an 80mph gale is blasted into your face from the B pillar. ... I'd trade for a 2nd gen ELR in a heartbeat if such a thing existed.
@@tommc3622 Agreed, one of the best things I did on my '17 was put those rain deflectors on it, really helps with the low speed wind noise and buffeting with the windows down. I would totally trade for a gen 2 ELR also, they only thing that would hold me back is I do like the hatch on mine, with the seats folded forward I can easily fit nearly anything I want back there, it's deceptively huge! With the EV torque I have no issues driving around doing the Carolina Squat with a hatch full of top soil and gravel bags from Loews!
@@anydaynow01 Our ELR will hold two full size suitcases in the trunk and not much else. When we travel we fill the back seat with our stuff plus I carry an unmounted spare tire because the tire is not readily available where we travel. We have had to be hauled into a tire shop 85 miles because that was the closest place that could get a tire in Oklahoma.
They DID put the Voltec drivetrain in pickup trucks. A company called VIA Motors took Silverados and converted them with Voltec drivetrains. Have no clue what they are up to today but for a time Bob Lutz worked for them.
Had a volt for 10 years, over 100,000 miles, negligible battery degradation and never had to repair it. Only reason I got rid of it was to get something with more ground clearance. It’s a great lil car
I absolutely loved my 2015 Volt. Such an innovative car. But I can charge at home now instead of just at work sometimes so I traded it in on a Bolt. Still, the Volt is better for many people and I definitely recommend them.
I got an ELR about 8 months ago and so far I'm loving it. Mine does have an issue with the battery, cell #56 seems to be failing. Sometimes the car doesn't fully charge, so if your dad's ELR has a bad cell that may be why the engine kicks on early. Also, my ELR doesn't do engine braking at all. When the battery is full it just does way less regen. Only time it did engine braking was when for some reason the HV system disabled itself in the highway (unplugging the BCM and plugging it back in fixed it somehow). Also, mine also has that annoying clunk when driving in L, seems to be some backlash somewhere in the drive train.
man oh man, we had a 2013 volt, 2016 ELR and 2018 Volt, amazing vehicles. Traded the Gen 1 Volt at 41 K miles, 95% electric, the ELR at 53 K miles, 92 % electric and still have the Gen 2 Volt, charging to 70+ miles in the warm months, 92 % electric. Such a shame such tremendous pieces of engineering were abandoned instead of being added to each vehicle sold by the general...
I owned both versions of the Volt and eventually traded the second for a used Tesla. At least 90% of my Volt driving was EV. GM could have done SO MUCH with its drivetrain, but instead they limited it to a tiny low-performance hatchback, then stupidly scrapped it. Who wouldn't want a Silverado or Tahoe that could go 50 miles as a daily EV, yet also do 1000+ mile road trips with no range concerns? I would have bought one immediately, and GM could have offered me that 10 YEARS AGO. But they didn't, so I just traded my third V8 Silverado for a Ford Lightning. My first-ever Ford, and a nice truck!
2017 and later Volts are awesome. They were a great “gateway” EV, especially for the time. Perfect example of one option GM should be offering on Trucks/SUVs that may need to tow long distances.
Low mode thump comes from loose hub/axle bolts - a common problem resolved by upgrading the nut and shims from "some" larger GM vehicle. Dealers are aware of the issue.
... not aggressive at all on the ICE transition - it warms up the engine before it lets you rod it. Recommendation is, if you plan on a trip longer than the battery capacity, make sure you drive on the ICE for at least six miles of your trip to make sure it fully warms up and burns off any moisture in the oil.
If you liked this, you need to try a gen 2, they were way ahead of their time and would've sold a lot more if they put the Voltec system in a CUV/SUV, domestic sedans don't sell. Out of 150k km on mine, I might have 15k km on the range extender, way under used. The ICEs are designed for stop/start even back then, also the reason you didn't hear the engine at first when it started is because it goes in an idle mode to circulate oil before it loads. The Gen 2 also had more interior space, I took home a 165cm TV box and all home from the store in mine, yes I was able to close the hatch! Also most of the gigantic battery pack size was due to active cooling and the 80/20% battery buffer (I still have >90% of my battery life!).
