Anyone caught with their pants down?

[z0ner]

More specifically, turned their Bolt into a paperweight?

In the six years of driving LEAFs, I had gotten to "turtle" mode twice. Last night however, I was about seven miles from the house when my 15 miles of range turned into "Charge Soon", and at the peak of a five mile climb I saw the "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED / LOW" message. I started to sweat a little because I knew what was next but didn't know how much I had left. Luckily I made it home but I've never wanted a "LEAFSpy" app more in my life!

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

So, the Bolt's version of LBW came at 15 miles? You were climbing at the time?

Then you climbed another 5 miles before you got to Bolt's VLBW?

Then 2 miles to home?

Lucky you! Doesn't seem too different from Leaf. I've got a question in on this topic to Amber of Chevy Customer Care in another thread, but no response yet. Nice that they're here talking to us though.

 

[michael]

This is why a ETE (energy to empty) display is so useful. A percentage display, at a minimum. Not some goofy bars.

My Focus had the percentage on the dash, ETE via an OBD scanner. Hopefully Bolt supplies the same or similar

 

[z0ner]

I came to rely heavily on the remaining GIDs from the LEAF's OBD info via LeafSpy Pro. I even bought an android phone simply for the sole app. Of course most of that relying came from only having 60 miles of full charge on the 2013 model near the end of my three year lease. With the Bolt, I'm figuring it will be much less of an issue.

 

[sgt1372]

Hope I never experience this and will do everything I can to avoid it.

 

[phil0909]

More specifically, turned their Bolt into a paperweight?

In the six years of driving LEAFs, I had gotten to "turtle" mode twice. Last night however, I was about seven miles from the house when my 15 miles of range turned into "Charge Soon", and at the peak of a five mile climb I saw the "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED / LOW" message. I started to sweat a little because I knew what was next but didn't know how much I had left. Luckily I made it home but I've never wanted a "LEAFSpy" app more in my life!

So, did it feel like your propulsion power was actually reduced? What was that like?

I haven't heard of anyone running out of power completely in a Bolt, or anyone else who'd come as close as you did. Were you intending to cut it close that day, or did something take you by surprise?

 

[phil0909]

More specifically, turned their Bolt into a paperweight?

In the six years of driving LEAFs, I had gotten to "turtle" mode twice. Last night however, I was about seven miles from the house when my 15 miles of range turned into "Charge Soon", and at the peak of a five mile climb I saw the "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED / LOW" message. I started to sweat a little because I knew what was next but didn't know how much I had left. Luckily I made it home but I've never wanted a "LEAFSpy" app more in my life!

So, did it feel like your propulsion power was actually reduced? What was that like?

I haven't heard of anyone running out of power completely in a Bolt, or anyone else who's come as close as you did. Were you intending to cut it close that day, or did something take you by surprise?

 

[LeftieBiker]

Remember, if you find yourself close to running out of juice: slow down! It's faster than charging on L-1 or L-2, and it will extend your range a lot.

 

[devbolt]

More specifically, turned their Bolt into a paperweight?

In the six years of driving LEAFs, I had gotten to "turtle" mode twice. Last night however, I was about seven miles from the house when my 15 miles of range turned into "Charge Soon", and at the peak of a five mile climb I saw the "PROPULSION POWER REDUCED / LOW" message. I started to sweat a little because I knew what was next but didn't know how much I had left. Luckily I made it home but I've never wanted a "LEAFSpy" app more in my life!

Sounds like a close call. Glad you made it home safely. Out of curiosity, do you notice what your total miles was for the "tank" and what your efficiency was? I'd be curious to know what your predicted range was when you started out with a full-charge that day.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Yikes, that must have been a rude surprise!

You are driving into uncharted territory. Other BEVs, the Leaf especially, are very well characterized at low SoC's. We know how much energy is left, and how far you can really travel. It is only a matter of time before the same is known about the Bolt.

Keep on pushing the envelope, and share what you find!

 

[Anonymous]

Any chance of translating some of that "Leaf-speak" so that we Chevy drivers can understand what you are talking about?

When I had my Volt, I was under the mistaken impression that there was a "safety reserve" when it was completely empty.

As my lease was near its expiration, I decided to test it. I ran the gas tank down to empty with some juice still left in it. I then went to a neighborhood near a gas station and proceeded to do a "round the block" drive on a major street and the alley behind it until it ran out of electricity.

Of course it warned me that it was near empty, but that was it. When it ran out, it was like an ICE car; it just rolled to a stop!

Luckily it was in the alley and not on the major street! I was blocking the alley though and a nice woman helped me push it to a parking spot. I called AAA and they arrived with a few gallons of gas and then I drove over to the gas station.

There was NO reserve available! It's over when its over! -- with apologies to Yogi Berra!

I am reticent to do this test in my Bolt EV, as I have read that Tesla's batteries are cooked if driven down to zero. Volt's are expected to be driven down to zero daily!

BTW: Does anyone know how I can switch the default on the forum to always check the box in "Notify me when a reply is posted?"

 

[z0ner]

I was trying to minimize the charging that week for sure, but I wasn't trying to get LBW or even VLBW.

For anyone unfamiliar, the LEAF gives an audible "Low Battery Warning", then follows it up with "Very Low Battery Warning", then goes into "Turtle" mode where the propulsion and power-anything are severely hindered. At that point you'd better be very close (within half a mile) to your charging destination or you safely pull over and call for help.

I wish I had empirical data, but I know that I had roughly 26 estimated miles left when I left for work in the morning. My round-trip commute is 24 miles so I figured I'd have a 2 mile safety margin, in addition my drive to work is mostly downhill.

I didn't account for the detour I had to take due to abnormal traffic on the return.

