Delivery--Not Charged

[EgermP]

We received our new Chevy Bolt today. We ordered it with the DC Fast Charging Provision. The dealer was not able to deliver it fully charged, however. He gave it to us at about 60% charged. He had it plugged in for several hours during the day.

So, is there a problem with my car that it took so long for the dealer to charge it to 50%? Or, do dealers not have the ability to charge the cars that they sell?

I really think that a new EV should be delivered fully charged.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

At a minimum, dealerships should have a couple L2s, some in service, some available outside. Ideally they should also have at least one CCS, but it's a new thing for Hyundai dealers, it'll take time. They really should have plugged it in sooner if they knew you were coming.

 

[SparkE]

I had heard that a *requirement* for a dealership to be able to sell Bolts (besides the EV training of the staff) is that they have a CCS charger available on-site (or ordered) - for exactly this reason.

Since this is the "Ask Chevrolet" forum, I would *love* to hear if that is indeed true from a GM rep.

 

[EgermP]

At a minimum, dealerships should have a couple L2s, some in service, some available outside. Ideally they should also have at least one CCS, but it's a new thing for Hyundai dealers, it'll take time. They really should have plugged it in sooner if they knew you were coming.

They certainly knew we were coming. Actually, they had us come into the dealership twice today. When we came in the first time, around 2:00, the vehicle was charged to 113 miles, and they told us to come back at 6:00. Then they called and said it needed more time, and to come back at 7:30. When we came back again, it was charged to "140 miles".

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Did I say Hyundai? Damn, forgot which forum I was in! Sorry. But a Chevy dealer probably was selling Volts already? Should have already had at least one L2. Sounds like they had you plugged in to 120V. Strange. Then again, my closest Chevy dealer has been selling Volts for years and there are no outside L2s available. I assume they must have one in service somewhere. Some dealers are resisting EV promotion. Corporate's not any better.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Dealerships who service Volts don't absolutely need an L-2 station, because the cars can run without charge, and because they can be charged halfway fairly quickly even on L-1.

 

[EgermP]

To answer the questions, the dealership appeared to have an L2. Overnight, in 12 hours, the car added 25 miles when plugged into the "wall". Is that normal? Is there some reason that the first charge takes much longer than normal? In case its important to know the temperature, it is 56 degrees in my garage.

 

[WetEV]

To answer the questions, the dealership appeared to have an L2. Overnight, in 12 hours, the car added 25 miles when plugged into the "wall". Is that normal? Is there some reason that the first charge takes much longer than normal? In case its important to know the temperature, it is 56 degrees in my garage.

L1 charging a 60 kWh battery is going to be very slow, especially at the default current.

Note that the default for L1 is the lower current 8A, not the full 12A you can get from a 120V circuit.

8A at 120V is 960W, of which maybe 300W goes to power computers, pumps and other stuff. So you should get maybe 600W or 0.6kWh per hour or a bit more. So yes, slightly more than 2 miles of range per hour charging at 8A 120V is normal. Especially as the car's range estimate can vary for other reasons than the amount of charge in the battery.

About a hundred hours of charging at 8A would be needed to go from empty to full.

The "miles of range" isn't a very useful indication of how charged the battery is. Battery bars (5% each) or kWh from the application are more useful.

GM could avoid a lot of driver confusion with a percentage full display or better yet a "kWh in battery" display.

 

[EgermP]

WetEV said, ".....So yes, slightly more than 2 miles of range per hour charging at 8A 120V is normal....."

So, when Chevy says on their web site, that the L1 rate is approximately 4 miles per hour of charging, they are lying, big-time. Is that right?

Also, WetEV, thank you for your response. The dealership is clueless about this car. Its nice to hear from somebody knowledgeable.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Not lying if you select the 12A rate, that's 120V x 12A=1440 W less 300 for computer and stuff, leaves 1 kWh (over an hour charging) in the pack which will get you 4 miles if you drive at a 4 miles/kWh rate.

L2 would be 240v x 30A = 7.2 kWh yielding about 25 miles per hour charging.

Unless the L2 being used is a lower amp model, then less, obviously.

 

[WetEV]

So, when Chevy says on their web site, that the L1 rate is approximately 4 miles per hour of charging, they are lying, big-time. Is that right?

The dealership is clueless about this car.

2+ miles per hour at 8A, 4 miles per hour at 12A is about normal. Chevy isn't lying.

Did the dealership mention the 8A default charging rate and how to set it 12A on 120V? Did they mention how to set the home location so you don't need to do this every time you plug in?

 

[EgermP]

Did the dealership mention the 8A default charging rate and how to set it 12A on 120V? Did they mention how to set the home location so you don't need to do this every time you plug in?

The dealership did not seem to know anything about the car. We didn't get any training, other than being shown the headlights and turn indicator. We didn't even get an explanation about how to charge the vehicle, although it was certainly easy to find the cable and to open the flap.

Can you tell me how to set the home location so we don't need to change to 12A every time? Much appreciated.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

At a minimum, dealerships should have a couple L2s, some in service, some available outside. Ideally they should also have at least one CCS, but it's a new thing for Hyundai dealers, it'll take time. They really should have plugged it in sooner if they knew you were coming.

