Has anyone figured out how to display charge percentage?

[phil0909]

It seems to me that this comes from a sense of disappointment. The product has failed that person. If they had high hopes for the product - as many have for the Bolt - this disappointment is a hard pill. And currently there are no viable alternatives if one wants a sub-$50k long-range EV.

Sure, but what I am saying is we should be realistic in our expectations. Not every product is designed specifically for you. I can think of any number of small to moderate items that I might have preferred they'd done differently on the Bolt, but tracking the bigger picture keeps those items in realistic perspective. Taking one small (and dare I say it, quirky) feature and blowing it up to some kind of major failure issue suggests a loss of perspective.

Sure. Of course, loss of perspective is a common human weakness, perhaps even more common among EV early adopters. I suspect we tend to be perfectionists, more so than people who drive, say, Corollas or F-150s. We should be realistic, but sometimes that's easier said than done.

 

[roundpeg]

Sure. Of course, loss of perspective is a common human weakness, perhaps even more common among EV early adopters. I suspect we tend to be perfectionists, more so than people who drive, say, Corollas or F-150s. We should be realistic, but sometimes that's easier said than done.

Honestly, from what I've seen and heard, more like geekiness. No offense intended to geeks (having been called one myself).

UI design is a tricky business. Software engineers (read: super-geeks) would throw in every feature they can imagine or seems cool to them if they could. Somebody has to say no to that, or you end up with feature cram. Lots of features, poorly implemented. As if we've never seen software like that.

Personally, I can see why GM opted for a graphical representation of the charge level. It scans faster than numerical. In fact if it was up to me, the speedometer would be analog too.

 

[boltage]

I wasn't getting much out of knowing the exact number of KW being using used or regenerated at any moment.

I did use the exact number of kW being used to check on the effects of wind when setting cruise control to 65mph across a long flat road (e.g. 18kW on a day with no wind, 20kW on a day with some head wind). Can also be used to check the effects of heat, AC, roof racks, etc. if you have a long flat road that you can set the cruise control on.

 

[michael]

Being experienced both with a RAV-4 EV which has "bars" display only, and a Focus Electric which has both "bars" and "percent", I definitely like having both.

Furthermore, with an add-on OBD reader the Focus showed kWh remaining which even more useful. As the battery faded, the meaning of 100% and full bars grew continually less, but the kWh consumed and kWh remaining remained meaningful.

 

[roundpeg]

I did use the exact number of kW being used to check on the effects of wind when setting cruise control to 65mph across a long flat road (e.g. 18kW on a day with no wind, 20kW on a day with some head wind). Can also be used to check the effects of heat, AC, roof racks, etc. if you have a long flat road that you can set the cruise control on.

See above, re: geekiness.

Seriously, the display range is going supply a more informed guideline I think. That is what it is designed to do. Notice that it also indicates trends. It shows you in real time whether you are moving towards the higher or lower end of the range. The kW readout changes way too much in my experience, to the point where it's more deceptive than useful. Then you have to figure out what those numbers means in the real world when the instrumentation is already doing that task for you.

If you're a total numbers guy though another method of testing consumption that is going to be more accurate is to reset the counter and allow it to average over some miles.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I wasn't getting much out of knowing the exact number of KW being using used or regenerated at any moment.

I did use the exact number of kW being used to check on the effects of wind when setting cruise control to 65mph across a long flat road (e.g. 18kW on a day with no wind, 20kW on a day with some head wind). Can also be used to check the effects of heat, AC, roof racks, etc. if you have a long flat road that you can set the cruise control on.

Interesting. According to Tony Williams' measurement, the Leaf also uses 18kW at 65MPH (70F OAT, no climate control, steady cruising over flat ground). I would love to know what the Bolt uses at other speeds as well. Maybe 45, 55, 65, 75. Our highest posted speed limit in the northeast is 65, but out west it is higher. I'm sure others care about higher speeds too.

It would be awesome if someone with a Bolt put together a table.

And go ahead, RoundPeg, call me a geek. I don't mind because I know it's true

 

[roundpeg]

Interesting. According to Tony Williams' measurement, the Leaf also uses 18kW at 65MPH (70F OAT, no climate control, steady cruising over flat ground). I would love to know what the Bolt uses at other speeds as well. Maybe 45, 55, 65, 75. Our highest posted speed limit in the northeast is 65, but out west it is higher. I'm sure others care about higher speeds too.

It would be awesome if someone with a Bolt put together a table.

And go ahead, RoundPeg, call me a geek. I don't mind because I know it's true

And if only to prove that a bear no ill will towards geeks, I'd be up to contributing to this experiment. It would need some controls. For one, a level dry roadway with little net elevation change or traffic. I'd say at least five miles of uninterrupted driving. Climate controls off. You could mitigate the impact of elevation change by running the route in both directions and averaging.

 

[user 387]

You could mitigate the impact of elevation change by running the route in both directions and averaging.

This is really the only way to run the experiment. It would not only mitigate elevation change, it would also mitigate effects from wind, as slight as they might be. Of course, to mitigate effects of the wind, the runs would have to be within a few minutes of each other.

 

[boltage]

And if only to prove that a bear no ill will towards geeks, I'd be up to contributing to this experiment. It would need some controls. For one, a level dry roadway with little net elevation change or traffic. I'd say at least five miles of uninterrupted driving. Climate controls off. You could mitigate the impact of elevation change by running the route in both directions and averaging.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, the flat part of the Hayward - San Mateo bridge is a good place for such experiments.

 

[roundpeg]

We have some reasonably straight, level highways and freeways around here. It would take some planning for where you'd drive and turn around. Best not done alone since it requires some note-taking.

 

[SeanNelson]

We have some reasonably straight, level highways and freeways around here. It would take some planning for where you'd drive and turn around. Best not done alone since it requires some note-taking.

I use a portable audio recorder for my note taking. Works like a charm, I can do everything by feel without needing to look at it and it can't be mistaken for trying to use a smart phone while driving.