So yes, I babied it, but when I went from 15 to --- with seven miles remaining, range anxiety started to creep in. With the LEAF I was used to being able to view that mystery 15 (true SOC or state-of-charge) by using a bluetooth OBD dongle monitored by an Android app (LeafSpy). This gave you very granular visibility into the remaining percentage and units (GIDs - after Gary Giddings who came up with the unit).

Of course on flat terrain you can hypermile pretty easily and the Chevy GOM (Guess-O'Meter) is somewhat predictable. However, you have to throw all of that out the window if you're going uphill. As you all know you'll see the miles remaining count off pretty quickly. I'm sure my fellow neighbors didn't appreciate me going 40'ish in a 55 zone where speeds of 70 aren't uncommon.

Luckily I was at the crest of the final hill once I received the PROPULSION REDUCED message. Now with the LEAF in Turtle, it was extremely noticeable. Even turning the steering wheel required more effort. With the Bolt, there was oddly no discernible loss of power. I was only a few blocks away from home when I gunned it and it was as zippy as ever. I didn't try to put it in sport mode, so possibly that would've been disabled but there was definitely no ice-running-through-my-veins oh-shit! moment like I had in Turtle.

My Turtle came at 6% SOC remaining. I'm pretty sure that was the true bottom of the pack and there was no usable reserve after the 6%. It would be great if we could get SOC from the Bolt whether it be a future software update or we can hack into the OBD. I would pay some good ducats for BoltSPY (hint, hint).

 

[Anonymous]

If the Bolt EV is anything like the Volt none of that is available except for a slow down in propulsion on the freeway.

And under 30 miles it just becomes a LOW and your guess is as good as anyone else's about how many miles are left.

What I do is keep track of how many KWhs I have used in the Energy screen as compared to 60, which seems to be pretty accurate. Some day that the battery pack will actually go up to 64, but I do not know of anyone who has tested/reported on that theory. Of course if you have applied a "top-off" this method becomes corrupted, too!

 

[phil0909]

With the LEAF I was used to being able to view that mystery 15 (true SOC or state-of-charge) by using a bluetooth OBD dongle monitored by an Android app (LeafSpy). This gave you very granular visibility into the remaining percentage and units (GIDs - after Gary Giddings who came up with the unit).

The standard Bolt app - myChevrolet - gives you very granular visibility into the remaining battery percentage - 1% increments. Is LeafSpy more granular than that? I don't see how tenths of a percent or hundredths of a percent would really provide any meaningful improvement over what our app already provides. I guess OBD bluetooth might deliver the info slightly faster than the internet, but again, is that really a significant difference?

 

[LeftieBiker]

With the LEAF I was used to being able to view that mystery 15 (true SOC or state-of-charge) by using a bluetooth OBD dongle monitored by an Android app (LeafSpy). This gave you very granular visibility into the remaining percentage and units (GIDs - after Gary Giddings who came up with the unit).

The standard Bolt app - myChevrolet - gives you very granular visibility into the remaining battery percentage - 1% increments. Is LeafSpy more granular than that? I don't see how tenths of a percent or hundredths of a percent would really provide any meaningful improvement over what our app already provides. I guess OBD bluetooth might deliver the info slightly faster than the internet, but again, is that really a significant difference?

The LeafSpy reading in GIDs is the equivalent, roughly, of reading in .4% increments. Since the Leaf stops displaying SOC % well below it runs out of charge, this is very useful. Does the Bolt keep displaying SOC right down to the point where the car stops?

 

[phil0909]

The LeafSpy reading in GIDs is the equivalent, roughly, of reading in .4% increments. Since the Leaf stops displaying SOC % well below it runs out of charge, this is very useful. Does the Bolt keep displaying SOC right down to the point where the car stops?

The car does not, but the app does. At least, I assume it does - why wouldn't it? I suppose we won't know for sure until someone tries it. I've never run the battery down much below 20% myself, so I can not speak from experience.

 

[z0ner]

The standard Bolt app - myChevrolet - gives you very granular visibility into the remaining battery percentage - 1% increments. Is LeafSpy more granular than that? I don't see how tenths of a percent or hundredths of a percent would really provide any meaningful improvement over what our app already provides. I guess OBD bluetooth might deliver the info slightly faster than the internet, but again, is that really a significant difference?

Is OnStar's WiFi always available? If either my cell or OS's isn't - I have zero visibility. Admittedly I didn't go that route since I was more concerned with getting home than pulling over and/or fumbling with my phone. The stretch of road has spotty cell service to boot. OBD would be instant and always available, so yes - quite significant.

 

[phil0909]

Is OnStar's WiFi always available? If either my cell or OS's isn't - I have zero visibility. Admittedly I didn't go that route since I was more concerned with getting home than pulling over and/or fumbling with my phone. The stretch of road has spotty cell service to boot. OBD would be instant and always available, so yes - quite significant.

It is always available for me, afaik. Onstar uses AT&T, and my cell phone is Verizon. I don't think my Bolt has been outside both of those coverage areas at any time since I bought it. Of course, there are places without cell data coverage (Elbonia comes to mind), and an ODB link would still work.

The right solution would be for Chevy to just put the SOC percentage on the damn dashboard! :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Educate me here: what does the MyChevy app do for me in the situation of when I am running low on juice, other than find charging locations for me and sending them to the OnStar Nav?

 

[phil0909]

Educate me here: what does the MyChevy app do for me in the situation of when I am running low on juice, other than find charging locations for me and sending them to the OnStar Nav?

I've never run low on juice, so others surely know more than I. But it gives you SOC to within 1%, and has a roadside assistance request function, along with the 'find charging station' function you already mentioned. I didn't even know it had that.