Your clunk may be loose C/V axle nuts, they very commonly loosen up on first gen volts. I tightened mine a couple times over the years, but they've been good since. Pop the center cap off the wheel and tighten up the nut.
The "thump" you're feeling in low mode is the transmission torque mount. You can see it directly under the ev drive unit - it looks like a little tennis racket. If you do think of it like a tennis racket, where the 'strings' would be is a rubber piece that is mounted laterally in the racket's frame. when driving, that rubber piece freely moves back and forth as the transmission sends torque. In L mode, you will feel the thump since the motor puts out more instantaneous torque and stronger regen meaning the travel of the rubber piece is further and will bump into the front and back portion of the rackets frame (by design). When in D, since theres less immediate torque/regen, the rubber piece won't move as much/as quickly and thus you won't feel the bump. Getting a replacement will help this but not fully alleviate it - its just part of the car's design. I will recommend getting a genuine GM part from the dealership for this as the rubber from oreilly's generic parts is a lot squishier meaning the thump will actually increase - I made that mistake and ended up tossing the oreillys part and got the genuine GM one instead on my gen1 car. The "voltec" he keeps point at is the DC/AC inverter.
There is a quirk about the Volt that you have to watch out for. The drive mode button is just below the start button. To put the car into sport mode, you press the drive mode button twice. If your aim is a little off and you press the start button twice, then you just turned the car off! It's quite the surprise when that happens on the highway.
Kyle, you make me smile (13:50) when you say you wish that your Rivian had a generator engine.... It sounds like you're getting converted more towards the practicality of PHEVs over the last year or two, which you always have said you don't like... 🙂 ... Your PHEV reviews got me to buy my '22 XC60 T8 ER, and have gotten me to pare down my list of next vehicle to either the new Cayenne E-Hybrid or the GLE 450e. The Macan 4 or Taycan CT4 are in my future plans, but not for another 3-4 years after I get my next (and probably final) PHEV... PHEVs are awesome for those of us who do 30-40 miles a day of local driving in all-electric but who also spend a couple months a year on long road trips... perfect vehicles when done right. I just wish that Porsche and Volvo and Toyota would all bring in the nifty energy-distribution and ICE-vs.-electric-motor range/power displays that the 2015 Volt has there!
It's an Otto cycle engine - it has a warm-up period when it first turns on. With the thin oil, it warms up pretty quick though. The center display has a comprehensive view "Energy Info" showing your efficiency which is more helpful than the cutesy graphic mode.
Technically the Volt and ELR used a Miller cycle engine. Miller cycle is a type of Atkinson cycle that just uses a different cam profile for late intake valve closing with high mechanical compression ratio, vs. the complicated crankshaft mechanism used by the original Atkinson engines. It is used by most hybrids, including the original Toyota Prius. You are correct about Otto cycle, since Atkinson and Miller cycle engines do use the same Otto 4 stroke, with spark ignition, but with modifications to extract more energy from the power stroke.
The pack was 16.5kWh when new, with 10,5kWh available to the driver. Big buffer in the top and bottom for the hybrid drive to work as intended. There are 3 motors in this this, all connected to a planetary gearbox. One 110kW electric motor that is the main motor, a 55kW electric motor that is used as the generator, starter for the combustion engine, and also as a motor in some cases, and the 63kW 1.4 liter engine. I bought mine new in 2013 loving all the nerdy tech. And it was a game trying to use as little fuel as possible. 😀 I still miss the car to this day, and I just found out it was scrapped 4 weeks ago. 😥
A gen 2 premier at that, along with a long time gen2 driver who can properly explain the features and menu options. There were several times in the video where they didn't know how to operate the vehicles or realize what they were doing in the various modes.
I had a 2014 Volt and it was the best car I ever driven. I was mad about GM when they kicked it down the can in 2019. The first was 2011. The Gen 1 is the best. The Gen 2 in 2016 was more of a normal car.
Thanks Kyle and Dave for this video. It sure brings back memories, and you have a great father-son banter. I bought an early 2011 Volt, and also a 2014 Volt. They were great cars and I loved every minute with them. The ELR is truly beautiful, but the cost and practicality were not competitive with the Volt when new. It is the same now for Dave's used cars. The ELR was 3x as expensive, and it needs expensive repairs. The Volt is more practical and has more EV range, for a lot less money. It would be great if Dave could donate the ELR to a good car museum, like the Revs Institute in Naples. If they would repair and maintain it, and also let Dave drive it occasionally, that would be a good outcome.
