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[Stefan1991]

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[michael]

This is a car...you should use it.

Yes, cycles put on the battery definitely contribute to wear out, so you definitely wouldn't want to cycle the battery with the car in the driveway just for fun. But if you are driving for your own purposes, or for Uber/Lyft the car is serving you.

Treat the battery well...try when practical to keep it in the mid states of charge. Don't needlessly run it from top to bottom (but don't hesitate to do so if your task requires this.

The battery will fade with use, but it will also fade from time even if lightly used. So use it

 

[michael]

You will get some disagreement on this, but here's my best understanding:

Your approach keeps the battery generally in the 80 to 90% range. It will be "happier" to have a lower average charge level. So a better option would be to run it to some lower value, not critical exactly what, but for the sake of discussion 50% That way it will be above 80% only for a short while.

Better yet would be to terminate the charge before it reaches 90% IF CONVENIENT, not as a "must do" . Then you will be generally running it between, say, 80% and 50%.

None of this is hard and critical If you need to charge fully, of course do so. If you can't stop charge before 90%, or well. But try to keep it in the mid-charge ranges generally and the battery will do better

If you plan to leave the house most mornings at, for example, 8 AM, you could set your charge timer to be ready to go at 9. That way it wouldn't be fully charged quite yet when you leave.

 

[oilerlord]

But I never want to have to pay for a battery replacement in the future. (And hopefully will be able to use this car at least 10+ years).
Is it stupid to put all these extra miles on my car?, or is it likely this battery will last 10+ years despite driving some extra miles sometimes.

Michael is the board's resident expert on batteries, charging, and degradation. I use a lot of his tips myself. The science behind his advice is sound. You could also use hilltop mode to prevent charging to 100%. If you were returning the car after three years, it wouldn't matter, but for the people that are looking to drive their cars for "10+ years" - charging to less than 100% on a regular basis (probably) will extend the life of your battery.

I'd also add that if you are looking to own / drive your BOlt for a long time, it may not make sense to mile it out with Uber. Time & miles aren't kind to a car's depreciation, and the combination of the two are especially cruel to an EV. I've looked into the Uber model, and the type of car that makes sense from an overall profitability point of view isn't brand new. Usually, the best choice for an Uber driver is cheap but reliable 10+- year old, well maintained, fuel efficient car like a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry.

The last Uber ride I had was with an owner of a nearly new Cadillac SRX. I chatted him up. He said he was only doing UberX rides (he said his car didn't qualify for Uber Black). He also mentioned that his second Uber drive involved picking up a bunch of drunks at ASU, one of which puked in the back of his brand new car. Aside from the time / risk / low return reasons that would prevent me from driving with Uber - I certainly wouldn't give Uber the use of a car I had a large vested interest in.

 

[DanCar]

Battery degrades more when it is hot, either from fast charging or from outside temperature. During winter no problem, but degrades faster with summer time usage. The battery will last longer if you can park in the shade versus on top of a hot sunny parking lot.

 

[LeftieBiker]

To a certain extent it depends on the battery. A 2012 leaf battery will degrade fairly quickly no matter what you do, and will degrade even more rapidly in heat. Keeping it very cool helps. The Bolt, though, has thermal management, and presumably a better chemistry. That means that temps shouldn't matter as much as state of charge and degree of cycling. The good news is that the pack will be perfectly happy as long as you generally keep it between 20% and 90% SOC. Occasional departures, especially brief ones, won't hurt it.

 

[IMAdolt]

Battery degrades more when it is hot, either from fast charging or from outside temperature. During winter no problem, but degrades faster with summer time usage. The battery will last longer if you can park in the shade versus on top of a hot sunny parking lot.

So far the TMS seems to be doing pretty well for this car and not using a lot of power in the process, there's other threads about that, besides there's not a lot we can do about the weather.

So many used options, even electric that'd work well for uber but having a dedicated secondary car for that is only for the guy trying to make a career out of it. I don't see anything wrong using it for a couple thousand miles a year, especially if you're not beholden to a lease limit, or are way under it. It's a personal risk/reward/hassle decision people have to make for them selves for there circumstances.

Like others have said about the only thing you might consider doing differently is running your battery a little deeper into it's SOC and not topping it off every night unless you feel the need to have the full capacity every day for WHY.

 

[oilerlord]

So many used options, even electric that'd work well for uber but having a dedicated secondary car for that is only for the guy trying to make a career out of it.

Choosing the "right" car for Uber is all about being smart with the initial vehicle investment and minimizing operating expenses. That's all it is. The current crop of used 60-80 mile cars on the market would make terrible Uber cars. You're not making any money sitting at a charging station while others are picking up rides.

However, a used 200 mile, $15,000 Bolt EV might make a great Uber. At that price, there could be a realistic shot at Uber revenue eventually paying for the car.

 

[IMAdolt]

Choosing the "right" car for Uber is all about being smart with the initial vehicle investment and minimizing operating expenses. That's all it is. The current crop of used 60-80 mile cars on the market would make terrible Uber cars. You're not making any money sitting at a charging station while others are picking up rides.

However, a used 200 mile, $15,000 Bolt EV might make a great Uber. At that price, there could be a realistic shot at Uber revenue eventually paying for the car.

Well I think that's where uber/lyft diverge from the normal cab driver, sure you can drive around all day waiting for fairs and put 250 km a day on your car like a lot of cabbies do but an uber type, especially a part timer, should stick to prime hours and only be putting a fraction of the miles on there car, something a used leaf, focus, spark or soul or whatever could handle easily, you work around bar hopping times in a metro core and get some quick $20-40 fares and go home, park at a free L1/2 charger if you want to wait around for fairs.

Full time uber's typically make terrible money, if there at it all day, from what I can tell not much better then a minimum wage.

 

[oilerlord]

Full time uber's typically make terrible money, if there at it all day, from what I can tell not much better then a minimum wage.

From the research I've done, making money with Uber is challenging regardless if you do it full or part time. I've read that the Uber fleet is valued at over $4B - a fleet that Uber has made absolutely no investment in...they put it all on the backs of their drivers.

No damn way I'd offer Uber the use of my Mercedes (or a shiny new Bolt EV), just to end up having some punk puke in the back of my car.

 

[IMAdolt]

I absolutely agree there's better ways to make money, but everyone's situation is different.

 

[DesertSprings]

I don't do many Uber/Lyft rides, just whenever there is an event in town or a crazy demand that causes prices to go up a lot. It's just a small parttime hobby, but haven't been driving for a few weeks now. Not sure I'll keep doing it, since I worry about someone throwing up in my nice clean Bolt. And with so much driving/stopping in the downtown area the risk of accidents is a lot bigger.

How does that work in regards to insurance and other expenses? My wife is a chef so I spend a lot of Friday and Sat nights home alone and have played with the idea of driving those days to make some money rather than just sitting on my ass watching Netflix or playing video games. Not sure how much expense/hassle is involved in signing up for Uber/Lyft and what extra expenses I'm on the hook for regardless of whether I drive or not.

 

[DesertSprings]

Thanks, that's helpful.