Fast charge retrofit?

[LeftieBiker]

I doubt that I'd order a Bolt to lease with no fast charge option, but I'm actually one of the people who would rarely use it. If it came down to being able to just barely afford one with no fast charge, or being able to get either a Premier without it or an LT with it. I'd consider omitting it. I'd definitely try to negotiate on the price, first.

It looks like the Ioniq EV will have it standard.

 

[devbolt]

The lack of DC fast charging as a standard feature is a recurring complaint from critics of the car.

And yet some people are adamant that they don't want it. Personally I think it's stupid to buy the car without it, but at least some people seem to be happy that it's an option.

They offer it as an option for anyone who wants to spend the money. Its absence as a standard feature does not deserve criticism.

I can see objecting if it were not offered. Personally, I'm more upset by the unavailability of Homelink even as an option, which I would use every single day, than by the fact that I need to select a Bolt with the DCFC option if I want one. I'm more upset by the unavailability of a heat pump even as an option.

You can get the DCFC....what's the problem?

Homelink is easily installed in the Bolt for less than $30. And no dealer visit required.

 

[SeanNelson]

The $750 DCFC option adds about $375 over the three years of a lease. That's a lot to spend if you only use it once or twice.

...unless it saves you from a tow and perhaps an overnight hotel bill or two...

 

[michael]

How do I get home link for. $30? That's great news if so...

 

[michael]

The $750 DCFC option adds about $375 over the three years of a lease. That's a lot to spend if you only use it once or twice.

...unless it saves you from a tow and perhaps an overnight hotel bill or two...

There's little risk of either one in a 200+ mile car. I went 54000 miles in a 80 mile class Focus electric in three years. Never ran out of juice, had no DCFC capability, probably used L2 public charging no more than a dozen times.

When I needed to go long distance, I took a Volt. Still will, even when I have a Bolt.

 

[user 124]

The $750 DCFC option adds about $375 over the three years of a lease. That's a lot to spend if you only use it once or twice.

...unless it saves you from a tow and perhaps an overnight hotel bill or two...

There's little risk of either one in a 200+ mile car. I went 54000 miles in a 80 mile class Focus electric in three years. Never ran out of juice, had no DCFC capability, probably used L2 public charging no more than a dozen times.

When I needed to go long distance, I took a Volt. Still will, even when I have a Bolt.

So it is better to buy a second car that runs on gas than to spend $750 to allow you to charge your car in a reasonable amount of time? :shock:

 

[EldRick]

This one is $50. It's about 2" long and 1/4" thick. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018IQ9I2I
Similar ones with more buttons are as low as $30.
I tacked this one a convenient location in my Spark EV with Blu-Tak. It's been working for 8 months on the original battery, and has better range than the original control. It even resembles other buttons used in the Spark (and Bolt).

 

[Anonymous]

The lack of DC fast charging as a standard feature is a recurring complaint from critics of the car.

And yet some people are adamant that they don't want it. Personally I think it's stupid to buy the car without it, but at least some people seem to be happy that it's an option.

They offer it as an option for anyone who wants to spend the money. Its absence as a standard feature does not deserve criticism.

...

You can get the DCFC....what's the problem?

Well, to the extent that I did pay more for its inclusion because it is only an option, of course it deserves criticism!

"once or twice?": Since January 3rd, I have used my DCFC at least 6 times: (Newport Beach, Paso Robles, Newhall Ranch, Keyes in Van Nuys!, Anaheim, and Keyes in Van Nuys!); that's averaging about once a week!

The "problem" is that some of us love to beat dead horses!

 

[devbolt]

How do I get home link for. $30? That's great news if so...

Either of these are homelink compatible remotes:
https://smile.amazon.com/LiftMaster-893Max-Liftmaster/dp/B00IA2RXUU/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1487671673&sr=1-2&keywords=liftmaster+remote
https://smile.amazon.com/Liftmaster-890max-Garage-Opener-Remote/dp/B0051V41CQ/ref=pd_sim_60_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0051V41CQ&pd_rd_r=893XWJE3PERP6V6SD9S2&pd_rd_w=lUJLs&pd_rd_wg=LzNs2&psc=1&refRID=893XWJE3PERP6V6SD9S2

 

[Anonymous]

fast charge is not even listed as an option for bolts going to canada. i ordered one from the factory and it was not an option. the reasoning was that there aren't enough fast charging stations there to justify it. i was told that once chevy makes it available in canada, we can just order it for our bolt. i wasn't told that it was impossible or given the impression that it was difficult. this makes me very uneasy.

 

[SeanNelson]

fast charge is not even listed as an option for bolts going to canada. i ordered one from the factory and it was not an option. the reasoning was that there aren't enough fast charging stations there to justify it. i was told that once chevy makes it available in canada, we can just order it for our bolt. i wasn't told that it was impossible or given the impression that it was difficult. this makes me very uneasy.

Fast chargers aren't an option for Canada because all Bolt EVs sold in Canada come with the fast charger as standard equipment. All Canadian Bolt EVs will be able to use DC fast chargers as soon as you drive them off the lot, no need to order or retrofit it, even if that were possible (and I'm virtually certain it is not).

Your dealer is just making up stories to cover his ignorance. I would be very suspicious of him, because if he made that up then who knows what other "alternative facts" he's told you.

 

[Anonymous]

Fast chargers aren't an option for Canada because all Bolt EVs sold in Canada come with the fast charger as standard equipment...

So my position, that they should be standard equipment in all Bolt EV's, seemingly holds water for Canada!

 

[SparkE]

Fast chargers aren't an option for Canada because all Bolt EVs sold in Canada come with the fast charger as standard equipment...

So my position, that they should be standard equipment in all Bolt EV's, seemingly holds water for Canada!

In an environment where the range of the car might easily be reduced by 25-40% in winter ... yes, DCFC sounds like a great thing to have.

 

[Anonymous]

I did not get the fast charge capability installed with the Bolt.

Is it possible to get that retrofitted in?

I figured it out!!!

GM did not include the fast charge port as a standard feature because it wanted to market its base price car as "below $30,000 (after federal tax credit of $7,500)!"

Including the port would push the cost beyond that point; that is, $37,495!

So because of their marketing, 97% of us are having to pay extra to get that option included (missing economies of scale) and the 3% that failed to order it to begin with will come to regret their decision, as did the OP of this thread!

Thanks, GM Marketing geniuses!

NOTE: I invented the 97/3 proportion for the purposes of making my point; no research was done in the creation of this post!

 

[Anonymous]

Fast chargers aren't an option for Canada because all Bolt EVs sold in Canada come with the fast charger as standard equipment...

So my position, that they should be standard equipment in all Bolt EV's, seemingly holds water for Canada!

In an environment where the range of the car might easily be reduced by 25-40% in winter ... yes, DCFC sounds like a great thing to have.

In an environment where someone is buying/leasing a car specifically because it has battery capacity in excess of 200 miles, DCFC is a great thing to have!