I loved my 2014 Chevy Volt. That was a quality vehicle. Unfortunately, it was also the transitional vehicle that showed me that range anxiety wasn't really a thing for me and I did most of my driving within the electric range of the Volt. After a few years of owning it, I moved into a full EV.
GM Had the right idea with this car. The Caddy was to much money as was the Chevy. I will go to the Grave saying if the Volt would of been a Buick it would of been a hit at the Chevy Price Point. People would of paid that price at the time as a Buick. Funny that they finally said that this is going to be their future now vs the all electric aspect
The 2016 Volt, which is the limited version of the Gen 2, is a more simplified car when it comes to the placement of controls. It does have paddle regen on the Gen 2. The fin and the screen of the ELR reminds me more of my Volt. They did change them further on the 2018 which looks a little more like the bolt display. Gen 2 is a bit faster than Gen 1 when accelerating.
The Volt was incredibly over-engineered. The book about its development was a quick good read. I think it has about 16 kWh gross and just under 11 kWh usable. They really wanted to protect the life of the most expensive component. My Volt had over 100k miles and no range degradation.
Good video as usual. "Because this is GM - it is what they do. The bring the absolute best of technology and then abandon it." I absolutely loved the concept of the Volt car. I would have bought one many years ago, but being 6’4” with two kids, the Volt was a non-starter. It was for me a 2+2. Definitely liked the V1 better than the V2.. I did end up purchasing a 2016 Chevy Malibu with the Voltec engine and drove that for 100,000 miles. Never understood the ELR. I do wish GM made a midsize or larger vehicle with the larger battery and a gas range extender. Your dad is so patient.
You can replace that CUE screen yourself (we did)...it's available at Amazon and not that expensive. The self replacement is a trick but can be done vs. paying $1500-1700 at dealer.
With my 2016 Volt what I observed in winter is that it would run the engine till the coolant lines reached around 200F, then the engine would shutoff and then restart once the temps dipped below 120F.
The Volt was a great bridging technology - a friend had kept his for over 80k miles. 2/3 of miles were electric. Overall efficiency was 80+ mpg during the 9 years of ownership as a new vehicle. If you stayed within the 35-40 miles of range, and daily charged it, you never had to fill it up and could enjoy you a BEV type of driving experience.
I was one the very first Volt owners, I had Volt #84 out of the very first 100 2011 Volt's. I picked mine up from the Chevrolet dealership in December of 2010.
The fluid in the ELR and VOLT had issues with air bubbles when adding it at the factory giving it a false reading as full but after a couple years showed low levels and had to be purged to fix issue
A friend of mine works in service at a Chevy dealership and has been there 30 years and he said Volt's are one of the most reliable cars Chevy has ever made.
Still have my 2014 Volt and it’s never had a single thing go wrong and still looks and feels solid after 10 years. They had a big budget building this with some bailout money and it shows.
Why did GM discontinue the Volt? It happened when GM discontinued the Chevy Cruze. Sales of the Cruze had dropped significantly, and it likely was a low profit car with production running at full capacity. Therefore, I suspect the Cruze was discontinued due to lack of profitability. Without Cruze production, the cost of the many parts that were shared with the Volt would have doubled, due the the Volt's even lower volume. This made the Volt too much of a money loser for Mary Barra to tolerate, IMO.
Loved mine. Bought it new. Gen 1. The electric motor died at 210K. First car I ever sold for salvage while still having a $3000 repair bill to pay. Expensive learning but it was fun while it lasted.
@@ImagineGTAVI Simple. The dealership diagnose a bad A/C compressor. You wait two months for the special variable compressor. They install it. Restart the car and the fried drive motor codes pop up next. When the compressor fried it took the motor with it as it was essential for cooling but the car shut down before the motor codes were logged. Gotta love technology!