They certainly knew we were coming. Actually, they had us come into the dealership twice today. When we came in the first time, around 2:00, the vehicle was charged to 113 miles, and they told us to come back at 6:00. Then they called and said it needed more time, and to come back at 7:30. When we came back again, it was charged to "140 miles".

That doesn't sound right. In 5.5 hours on L2 it should have gained at least 100 miles, and possibly it should have been fully charged in that amount of time. It is supposed to take ~9 hours to go from 0-238 miles - and most of that comes in the first ~8 hours. The taper at the end means you should have had ~210-220 miles at 7:30.

Sounds like they were using the stock L1 charger, so the 9 hours X about 6 = 2.25 days.

 

[SeanNelson]

In 5.5 hours on L2 it should have gained at least 100 miles...

That entirely depends on how much current is drawn at 240V. For example if you use the stock EVSE with a 240V adapter, it will only draw 12A and the resulting charge rate will be lower. So "L2" alone is an inadequate gauge of the actual charge rate.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Can you tell me how to set the home location so we don't need to change to 12A every time? Much appreciated.

 

[EgermP]

Thank you, DNAinaGoodWay, for that reference. When we got the car, the dealer just pointed to the glove compartment and told us to read the manual. We've tried to read the manual, but that document is more useful if you already know about the car.

I really appreciate the help that we are getting on this forum. It's really disappointing the way that Chevrolet delivers this type of car without providing any instruction (besides the manual) or anybody who can answer any questions.

Incidentally, we finally got the car fully charged this morning. For its first full charge, It showed 220 miles at 100% charged. Then, after driving about 10 miles, it showed 225 miles at 95% charged. I understand that the miles it shows is something of a guess.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

It's a rare dealer that knows anything, or cares.
Feel free to ask anything you want, there's a lot of us been driving EVs for years now.
You'll soon figure it all out. Have fun!

 

[WetEV]

That entirely depends on how much current is drawn at 240V.

Good point. Or at 208V, common in commercial chargers. Follow is far more detail that most will TLDR:

Highest L1 charging rate that I'm aware of would be from a TT-30, 24A at 120V = 28800W or 2.88kW
Lowest L2 charge rate that I'm aware of would be the J1772 minimum of 6A at 208V = 1248W or 1.25kW

Both of these are fairly unlikely. The first is outside of the specification, specification is limited to 120V at 16A = 1920W or 1.92kW. Yes, there is equipment that does more than this. I'd suggest you plan on staying inside the specification, even if the equipment will not limit you to the specification.

In any case, the highest L1 rates are higher than the minimum L2 rates. As always, you need to subtract the power used by the car for cooling pumps, assorted electronics and such. And there are power conversion losses, battery losses and such.

The most usual L1 rate is 12A at 120V or 1440W or 1.44kW.
The most usual L2 rate is 208V (public) or 240V at 30A or 32A. 6.6kW to 7.2kW
The highest L2 rate is 240V @80A or 19200W or 19.2kW.

Has anyone tried higher current L1 cables to find the limit for 120V current?
The highest L2 rate is 32A at 240V 7680W or 7.68kW.

 

[ChevyCustomerCare]

Thank you, DNAinaGoodWay, for that reference. When we got the car, the dealer just pointed to the glove compartment and told us to read the manual. We've tried to read the manual, but that document is more useful if you already know about the car.

I really appreciate the help that we are getting on this forum. It's really disappointing the way that Chevrolet delivers this type of car without providing any instruction (besides the manual) or anybody who can answer any questions.

Incidentally, we finally got the car fully charged this morning. For its first full charge, It showed 220 miles at 100% charged. Then, after driving about 10 miles, it showed 225 miles at 95% charged. I understand that the miles it shows is something of a guess.

Hi EgermP,

I definitely don't want the delivery status of your vehicle, or this dealership concern, negatively impact your Bolt EV experience! If you'd like, I can reach out to your selling dealership and file a formal dealership complaint on your behalf in this regard. It is completely up to you, if this is something you want to do, but your feedback could prove useful for dealership improvement. If this something I can submit on your behalf, please feel free to send me a private message.

Additionally, if you have any further questions about charging, vehicle operation or specific manual inquiries, please feel free to let me know. I can dig further into your manual to find the necessary information, and reach out to some of my internal contacts if need be.

Warm Wishes,

Amber G.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[IMAdolt]

There are a ton of EVSE charge cables on the market for reasonable prices (under 500$ check the charging thread in the tech section of this forum) pick one that works for you as an affordable option, if you're not so inclined to DIY a 240 volt 30 amp or better plug having one professionally done wouldn't cost much if you don't already have on in your garage, adding one adjacent to an electrical panel (if in your garage) is going to be especially cheap, if there's room on the panel.

If of course you're worried about keeping up your charging with your use/commute per day and do not want to pay the expense to have an L1 or L2 dock installed at your house or if you're in like a condo situation then never mind.