Loved my 2015 Volt, my least favorite thing was the relatively poor fuel economy when the battery was depleted. Sold it around 110k miles, it started doing what this ELR does where sometimes the engine would turn on even with a full battery. I’m confident mine was a battery aging problem, the cell voltages were all over the place when I checked. Mine had a tendency to get knocked out of alignment very easily, must be a Volt thing.
I have the same with premium trim, fully loaded ,85%ev driving 15% gas,i like the handling , no issues, minimal maintance. Finally you went back in time.
This is taking me back! My first plug-in car was a 2011 Volt. My car was so early that Chevy sent me a welcome package with a book on Volt development and a Volt branded Flip Cam. I once went over 9000 miles before buying gas for it. And yes, the seats sucked.
10:44 Full power should be ~111 kW, and it should do that all the way to 0% battery. The buffer on these is quite large (over 30%). My 2015 displays ~10.9 kWh used from 100% to 0% with a 17.1 kWh gross capacity battery pack.
This is the car that got me excited about electric cars. GM definitely missed out using this technology on other platforms. Would have been awesome as a truck or suv.
Also GM is realizing they can leverage their limited battery supply to sell way more HEV/PHEVs that BEVs to bring down their CAFE rating, like Toyota is doing with it's hybrids. A Voltec Silverado with an Ultium battery and 80-100 km of EV range would be pretty awesome!
I commuted in a 2013 Volt for 6 1/2 years with a 36 mile roundtrip. I could do it all electric 9 months of the year and used hold mode on the return leg to give me engine heat and compensate for the battery heater's draw. I was very happy with that car until it got totaled by a red light runner. We now have a Honda Clarity PHEV, which we use for road trips. With respect to its engineering, the Volt program was underway when the GM bankruptcy happened. GM opted not to cancel it, to our benefit.
I had a volt 2013 volt. If I remember correctly there was setting for heating boast from the engine if the temperature was below a certain level. That is probably what happening.
Unlikely. When the engine runs due to temperature it fast idles. More likely the ELR is having traction battery issues. Bite the bullet and take it to a dealer for a diagnosis.
I had a volt in its first model year, it was my first "ev". Loved it except for the weird pressure sensitive touch buttons. Build quality was really impressive. What bugged be though, weirdly, was that there was just something so frustrating every time the gas engine came on. I've heard this from other owners as well. You just wanted so much to be on electric all the time, and whenever the engine revved up and your average mpg started to drop it would just grate on you. It had enough EV range to cover like 60% of my driving, whereas the i3 was good for 95%, so even though its drivetrain wasn't as refined, I still preferred it.
There is a menu setting to allow the ICE to assist with heating duties. I’m guessing the volt has engine heating assist set to off, and the ELR has it enabled
I bought a 2015 volt in July 2023. It had like 64000 miles. I really like the car. I enjoy driving it. I enjoy the “tech” that’s in it. There are flaws, like to me the top part of the door frame is a bit low for me. Some of the car’s sight lines aren’t the best due to the pillars attached to the front window, and the EV mileage on cold days drops a lot. And I kept the car outside and it frequently didn’t charge when it was below zero or in the single digits.
I had a 2012 Volt. I liked the car. It got about 45-70 (70 miles from Prescott, AZ to Phoenix, AZ - All downhill) miles per charge depending on where I was driving. When the ICE mule kicked in, I still got around 40 mpg. Only problem was that the ICE was a bit noisy. I was all set to buy a new 2018 Volt, but the dealer wouldn't budge on price and all he had were base models. Chevrolet also took away the integrated turn signals in the R & L rearview mirrors and the Homelink. Turns out it was the right move. Chevrolet dumped the Volt after the 2018 model year.
For Volt ICE has no connection to drivetrain, it is a generator only. The drivetrain is driven at all times by electric motors. Also a fun fact it is as quick 0-60 as a 300 HP Camaro.
Love my Gen I Volt (2013). Had a 2014 ELR too. I traded the ELR for a Taycan when i realized i was toting the weight of an engine around for months on end.
Around here I would rather carry a hundred or so kg of ICE and a few liters of fuel, than hoard 4x the batteries I don't need for daily driving and can't charge easily on road trips hence why I'm holding onto my gen 2 Volt. The Taycan is a nice car, huge step up in quality from a compact GM sedan!
